by M. D. Cooper
“Bollam’s World was a bit different. If we hadn’t defeated the AST ships with our picotech, they’d have it now, and they certainly wouldn’t be allied with you—it would be them that you would be attacking, not us. Speaking of the Hegemony, it was they who made the black hole at Bollam’s World.”
Kent took another sip of his coffee. Admiral Richards’s words were true. He had studied both of those battles, and the histories did show that Admiral Richards and her people were not the initial aggressors. Still, it was the presence of their picotech that was the destabilizing factor. They had brought this upon themselves.
“You have to wonder,” Admiral Richards mused. “You’re allied with the AST, which—having Sirius and now Bollam’s within their Hegemony—represents the same people who have always unleashed war on us to steal what is ours.”
Kent snorted. He wasn’t going to dignify that statement with a response.
Her eyes locked onto him and bore into his. “Are you sure you’re on the right side? Because I’ll tell you this right now. We believe that your general Garza—yes, we know who he is—does not intend to seize and destroy our tech; rather, he will use it to unseat Praetor Kirkland and take over Orion.”
Kent opened his mouth to reply, and then paused. He knew that Garza had promised picotech to the Hegemony. It had been evident in the subtext of their conversation aboard the Britannica. Was it possible that the general planned to break his oath to the Orion Guard? He had allied himself with the Hegemony—a culture which shared very few ideals with the Orion Freedom Alliance.
From what he and his strike force had observed of New Canaan, these people were far more aligned—picotech notwithstanding—with Orion than the Hegemony was.
He had previously considered it the price of peace, or that perhaps Garza hoped to influence the Hegemony toward a more civilized culture, but now he wondered. But why rely on their ships so heavily? Why involve the Trisilieds to the degree they had, if the goal was only to destroy the picotech? Even his initial mission to capture Admiral Richards and President Tomlinson was better aligned with gaining unfettered access the forbidden tech than destroying it.
Had he been led astray by Garza? If someone as highly placed as the general did not believe in the ideals of the OFA, was everything he had been taught merely a ploy to keep the populace in line?
Kent shook his head. That line of reasoning would take him nowhere. It simply couldn’t be possible. Garza couldn’t have perpetrated such a coup. Too many people would know about his true goals. The OFA was too big for one man to orchestrate something like that.
His blood pressure rose and his face reddened. This woman had nearly made him doubt his commitment to Orion. They had given him everything he held dear in this life, and he was not about to turn on them now.
“You’re twisting the truth,” he hissed at Tanis. “Garza knows how corrupt the Hegemony is and he’s using it against them. Once we had you, we were to use the picobombs to destroy your facilities so that when the Orion fleets—”
Kent stopped short as a grim smile pulled at Admiral Richards’s lips.
“Fleets? Not fleet?” she asked. “Those Hegemony ships out there, the ones taking out the Transcend’s watchers, they’re not the only ones….”
He didn’t reply, ashamed that he had let something slip, but it didn’t matter. The force coming to New Canaan could still obliterate their defenses—and the entire system, for that matter. Even though he had not secured the picotech.
The admiral tapped her finger against her chin and spoke softly. “A hundred and twenty AU to the closest Hegemony ship, that’s about sixteen hours as the photon flies. You launched your attack on the Galadrial no sooner than two hours before you tried to kill me… There was no way they could have known I was going there to rescue Sera until I departed—which means that the AST jumped the gun. They want to get in first and take the tech for themselves.”
Kent’s heart dropped. The Hegemony had attacked too soon! They were planning to come insystem first and seize the tech for themselves.
Garza had been a fool, and so was he.
“I don’t suppose you’d be so kind as to tell me the exact nature of what we’re facing,” Admiral Richards asked. “There has to be an Orion Guard fleet out there, too, or perhaps it’s still on its way…on a vector…. Shit!”
The admiral leapt to her feet and dashed through the door leaving Kent alone with the pair of Marines.
CAPTAINS AND ADMIRALS
STELLAR DATE: 03.29.8948 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: ISS I2
REGION: Near Roma, New Canaan System
The virtual table seemed to stretch endlessly to Tanis’s left and right—though the physical one was only ten meters from end to end.
As much as Tanis would have liked to have the attendees present in person, it would leave the fleet too vulnerable should something unexpected occur. Not to mention that finding seating for the commanders of twenty thousand ships would be tricky.
She glanced up and down the physical table, and then beyond into the virtual extensions. Every ship captain and officer with rank of colonel and above was present—both TSF and ISF. At the physical table sat Joe, Cargo, Jessica, Amavia, Admiral Sanderson, Captain Espensen, General Pearson, Commandant Brandt, and several other Marine generals under her command. Admiral Greer and Captain Viska were also present.
“You’ve all read the briefing,” Sera began from Tanis’s left. “You’ve talked to your AIs, you understand what is happening. We are at war on multiple fronts—one of which is back at our own capital. We’re going to be fighting against much of our own military until we can free them from Airtha’s influence.
“What you have not heard is that I have placed Admiral Tanis Richards in command of the Transcend Space Force as Field Marshall, an appointment which Admiral Greer supports.”
