by Chris Hechtl
The doctor nodded. Due to the crude A.I.s in the Horathian ships, they were not as efficient as federation ships. The lack of an A.I. hampered their fighting, hyperspace range, and abilities across the board. It was also tied into the skillset of the crews though, the better the crew the more efficient they were, but the admiralty was aware that the A.I. tied things together.
They didn't want smart A.I. however. A smart A.I. could rebel. He frowned thoughtfully. “Sometimes I wish I'd explored that field a bit more,” he admitted. After a moment he shrugged. “Ah well, the road not traveled I suppose. We need to focus on our own achievement,” he said.
The admiral nodded again.
“Our training continues. We haven't hit any resistance or bumps; I think we're past most of them, though we might hit some if our subjects get a negative reaction in Horath. We're going to need to sequester them quickly and quietly, sir,” the doctor warned.
“Of course,” the admiral murmured. “I wish you could have performed some reconstructive surgery. Removed some of their odd appendages and such. Made them look more … human,” he said.
The doctor frowned. “To do so would reduce their abilities to be in the water. I admit it would help with some of our programming and identity issues that crop up. Mara is our best subject, sir. Combine her DNA with some of the clones we've found, and we should have fantastic pilots and helmsman.”
“In a generation or more,” the admiral growled. “Even with force growth, it will take years to get them up to speed and educating them as well,” he shook his head.
“True. I'll be involved in their training of course,” the doctor said smugly. “I'm afraid this is the last of my adventures, at least for the foreseeable future, quite possibly forever. I don't see a downside, no offense,” he said with a small smile and bow to the admiral. “Although I've enjoyed your company immensely, sir, I would very much like to get to some place safe and perform my work in security and comfort with a lot more resources than a ship can provide,” he said.
“Agreed, Doctor,” the admiral said with a snort. He wouldn't miss the doctor. Quite the contrary.
“Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go over these new educational practices I downloaded while we were in Garth orbit,” the doctor said, rising from his seat. “There have been some remarkable advances in shaping and molding our youth while bringing them closer to federation standards in math and engineering. I am curious about what I can use to apply to my subjects,” he said with some relish.
“Don't forget to do your rounds, Doctor,” the admiral warned.
The doctor nodded. “It might do you some good to get out and stretch your legs, sir, if you don't mind my saying so. Escorting the water dwellers is simple. They are rather placid after all. It has become slightly more difficult with the additional passengers however. Someone with your rank and stature would make others give way.”
“I'll consider it.”
“It is beneath your station I know, sir. Just a thought,” the doctor said as he paused near the hatch. He nodded once when the admiral didn't say anything and then departed without a further word.
Chapter 29
“Admiral,” Protector said from the desktop.
“Yes?” Admiral Irons asked, not looking up from the report he'd been reading.
“In this case I suppose I am addressing Admiral Sienkov first,” the A.I. said, using his avatar to face Admiral Sienkov.
“Yes?” the admiral asked, looking up from his seat.
“Fortress command had reported a courier arrival at the B459c jump point. It is transmitting a high priority message for ONI eyes only. It is the courier with the download from Second Fleet, sir.”
“About time,” the admiral growled.
“They report that warships will be following soon, sir,” the A.I. stated, turning his holographic image to Admiral Irons.
“Good,” the admiral said.
“It'll be some time before they get to us. Two, three days,” Admiral Sienkov mused.
“So …,” Admiral Irons asked.
“So, I'm wondering if I should order Lieutenant Locke to stop the download or not,” Yorgi replied.
“Well, it'd be nice to preserve some of the ansible connection,” Admiral Irons said with a snort.
“Okay. I just hate waiting for something I know is coming but is still out of reach. And I can't get them to upload it to us with a whisker laser since it's encrypted and protected,” he sighed.
“Right. Just going to have to exercise some patience,” Admiral Irons replied with a brief smile. “ETA on the wounded ships is still the same, Protector?” he asked, addressing the A.I.
