by D. J. Holmes
Though James still struggled to read the body language and facial expressions of the Varanni, he guessed he was seeing disappointment on all four of the Varanni Admirals’ faces. Dur’ack was the first to hide her emotions and reply. “I understand Admiral, neither do we have the authority to make such a deal, however I believe the Senate, if directed to by us, would be more than happy to. We will recommend that they send a diplomatic mission to Earth to accompany the frigate you intend to send back. Does that mean you intend to keep your ships at Varanni Prime? Or are you willing to join them to our forces and accompany us to aid the Mindus?”
This time when James when glanced at Gupta she nodded. “We haven’t come all this way to sit back and watch you all go off to war,” he answered. “Our ships may not boost your fleet’s combat power, but if you are willing to allow us to come along, we are prepared to help as much as we can. After all, if the Mindus are conquered, our species will be in as much danger as yours and your allies. There is one point I would like to clarify though. The Mindus have promised to share their technologies with you if you come to their aid. If I join my fleet to yours, we would like complete access to whatever the Mindus share with you.”
Dur’ack raised herself up from her seat and slithered around until she was towering over James, she then held out a hand in a very Human gesture. “Ya’sia included a file on Human customs and traditions. The Senate will have to approve my decision of course, but I see no problem with that. If you are willing to join your fleet with ours and bring the fighters Ya’sia has told us about with you, then you have a deal Vice Admiral Somerville.”
James stood and then took Dur’ack’s hand. “Then we have a deal,” he said as he bowed. After releasing Dur’ack’s hand he shared another glance with Gupta. He knew what she was thinking, he was thinking the exact same thing. Neither of them really knew what they were getting themselves and their ships into. Yet they had no choice. If the Invaders were as powerful as the evidence suggested, then Humanity needed both time and new technologies. By helping the Varanni drive the Invaders out of Mindus space, they would be buying both for their species. James just hoped that was enough. For the last decade he and Scott, and a slowly growing circle of his friends, had been concerned about a secret alien race working in the background to destabilize their area of space. Now that that race had been discovered, he was even more concerned. There was a good chance none of his ships would survive the campaign into Mindus space, yet for the sake of his species he couldn’t back down.
Chapter 32
Though most don’t usually consider such problems, one of the biggest headaches the fleet faces in peacetime is feeding it millions of crewmembers. The resupply problem alone consumes the time of thousands of freighters and hundreds of logisticians. To make matters worse, after a millennium of micro evolution of the Human race, with Humanity spread out across so many different worlds, there are many different dietary tolerances within the fleet. As a result, the needs of one ship are often very different to the needs of another. Those who can keep track of such things and smooth out any problems are among the best paid fleet personnel.
-Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.
UNS Golden Hind, in transit to Mindus territory, 2nd January 2479 AD.
To James’s great surprise, when the second session of the High Council had been held later that day, the High Councilor opened the session by requesting a vote on both of her proposals. As he expected, the first proposal passed unanimously. What had left him aghast was that the second proposal got the support of nine out of the eleven Varanni Alliance member species. Immediately after the vote, the High Councilor asked for a second vote on her second proposal. It then received unanimous support. The two species who had opposed military action were willing to go along with the consensus. More than once after the session James had remarked to Ya’sia and Admiral Dur’ack that no decision of such consequence would be made so quickly on Earth, and never would it receive a unanimous backing.
Over the week that followed, James had seen first-hand how efficient the Varanni Alliance was. As soon as both proposals were accepted, the militaries of each species were put on high alert. Ships and supplies streamed into the system. The level of cooperation between each different military was far better than James had seen between the nations of Earth, even when the Flex-aor had been threatening to wipe out the American colonies. He had been just as impressed by how willing the Varanni were to assist his ships. After spending a week in orbit around Varanni Prime, every Human warship had been stuffed full of what supplies, foodstuffs and other materials the Varanni had determined his fleet would find useful, completely alleviating James’ supply concerns. They had taken several supply freighters with them when they had left X-32, certainly enough to have kept them going in the initial stages of the proposed advance into Mindus space, but after that he had feared things would start to get difficult. He needn’t have bothered. The Varanni had the technology to build or generate most of the materials his fleet needed to operate and within days of being made aware of his needs, his fleet had been fully stocked.