She paused and looked to Admiral Greer, who nodded before speaking. “Admiral Richards has pledged her ships and her technology to support the Transcend. Given that most of the TSF’s ships could be under the control of subverted AIs, Admiral Richards’s Intrepid Space Force represents the largest number of Transcend ships committed to the President.
“Some of you may also have sour feelings about this in light of the skirmish we were just involved in. I won’t sugar coat it—the battle was not bloodless, and lives were lost on both sides. But that is not the fault of anyone here. Airtha and Myriad were to blame. They made us tools of their insurrection and the lives lost are on their heads. We, here today, are allies. Let’s not forget that.”
Sera resumed her address. “Yes, today we begin to take back the Transcend and re-establish the true ideals upon which our civilization was founded. Tanis and the people of New Canaan share those ideals. We will stand together against what comes.”
She paused and polite clapping sounded up and down the long table. Sera turned to Tanis. “All yours, Field Marshall.”
“Thank you,” Tanis replied and surveyed the assemblage for a moment before beginning.
“We will indeed bring the war to our enemies and strike down Airtha for using us, but first we must first defeat the Hegemony fleet that has assembled beyond this system’s heliopause. Our current count, which is several hours out of date, puts their fleet at twenty-five thousand ships. The vessels out there appear to be a new fleet, including elements of Guard design. We won’t know their full capabilities until we engage them, but we must assume they are every bit as advanced as TSF or Orion ships.”
Tanis looked down the table; every face resolving into focus as her gaze passed by. The TSF captains looked grim, several nodding in agreement. Many of her own captains had different expressions: fear and uncertainty.
Every one of the Transcend captains—and the crews serving under them—were combat veterans. The ISF fleet, on the other hand, was barely crewed at all—and fewer than half had seen combat. Moreover, of her thousands of captains, less than two dozen had ever steered a ship in battle—somet
hing that had to make the TSF veterans nervous.
She decided it was best to address that issue head-on before it caused unrest in the ranks. “Many of our ships are captained by low-ranking officers, and that has some of you worried—ISF and TSF alike—though probably none more than those officers who are in a command seat for the first time.”
There were nervous smiles amongst many of the ISF captains, while no small number of the TSF captains shook their heads.
“Perhaps we can augment your crews,” a Transcend captain spoke up—Shira by the indicator on the table’s holosystem. “I have a very competent XO and my mizzen-watch crew could join her on one of your vessels.”
“That is a very gracious offer, Captain Shira” Tanis replied. “However, we all know how well mixing together crews goes. They need time to gel. Rather, what I would prefer is to solely crew as many of our ships with your extra watches as we can manage. We’ll place some ISF personnel aboard to help bring your people up to speed, but in many cases it may just be one engineer.
“That seems prudent,” Captain Shira said with a tilt of her head.
“As you’ve no doubt heard by now, nearly half the ships in our fleet here at Roma are barely able to fly. We’re sending all the ships with incomplete shielding, missing environmental systems, or non-functional weapons, back to our core worlds—mainly Carthage and Athens. That will leave eleven thousand and fifteen ISF ships ready for combat. Additionally, several thousand ships have come in from bases across the Transcend after we sent news of Airtha’s treachery.”
“This brings the number of TSF vessels up to a little over six thousand. We’re still vastly outnumbered here, but make no mistake. This is a well-defended system, and our stasis shields should more than level the playing field.”
“Admiral Richards,” a TSF captain named Trip spoke up, “when will the TSF ships get stasis shields?”
“We’re working on a tamper-proof black-box version of the technology,” Tanis replied. “But it won’t be ready in time for this battle.”
“Are you serious?” another TSF captain exclaimed, a woman named Andrette by the indicator on Tanis’s HUD. “We’re here defending your system—risking our lives—and you still won’t share this technology with us?”
“Captain Andrette,” Admiral Greer spoke quietly, “you will address Admiral Richards appropriately, or you will be dismissed.”
“Yes, Admiral Greer,” Captain Andrette replied, without an iota of an apology in her voice. “I’m sorry for the disrespect, Admiral Richards, but the question still stands.”
“I appreciate your feelings on this matter, Captain Andrette,” Tanis replied audibly. “You’re putting a lot on the line here. I, and everyone here, deeply appreciate it. Truth be told, I ultimately plan to equip all our ships with black-box versions of these shields. The risk of an incapacitated ship having the tech stolen—or of a spy gaining access to it—is too high. The short-term benefit is far outweighed by the long-term risk.”
“That’s easy for you to say…Admiral,” Captain Andrette replied.
“Captain Andrette,” Greer said, his voice a soft growl, “I will be flying in a ship without stasis shields, just as I have every other time I have met our enemies in battle. You will do so as well. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Admiral Greer,” Captain Andrette replied, her tone moderated, though not entirely mollified.
“Our tactics are going to be simple,” Tanis said, moving on from the discussion about shields. “We will make them come to us, to over-extend themselves and stretch their lines thin. Then we will strike them with stealth vessels where they least expect it.”