“Aye, sir. Barring any unforeseen difficulties in transit along the way. The first will get here in another two weeks,” the A.I. reported.
“Very well. Now, since Monty can handle the download, let's say you and I stick to our schedule before someone tracks us down and scowls at us for wandering off of it,” Admiral Irons said with a twist of his lips.
“Oh, very well. If only to not to have to listen to the long suffering sighs,” Yorgi replied picking his tablet up again. But he couldn't help but put an image of the plot up to see the status of the courier's progress across the star system.
:::{)(}:::
Courier UFDV-010S returned to Protodon ahead of the retreating Second Fleet beating their previous transit record by nearly fifteen minutes. “I see we beat them,” Monica said with an indulgent smile to her crew. They'd pulled out all the stops to get their warning off to Protodon as quickly as possible. “Damn fine work, folks,” she said in approval.
“Thank you, ma'am,” Corgi replied. “We're receiving a hail from Commander Nambi on Fortress 1, ma'am.”
“Good. Send them our IFF and then put them through,” the ship captain ordered.
This time she would behave herself, she thought firmly.
:::{)(}:::
Admiral Irons shook his head as he read the ansible report. Phil, Jersey, and Commodore Samese were online; Commodore X'll'rr was out of easy transmission range of the ansible. She was working-up exercises between the First and Second Battle Cruiser Squadron.
The flag officers each took a moment to read the report before they reacted. Yorgi was the first to react. “What is he thinking?” he demanded, waving his tablet.
“He thinks he can't hold with what he had and didn't want to fight another fighting withdrawal. Or he thinks he doesn't want a draw, he wants a win. Either way, he's the commander on the spot. We're not in the place to second-guess him,” Admiral Irons stated.
“No, sir, but the public will. They are already unhappy about the entire situation. Don't be surprised if some demand his relief,” Commodore Samese warned.
“I know. We'll deal with the fall out.”
“How, sir?” the Neogorilla asked.
“Hunker down, stall, and hope he pulls out a win soon,” the admiral growled.
“Hopefully soon,” Phil observed with a dubious tone of voice. “I'm not comfortable drawing down any more of Third fleet. Not without knowing something is on its way here, which I don't know.”
“We have no intelligence referring to fleet movements to Pyrax,” Yorgi volunteered. “But I admit that is out of date,” he said.
“Definitely,” Phil growled.
“If we send the eastern attack force as planned, it will run down anything the enemy has in the pipeline,” Jersey suggested. “Though I'd prefer to nail down Destria and Hidoshi's World before we try to launch that offensive,” he drawled.
“The current plan is to send them in as a raiding force, Jersey,” Yorgi replied as he looked down to re-read the courier report. “Go in with just naval assets like Amadeus did in Nuevo Madrid.”
“I see. Smash everything in space and then hype out. Invade later?” the Neogorilla asked.
“Exactly,” Yorgi replied with a nod.
“But that still means they could miss a fleet in transit. Running into something, like Amadeus did i
n B-97A is a fluke.”
“Fluke or bad timing,” Commodore Samese agreed. “But I agree; they wouldn't know if a fleet passed them until they jumped out and noted any recent ion trails in the star system. And each star system they visited would have to be explored carefully in case of a trap,” he warned.
“We just have the navigational data from the Horathians and civilian ships too. We have limited outdated intelligence on the area,” Yorgi supplied. “A scout or two to break trail before the raiders might be wise,” he said, looking up from the tablet.
Admiral Irons grimaced. No one volunteered any other suggestions or disputed the one Yorgi had thrown out there. Finally, he nodded. “Good point,” Admiral Irons said.
“I'll make a note of it. I suppose I could send orders to the B101a1 picket to scout B103c5 in advance of any force. It's a long jump though,” he warned.
“Hold off on that until we know more from Amadeus,” Admiral Irons stated.
“Fine,” Phil replied.
“Still no word from Caroline?” Commodore Samese asked.
“They aren't overdue. Not for another three weeks. The window of their arrival in B102c is just opening actually,” Yorgi replied, cocking his head.
