by Krystyn Dean
“Of course,” I replied.
Qobrun made the call from my ready room. When contact was made Qobrun said, “This is Qobrun. I am aboard the SOL/FED Navy ship Ronald Reagan. I must speak to Cardalal, it is urgent.” Moments later the channel reopened. “Qobrun, this is Cardalal.” Qobrun replied, “Cardalal, I am now certain that the Jian are behind the attempted destabilization of the Federation.”
Cardalal replied, “It is as we feared. How do you suggest we proceed?”
Qobrun said, “You need to contact the Krayari Council of Elders. You must convince them to join the Federation in this battle. We need to throw our full support behind the Federation and their SOL/FED Navy. That should include a request for the Krayari to join the Federation and the sharing of all information that will add to the efforts to stabilize the Galaxy.
“Cardalal, there is an Eldirelian fleet forming to attack Earth. It is urgent we add anything we can to defeat this attack. I am going to stay aboard the Ronald Reagan. I am now a full member of the SOL/FED Navy under the command of Admiral Anderson. I have felt for some time that humans may be the only hope to save the Federation. I am confirming now, that Earth may be the only hope to retain sanity in the Galaxy. It is time we took a stand. That stand will begin with me.”
Cardalal replied, “Good fortune Qobrun, I will present all of the information we have gathered to the Council. I am sure they will agree that it is time for us to finally become true members of the Galactic civilization. It is long past due. I will update our intelligence information and share it with the Federation.”
Qobrun said, “Cardalal, any information you have should not be sent to the Federation directly. The Jian representative could intercept it. I suggest you send it to Admiral Millers headquarters on Titan Station.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
TITAN BASE
Six days later we dropped out of FTL five light minutes from Titan. Six hours later we arrived at the Titan orbital dockyard. All ships requiring repair were directed to repair facilities. Those ships that required little or no repair were docked near the orbital hub. Benji had a message from Rick Hill. The Dock Master asked that I meet him in his office.
After the Reagan was secured I invited Fritz and Qobrun to accompany me to Ricks office. We transported to Titan Hub. The base had once again grown and was a literal madhouse. I asked Benji to direct us to Ricks office. As soon as Rick saw us he said, “Have a seat gentlemen.” “Admiral, the last time you were here I told you the Ultron class of ships were eight to twelve months away. We have been fortunate that there were many skilled craftsmen on Apsis Prime who were eager to use their skills in the employee of the SF Navy. The Egolari also brought a number of their technicians to aid in our building efforts. As a result, we are ahead of schedule.”
“The command ship Excelsior. Two battleships; the Tallahassee and the Kiev. Three destroyers; the Constellation, the Prince of Wales and the Pulsar will come off the ways in three weeks. You had already given us a list of Captains and their crews you would like to move to the new ships. The replacement crews for their red and blue flag ships have been trained and are ready.” I turned to Fritz and said, “Fritz, I would like for you to captain my flag ship the Excelsior. You are more than entitled to your own command. If you would rather have your own command you may have one of the battleships.”
Fritz said, “it would be my honor to continue as your flag captain, Admiral.”
“Thanks Fritz, one less worry for me. I want you to work with Mary Carpenter Irons. I am moving Mary Irons and her crew over to the Reagan. As soon as the red fleet is provisioned I want to put them in Earth orbit. Prepare a defensive plan for my approval. Keep in mind that we will be taking a large part of the red fleet with us to look for the Eldirelian fleet.”
“I will be making Captain and crew assignments over the next couple of days. I want you to act as commander of the red fleet until such time as you feel they are OK on their own. When you are ready, let me know and we will assign another, permanent commander.” “I will expect your recommendations for that post.”
“Qobrun, get with Colonel Thames Rothschild, he heads up the SOL/FED Intelligence Section. Share all the information you have available and brief him on the Krayari equivalent of our Intelligence Section. Tell him how and who he should contact.” “I will contact you both sometime tomorrow to plan how we are going to coordinate the crew transfers.”
