Milor!

by Thomas DePrima

  Her last pressing matter was a message to Admiral Moore and Space Command HQ. She organized her notes so that she wouldn't miss any key points and then made the lengthy recording.

  "Priority-One message to Richard E. Moore, Admiral of the Fleet, Space Command Supreme Headquarters, from Jenetta A. Carver, Rear Admiral, Lower, Base Commander of Stewart Space Command Base, aboard the GSC Battleship Prometheus in the Frontier Zone. Begin message.

  "Hello, Admiral. I have distressing news. We've learned, during the interrogation of a Milora aboard the Ottawa, that the invasion fleet we destroyed represents only one-third of three-hundred-fifteen ships sent by the Empire. The Milora claims not to know where the other two fleets intend to attack, but did say that the first phase is to push us out of the Frontier Zone, the second phase is to push us back to the original border of the GA, and the third phase is to attack and destroy Space Command Headquarters and bases on Earth, while destroying the entire technological infrastructure of our planet. Privateers would then run rampant in GA space until the Milori Empire was in a position to exercise complete control.

  "I have no reason to disbelieve this information, but neither do I have a way to verify it. If the three fleets intended to cross the border simultaneously, the others will not yet have crossed into 'regulated' space. I'm speculating that the Milori third fleet, finding themselves trapped, notified the other two fleets of their situation immediately. I hadn't ordered that communications be jammed because the distance to the Milori home world meant that reinforcements couldn't arrive for several years. I felt that a message that we had destroyed their task force might work to our advantage. Perhaps news that this entire fleet was so thoroughly beaten by a handful of Space Command vessels would cause the Milori to reevaluate their intentions. We're presently concentrating all our repair efforts on the least damaged ships. If the Milori show up, we might have to fall back to the border, destroying our more seriously damaged ships so that they won't be of use to the enemy.

  "We know that the Milori who survived the battle don't understand how we trapped them, and believe that the energy cage was responsible for the damage to their ships rather than the unseen mines. They also believe that we planted invisible mines in their midst. I didn't correct these misconceptions. In fact, I've deliberately perpetuated the idea that our weapons are so far superior to those of the Milori, that they don't stand a chance of defeating us.

  "I've transmitted messages to each of the arriving ships, advising them of the situation and amending their orders. I've tried to ensure that Stewart receive adequate protection, while making maximum effective use of resources to support our current position.

  "The fact that you haven't yet received the first news of the battle isn't lost on me. I wish that we were closer so that I could rely on the sage advice of the Admiralty Board, but we shall have to get by on just my own judgment and the advice from my captains. I look forward to hearing from you in a couple of weeks.

  "Jenetta A. Carver, Rear Admiral, Lower Half, from the GSC Battleship Prometheus, message complete."

  Jenetta breathed deeply and then released it slowly. She still had other messages to record, including one to Captain Donovan and personal messages to her family, those not present at the battle.

  * * *

  The search and rescue operations aboard the Milori ships yielded hundreds of prisoners. This was just a small portion of the original crews, most of who had continued to fight even as the air around them was evacuating from a multitude of holes in the hulls of their respective ships. Original estimates of two-hundred-thousand enemy dead were probably not too far off the mark. Thousands of Milori bodies and parts of bodies had been 'swept up' from where they floated in space around the battle area, the victims of torpedoes or mines that had opened huge holes in the warship hulls. Dozens of Space Command crewmembers were still missing, despite the best efforts of the 'sweepers' to account for everyone. There might be nothing to find if the bodies had been destroyed in explosions, but they would do their best. Space Command fighters destroyed in the battle, were towed back to the assembly area so the pilots' bodies could be extricated for proper interment. Pending their return to Earth, or to their home colony, the bodies would be preserved in cold storage.

