by Dietmar Wehr
The officer’s eyes opened wide in sudden realization. “If his ships maneuver low enough, the planet could pull them around in a slingshot maneuver, Admiral!”
“And if they did that, how would that affect missile range?” asked Hashimoto quickly. The tactical officer’s expression was grim when he had the answer.
“He’d be able to force us into his missile range, Admiral. We would have to veer off right now in order to have any chance of avoiding that. It depends on what vector his ships take when they leave orbit.”
Hashimoto gave a mental nod to his counterpart. Admiral Terranova was obviously a good chess player. He had neatly rearranged the board so that Hashimoto could no longer take his time to ponder his next move. He had to decide right now. A head-on missile duel was a far more risky battle than firing on a more or less stationary target that was in orbit around a planet. He made his decision.
“Fleet Admiral to all ships. We will veer off and disengage as soon as Astrogation has finished the calculations. Flagship out.” Hashimoto could tell that his astrogation officer was already working the problem.
“Captain Isoruko is calling, Admiral,” said the communications officer. Hashimoto activated the com channel.
“Yes, Captain Isoruko?”
“We must NOT yield the field of battle! Our six battlecruisers with our Type seven missiles will blow those two ships to glowing embers! The Shogun has—”
Hashimoto cut him off. “—given me command of this fleet, Captain, and I will take responsibility for this action! Your comments are dangerously close to being considered insubordinate! One more word from you, and I will relieve you of command!” Hashimoto waited. Two seconds later his console indicated that the com channel had been cut from the other end. He turned to look at the astrogation officer. “Astro, when you’ve transmitted the new trajectory data to all ships, get confirmation from Captain Isoruko’s Astro that they’ve received those new orders.”
“Yes, Admiral,” said the officer in a low voice that hinted that he agreed with the captain.
But Hashimoto was not fazed by the dissension. With a little luck, he would bring six undamaged battlecruisers back to his Shogun, and if he then received orders to engage in battle against an equal or superior enemy force, he would do so. But in the absence of such orders, he would exercise caution. When all six ships had signaled their readiness to change course, he relaxed just a bit.
Task Force 2.2 Flagship (Valley Forge):
Instead of the usual tactical view, the main display was now showing the visual image from the bow opticals, and the planet looked huge. Terranova reminded himself that it would look larger still as his two ships got closer. They were just about to begin curving around the planet when a status change tone sounded. The display immediately switched back to tactical, and Terranova was surprised to see that the Shogunate fleet was changing their heading.
“Are they veering off?” he asked. Before the FTO could answer, the display reverted back to visual. The planet was now blocking detection of gravity wakes and would continue to do so until his ships came out the other side.
“TacComp didn’t get enough data for a high-confidence conclusion, Admiral. If they continue their parabolic trajectory and don’t swing back around the other way, then the answer is yes.”
“What about missile range, Astro?” asked Terranova.
The astrogation officer sighed. “With so little data, there’s a larger than normal margin for error. They may be able to stay out of our range, but even if they can’t, they’ll only be in range for a short period of time, Admiral.”
Terranova nodded. He told himself not to jump to conclusions. The enemy maneuver could be intended as just a temporary delay while his opposite number tried to get into a more advantageous position, but if, in fact, he was disengaging, that was fine with Terranova.
By the time Valley Forge and Agincourt had finished curving around the planet and were accelerating towards the enemy fleet, it was clear that they really were trying to veer off and that both forces would get within missile range of each other for a little over five minutes unless Terranova eased off on the acceleration. With 34 minutes to go until missile range was achieved, there was enough time left for Terranova to take a short break, visit the head and then grab a sandwich on his way back to the Flag Bridge.
Shogunate Battlecruiser Kongo:
Isoruko stared at the tactical display with barely-controlled fury. That coward, Hashimoto, was running away from an enemy that could be beaten, even if they did have two battleships! It didn’t matter if Hashimoto took full responsibility for his actions, the entire squadron would carry the shame of his actions forever! The Shogun himself had stressed that his officers should use their initiative and be daring, and yet he could do nothing. Disobeying a direct order from a superior officer on the field of battle was an even more shameful act. He’d been ordered to veer off…but he hadn’t been ordered to hold his fire!
“Lieutenant, prepare a full spread of mark seven missiles for firing.” The surprise on the young officer’s face was impossible to miss.
“Captain, we haven’t received any orders from the flag—”
Isoruko cut him off. “Am I still in command of this ship, Lieutenant?”
The officer now looked worried. “Ah, yes, Captain, you are.”
“Then why aren’t you obeying my last order?”
“Preparing twenty-four missiles for launch, Captain,” said the officer in a shaky voice.
Isoruko glared at him for a few more seconds before returning his attention to the tactical display. The fleet was only about halfway through a turn and was still moving partly in the direction of the enemy formation. If he fired missiles now and allowed them to coast for another thirty minutes or so before they turned on their own L-drives, the enemy ships would almost certainly move within effective range by the time those missiles had exhausted their internal power. It was a gamble, but one worth taking he thought. He told the tactical officer what he wanted the missiles to do. Programming them took longer than Isoruko thought it should, and he waited with ill-disguised impatience. When the officer indicated that the missiles were programmed and ready to fire, Isoruko gave the order for Kongo to shut down its L-drive just long enough to fire the missiles.
