"Yes. We certainly don't need another Raider-like organization," Admiral Burke said.
"I'm surprised the Raiders have allowed the small crime organizations in Region Three to flourish," Admiral Woo said.
"That might be owed to the former Uthlaro military dominance in Region Three," Admiral Plimley said. "They probably kept the Raiders in check."
"But that military policing is gone now," Admiral Yuthkotl said.
"Yes," Jenetta said. "And it's no doubt left a tremendous power void that will naturally be filled in some manner. If Space Command can't successfully pick up the reins, some other organization will. The situation is one that, in physics, we refer to as 'horror vacui.' A more common articulation is 'nature abhors a vacuum.'"
"Yes," Admiral Plimley said. "A truism originally postulated by Aristotle, I believe."
"So are we looking for Denubbewa fleets or crime lords?" Admiral Burke asked.
"The Denubbewa— always," Jenetta said. "But let's not ignore the criminal element. We must try to keep the criminal groups from uniting— if they haven't already. And once we get the Denubbewa situation cleared, we can start putting pressure on the crime groups to pare down their illegal activities."
"I wonder if the Raiders will try— or are trying already— to bring the independents into their organization," Admiral Plimley said.
"I have a couple of top SCI teams and a number of independent agents now operating undercover in Region Three," Admiral Bradlee said. "It takes time for them to work their way into positions of trust, but they'll get there. And when they do they'll begin providing the invaluable intel we require to make decisions on how to proceed."
"While we're trying to gather intel about the independents, perhaps we should take a closer look at the Raiders," Admiral Bradlee said.
"Yes," Jenetta said. As the mess waiters approached the table with food and beverages, Jenetta smiled and said, "I make a motion that we suspend further work discussion until we convene in executive session following our break."
"I second the motion," Admiral Woo said. Punctuating his statement with a smile, he added, "I missed breakfast."
"Any objections?" Jenetta said. When no one objected, she smiled and said, "I guess the motion carries."
~
Once the admirals, their aides, and the clerks had taken their seats in the Hall, Jenetta called the executive session to order.
"Before we resume the conversation we began in the dining room, I want to share a few thoughts. As you can certainly appreciate, there were a few months during my pregnancy where my mobility was considerably— restricted. As a result, I spent a lot of time lazing about and mulling over the problems I faced on Obotymot, as well as the problems being faced here in Regions Two and Three. I developed one idea in particular I wanted to present for consideration if I decided to return to Space Command.
"I'm sure you're all familiar with the details of the numerous covert missions conducted in Clidepp space by Lieutenant Sydnee Marcola and her crew. As you know, during her first mission she and her crew experienced a series of calamitous issues stemming from a design flaw with the temporal envelope chamber. The novel approach her people took in their effort to repair damage to the CPS-14 temporal generator resulted in the significant performance enhancement we now enjoy. That modification, and a few other necessary improvements, resulted in the small tug being re-designated as a CPS-15. Additionally, all other new vessels include that enhancement, and all existing vessels are being retrofitted.
"I doubt anyone would argue that the Scout-Destroyer was a wonderful addition to the fleet. The smaller crew requirement gives us the ability to cover substantially more territory in less time than we could with full-sized warships. The development of the CPS-15 added another step forward in downsizing the crew size of ships with considerable warship capabilities. We were able to replace one Scout-Destroyer in every pair of SDs tasked to seek out and destroy Denubbewa motherships. Since a Scout-Destroyer has a crew complement of one hundred eighty-five and a CPS-15, when fully staffed, has a crew of just twenty-five, every attack pair requires one-hundred sixty fewer crewmembers than two Scout-Destroyers require. The savings in personnel allows us to have far better coverage as we search space for Denubbewa vessels and motherships. At this time, I'd like to propose that we again alter our attack-pair configuration to consist of just two CPS-16s. The bombs currently being ejected from an SD can just as easily be dropped from special habitat containers attached to the keel of a CPS-16, so each new attack pair will result in another savings of one hundred sixty fewer crewmembers. What does everyone think?"
