Kamilaroi - Tolleson Base
Jake Hammett nodded, a habit that he knew annoyed his MEMSAI, Zoe.
Jake smiled. Annoying Zoe gave him a tiny bit of pleasure, and he never missed the opportunity.
The door opened, and Commander Robert Walker stepped forward smartly, came to a precise stop in front of Jake's desk and snapped a perfect salute.
"Commander Walker reporting, sir!"
Jake waved a hand. "Relax, Rob, take a seat." He gestured at the overstuffed chair in front of his desk.
"Yes, sir," said the officer, sitting down.
Jake looked him up and down. "You're looking good, Rob. I haven't seen you since, what? About the time you went to the Wellington?"
"Yes, sir. Eighteen months ago."
"And now you've made Commander. Congratulations!"
"Thank you, sir. And thanks for the recommendation."
Jake grinned. "You deserved it. A while since you were "Guns" on the Paris, eh?"
Rob also grinned. "Yes, sir. Just a green Lieutenant then. Still trying to figure out which buttons to push."
Jake laughed. "I doubt that. You took out those destroyers like you did it every day. Something I'll never forget."
"Thank you, sir."
Jake leaned back in his chair, tapping his pencil on his desk. He no longer used a pencil - and neither did anyone else - but he always kept some in a cup on his desk. He said it reminded him of the 21st Century of his youth - a time when people still occasionally used pens and pencils.
"Rob, I know you expect an XO slot now on a first-rate ship. And you deserve it. You're a damn fine ops officer. And you'll get it, I promise you. Just not right now. I need you on my staff right now."
"I'll be happy to do it, Admiral," said Rob.
Jake smiled. "Good poker face, Rob. I almost didn't see the tears."
Rob grinned. "Sir, I'll be where you need me. If you need me here, that's where I'll be."
"Well, I need you here, Rob. I need an Assistant Base Commander. We haven’t had one for over a year, and it’s more than Ginger and I can handle. We've got some stuff going on that is building to a head, and I don't have enough hands to deal with it all. I need someone who can get the job done."
"I'll do my best, sir."
Jake stood and put out his hand. "That's all anyone can ask. OK, Commander Walker. Get with Ginger, my Chief of Staff and she’ll get you billeted, and run you through your assignments. And welcome aboard."
Rob stood and shook hands. Then he snapped to attention and saluted, and Jake returned it. Sharply, Rob turned and marched out of the office, closing the door behind him.
***
Outside Jake’s office, Captain Ginger Barnett waited for Rob, with a smile on her face.
“Well, Mr. Walker, did he give you the honey along with the castor oil?”
Rob smiled. “Yes, Mum, I believe he did.”
“Good,” said Ginger. “Well, come with me and we’ll get you billeted.” They started walking, headed for the Bachelor Officer’s Quarters, or BOQ.
As they walked across the parade ground, Rob’s curiosity got the best of him.
“Pardon me for asking, Mum, but aren’t you Commander Barnett’s granddaughter? The one who helped Jake when he was on Aeolis, back in the 40’s?”
Ginger smiled at Rob. “Yes, good memory, Mr. Walker.”
Rob thought for a second. “So, your grandfather was Prince Adrian.”
“Correct, Mr. Walker,” said Ginger. “My mother was Alexia Aronte, daughter of Prince Adrian and Metrodora…or as most knew her, Ginger Barnett the first. My grandmother.”
“How did you end up here?” asked Rob.
“Well,” said Ginger, “When the mutual defense treaty was finalized, one of the conditions was that as many Aeolian Naval Officers be placed in the RDF as possible. So far, we have roughly thirty thousand Aeolians in the RDF, and that number is growing every day. In fact, starting next year, we’ll have an entire fleet made up of Aeolian ships and crews, although there will be Earthers mixed in with the crews to help kick-start the long-term integration process.”
“So that will be Second Fleet?”
“No, actually, it will be First Fleet,” said Ginger. “Jake agreed with Empress Hecate that giving it that name would help the Earthers understand the AEN is here to stay and is to be fully integrated with the RDF. What is now called Home Fleet will be renamed Second Fleet.”
