"Aye, sir," said Tovor. He turned to the Weapons Officer. "Weps - send one railgun round, right down his beam, but make damn sure you don't hit him. Tac, make ready for return fire just in case."
"Aye, sir," replied the Weapons Officer and Tactical Officer, almost in unison. After a second, the Weapons Officer confirmed, "Round away."
Almost instantly, the Tac Officer yelled, "Incoming!"
"Helm, bounce!" yelled Nolot, but it was too late. A crash shook the corvette hard enough that dust fell from the ceiling fixtures. The overhead lights went out and the battle lanterns came on. The compensators went away momentarily, then returned, fluctuating, causing Nolot to falter and almost fall. He saw on the holo that they were turning hard; he realized one of their engines was out.
"Helm, get us out of here," he yelled. He looked and saw the helmsman was already doing that. Their one remaining engine went to full power, and the helm adjusted to bring them back to a reasonably straight vector away from their attacker.
As they began to pull away, Nolot saw two things in the holo. He saw the ship behind them come out of stealth and got a good look at it. It was a black, wedge shaped ship, unlike anything he had ever seen before. And he saw it take a vector away from them and pour on the coal, accelerating rapidly away from them toward the mass limit.
"Tac! Get a vector on that guy," yelled Nolot. "He's gonna sink out!"
"Aye, sir," yelled the Tactical Officer, clinging to his console with one hand as the g-forces jerked them around erratically due to compensator instability.
Nolot watched as the black ship sank out and disappeared.
"Got it, sir!" yelled the Tac Officer.
"Good! I think we'd better let HQ know we got some company out here!"
Tolleson Base
5 March 2207
Captain Phoebe Walker stepped into the apartment, tossed her hat on the shelf by the door and hung her tunic on the hook. Inside the kitchen, Rob Walker yelled, “Dinner’s ready in five minutes, babe!”
“Thanks, hon - and don’t call me babe!” growled Phoebe, but with a grin on her face. After eighteen years of marriage, the joke never got old. She went to the dining room where Rob had already prepared the table and sat down, bringing up her personal holo in front of her face. She had spent the afternoon in conference with Admiral Hammett and his staff. Now she studied the formal orders she had received, her mind whirling.
“TOP SECRET
Distribution: CNOStaff001, CNOStaff002, Admiral Phoebe Walker ONLY
To Vice Admiral Phoebe Walker, RDF, Commanding, Task Force14.
You will form TF14 consisting of:
Battleships: Vercingetorix, MacArthur, Agrippa
Cruisers: Kuznetsov, Raeder, Nimitz, Jellicoe
Frigates: Dallas, Moscow, Birmingham, Shenzhen
Destroyer Squadrons: D02, D04, D05
Scout Squadrons: S10, S11
You will advance to the system designated as Zeta Capricorni A, taking care in all manner of operations that you are not detected by the enemy, to arrive not later than 15 May 2207.
While enroute you will prepare in all respects for a fleet action against the Bat Empire Naval Forces.
On 15 March 2207 enroute, open the date-activated sealed orders contained herein.
At a time and place as contained in the sealed orders, you will engage the Bats in the designated Fleet action.
These orders may be modified by QE burst at any time.
Do not fail in these orders at your peril.
CNO Jake Hammett, RDF, Commanding”
Phoebe sighed. At that moment, Rob came out of the kitchen, carrying a steaming dish with a savory smell. Phoebe realized she was hungry. Rob, noting her distraction, quietly prepared her plate while she stared off into space. Placing it in front of her, he took a bottle of wine and filled her glass, then returned to his chair and prepared his own dinner. Filling his own wine glass, he clinked it with a fork until he had Phoebe’s attention.
“Everything OK?” he asked.
Phoebe nodded. “Yes, everything’s fine.” She started eating, distractedly, then stopped after a few seconds.
“I have to go do a thing,” she said.
“A thing?” asked Rob.
“Yes. I’ll be gone for a while, I think.”
Rob ate slowly, contemplating. Then he asked, “Sort of a shooting thing?”
Phoebe nodded. “Sort of a shooting thing.”