The room was silent for a few seconds as the other admirals thought about the suggestion. The silence was broken when Admiral Burke said, "The idea has merit. As we well know, our biggest problem out here has been insufficient staffing and equipment levels. We simply don't have enough officers, enlisted, and ships to cover the vast areas of space in the G.A. given the expanded borders, even with the new speed enhancement."
"You said CPS-16, Jen," Admiral Plimley said. "The highest designation right now is CPS-15. Are you also proposing a ship upgrade or redesign?"
"Yes. The reports I've read about the missions into Clidepp space indicate that the quarters aboard a CPS-15 are far too small for extended voyages. The captain's combined office and sleeping quarters are smaller than the quarters assigned to an ensign aboard a destroyer."
"That's because the CPS-14 was originally intended for minor tasks of very short duration and distance."
"Exactly. But now we're talking about permanent shipboard assignments and long-duration missions. Aside from the captain, no crewmember aboard a CPS-15 has private quarters. Officers and enlisted all sleep in a single cabin area. They can only have complete privacy when they lower the special panel on their bunks. I'm proposing that the ship be elongated sufficiently to provide private quarters for the officers and petty officers, and two-person cabins if the new configuration includes enlisted below the rank of petty officer. An expanded mess area must also be provided. The captain should continue to have an office near the bridge— one that allows him or her to have private meetings with up to six other individuals— and a separate sleeping quarters area at least consistent with the space allocated to lieutenants aboard a destroyer."
"I thought the redesigned habitat containers had addressed most of those problems," Admiral Woo said.
"They've made things more bearable, but they were still only intended to alleviate issues on voyages of fairly short duration with the crew returning to a destroyer when the mission was complete. I'm suggesting permanent shipboard postings aboard CPS-16s, as have become routine with Scout Destroyers, and that all crew quarters and the crew mess hall be part of the ship rather than a level in a habitat container. The smaller ships, the CPS-14s and CPS-15s, will continue to be used for voyages and tasks of relatively short duration. Also, all ships must be able to transport up to thirty-two containers at any time, without modifications."
"Thirty-two?" Admiral Bradley echoed. "I thought the CPS-14 and 15 models were only designed to accommodate eight at a time. Why do we need a fourfold increase?"
"The CPS-14 was actually designed to accommodate twenty-four at the very beginning," Admiral Plimley said, "because one of the original intended roles of the CPS-14 was to deliver food and supplies to remote locations when a Quartermaster vessel wasn't readily available. However, the original build specification called for just one computer interface unit to be installed prior to delivery. That allows the monitoring of only eight containers. There were two additional but vacant console areas where additional computer interface units could be added, and the system could be upgraded and tested by any decent engineer to add a new interface unit within a week's time if additional interface units were needed. The computer interface units are actually included in the spare parts inventory at the time the builder turns the ship over to Space Command. During early production of the CPS-14, an additional interface unit was added,
allowing an additional eight habitat containers on those ships."
"Why do the ships need so many interface units?" Admiral Hillaire asked.
"The container system itself is very similar to that of freighters in that you can keep adding just as many containers as you wish," Admiral Plimley said. "A freighter's only restriction is the ten-kilometer length limit imposed by the G.A. for travel safety. But a freighter's container-monitoring system is very unsophisticated. It's only needed to monitor temperature and pressure in the containers so the bridge will be alerted if someone opens a top hatch on the container or the container's basic environment is affected, either internally as by fire or from external damage to the container. The control system in CPS ships is a thousand times more complex because the habitat containers become an integral component of the ship once attached. Some containers are used for housing so the engineers must have a system that constantly monitors and controls the complex environmental systems on each deck of every container. Other containers house the ship's defensive and offensive weapons systems and are tied directly to the tactical station on the bridge. Still others are used to control and support flight operations, food storage and preparation, etc., etc."
"I see," Admiral Bradley said. "That all makes perfect sense."