“Damn,” said Rob. “Things are happening fast.”
Ginger nodded. “Yes. We’re getting very close to the end game now.”
Rob paused. But he couldn’t resist his natural curiosity.
“Can I ask, why you don’t use the name Aronte? Your grandfather and mother were both Aronte, so it seems like you would use that name.”
Ginger glanced at him, smiling. “I try not to let too many people know about that connection. It makes them act differently. I just want to be Ginger Barnett, a simple Chief of Staff for the RDF.”
Tau Ceti - In Orbit over RDF Leeds Naval Base
In his day cabin on the battleship Taizong, Commodore Cobb looked down the conference table at the holos of his most trusted confederates - a dozen officers who had lied, bribed and killed their way to the top of the food chain in his organization, and whom he knew he could trust completely - if the money was there. Now a bigger prize was at hand, and he had briefed them. It was time to call for a vote.
"Gentlemen, keep in mind that once we commit, there is no going back. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. But failure is not an option. We win, or we will most likely die unpleasantly. However, our chances are excellent. No plan is foolproof, of course, but as I've laid out for you, we will take them totally by surprise. We'll outnumber them in space by 2 to 1, and on the ground by 20 to 1. And we'll have the advantage that they will not believe such a thing is even possible."
Cobb scanned around the table, fixing each of his subordinates with his gaze. One by one, they nodded. When the last one had agreed, Cobb smiled.
"Excellent. Then the next order of business is to cover our backsides. We need to identify every officer and man that might betray us and get them out of our way. What are your suggestions?"
"Just kill them all," said Li Gui, commander of the frigate Kolkata.
Cobb shook his head. "Gentlemen, that would create far too much attention and confusion. We need to find a subtler way."
Captain Rurik of the cruiser Samara gestured. "Transfer them to a single ship, then send them to Hanover on blockade patrol."
Flag Captain Oleg of the Taizong shook his head. "Couldn't get them all into one ship. Have to use at least two, maybe three."
Cobb objected. "But we've already got most of them on the cruiser Strasbourg, we've been working on that for years. How many are left on other ships?"
Oleg scratched his chin. "Maybe 50 - 75 on other ships."
"Let's just abandon them on the moon," said Li Gui.
Cobb shook his head again. "Same problem - attracts too much attention too soon."
Li Gui pressed on. "Make it a rescue mission - we land a destroyer on the moon, then blow the engines. We send all the suspect crew down as the rescue party, then we just leave. That puts them all in one place with no hope of rescue for a while."
Cobb shook his head. "Basic idea is sound but pulling crew randomly from a bunch of different ships for that kind of mission would make no sense. Somebody would get suspicious, and something would get back to HQ. I want something a bit more...subtle, at least in the early stages."
Rurik raised a hand. "Move as many of the suspect crew as possible onto two destroyers over the next few months. When we've got it down to those two ships, we send them on patrol to Hanover. When they get there, their QE box
es and tDrives all fail."
Oleg laughed. "Devious. I like it.”
Li Gui and the others nodded. "That could work."
Cobb spread his hands, then tapped the table. "OK, do it. Pick the two oldest destroyers and start transferring your unwanted crew to them or the Strasbourg. Bring back only the crew that you're sure you can trust. Or at least intimidate. And be discreet about it! We've got most of three months to do this. Don't get in a rush."
"Aye, sir," came a chorus of voices.
"Rurik, put together the plan to disable their QE boxes and tDrives when they get to Hanover. Also, while you're at it, better disable their weapons too. Maybe the Hanoverians can come out and take them over."
"Aye, sir," said Rurik.
"And don't forget, you'll need to disable all the QE boxes and tDrives on Leeds when we pull out."
Rurik nodded.
Cobb focused on Rurik again. “Rurik, please put together a training program for our fire control officers for the situation we’ll encounter at Kamilaroi. Remember, our missiles will be useless – they won’t arm if fired at an RDF ship. But railguns and beamers are dumb. We’ll be limited to those only. But we can do this.”