“Why can’t I go with?” asked Rob.
Phoebe grinned. “Because that pig boat of yours is too damn slow.”
Rob laughed. His fleet carrier, the Enterprise, was the largest ship in the RDF, and carried 242 A40 fighters.
“That pig boat of mine could take out any three of your battleships, my dear,” he grinned.
“I’ll spot you one battleship, then I’ll blast you into the hereafter,” said Phoebe, her spirits lifted. “Because you’re just too damn slow!”
Rob turned serious for just a moment.
“But really…why can’t I go along?”
Phoebe shook her head. “Jake’s not willing to reveal the A40 to them. Not yet.”
Rob looked depressed. “I really hate to sit this one out.”
Phoebe grinned. “Be patient. We’re in the end game now. You’ll have plenty of missiles flying your way soon enough, probably be crapping your pants on the bridge right in front of your crew.”
Rob glared at her. “Not happening, babe.”
“And don’t call me babe…” They both grinned.
***
Later, in bed, Phoebe couldn’t sleep. She kept thinking about the meeting with Admiral Hammett and his staff that afternoon. Jake had flicked on a holo and showed a system labelled “Rome”. Phoebe had never heard of it.
“This system contains a planet, code name ‘Rome’, about 386 lights from us.” he said. “We’ve scouted it before and know that it contains a humanoid civilization on par with that of ancient Rome, hence the code name. By that I mean, they have metals, swords and shields, that kind of thing. Draft animals, rowed galleys, all the trappings we would associate with Rome of the 1st or 2nd century A.D.”
Phoebe had studied the holo. The system appeared to have five planets - two outer gas giants, a rocky world in the hab zone, and two smaller rocky planets in the hot zone by the star. The labels on the sidebar showed the inhabited planet very similar to Earth, with an oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere near standard pressure, gravity at .95 Earth, and temperate climate. The sidebar showed a population of 500 million inhabitants.
Jake leaned back in his chair, with a steady gaze on Phoebe. “The Bats have made this their next target for colonization. We have intelligence they’ll move out in roughly two months to destroy it.”
Phoebe was silent only for a moment. “We have to stop them,” she said quietly.
Jake grinned. “Luckily, I agree with you. We’re going to defend this planet from the Bats.”
Phoebe looked at Jake. “Of course, that violates your non-contact directive, to avoid all contact with the Bats until we’re ready to take them on.”
Jake nodded. “It does. And I’ve been very conflicted about this. But ultimately, I can’t let another 500 million sentients die at the hands of the Bats. So, we’re going to do this as a false-flag operation. You’ll ambush the Bat colonization fleet as they approach Rome; then pretend to fall back towards another location called Farpoint, about 475 lights past Nest…right here…”
Hammett pointed out a system on the holo, well Coreward from the Bat home planet of Nest, in nearly the opposite direction of Earth and the Rim.
“Now the next thing I’m going to tell you is highly classified, and our entire future depends on it remaining that way.”
Kamilaroi – Aboard the Enterprise
2 April 2207
Vitus was leaving the Enterprise’s A40 simulator when he got a comm.
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Vitus stepped up his pace and as he came to the end of the passageway, he met his father, Captain Cassian, going the same way.
“You, too?” he asked the DCAG, or Deputy Commander, Attack Group. The title had been used with slight modification since the 1940’s on Earth, so was one of the oldest in the RDF. The grizzled old Daneki had managed to hang on as an active officer of the RDF for the last twenty-two years, still hoping to get in his shots at the Bat Empire.
“Roj,” said Cassian. “So, must be something going on.”
Together they climbed the ladders to the Captain’s day cabin, where they presented themselves to the Marine at the door, who knocked and let them in.
“Gentlemen, greetings,” said Captain Rob Walker in perfect Daneki, showing off his skills. Cassian and Vitus couldn’t help but grin as they presented themselves at attention. With the use of compressed learning, almost every officer in the RDF could speak at least four languages – usually English, Chinese, Aeolian and Daneki. But the quality of the learning still varied somewhat, person to person. Captain Walker’s mastery of Daneki was near-perfect, and the quality of his Aeolian was legendary; undoubtedly helped by his marriage to Admiral Phoebe Walker, his Aeolian wife.