“What if they don’t disperse their fleets?” Admiral Greer asked. “If they maintain concentrated formations, smaller strike groups will be ineffective.”
“You can be certain that they will disperse,” Tanis replied. “After the first few salvos of relativistic grapeshot hit their tight groupings, that is.”
A number of the TSF captains drew in sharp breaths and more than one disapproving look was sent her way.
“The TSF does not employ grapeshot,” Admiral Greer said, his voice even and toneless. “It is considered barbaric.”
Angela commented privately.
Tanis took a slow breath and replied in an equally even tone. “You call the tactic barbaric, but I call its absence the devolution of warfare. The purpose of war is not to continue it for millennia, but to end it as quickly, and decisively, as possible. To use every weapon in your arsenal with maximum efficiency. Expending force with maximum prejudice to achieve a rapid victory is the best way to prevent future aggression.”
She noted nods from the ISF captains, and saw that many of the TSF captains also agreed. That much, at least, was a good sign.
“There are sixty-seven rail platforms in the New Canaan system, all are capable of firing grapeshot at speeds approaching three-quarters the speed of light. We will use these platforms to break up the Hegemony’s fleet and ensure they are vulnerable to our attacks.”
“Sixty-seven?” A man down the table, a TSF captain named Edward, asked. “Where are they?”
Tanis noted that he was one of the TSF captains who had nodded with approval when she brought up the grapeshot.
“Various moons and dwarf planets. They’re subterranean, and are capable of multiple firing vectors. A dozen are also in orbit around Carthage and Athens—hidden by our stealth tech. At any given moment, we can fire forty-nine of them into this quadrant of the system. There are also two railguns on this ship capable of firing relativistic grapeshot.”
“How will our ships know where safe regions are?” Admiral Greer asked. “Kinetic weapons, grapeshot especially, do not discriminate between friend and foe.”
Tanis nodded somberly. “That is true. We will furnish your scan teams with the locations of all the platforms in the system. We have safe and unsafe corridors, and pre-determined firing solutions based on enemy fleet positions. Tactical updates on the fleetnet will also contain data on any salvos the platforms have fired.”
“Damn glad we didn’t come in guns blazing,” one of the TSF colonels said. She hadn’t meant it to be audible to the entire assembly, but the virtual space picked her up and broadcast the statement.
Several of the TSF officers nodded in agreement, while others reddened at the thought of the defeat they would have suffered at the hands of the colonists.
“We’re on the same side now,” Sera said, speaking for the first time since her introduction of Tanis. “As we should have been all along.”
“I mentioned earlier that I am glad for the reinforcements that have come from across the Transcend,” Tanis said as she made eye contact with the captains and admirals who had jumped in after they received the drone messages. “Given our firepower, you may wonder why that its.”
“I certainly do,” Greer commented.
“From data gathered by a team of ours—which spent years in the Perseus Arm—and through the interrogation of prisoners from the assault on the Galadrial, I have reason to believe that there is at least one more enemy fleet bearing down on us here.”
“A sound strategy,” Greer said.
“And not entirely unexpected,” Tanis added. “We’re going to continue interrogations to get more intel on composition and timing, but for now, we’re planning on the enemy bringing at least fifty thousand ships to bear.”
Murmurs came from around the table, and Tanis raised her hands for silence.
“Let’s go ove
r assignments,” she said, moving the conversation from strategy to tactics.
The next several hours were spent organizing the ships which had not departed for Carthage and Athens into four major fleet groups, which intermixed ISF and TSF vessels and crew. The groups were commanded by Tanis, Greer, Joe, and Sanderson.
Joe and Sanderson were assigned smaller forces, only fifteen hundred ships each, while Tanis and Greer both commanded over six thousand ships each. Crews were reorganized and assigned to new vessels, and even before the meeting came to a close, personnel transfers were already under way.
The room’s wall had a holodisplay of the space surrounding the I2 and it was aglow with ships of all sizes maneuvering; small vessels docking directly for transfers, and larger ones disgorging dozens of shuttles to move crews.
Someone in Space Traffic Control was probably having kittens.
Eventually, the meeting ended and the holographic table disappeared, leaving just the dozen men and women physically present, to whom Tanis gave a tired smile.
“That went better than I expected,” Admiral Greer said with a glance at Viska.
“Absolutely, though I got pinged by at least a hundred different people as the meeting went on. I had to shunt them all just so I could focus,” Viska replied.
“I guess they were all too uncertain about the new Old Lady to ping me,” Tanis said with a rueful laugh. “Still, so long as they understand how important it is that we stop Orion here, I can deal with it. We have to show the enemy that this war is too costly and that it has to stop before it spreads.”
“If we can do that, then this will be worth it, no matter the outcome,” Greer nodded. “Forgive me, Field Marshall Richards, I have a shuttle to catch and a fleet to get in position.”
“Yes, of course,” Tanis rose and shook Greer’s hand. “Thank you. Without your support, none of this would be possible.”
Greer’s eyes darted to Sera, then back to Tanis. “Yes, well, we all have to make the best of each situation.”