After Qobrun and Fritz had left I said, “Rick, Admiral Miller told me that we would be moving a lot of our ship building and research to Apsis Prime. The consensus is that some of the Earth governments are becoming unstable. Admiral Miller and the SOL/FED council believe that the smart move is to decentralize our operations. With a second site, we will not have all our eggs in one basket.”
Rick replied, “He told me the same thing. There is also a problem with personnel. It is getting more and more difficult to recruit workers from Earth. The availability of people has dwindled. Apsis Prime can provide plenty of people who need jobs.”
I asked Rick, “How do you feel about this move?” Rick replied, “The protection of the Galaxy can’t afford to be a hostage to just one system. We need to have the flexibility of multiple bases of operations. It is the smart move.”
A little later I queried Captains Morin McCreary, Maria Twain, Liam Oxford, Amber Cordev, and Alex Kanagawa to advise them of their new ship assignments. I told them to get their crews off their existing ships and into the training simulators. The crews would be housed in Titan crew quarters for a few days until they could start boarding their new ships. It was going to be a tight squeeze, but the crews replacing them on their old ships would be leaving for their new ship assignments and hopefully it would not be a complete FUBAR.
I Called Mary Carpenter Irons. When Captain Irons answered, I said, “Captain Irons, I am moving you and your crew to the Reagan. That will be your new command. I have also transferred Paul to command of all Sol/Fed fighter/bomber squadrons.” “I realize you would like to have command of one of the new Ultron class ships, but I need my best people here to defend Earth. I consider you and Paul the best I have. The fighter/bomber command is a new one. One we need a solidify our Solar System defense. I think you both can work to provide that. This is a temporary assignment. You will be joining the Black fleet with a new Ultron class ship in time, but this is where I need you right now.”
Just as I knew she would Captain Irons stepped up. Her reply was, “Admiral, where ever you need me that’s where I will be.” I said, “Thanks Mary. I knew I could rely on you.”
It had been a long day. I called Rick and asked if I could interest him in a drink at Fred’s Grillenium Falcon Bar and Grill. He said he would meet me there.
As I walked into Fred’s, I was met by Fred’s aide, Pat Smith. Pat had been Fred’s aide for several years. Fred had been a paratrooper back in the day and had suffered a bad jump. Night jumps were hairy enough, but add in un-expected gusty winds and you have a recipe for disaster. Fred had severely damaged his right leg and it had never healed properly. Today with the current medical technology, that would never have happened. Now the best they can do is try to improve on what he has. Being able to come out to Titan and live in the lower gravity has been a big help for Fred, but it is still difficult for him to get around. Pat said, “John, Fred is coming to have a drink with you and Rick. He won’t stay long, but he missed seeing you the last time you were here.”
“That’s great Pat, I haven’t seen Fred since he opened the place. It will be good to say hi.”
Rick and I took a booth. The nice thing about Fred’s Grillenium Falcon Bar and Grill is the fact that you can sit down and have a conversation. It is a family friendly place with excellent food and personable wait staff.
Shortly after we sat down, Fred came by and sat down. He said, “Captain John, how nice to see you. What do you think of the place?” I replied, “Congratulations Fred, you hit the ball out of the park. What a gre
at facility.” Fred said, “Thanks John. I’m glad you like it. I can’t stay,” said Fred. “I have a doctor’s appointment. There are some new therapies the Docs want to try. “It’s good to see you again John. Don’t be a stranger.” With that Pat and Fred headed out. Rick said, “it’s good to see Fred so positive. Coming out here was just what he needed.” I replied, “keep an eye on him Rick, if there is anything I can do, let me know.”
“Now tell me about the Ultron class of ships.”
“John,” said Rick, “these ships are amazing. Our technicians have been able to increase the FTL speed. You’ll spend about forty percent less time in FTL now than with the old ships. They are also faster at sub light speeds. The original Egolari ships were good for a max of .10 C or about 30,000 kps. The Ultron ships are good up to .25 C or 75,000 kps. The combat jump precision is much better and we have added a sensor that will offset the jump exit point if there is an chance an object of some kind might be in the way. You can jump closer and still not have to worry about jumping in to something.”