Cobb stood. "Right. Wish us luck, gentlemen. Dismissed."
Sol System - MarsDock
Rob Walker was late. He ran down the boarding dock to the shuttle, in time to see the flight attendant reaching for the door to close it.
"Wait!" he yelled, and the attendant paused, looking at him. He threw himself forward, squeezing through the half-shut door before the crewman could close it. "Thanks!" he spoke over his shoulder, panting, as he started down the aisle past the galley. He glanced at his boarding pass and noted his seat - 1C. The first row of seats. He threw his case and hat into the overhead and sat down, dropping his tablet into the slot in front of him and fumbling for his seat belt.
"Here you go, Commander," said a voice. He looked to his left and saw the officer next to him was holding his seat belt for him to take. Grabbing it, he strapped in.
"Thanks, uh...Commander," he said, looking more closely at her. She was in Aeolian uniform, which was almost identical to that of the RDF, with slight differences in cut and trim. For the sake of consistency, Aeolians in service with the RDF used RDF collar emblems and shoulder boards, making it easy for him to judge her rank.
The shuttle lurched as it released from the dock. A slight gravity pulse told Rob it had left the influence of the dock plates and internal plates were taking over. Then it yawed away from the dock and powered away, gently at first then with increasing accel as it cleared the speed limits near MarsBase. Within five minutes he felt a slight change in the whine of the engines and knew the accel had maxed out at 150g. Coming to the front of the cabin, the flight attendant made the standard welcoming announcement.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen and welcome aboard. If there is anything the crew can do to make your trip better, please ask. Fortunately, Mars is nearly at Earth opposition today, so our flight time to EarthPort will be approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes. Please lean back, relax and enjoy the flight. Thank you."
With that, the attendant leaned over to Rob and his seatmate and asked, "Can I get you anything to drink?"
Rob looked at the woman, who pursed her lips and thought for a second, then said, "I'll take champagne, I think."
Rob grinned, then nodded to the crewman. "Same for me." The attendant moved on down the aisle, taking the drink orders of the personnel in the front compartment - which on a civilian craft would be called first class, but on this military shuttle was just referred to as the "brass cage".
"I've never had it before," said the woman next to him.
Rob looked at her. "You mean champagne?"
"Yes," she said. "I understand it's quite good."
"Most people think so," said Rob. "I'm Rob Walker. Nice to meet you."
The woman extended a hand, showing that she knew Earther customs. "Nice to meet you, Rob." said the woman. "I'm Phoebe."
"Hi, Phoebe. Hey, that's one of the few names that has survived from ancient Greek all the way to the present day. We still use that name on Earth!"
Phoebe smiled. "Yes, I've heard that before."
Rob was silent for a bit, but this woman was beautiful. He didn't want to let the conversation drop. So, he said, "Two weeks leave on Earth, then Strat School, maybe?"
The woman looked at him suspiciously, then nodded. "Yes, how do you know?"
Rob smiled at her. "I make the roster for Strat School. And I remember a Phoebe on the list."
Phoebe relaxed. "Yes, I am scheduled for...Strat School, you call it?...in two weeks. And you? Why do you go to Earth?"
"Well, actually, I have to take Strat School this session myself. So, I'm doing the same thing - two weeks of leave, then back to Strat School!"
Phoebe looked puzzled. "But if you make up the list for Strat School, why do you have to take it?"
"My boss," said Rob. "She said I have to take it, so I'll understand what the students go through. Then I can do a better job of administering it."
Phoebe nodded. "Oh, OK. Makes sense, I guess."
Phoebe's gaze dropped, and suddenly Rob felt something push into his left chest, right where his ribbons were mounted. He realized Phoebe had her index finger sticking directly into a light blue ribbon on his campaign ribbon mount. She was pushing hard.
"That ribbon..." she spoke, then paused, scowling, and then pushed him even harder. "...That ribbon is Aeolian. How..." Then her touch relaxed, drifted upward to rest on the topmost ribbon on his chest, a light maroon ribbon with a star mounted in the center, and she poked him again, hard enough to rock him back in his seat.