"I have a question, Jen," Admiral Ahmed said. "If we make the modifications you're suggesting, will the new CPS fit inside the bay on a destroyer?"
"Good question, Raihana," Jenetta said. "At this time, I'm assuming the answer would be no. I've envisioned the final ship to appear as if someone cut a CPS-15 in half and stuck a large new section in the middle that would better accommodate the crew on their missions. The beam and diameter of the ship would remain the same, but the length would be greatly enhanced. Doing it this way would result in the least redesign work. The bridge and engineering sections of the CPS-15 are fine. We can use the bow and stern sections from the existing design. We just have to design a new three-deck mid-section. As I envision it, the new space on the top deck would contain all of the officer's quarters. One deck down, the new space would be used for the enlisted quarters and the new mess hall. The third deck would add a number of lockers for storage or other purposes. To accommodate the new design in a destroyer, the temporary airlock inside our newer destroyers would have to be greatly extended, assuming the basic diameter of the new CPS remains consistent. But the CPS-16 is not intended as a mere adjunct to the larger warships. The CPS-15s and Scout-Destroyers can continue to fill that role. The CPS-16 will be used for paired patrol duties until the Denubbewa are eradicated from G.A. space and then possibly as independent patrol ships in the future, which can also aid in search and rescue operations."
"Then you're suggesting we stop building large warships such as battleships?" Admiral Plimley asked.
"Not at all. We've already reduced the construction schedule of battleships and cruisers substantially over past decades. I believe the current production level is adequate. There's still a need for such vessels, albeit in a reduced role from what was once envisioned, and we'll need replacement ships as the current ships reach the end of their maximum useful life. Right now we need quantity over size. If Roger and his people are correct in their assessment of the situation, we must get as many ships as we can build and staff out there searching for and destroying Denubbewa vessels. Not just motherships, but Denubbewa warships as well."
Jen took a deep breath and asked, "Roger, how many reports of Denubbewa motherships have been included in those sightings you mentioned?"
"None."
"None? No motherships? Not a single one?"
"From the descriptions, we believe all sightings have been standard Denubbewa warship configurations."
"That doesn't make sense. With so many sightings, someone must have sighted a mothership."
"There's no way a Denubbewa mothership can possibly be confused with a warship. It would be like comparing a minnow to a whale on Earth. The display in a DeTect system would light up like an evening sporting event in a stadium. So I have to assume the reports are accurate. We distributed descriptions and images of the two different configurations to all freight companies and independents. Every report states the sighted vessel was a warship."
"Then I have to wonder where their motherships are," Jenetta said.
"Perhaps the motherships are in incredibly distant and remote locations," Admiral Hillaire said, "and the warships have been ordered not to make contact unless absolutely necessary to avoid being followed to the motherships."
"Perhaps," Jenetta said, nodding her head in thoughtful agreement.
"Maybe the Denubbewa have changed tactics since learning that we can destroy their motherships so easily," Admiral Yuthkotl said. "Perhaps they've weaned themselves off motherships and now operate as totally independent vessels."
"Possible, but unlikely," Jenetta said. "The motherships have to be their resupply and maintenance centers. Without them, they'd be forced to establish bases on planets. But given their seemingly mobile nature, it's hard to imagine them establishing fixed bases."
"The need to hide their presence from us may be outweighing their need for complete mobility," Admiral Bradley said.
There was silence around the table for a couple of minutes as everyone thought about the problem.
Jenetta broke the silence with, "I've just had a thought. What if the Denubbewa have taken a page from the Raider handbook? What if they've built bases inside asteroids?"
"Yes," Admiral Bradley said, nodding. "That's possible. Or what if they've simply begun disguising their bases as asteroids by collecting smaller asteroids and attaching them to their hulls so they appear as large chondrite asteroids?"
"Also a possibility," Jenetta agreed. "When the Raiders began hollowing out asteroids for use as hidden bases in space, we made a great effort to locate bases we knew existed. We had little luck finding them, but we were able to commandeer the two we did locate and adapt them for use as Space Command bases."