“The new shields are fifty percent more effective and weapons are upgraded and are at least fifty percent more effective. Your command ship will have as much firepower as two carriers, but with weapons that are fifty percent more powerful. The Ultron Command ship has the capability to take on and defeat two Eldirelian command ships on its own.”
“The battleships are the same size as the old Egolari hulled carriers. Although the Battleships are the same size as the carriers, they pack at least fifty percent more firepower and the shields are much better.”
“We built one Ultron carrier, but she will be the last of her class. It was decided to discontinue carriers as such because each command ship will have six squadrons of fighters and two squadrons of bombers. The battleships will have three squadrons of fighters and one squadron of bombers.”
Rick went on to say, “we are not building carriers; however, each fleet will have one Ultron class freighter that is converted to a base carrier. That freighter has defensive shields and defensive weapons but no offensive armaments. Its sole purpose is to transport fighter and bomber squadrons. The base carriers have 18 squadrons of fighters and ten squadrons of bombers. They also have full repair facilities and the spares to keep fighters and bombers flying in the heaviest of battles. You will have effectively tripled your fighter/bomber capability.” “There are some other things you need to know, but Admiral Miller will wants to fill you in on those.” I said, “thanks Rick.” “I have some more organizing to do and then I intend to get in to the simulators myself, and get up to speed.”
Rick and I talked a little while longer, then he needed to get back to his office. I asked Benji where Jenson had put me up. It turned out that I had a suite at the Titan Hilton. I’m not sure I need a suite, but it is only for a few days. Next I sent a message to all the Captains I had assigned/reassigned except the new black fleet captains. Benji had secured a meeting room on the Titan hub. I set the meeting for ten hundred tomorrow morning.
AT ten hundred the next morning I stepped in to the meeting room. Lieutenant Jenson, said “Attention on Deck”. I said ”at ease, take your seats please”.
I asked, “have all captains joined their commands, and do you all have a full crew”?
Each Captain said they he had a full crew, except Mary Carpenter. She didn’t have her marines and her chief engineer had fallen ill and was in hospital. I queried Marine Colonel Daly. He replied that the marines would be on board by twelve hundred hours. I told Mary Irons her marines were on their way and that I would find her an engineer before departure.
I began by saying, “What you are going to be doing over the next few weeks is a combination of drills to get your crews up to speed, and working to set up a defensive shield around Earth”. “Captain Fritz Baker will be using the Reagan as his base of operations; he will be in temporary command of what we are calling the Earth Defense Fleet”.
“Not all of you will be staying in the EDF. When the Black fleet launches in about three weeks, we will be bringing elements of the Red fleet along with the Blue fleet into our taskforce. Captain Baker will be working with all of you to choose the ships and tactics that will best defend Earth”.
“I have asked you Captains to attend this meeting because each of you has been assigned a new ship”. “I have full confidence in each of you, but if any of you feel that you are not best suited for the assignment, leave me a message on my neural implant and I will schedule an individual meeting so we can talk. There will be no repercussions should you elect not to accept the assignment. I realize this is not the normal method of assignment, but time is short and I simply don’t have the time to sit with each of you individually”.
“There is credible information that the Eldirelians intend to attack Earth. Obviously, if the threat is true the ideal outcome would be that we intercept the enemy fleet before it reaches the solar system. Just as obviously, there is no way to guarantee we will be able to find and intercept the enemy so that is where most of you come in.”
“Coordinate with Captain Baker. You will be working with him to come up with a viable defensive plan.”
“All of This is top secret information and may not be shared with anyone, including your crews. Once we are in open space then you may brief them as you feel is appropriate.”
“All leaves have been canceled and all personnel currently on leave have been recalled”.
“Are there any questions?” There were none. The Captains were anxious to get back to their commands. They were all good people and I knew they could handle the job.