James was sitting in his command chair on Golden Hind’s bridge as the fleet of seventeen hundred Varanni Alliance ships cruised through another uninhabited system. They had left Varanni Prime two months ago and now were just two weeks away from Mindus space. Though the journey had been long, it had been well used. Though James didn’t feel he could share Humanity’s secret technologies, he held no qualms about helping the Varanni improve their own. Since leaving Varanni Prime teams of his people had been working with the Varanni and the other species in the fleet offering what help they could. The work mainly involved helping the Varanni Alliance warships improve their ECM capabilities. In turn, Varanni technicians had been tinkering with Human weapon technologies. The range of Golden Hind’s plasma cannons had been increased by eight or nine percent, and the laser cannons by almost the same amount. Perhaps the most significant advance was in his ship’s sensors. That was where the Varanni outclassed Humanity by several factors and though they hadn’t shared their own technology with his fleet, they had helped his ships considerably boost their own ability to identify and track enemy ships and missiles. There was no way to tell how much the advances would help them against the Invaders, but in simulations against other Human warships, the boost to Golden Hind’s sensors allowed her to increase her point defense fire hit rates by nearly twenty percent. If James had been able to gain such a boost in efficiency back when Earth’s navies had been fighting one another, it would have been a game changer. Now, against the Invaders, as impressive as it was, James wasn’t sure it would make much difference. Still, he said to himself, we have done all we can. There’s nothing else to do but wait and see if it has been enough.
“New contacts, they are moving towards us from the shift passage we’re heading to. There’s two of them,” Golden Hind’s sensor officer reported.
“They are Varanni frigates,” Miyamoto updated. “It looks like the scouts have returned.
James sat up in his command chair. In part he had come to the bridge to let his mind wander. The background noise of the bridge’s normal activities put him at ease and allowed him to relax. In his office it was too quiet. He was also here because of the scouts; the time had been approaching for their return. They had been dispatched eight days ago to contact the Varanni military attaché who had been sent ahead of the fleet. They would be coming back with the latest intelligence on how the war against the Invaders was going. It was on this intelligence that Jorum intended to make his final battle plans.
“What news do you expect them to bring?” Miyamoto asked as he turned in his command chair to face James.
That is the question, James thought. He had wondered the same thing for days. A month ago, a report had been sent back by the Varanni military attaché. The Mindus had been delighted to hear about the relief force coming to their aid. However, Admiral Ellian, the leader of the military attaché, had reported that thing
s were not looking good. They had lost several more systems and, perhaps more significantly, had suffered a major defeat in a large fleet engagement. Ellian had estimated the defeat would force the Mindus to assume a purely defensive posture. The Admirals in the Varanni Alliance Fleet had agreed that the news was not good. Trying to hold a defensive line without being able to threaten a counter-attack meant the Mindus’ only hope of victory was the Invaders making a mistake. That was something James doubted they would do.
“Nothing good I’m afraid,” James answered. He knew the entire bridge crew was listening in. He didn’t want to scare them, but, at the same time, if the news was bad, he wanted his people prepared. It was likely the Varanni Alliance Fleet was going to go straight to where the fighting was the fiercest and strike quickly. “Whatever has happened in the last month, I expect the Mindus to be on the back foot. They will have lost several more systems, but hopefully they have kept the bulk of their fleet intact. Since they know we are coming, they should be trying to conserve their forces for a counter-attack.”
Miyamoto nodded. “That’s where we come in. I hope we can make a difference.”
“So do I,” James agreed.
“Guardian has just contacted us Vice Admiral,” Emilie reported. “All senior fleet commanders are requested to report on board forthwith.”
“Acknowledge the request and contact hangar bay one, let them know I’ll be needing a shuttle,” James replied. “Scott, you’re with me,” he added. “Let’s go.”
“Yes Sir,” Scott responded as she jumped out of her command chair.
Fifteen minutes later they were walking through Guardian’s corridors towards the Varanni flagship’s main briefing room. Though a Varanni Lieutenant was escorting them, James and Scott knew the way, they had been on board Guardian plenty of times. Like all rooms Varanni held meetings in, it was circular. Ya’sia explained that it was the Varanni’s way of showing that all opinions in such meetings were equally valid. James had no problem with that, though it was a very inefficient way to design a warship.
Stepping into the room, James quickly greeted several of the other Admirals and moved to his allotted seat. Gupta was already there and he sat beside her after shaking her hand. “Now we’re going to see just what we’ve got ourselves into,” he said.
“That we are,” she agreed. “Whatever it is I’m sure you’ll see us through it.”
James had to stop himself rolling his eyes. “I think you’re giving me a little too much prominence in this fleet. Remember, we are here as guests. I’m not about to assume control and order things as I see fit. Jorum is the one who will see us through this.”
“I know, I know,” Gupta replied. “But even so, you’re the one our fleet is counting on. I wouldn’t be going into this situation without you leading us.”
“Well, you of all people know that a leader is only as good as his subordinates. I’ve been lucky to have you and Scott and so many others. If you’re relying on me, then really you’re just relying on yourself. So let’s put an end to this sentimentality and focus on the task at hand.”
“Yes Admiral,” Gupta replied very formally, though she ruined it with a wink. “We are at your command.”