"We can't possibly search all of Region Three looking for hidden bases inside asteroids," Admiral Plimley said. "When they see we're searching in the vicinity, they'll simply close the entrance and go silent until we're gone. We don't have the resources or the time to minutely examine every asteroid looking for signs it might contain a hidden base."
"That won't be necessary," Jenetta said. "We've become far better equipped to search for disguised asteroid bases than we ever were before."
"I don't understand," Admiral Burke said. "How are we better equipped now than we were a decade or two ago? We still have to evaluate the composition of the asteroid and determine if it could house a base, then locate the entrance opening. And there are hundreds of thousands of enormous asteroids in G.A. space."
"Forget the old search-and-identify tactics," Jenetta said. "All we need do is have ships capable of double-envelope travel fly through every asteroid as they do with motherships. Instead of dropping bombs, we take a few images. In a fraction of a second we'll know if an asteroid is hollow and there's a hidden base inside or if the asteroid is really a disguised Denubbewa mothership."
"Brilliant!" Admiral Hillaire said. "Absolutely brilliant. Why haven't we thought of that before?"
"I suppose it's as the old Latin proverb says, 'Mater artium necessitas'," Jenetta said. "In Amer that sort of equates to the popular saying, 'Necessity is the mother of invention.' When we were searching for the Raider bases, we didn't have double-envelope capability. Once we developed the capability, we were focused on finding and stopping the Denubbewa and only used the new capability for planting bombs in the motherships. But now we can also use it to identify disguised Denubbewa bases, if that's what they're doing. And we can do it at Marc-One speeds."
* * *
Chapter Three
~ March 11th, 2290 ~
Jenetta climbed into the rear area of the oh-gee limousine waiting on the roof of the Admiralty Building and plopped wearily into a plush chair. She was followed immediately by Cayla
and Tayna, each of whom selected a seat according to their personal preference from among the variety of chairs and small couches in the large sitting area. The limo provided the ultimate in comfort for the weary. Since oh-gee vehicles didn't have to compete with other ground vehicles on narrow highway lanes, the limos used by G.A. officials on Quesann more closely resembled small floating cabins than the automotive limos used in previous centuries on earth.
Protocol dictated that security vehicles accompany any vehicle in which the Admiral of the Fleet was a passenger wherever he or she traveled on the planet, despite the fact that the assigned Dakinium-sheathed limo was very nearly impregnable. So Jenetta's ride home more closely resembled a parade than a simple commute.
Jenetta's first day at the Admiralty Hall had been long and exhausting, and she looked forward to getting home and possibly relaxing a little. Unfortunately, she had hours of reading ahead of her, or at least hours of listening as the small viewpad she carried read aloud to her.
The home assigned to Jenetta on Quesann was the one she'd occupied as Military Governor of Regions Two and Three. The enormous mansion, built to appear exactly like her family home on Obotymot— although it had one less floor— had been vacant since she left for extended leave. Admiral of the Fleet Moore had considered it too ostentatious for him because his family was still in Region One. He had chosen a more modest six-bedroom home on Admiral's Row for his quarters while on Quesann.
When moving to her family home and then returning to Quesann, it seemed like she'd never really left home at all. Admiral Holt, who had taken command of the Second Fleet while she was on extended leave, had remained at the beautiful home on Admiral's Row built for him when he'd first arrived on the planet to become Jenetta's second in command. There had been little occasion for Admiral Holt to entertain visiting dignitaries since the G.A. Senate had naturally taken full responsibility for the governance of Regions Two and Three when Jenetta left on extended leave. The task had been theirs all along, but their remoteness while on Earth meant that Jenetta was best suited to handle that role from inside Region Two. Her promotion to Admiral of the Fleet meant that her full attention would now be required for that military role.
Changing of the Guard (A Galaxy Unknown - Book 11) Page 3