  Jenetta was one of the few that had the time, or perhaps the energy, to work out every morning. She never spent less than an hour punching the bag or loping around the flight bay running track with her cats. She wanted desperately to jump in and get involved, but her position dictated that she sit by and watch as the captains directed the repair efforts aboard their ships. She checked the damage reports frequently throughout the day, watching for updates. With little else to do, she sat and thought about the military tactics and battle plans from ancient wars that she had studied. Most terrestrial battles had little direct application in modern conflicts in space, but you never knew where the kernel of an idea would come from. The writings of military leaders and theorists Sun Tzu and Karl von Clausewitz were always a great source of battle strategy information.

  * * *

  On the fourth day following the conflict, Jenetta sent for Trader Vyx. He arrived at her conference room office mid-morning, with the entire coterie of agents.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, please come in and sit down. Prepare a beverage for yourself first, if you wish." Pointing to Lori, she said, "This is my aide, Lt. Commander Ashraf."

  Vyx introduced the different agents. Jenetta and Lori had met all of them previously except Kathryn.

  After everyone had taken a seat, Jenetta continued. "We're about fifteen light-years from the Scruscotto Colony, I believe. I'd like you to undertake a small mission for me."

  "Anything you say, Admiral," Vyx said. "It'll be great to feel useful again."

  "Is your ship operational?"

  "We've had lots of time to get it in prime condition. It was protected in the maintenance bay during the conflict and wasn't damaged."

  "Excellent."

  Jenetta spent the next ten minutes explaining the mission, and everyone involved discussed it at length before the meeting ended.

  "We'll shove off this afternoon, Admiral," Vyx had said as the group left the conference room.

  "Good luck, Trader," Jenetta said.

  * * *

  Admiral Moore walked into the enormous meeting hall that the Admiralty Board used for both private and semi-private sessions and took his seat at the center of the large horseshoe shaped table. The gallery was filled to capacity on this occasion. The other admirals, and the dozens of invited guests, immediately halted their conversations and watched the Admiral of the Fleet. He looked at Admiral Platt and nodded. "You may begin, Admiral."

  Admiral Platt stood up and began her presentation. "Welcome to this special session of the Board. Everyone in this room, by virtue of their position within Space Command, the Space Marine Corps, or the Galactic Alliance Council, has previously been briefed on the situation with the Milori. Just to refresh your memory, we uncovered a Milori task force setting up a permanent base, a hundred light-years inside our Frontier Zone. When the GSC Destroyer Ottawa approached, a Milori officer ordered the captain to leave the Frontier Zone or be destroyed, because the Milori Empire had annexed all space up to our 'regulated' space border. When as many as sixteen Milori warships began maneuvering to leave orbit of the planet where the base was being constructed, the Ottawa turned and retreated towards Stewart Space Command Base, with Milori ships in pursuit.

  "Admiral Carver, the base commander at Stewart, and the one responsible for sending the Ottawa to investigate the rumor about the Milori incursion, began to prepare for their arrival at the inner border. She formulated an innovative battle plan that would shut down their FTL drive systems and then entrap them in an encircling minefield. The Admiralty Board has been very impressed with Admiral Carver's tactical expertise and resourcefulness in the past, which, along with her administrative skills, accounts for her unparalleled rise within our command structure.

 
; "Yesterday we received a message from Admiral Carver. Rather than reading it to you, I'll show you part of an appended vid log from the bridge of the Prometheus. At the start of the vid, the Milori have just entered the prepared trap. Their ACS has shut down their FTL drives. Computer, run the prepared vid log excerpt from the Prometheus."

  The lower half of a full wall monitor showed the bridge of the Prometheus. The other half showed the front monitor image that the bridge crew was seeing. The tactical officer was heard to say, "Got 'em" as the trap closed around the Milori warships. When the lead tactical officer reported that there were one hundred three ships instead of the expected sixteen, there was a sharp intake of breath among the attendees.