Task Force 2.2 Flagship (Valley Forge):
When Terranova returned twenty-one minutes later, he heard the warning tone that he’d been dreading.
“MISSILE FIRE! MULTIPLE MISSILES!” shouted the FTO.
Terranova couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Twenty-four missiles had just turned on their L-drives, but they were already thousands of kilometers away from the Shogunate ships. Before he could articulate the obvious question, the FTO was providing the answer.
“We’ll definitely be within their effective range if we keep accelerating, Admiral. They must have fired those missiles about twenty or so minutes ago and let them coast to preserve their power supplies.”
“But why only twenty-four missiles? That’s what, one battlecruiser’s worth?” asked Terranova.
“Correct, sir, or four missiles from each ship.”
Terranova shook his head. Firing four missiles from each ship made no sense. Firing all twenty-four from one ship only made sense if there had been a mix-up in orders or a rogue captain had fired on his own initiative. Whatever the reason, he had to act quickly.
“Can we stay out of range if we go to max decel?” he asked.
“Yes, sir, if we start now, sir.”
“Okay. Both ships are to go to maximum deceleration now. Make sure Agincourt has the word, Astro.”
The FTO waited until his admiral’s order had been acknowledged before asking the question that must surely be on everyone’s mind.
“Are we going to fire back, Admiral?”
Terranova took his time answering. “I’m willing to bet that if we can avoid those missiles, we’ll have lost our own window of opportunity to fire back. Can you confirm that, FTO?” After
a few seconds of calculation, the tactical officer did confirm that. Terranova was a bit relieved that he didn’t have to decide not to fire if he could have. If those missiles turned out not to be any real threat, then it’d be easy to shrug them off in public as an accidental launch, regardless of what he really thought or suspected.
Shogunate flagship (Kirishima):
Hashimoto waited until the twenty-four missiles had used up their power supplies and could no longer maneuver before he completely relaxed. Admiral Terranova’s decision to slow down had kept his ships beyond the missiles’ range, and it would be easy to avoid them now. With both sides now safe from each other’s missiles, he cancelled Battle Stations and felt the tension on the Flag Bridge drop noticeably. Did the crew realize how close the Shogunate and the TCE had come to war, not by design but rather by the actions of a rogue captain? As soon as Kongo had stopped decelerating, Hashimoto had suspected that Isoruko was up to something. Kongo’s missiles had already been fired by the time the flagship had begun radar scanning, and by then they were beyond the range of his anti-missile lasers. For a very brief moment Hashimoto had seriously considered ordering the other ships to fire similar volleys, but he was glad that he had resisted that temptation. Dealing with Isoruko had been easy. A video broadcast designed to show up on all com screens on Kongo had made sure that every crewman heard Hashimoto relieve Isoruko of command of Kongo and order him to be put under arrest and confined to his quarters.
Shogunate Capital (New Mount Fuji):
Eighteen days later.
Hashimoto came to attention and bowed before his Shogun. He stayed bowed until he saw in his peripheral vision Tanaka’s gesture with his right hand. The Shogun’s expression was impossible to read. Hashimoto had no idea if he was about to be praised or vilified.
Tanaka looked at his admiral carefully. The neutral look on his face gave no hint as to the officer’s state of mind. Tanaka was still not sure how to react to the admiral’s decision to yield the Serpentine system to the Empire. On the one hand, he was glad that the decision about if and when to go to war with the TCE had not be taken out of his hands. On the other hand, how much respect from the crews of those ships had Hashimoto lost by appearing to give up so easily? And if he, the Shogun, let the admiral get away with it, would he lose their respect too? He had to protect his own image among his people above all else. If he lost their respect, he’d lose his position. When he looked at it that way, the decision on what to do about the admiral was obvious and easy to make. He got up from his throne and slowly walked up to the admiral until there only a few centimeters between them. He then started speaking in a low voice that no one other than Hashimoto could hear.
“You and I know that you did the right thing by not inciting a war with the Empress. However, the Fleet’s crews and even some of the junior officers will not understand that and will expect me to punish you. If I don’t, my authority could be undermined. Do you understand?” Hashimoto nodded but said nothing.
“Good. Therefore, you will be temporarily relieved of command of your battlecruiser squadron but not from command of your ship. When I think enough time has passed, I’ll re-instate you to squadron command. I will now step back and make the announcement.” Tanaka took two steps back, cleared his throat and said, “Admiral Hashimoto, you are relieved of command of the Nine Eighty-seventh effective immediately for your actions at the Serpentine star system. You are dismissed.” Hashimoto bowed again and backed out of the room.
Tanaka waited until the admiral had left the room before speaking. “Send in Captain Isoruko.”