"And that one, I know for certain no Earther can wear. That is the Star of Aronte." She looked at him accusingly, her finger still poking him back in his seat.
Rob grinned. "Now, think about it. Has there ever been an action where the RDF and Aeolians were in the same fight?"
Phoebe shook her head. "I think not."
Rob kept grinning. "Think about it. RDF ship. Aeolian ship. Same action."
Phoebe's mouth made a little moue of surprise, and she removed her finger and stuck it right in Rob's face.
"Pestilence Port!" she exclaimed.
"Correct," Rob smiled at her.
"You were on the Paris!" said the woman.
"Gunnery Officer," said Rob.
Phoebe was so excited, she turned in her seat and almost came out of her seat belt.
"You took out three destroyers!"
Rob shook his head. "Nope. Two destroyers. The Nemesis took out one."
Phoebe shook her head in wonder. "You took out two destroyers in thirty seconds. That's good shooting!"
Then her finger came up and she poked the lower, blue ribbon once more. "That's the Aeolian Combat Action Ribbon..." she said.
Rob nodded.
"And that one," said Phoebe, moving her finger to the topmost ribbon, "is the Star of Aronte. That can only be awarded by the Empress herself."
Rob nodded again.
"So, you met the Empress?"
"Many times," said Rob. "She presented me with these two ribbons, but I was also the assistant military attaché at our embassy for six months. I had quite a lot of interaction with her."
"What's she like?" asked Phoebe.
Rob perused her. "Actually, she looks a lot like you."
Phoebe grinned. "What are you planning to do on Earth?"
Rob thought. "Well, I had planned to go hiking down in Patagonia. Do you know where that is?"
"No," said Phoebe.
"It's down in South America. Ever heard of it?"
"No, sorry" said Phoebe.
"What are you going to do?" asked Rob.
"Well, I wanted to see all the great cities of Earth. Or as many as I can see in two weeks. You know, Athens, Istanbul, of course. Maybe London? Paris, New York, Beijing. Like that."
Rob nodded. "You'll have fun. I think, in two weeks,
you should be able to see at least six cities, if you don't spend too much time in each one."
Phoebe looked at him strangely. "You said you spent six months in Aronte?"
"Yes," said Rob.
"Then you know that in Aeolian society, the women make the first move, right?"
Rob, puzzled, nodded.
Phoebe gently placed her hand on his leg.
"A guide would make this trip so much better," she said.
Kamilaroi - New Geneva
RimFed Parliament Building
Carla Bianchi nodded. It was a human trait, and hard to break.
The door opened, and a short, stout man entered, typical of third generation stock from a planet with 1.2 times Earth gravity. His hair was black and the scowl on his face matched. Nevertheless, Carla stood and greeted him with a smile and an outstretched hand.
"Good day, Ambassador. Please, make yourself comfortable. Would you like some tea?"
"No," growled Daryl Johnson, "I'm fine." Then, begrudgingly, "Thank you."
Carla sat behind her desk and cocked her head at him. "How can I help you today, Ambassador?"
Johnson shifted in his chair, adjusted his collar, then spoke. "The Ostracization of Hanover cannot continue. They, as all peoples, have the right to choose the government of their choice. Sierra Nevada, as the closest neighbor to Hanover, has protested this to you multiple times - yet no action has been taken. Today, I am here to provide a final warning. The people of Sierra Nevada and Hanover will not stand for this any longer. If RimFed does not remove the Ostracization of Hanover, then Sierra Nevada will withdraw from RimFed immediately. In addition, we will not be responsible for what some of our citizens may do."
Carla looked hard at Johnson. "That sounds suspiciously like a threat, Ambassador. As you know, RimFed does not respond very nicely to threats."
Johnson shook his head. "It is not a threat, Madame Secretary. It is merely fact. Sierra Nevada..."
Carla interrupted him with the slam of her hand flat on the desk. Shocked, his mouth froze in the "O" of surprise.
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