“You had that on the tip of your tongue?” the commodore asked with an amused chuff.
“I looked it up a few hours ago myself,” the admiral admitted.
“ETA on the reinforcements are within parameters. Amadeus should have enough forces to stop the Horathians cold. There is no way they'll get to Protodon before the reinforcements arrive,” Admiral Irons stated.
“Based on their observed speed to date, Admiral?” Jersey asked.
“Exactly. If the antics of B-95a3 picket work out as half as we'd expect, they may be there a while before they head on to Protodon.”
“We pegged the flagship as Executioner, which means the enemy commander is Admiral Cyrano De Gaulte. He's a thinker, Battle Fleet strategist. Pretty good leader. A bit of a worrier from what the psychological profile suggests. I think he'll think twice about sticking his neck into Protodon.”
“Despite chasing White?” the Neogorilla commodore asked.
“Which might be why Amadeus fell back,” Yorgi said.
“To entice the enemy into thinking he's weaker than he is and to therefore exploit the buildup we've got in Protodon, along with the fixed defenses in order to leverage a victory,” Phil said. “But he's counting on the enemy thinking and seeing the things he wants. We all know that is a road ripe with failure,” he warned.
“Right now, we can't do much about it. If Amadeus has time, I'm assuming he'll put his forces in stealth. Set up an ambush and hammer the enemy flat,” Admiral Irons stated.
“That might work for the First Battle Cruiser Squadron but not Bismark and Quirinus,” Protector interjected. “Sorry for the interruption, gentlemen. Both of the capital ships I just mentioned lack stealth systems.”
“We rushed them off,” Yorgi sighed. “Damn it,” he muttered.
“Well, there goes that plan,” Phil said in disgust. “Once the enemy sees them, they'll run. They know our hardware is better than their own.”
“True. So, he's going to have to get creative about things,” Admiral Irons said.
“That's what worries me,” Phil replied in disgust.
:::{)(}:::
Admiral White was surprised when Lady Liberty's sensors cleared from jump to see a familiar IFF painted on the plot. The courier beating them there wasn't a good sign. “Comm, hail the courier. Find out what's going on,” he ordered.
“Aye, sir,” the rating stated. After a moment she nodded. “I have Captain Okonkwo on the horn for you, sir,” she said. She pointed to the main plot where a window opened. The human ship captain's image saluted him. He sketched off a return salute then got down to business.
“Captain? Am I missing something?” Admiral White demanded without preamble.
“Sorry, sir. The enemy fleet showed up two days after you left, sir,” Monica reported.
The admiral nodded as his staff looked at each other in concern. “You certainly didn't dawdle getting here. Good work Lieutenant.”
“Thank you, sir,” she replied with a nod. “I wanted to stay but they came right for us and Captain Song ordered us to follow Plan Baker per your instructions. Uploading the full report now.”
The admiral nodded as he glanced over to Kyle and Garfield. The Neocat's ears were flat. “Good,” he frowned. “I think.”
:::{)(}:::
Amadeus read the report from Shepard quickly. He was disappointed that Captain Song hadn't initiated Shell Game before the courier's departure. He'd left it over long; he should have initiated it within hours of the fleet's arrival. Instead he'd waited until they were under way in hopes of getting them to change course.
That was his call, Amadeus thought. He had been the man on the spot. He just regretted that Song hadn't gotten his timing right. If he had they might have been able to see some more of the enemy's sensors. Perhaps picked up some of their comm traffic and definitely had seen if they'd taken the bait and expended fuel to chase the ghosts.
Oh well, so be it, he thought, setting the angst aside. What was done was done. Hopefully the two light cruisers would get them jumping at shadows for at least another couple of days before they returned to the course they'd set. Any extra time was precious now. He had a bunch of countdowns going on, one for his ships under repair, another for the reinforcements on the way, and another for the estimated time of the enemy's arrival.
It was an open-ended window, something he didn't enjoy.