Gesturing to the conference table in the chart room, Captain Walker, CO of the RDF Enterprise, the largest attack carrier in the fleet, said, “At ease, guys, let’s sit and talk. We have a mission order.”
Vitus noted that several other officers were already sitting at the conference table, including the CAG, Captain Wayne; the Exec, Captain Davis; and the Tac, Commander Briggs; as well as several other department heads from Captain Walker’s staff. Quickly Vitus lowered himself into the junior chair, since as the Wing Intelligence Officer, he was the lowest ranking officer present. Captain Walker sat at the head of the table and with a mental command to his bead, flicked on a holo. It showed the Sol system. Marked on the holo was a vector leaving Earth, headed directly for the Bat home world of Nest.
“We have a runner,” said Captain Walker. “You remember that bastard James Cobb?”
Everyone around the table nodded.
“He’s been sitting on his ass on Earth for the last eighteen years, hiding behind the skirts of the North American Alliance. Well, either he got tired of waiting, or the NAA kicked him out, not sure which. But he departed Earth yesterday on a direct vector to Nest with the Taizong and his remaining warships. Intel says he’s going to sell us out in return for becoming viceroy of the remaining RimFed planets, after helping the Bats destroy Earth.”
“Crap,” escaped Vitus before he could stop himself. Walker laughed.
“Exactly. Crap. That’s what their plan is, and we’re not going to let it happen. We have orders to intercept him and make sure that doesn’t happen. You’ve got twelve hours to prep your people, get everything loaded and be ready to go. Can do?”
At the other end of the table, Vitus saw Captain Davis form an evil grin. “Can do, Skipper.”
“Hot damn!” said Captain Wayne, echoed by the other officers present. “Bout damn time!”
Cassian interrupted, “But I thought Admiral Hammett said no A40s in combat until we’re ready to hit the Bats.”
Walker nodded. “That is true. And he left us out of a mission just a few weeks ago for that very reason. And I can’t tell you for sure that we will use them in this mission, either. But, in his call to me this morning, Admiral Hammett released us to use the A40s for this mission if we absolutely must, and the reason is simple – if Cobb gets through, the A40s will not matter. Cobb will spill his guts to the Bats about the A40s and everything else, and they’ll come for us with everything they have. We must stop him at all costs. So, Jake – Admiral Hammett – released us to use them – but, only as a last resort. Only as a Plan B. There are some other irons in the fire to stop Cobb, which I can’t discuss with you yet. So, we may not use the A40s at all, or we may throw everything we have at Cobb. I wish I could tell you for certain one way or the other, but I can’t.”
Vitus nearly danced in his chair with excitement. The culmination of twenty years of R&D, applied engineering, flight testing, tactical training, and weapons development had gone into the A40 fighter. It was a work of art – and never used in combat, lest the Bats find out about it too early. But now…he grinned from ear to ear.
Walker leaned forward. “Captain Davis, make this ship ready in all respects for flight, with a scheduled departure for 2200 hours tonight, twelve hours from now, fully loaded for combat, all weapons loadouts checked and double checked, all fighters flight-ready, with supplies and stores for 180 days.”
Davis nodded, his comm bead already flashing as he mentally issued orders.
Walker spoke again. “I need not say, this is classified beyond Top Secret, we cannot breathe a word of our mission or destination to anyone. Our official cover story will be that we are conducting an emergency sortie drill. Make sure that is the story you tell anyone who asks.”
Everyone nodded.
“Finally,” Walker continued, “as much as I hate to do this to you, you are forbidden to tell any of your loved ones about this. As far as they are concerned, this is just another drill and you’ll be back in a day or so. After we leave, Admiral Hammett will get the word to them that we’ve been re-directed on another mission of a few weeks’ duration. At some point, a few more weeks down the road, they’ll be told the mission was extended. I’m sorry, but you must realize that one QE burst to Cobb that we’re on his tail could mean disaster. And we all know there are spies on this base from the Saints, from the North Americans, from anyone who wishes to do us harm. We know who most of them are and feed them just the information we want. But there could always be one we don’t know about. So - keep that in mind and follow the plan.”