  The officers and dignitaries watched in absolute silence as Jenetta offered the Milori the opportunity to surrender, then ordered the attack when Lord High Space Marshall Gulqulk finished his tirade. As the Prometheus began its attack run, some of the assemblage actually cheered it on, as if they were watching a live event.

  By the end of the battle, many of the admirals and captains were smiling openly while most of the non-military dignitaries were somber and ashen-faced. The log played until the end. The last scene showed Jenetta entering the captain's briefing room just prior to sending her report.

  "This is the report that Admiral Carver sent a few minutes later," Admiral Platt said from her chair. "Computer play Admiral Carver's latest message."

  The room became deathly silent again as an eight-foot high 'head and shoulders' image of Jenetta appeared on the large monitor. She gave her summarized account of the battle and then signed off. Admiral Platt stood up again.

  "That's all we have so far. We're expecting another message tonight, but from here on it should only be damage reports, repair estimates, and," Admiral Platt paused to take a deep breath, "casualty reports."

  "Thank you, Admiral," Admiral Moore said. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this concludes the presentation portion of this meeting. Thank you for coming."

  "Admiral Moore," one of the Diplomatic Corp attendees said, "is the threat from the Milori over? How are they going to take this defeat? Will there be a non-aggression treaty signed between the Galactic Alliance and the Milori Empire?"

  "All good questions, and they'll be taken up now at our regular meeting. Right now, you know as much about the situation as I do. No one was expecting an invasion force, as you saw and heard. It remains to be seen where we go from here. I can't answer any of your questions right now, but I wanted to share this news with you."

  The non-military people and the lower ranking officers filed slowly out of the meeting hall, leaving just the ten member admirals of the board, their aides, clerks, and a couple of dozen senior officers, including Admiral Holt from Dixon who was afforded a seat at the table. Admiral Moore called the meeting to order and then opened with, "It turned out better than we dared hope, which is astounding considering the size of the force that the Milori threw against us."

  "It's a miracle," Admiral Hubera said.

  "It's not a miracle, Donald, it's Admiral Carver," Admiral Burke said. "I don't know how she comes up with these unique battle plans that she develops, but they always seem to work, and work very well. There's no precedent in Space Command history for capturing an entire fleet inside an encircling minefield; neither in war games or tactical scenarios. How many officers do you know who would have devised a plan like that, and then executed it so well that an entire invasion force is caught like a net full of fish? Most officers would have followed standard tactics and met the Milori with half their ships, using the other half to attack the flanks and rear once the enemy was halted."

  "Admiral Carver is anything but conventional," Admiral Holt said. "I've been telling you for years how brilliant she is. I tend to compare her tactics to those of Alexander the Great, because she always does the unexpected and catches the enemy unaware. She's writing the book on space battle tactics. They'll be taught at the War College for years to come."

  "She's writing a book?" Admiral Hubera asked.

  "Not literally, Donald. I mean that her tactics will surely be featured in future War College training classes."

  "She was a poor student, and should hardly be used as an example to other students."

  "You're just mad because you lost your bet with me, Donald. You know very well that she ranked number one in all her science and mathematics courses; including yours, I might add. That's hardly indicative of a poor student."

  "She smoked up a zero grav lab while she was a student in my class."

  "Don't you think it's about time you forgave a brilliant student for a simple prank committed more than twenty years ago; especially when that student has served Space Command so well and so valiantly?"

  "It wasn't simple. That lab was out of service for a week when we needed it most. We had to completely reschedule all the testing for that freshman class."

  "Gentlemen," Admiral Platt reminded them, "we have more pressing matters to discuss."

  "Yes," Admiral Moore said, "we have the remnants of a task force sitting in what I'd have to describe as hostile space, since it's an area where we suspect that the Raiders have constructed a new base. Admiral Carver has previously reported her suspicion that it might be as close as twenty light-years from Stewart. If she's correct, it could be between Stewart and our crippled force. Stewart, relatively unguarded at the moment, could be open to attack. Or, the task force itself could become a target for Raiders. Our ships are ill equipped to defend themselves against an intact fleet at the moment."