Once they were in Protodon, Second Fleet made better progress on their repairs and had full access to the stockpile of industrial equipment and material there. There was not much raw material for the shipboard industrial plants or the factory ships industrial plants to draw on, but Admiral Irons had anticipated battle damage in future engagements and had provided the tools accordingly.
There were two mobile shipyards in the star system along with a factory ship. A transport held a replacement crew. Orbital warehouses had mountains of parts and material to draw on; all of it shipped in from Antigua and Pyrax.
While the repairs were underway, reinforcements streamed in from Antigua and Kathy's World. The Illustrious group was the first to jump in; they arrived a day after Second Fleet. Maine and Justice came in with their reinforcements two days later.
Captain Samuels called the flagship when she noted its presence in the star system. “It's good to see you,” the admiral said before the captain could ask what was going on. “Damn good, Naomi,” he said.
“And you as well, sir, though I'd hoped under different circumstances,” she replied cautiously.
“With you and what is coming in the pipeline and what we've got here, I know we've got what it takes to beat them. Beat and break them, not just drive them off,” the admiral growled.
“Aye aye, sir,” the captain replied in a firmer tone of voice. “Can you or someone fill me in though? I'm at a loss here,” she said.
“Fumbling in the dark? Been there, done that. It's the void after all,” Amadeus replied. “But I think,” he paused to look at Kyle. “I think we can arrange an update for you and everyone else to bring you up to speed,” he said in a voice pitched for the OP's officer's benefit. Kyle nodded.
“Aye aye, sir,” Kyle said quietly.
“Kyle will get you that download in a moment. Get Maine and Justice over here; we've got work to do. Order your ships to go into stealth though.”
“That will slow down our movement, sir,” Naomi warned.
“I know. It can't be helped. Unfortunately, we don't know when the enemy will arrive,” he said.
“Download coming in now,” a rating on Maine reported in the background.
“I heard,” the admiral replied dryly. He glanced at Kyle who gave him a thumbs up. “Okay. We're going to get busy sorting things out. We'll need to plug you into the fleet net after everyone's up to s
peed. If you need anything, let Kyle and LOGCOM know.”
“Fuel, sir. If we're going to go into battle soon, having a full fuel bladder would be nice,” Naomi said instantly.
“We'll get it done,” Amadeus said, making a note and then passing it to Kyle. Kyle took it and nodded. “Flag out,” he said.
“Maine out,” she said as he disconnected the circuit.
“You heard that, people? We've got some people to get sorted out. Get on it,” the Neochimp admiral ordered gruffly. “We need them up to speed ASAP. Garfield, work out a contingency plan in case our Horathian friends show up before Maine arrives.”
“Aye aye, sir. Your order to go into stealth is good, sir; we can definitely use that. An ambush in the enemy's rear …,” the Neocat mused. He nodded after a moment. “Oh yes, we can definitely use that,” he said. “I wish they had missile pods. Can we get an inventory from them?” he demanded.
“I'll get that soonest,” Jojo replied.
“Good,” the Neocat replied, still lost in thought.
The Neochimp observed the cat for a moment, then snorted and turned to the rest of his staff to address the next problem.
:::{)(}:::
Liobat held a press conference to diffuse the renewed consternation and rising concern, not to mention the turning public opinion. The hope was that by laying out the facts and what the admiral intended it might settle a few stomachs. That was the hope at any rate, the Neocat thought as she started the question and answer session. It was her most dreaded part of her standup routine, there was always the chance of a “gotcha” question or of her putting her foot in her mouth. “I know you didn't expect it; I doubt many did. The enemy might,” the Neocat stated. “But he's here now. First question,” she said, pointing to a yellow lab in the front row with a GSN tag.
“Yes, Mister um, Mutt?” the Neocat said as his handpaw went up.
“Yes, that really is my name,” the Neodog reporter growled as his hand dropped.
“Okay,” the Neocat drawled, flicking her ears. If she was hoping the little byplay would defuse some of the tension, it did, but she wasn't certain for how long it would last.