Isoruko walked in and stopped about a meter in front of his Shogun. He bowed and waited for the signal to straighten up. Tanaka let him wait for an embarrassingly long time. When he did finally give the hand signal to stand up, he saw that Isoruko’s face was red with rage at the obvious humiliation. Let’s see if I can knock some of that rage out of him, he thought.
Tanaka took one step forward and slapped Isoruko’s face as hard as he could, almost knocking the officer off balance.
“I DECIDE IF THE SHOGUNATE GOES TO WAR, NOT YOU! SINCE YOU HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT YOU CAN NOT BE TRUSTED TO COMMAND AN ARMED SHIP PROPERLY, YOU’LL BE TRANSFERRED TO COMMAND OF AN UNARMED TRANSPORT! NOW GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!”
Isoruko’s initial grimace of pain quickly disappeared behind a mask of stoic forbearance. He bowed and backed out of the room. When he was gone, Tanaka turned to his military Aide.
“Make sure that Captain Isoroku is given command of the oldest, most decrepit vessel we have. I also want that ship’s name changed to Leper Colony. Only the most incompetent or disrespectful officers and crew are to be assigned to it as punishment. You may go.”
With the Aide gone, Tanaka was alone with his thoughts. His Shogunate was still at peace. He had accepted King Trevor’s abject apology on the condition that the Shogunate gain control over the Three Sisters, but the Empress had beaten him to that goal. His squadrons had found all three star systems garrisoned by Empire ships, and all three squadron commanders had shown the same level of restraint. Without those systems, he had nothing to show for his patience. However, King Trevor was far more friendly and co-operative than before, and with the new mutual-defense treaty between the Shogunate and the Kingdom, Tanaka now had another strategic option in his quiver. With the right amount of encouragement, he was certain that the King could be convinced to try to take the Three Sisters back by force, and if the Empire used force to resist, the Shogunate would come to the ‘rescue’. Once the TCE was crushed, Atlantia and Garnett would recognize his supreme authority, either voluntarily or under duress. Then, with roughly two-thirds of all human planets under his control, and with the superior Type 7 warheads, he would move against Delisani. Yes, the chess pieces were almost in place. He felt that he had accomplished a lot today. Perhaps it was time for a relaxing bath and its accompanying erotic activities.
Chapter Eleven
Tau Ceti Empire Capital (Corona):
Terranova tried to calm his rapid heartbeat. Why he should be nervous about meeting with the Empress he didn’t know. He and Brandenburg had known each other for over ten years and had been casual lovers for about half that time, although not for several years now. Perhaps he had subconsciously absorbed the subtle propaganda that her minions had been spreading for some time now, that the Empress was not just another human being but that she was something more. It was nonsense of course, but the human subconscious wasn’t rational. He suddenly took note of the fact that he was in her private office, not the official and much more impressive room reserved for arms-length meetings. It also didn’t escape his notice that the luxurious recliner over by the opposite wall was large enough to be used for a sexual encounter. All further thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of the door sliding open and of Brandenburg’s entrance.
Terranova bowed as protocol demanded, but Brandenburg demurred. “No need to bow when no one else is around, Marcus. It’s good to see you again. I think it’s been almost a year, hasn’t it?”
“Ah, yes, I believe that’s correct, Empress.” The two of them stood there looking at each other for a few seconds. What Terranova saw was a tall and slender woman who was perfectly groomed, dressed in an outfit that had been precisely tailored to reveal her feminine form. The colour, a deep violet-blue, complimented her blood-red lips, deep blue eyes and flawless white skin. He couldn’t resist a tiny smile. She was more beautiful now than when they had been lovers. She must have guessed his train of thought because he saw a twinkle in her eyes and a tiny smile of her own as she walked over and gracefully sat down on the recliner.
“Have a seat and let’s talk about what happened at Serpentine.” She watched him sit down and how he sat, upright and tense.
“I remember when you used to be able to relax in my presence, Marcus. Just in case you’re wondering if we’re going to be doing anything besides talking, let me reassure you that we’re going to just talk, nothing else.” There was obvious amusemen
t in her voice as she implied that he thought they might have sex. He did seem to relax as he smiled in response.
“I’m going to guess that you want to talk about the missile fire.”
“Of course. Your report left me with the impression that you thought it was an accidental launch. Do you really think that or are you just downplaying it to avoid inflaming tensions?”
“I don’t think my opposite number ordered or wanted that missile launch. Whether it was accidental or simply unauthorized action by a subordinate to me is irrelevant, Empress. I’m convinced that the Shogunate admiral did not have orders to contest control of that system. The way the other two Shogunate forces acted in the other systems confirms that conclusion in my opinion.”
After thinking over his answer for a few seconds, she responded. “I understand from Admiral Delacor that your two battleships and the six opposing battlecruisers were about evenly matched as far as we know. If that’s the case, then I’m puzzled by why they weren’t more aggressive. Shogun Tanaka has not made any secret of his belief in the superiority of his warriors, both mentally and spiritually. If his military believe that they’re superior to us on a man-for-man basis, doesn’t their restraint strike you as puzzling?”