A week later Fritz sat down with me and gave me the results of the planning. EDF would keep all of the Carriers except the single new Ultron carrier.
The makeup of the EDF fleet would consist of: Three carriers, Three Cruisers, Six Destroyers and six Corvettes with Rear Admiral Dylan Antonakos in command. In addition, the experimental division had put together some new stationary gun platforms that packed a lot of firepower. The gun platforms mounted our heaviest LPP cannons and were remote controlled. Not being maneuverable they had to be expendable, but our people are not. The gun platforms would be used only as needed. The second they fired they were an automatic target. The gun platforms carried shields, but they wouldn’t hold up under sustained heavy laser bombardment and KEW (kinetic energy weapons) weapons could take them out as well.
At some time in the future there would be huge weapons platforms that could take a beating and still come out of top, but they were still some years away. The plan was to put one carrier in orbit on the planetary plane every one hundred and twenty degrees. The cruisers would be in orbit half way between the carriers and there would be two Destroyers with every cruiser. The Corvettes would be interspersed between the cruisers and the carriers. Each Carrier would have three flights of fighters and two flights of bombers flying “top cover”. The seven fighter squadrons and 4 fighter/bomber squadrons on each carrier would be supplemented by additional squadrons based on Earth. With our nearly instant FTL communications system the Black fleet could be summoned back to Earth in hours if needed.
Three weeks later we were ready. There had been some updated intelligence that the Eldirelian fleet could be forming in the third Galactic quadrant far out of the Sagittarius Arm. Considering the distance and the area, it might as well have said “somewhere in the Milky Way Galaxy”. I intended to send some of my new Corvettes to scout the Psi Unica System. They would operate in stealth. The Eldirelian home planet is Grenushania in the Psi Unica System. I believe that ships leaving Grenushania might give us some idea of the Eldirelian fleet location.
Black fleet consisted of the six current Ultron class ships plus elements of the Red and Blue fleets for a total of thirty combat vessels with two factory ships, two troop ships and four supply ships.
In Titan base orbit
“Admiral, Titan control. Sensors report three ships coming out of FTL at ten million kilometers. ETA Tita
n eleven hours. We believe the ships to be Eldirelian in design, however they are of a class we have not seen before.” I replied. “What ships are on perimeter patrol?” “Admiral, the destroyers Monserate, Connecticut and Cumbria are in that sector.” “Titan, direct all three destroyers to intercept the inbound ships, but remain in stealth.”
“Lieutenant Allan, have the captains of the Monserate the Connecticut and the Cumbria contact me on the FTL Comm.” “Aye Sir.” Just seconds later, “Admiral I have Captains Tamura, Delavega, and Patton on the FTL sir.” I think to myself, this Allan kid is on the ball, he was anticipating what I would ask him to do.
I said “Captain Patton, you are senior so I want you to take the lead. Intercept these three ships in stealth. Take up an offensive position on them. When you are in position, drop stealth and ask them to identify themselves. I want your shields up weapons hot and everyone at battle stations.” “They are strangers and we have a right to know who the hell they are. If you feel they have hostile intent, do not hesitate to disable them. We are at war and this station is of strategic importance.” “Aye Admiral” replied Captain Patton.
The waiting was pretty intense, even three ships could pose a threat to Titan Station in certain circumstances. I called Titan control. “Titan, I want Titan station to go to General quarters. Make sure all weapon platforms are ready and advise all perimeter patrols to go to battle stations.”
About twenty minutes later, Captain Patton called me on the FTL Comm. “Admiral Anderson sir, the ships have minimal armament. The people aboard claim to be diplomatic representatives from Grenushania. They wish to talk about ending the war. Apparently they represent factions that do not agree with the military people who are in power.” I asked, “How large a group do they have and why did it take three ships for a diplomatic party?” Captain Patton replied, “Admiral I asked that very question and their answer was that they brought three ships on different courses because if the Eldirelian military found out what they were doing their ships would be destroyed. The idea was that at least one ship might make it through.”