All nodded again. Vitus realized he would not be able to tell Eva what was happening. He thought about trying to get off the ship to see her, but quickly decided that would just make things worse. He would comm her the cover story and let the Navy take it from there. The meeting broke up and Vitus headed back to the simulator. He had a new sim to work on now.
Nest - Bat Home Planet
5 April 2207
Privend looked around the room. His team looked back at him. He raised his glass, and everyone raised theirs in turn. "To the beginning of the end," he toasted. They clinked the glasses together and drank.
Draining his glass, he placed it back on the table.
"Ravita - how are you doing with the Admiral?"
"He's eating out of my hand," replied a pretty female. "I can get him to do anything within reason - and some things that are not."
A titter of squeaks rang around the room, too high-pitched for human ears. Privend bared his fangs in a smile. "Excellent. Just stay on his good side, give him what he wants, but don't let him get bored."
Ravita's own fangs came out in humor. "He won't get bored."
Privend turned to the next member of his team. Praxend was his second in command. "How are you doing with the remote sensing team?"
"It's a battle to stay ahead of them," Praxend replied. "The early twentieth century transmissions from Earth are only about fifty lights beyond the Bat Scout Station at Kaus Media now. All it would take is one of their scout ships taking the wrong vector and they'd pick up Earth EMF. So... it’s definitely time. I'll put the Skyhook signals into the mix starting tonight. They'll be very faint at first and buried in noise. I'll give them a few days to detect them. If they don't, then I'll bring up the gain just a touch. Eventually they'll detect them. And when they do...well, I think all hell will break loose."
"Excellent," said Privend. "I'll send a QE to RDF HQ again warning them about the Scout Station at Kaus Media. I've told them before but seems like now they really need to do something about it."
Privend paused for a moment, in thought.
"When they detect the Skyhook signals, won't they spend a considerable amount of time checking their gear –
repeater buoy, antennae and such - to make sure it's a valid external signal?"
Praxend grinned. "Yes, they will. And it will show valid. They won’t find anything wrong with it."
"Good," said Privend. "Good." He gazed around the room. "All of you are doing well. I'm proud of this team, and proud of what you've done so far. But the best is in front of us now. We must sell them on Skyhook now. And we will."
***
Commander Privend stood before the room, pointer in hand, and held up his hand. As the hubbub died down, he commanded his AI silently, and the holotank at the front of the room flicked on. Privend pointed to the icon of a destroyer, labeled Waspeater. Behind it, very faint, could be seen the shadow of another ship, shimmering in the holo with some kind of stealth technology.
Chief of Naval Operations Makvil and his staff sat along both sides of the conference table. CNO Makvil was a tall, gray Bat, one of the oldest that Privend had ever known. Bats did not live as long as humans, only about 60 years on average. Makvil had to be pushing 80, though. Yet, Privend knew him to be as sharp mentally as any young staffer. Nobody put anything past the CNO.
Privend spoke softly but clearly, pointing to the features in the holo as he recounted the events of a few days prior.
"As you have undoubtedly heard, during recent scouting operations at Pi Sag A, one of our destroyers detected a stealthed ship following behind as it came in-system. As you know from earlier reports, this is the second instance of an unknown ship following one of our scouts. A few weeks ago, another of our corvettes on routine patrol at Zeta Cap A was also followed by such a ship and was fired upon and damaged.”
“In this second case, when the Waspeater realized it was being followed, and knowing what happened to the corvette, they did a Crazy Ivan and got a good read on the ship behind them. However, before they could take any action, the ship vectored away at high speed."
In the holo, the destroyer made a sudden 180-degree turn, coming around quickly to face the shadow of the other ship. The holo showed the unknown ship coming out of stealth, and for an instant, there was a clear picture of a black, wedge-shaped ship, frigate sized, turning to a new heading and accelerating away.
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