  "When will the additional ships that we sent arrive at Stewart?" Admiral Woo asked.

  Admiral Platt said, "The first should arrive in a few weeks, but then they're still a month from the battle site. Admiral Carver chose to meet the Milori twenty light-years inside the Frontier Zone, speculating that they'd become more alert as they approached the border. It seems that she was right, and the enemy was caught totally off guard."

  "My main concern is still with the Milori," Admiral Burke said. "We only expected sixteen ships, but a hundred three showed up. How many more are in the Frontier Zone? Does anyone know the size of the Empire's fleet?"

  "The only estimate that we have is five-hundred warships," Admiral Bradlee said. "That came from a trader who did business with them, so the data can't be relied upon too heavily, and the information is at least ten years old. Hominidae-like species aren't very welcome in the Milori Empire so we haven't been able to get any recent intelligence."

  "Ten years," Admiral Platt said as she shook her head slightly. "They could have double that number of ships by now. This might have only been the opening assault on the Galactic Alliance."

  "Our own fleet is only three-hundred-six warships, with another three-hundred support vessels such as quartermaster ships, transports, research vessels, and maintenance ships." Admiral Moore said. "And we already need double those numbers just to patrol our territory since the expansion. We can't fight a protracted war, and protect our planets, colonies, and space traffic at the same time. The Raiders could be just waiting for an opportunity like this to begin their pirating activities again."

  "What can we do?" Admiral Burke asked. "We've already allocated more than ten percent of our ships to Stewart, and half of those haven't arrived yet. How much thinner can we stretch our resources? If the orders were given today, to send everything we have to Stewart, it would take three years to assemble them there."

  "Stewart is only one part of our border," Admiral Ahmed said. "Granted, its sectors include the most direct path between the Milori Empire and Galactic Alliance space, but the Milori could attack anywhere along our border. We can't concentrate all our forces at Stewart."

  "Admiral Ahmed is right," Admiral Moore said, "but it seems clear that we must be better prepared if the Milori intend to continue their aggression. I suggest that we immediately begin moving half our remaining warships, about a hundred thirty-five, towards the Frontier Zone border, both to reinforce the sectors adjoini
ng Stewart's sectors and in further support of Admiral Carver. Given the distance to the border, we can't wait until we see an actual, continuing threat before we begin moving the ships. Let's send sixty-five to Stewart and thirty-five each to the flanking sectors."

  "Who will take operational command of the three new task forces," Admiral Burke asked."

  "Admiral Carver will remain in command in her sectors. The admirals in command of the adjoining sectors, Martucci and Rhinefield, will assume control of the task forces in theirs."

  "But Admiral Carver is only a Rear Admiral, Lower," Admiral Hubera stated. "Admiral's Martucci and Rhinefield are both Upper Half."

  "Admiral Carver is the Base Commander of Stewart," Admiral Platt said. "Since she holds the command position of an Upper Half, she's automatically the commander of all ships in her sectors."

  "That was fine for a small task force of fifteen ships, but we need a real Upper Half to be in command of a ninety-nine warship fleet," Admiral Hubera argued. "The Stewart commander is going to control the largest Space Command fleet ever assembled under one StratCom commander, and it takes a week for communications to reach Stewart; and another week for a reply. It's too much responsibility for such a young officer."

  "I have to admit that I feel a bit disconcerted every time I see an image of Admiral Carver," Admiral Plimley said. "She looks more like a cadet than a flag officer, but her appearance belies her age, experience, and ability. I won't let my envy of her youthful looks affect my opinion of her competency to have this command. She's as suitable for this role as anyone that I could name. She's proven that time and again. Donald, you just witnessed a sample of her ability. Would you have done as well? I would probably have used standard tactics, and lost every ship to the Milori, without stopping them. I sleep a little better knowing that Admiral Carver is watching that particular part of our border."