This time James did roll his eyes. Thankfully he didn’t have to think of a witty response, for Jorum raised himself to his full height and began to speak. “Our scout’s report is not good. I’m afraid the strategic situation has changed significantly since our last update. Captain Salal will update us on the key points from the intelligence report our scouts have brought. Then we must decide what to do.”
As Salal raised himself up James shared a glance with Gupta, their joyful demeanors had disappeared. “The Mindus suffered a significant defeat in the Malan system. The Invaders managed to draw away some of the system’s defenders with a feint against another system. Then they struck hard and fast. Approximately fifteen percent of the Mindus fleet was lost in the battle. Worse, the Invaders now have access to a shift passage that leads directly to the Mindus home system. As a result, the Mindus defense strategy has been altered. They’re pulling forces out of their colonies and concentrating their fleet in their home system. Mindus scout ships have detected the Invaders concentrating their fleet in the Malan system. That was two weeks ago, it is the belief of the Mindus fleet commanders and Admiral Ellian that the Invaders will move their forces into the Mindus home system to threaten their homeworld as soon as possible. Given the speed at which the Invaders are building up their forces at Malan, it is very likely that they have already begun their assault. Multiple small probing attacks have already been beaten back, but they are no doubt a precursor to a full attack.
“The Mindus have significantly increased the defenses within their home system since the Invaders first launched their war of conquest. The system has three rings of defenses and every orbital body has been fortified to a greater or lesser degree. If the Mindus can pull back most of their forces to their home system in time, the Invaders will face a very tough challenge. However, the Mindus fleet commanders have informed Ellian that they do not believe they can hold out indefinitely.
“There is little doubt that the Invaders know this as well. Given the tactics we have seen them use up to this point, we believe they will adopt a cautious strategy within the Mindus home system. With the advantage of numbers, they can slowly whittle down the Mindus’ defenses until they can overwhelm and take their homeworld. Meanwhile, with the Mindus pulling back to their home system, the Invaders can easily conquer what is left of Mindus space. It seems that the war between the Mindus and the Invaders has entered its final phase. Given that this intelligence is more than a week old, things may have already turned even more against the Mindus.
“We have no more time to waste. We must act decisively. It is my intention to leave our slower and more vulnerable supply train in this system with a light escort. The rest of our forces will immediately proceed to the Mindus home system and, if the Invaders have not entered the system, we will go on to the Malan system. There we will demand that the Invaders withdraw all their forces from Mindus space, and, if not, we will engage them and drive them back. It is likely that the majority of the Invaders fleet will be concentrated in either the Mindus home system or the Malan system when we get there. Instead of the surprise attack against a weaker Invader fleet we had hoped to achieve, we may be facing close to their full force. If we can avoid this scenario, we will, but given recent developments, that option appears to have disappeared. It seems Vice Admiral Somerville was right when he said a battle plan does not survive contact with the enemy.
“Given our need to move quickly, this will be the last chance we have to meet in person before we reach the Mindus home system. We have three hours until our fleet reaches the next shift passage. I want us to make the best use of this time. There are a number of scenarios similar to what we now face that we have already planned for. Together we must adapt them and make our final preparations. We must be of one mind as we lead our fleets into action. Here are my initial plans, we will begin from here and modify them.”
James listened intently as Jorum outlined what he had in mind. For the next two and half hours he joined in the conversation as the plan was altered and finalized. Given no one knew exactly what they would face in either the Mindus home system or the Malan system, by the time he was leaving Guardian, he thought they had the best plan they could have. He would be lying to himself if he said they were fully prepared. Launching a surprise attack against a small Invader fleet had been the initial plan. What the Varanni Alliance Fleet was now proposing to do was very different. Though he knew it was necessary, the stakes had changed with the Mindus home system under direct threat, it didn’t make things sit any easier with James. The outcome a full-scale battle against a large concentration of Invader warships was all but impossible to predict. There were simply too many unknowns. That was not the kind of battle he wanted to risk his ships on, never mind the Varanni Alliance Fleet or the Mindus homeworld
. Yet that was now before them.
*
For the two weeks that followed the last meeting of Jorum’s Admirals, a number of pressures beset James. Given that his ships were the slowest in the Varanni fleet, Jorum’s demand for a speedy transit to the Mindus home system put the most strain on his command. Every fusion reactor, impulse engine and shift drive within the Human fleet spent the entire two weeks operating above their recommended standards. Several ships had to be left behind as systems overloaded and failed. James spent every waking moment of the voyage waiting for the next report of a ship breaking down or being severely damaged by a system overload. On top of that, he was acutely aware that his ships were the ones holding up the Varanni fleet. Whatever was happening in the Mindus home system, the Varanni fleet wasn’t there to help because they were travelling at the best speed his ships could maintain.