"Well, we really shouldn't do that," I replied, immediately refusing my cousin's radical suggestion. "Lack of information will give rise to all kinds of speculation about what we're doing. Instead of reports about successful Alpha Iseyek space landings and the destruction of Blue House defensive barriers, we will get utterly wild fantasies about women and children being eaten alive by praying mantises, human sacrifice and mass genocide. Never underestimate the imagination of a panicked, fearful mind. This way, the audience will at least see distinctly that our landing troops are only killing those who resist the invasion. And that is the very factor that must be repeatedly underlined: we are not at war with the civilian population, only with Blue House armed forces!"
"Unfortunately, that is not always the case, cousin," Katerina said, leading her gaze away. "Yes, we could declare that we are at war exclusively with Blue House soldiers and will not touch the peaceful population. But the enemy will find dozens of examples to the contrary and call us obvious liars. Georg, this is war, and chance victims among peaceful civilians are unavoidable."
"My Prince, allow me to voice my point of view," the android secretary Bionica cut into my conversation with my cousin. "The boundary between civilians and militia can be extremely tenuous. And the insect landing troops can make mistakes because of that. Just look for yourself, Crown Prince. On the screen next to the barricade, at Seaside we can see people totally unsuited to war, some of whom aren't even armed. To me personally, as someone accustomed to strict classifications and clear algorithms, it is quite difficult to figure out which of these people belongs to which category. Who are they, peaceful people who happened to end up on the front line, or opponents?"
My translator's words were supported by First Advisor Apasss Ugu. The gigantic pill bug with dozens of arms and legs had already pointed to the data screen and started to comment on the image:
"Perhaps it is obvious to people who is peaceful, and who is an enemy. But as for me, a member of a different species, try as I might, I cannot always tell which is which. That couple there hugging, are they enemies of Unatari? They don't currently have weapons in their hands, and their uniform is not military, but they are in combat position, and not at home. And as for the reporter, how would you classify him? He has a bulletproof vest and a highspeed carbine, which my database tells me is a weapon for hunting and sporting competitions. Is that sufficient basis to classify him as an enemy combatant? And if it's hard even for me, a creature with unblocked self-teaching and high-intellect genes, what can we expect from simple obedient order takers, like the genetically modified praying mantis soldiers? I suspect that the Alpha Iseyek soldiers, the majority of whom have never even seen people in real life before and are totally unfamiliar with human culture, have a very hard time making out who it is before them. And that can cause tragic events, like when we took out those columns of camouflaged Blue House military transports, which seemed to be working to export their armor and anti-air defense, but were actually moving children to a safe place..."
I clenched my teeth in vexation. I didn't know anything about that tragic event, but I trusted my First Assistant. Apasss Ugu knew everything about what was happening in my state.
"And have many such tragic incidents already occurred?" I inquired cautiously, cringing internally in anticipation.
"Many, Georg, I'd even say very many," said my cousin Katerina, rejoining the conversation. "But I already told you that this is war and chance victims are unavoidable."
That may have been so, but I was totally unhappy with what we were doing. Even though the Empire wouldn't intervene on the Blue House's side, regardless of victims among the peaceful population. But my obligation as a ruler of the human race was to do everything in my power to minimize human losses.
"Alright, I've made a decision. We will not terminate the terrestrial operations on Paada and Boti. From a military point of view, it would be very stupid to abandon positions already occupied by our landing troops and give the enemy respite. But the Unatari State will officially declare a few zones on this planet free from military action. Our soldiers will not assault, nor bomb these regions, and we will let any civilian transports through to them unimpeded. When the intensity of the terrestrial battles dies down a bit, we will provide for the evacuation of people from these safe zones to any star system of the Imperial Core or Unatari. All civilian buildings and vehicles are to be marked with a bright blue stripe on a white background, which will allow them to be fully ignored by our landing troops and space fleet. Civilians of Paada and Boti must place that symbol on everything they don’t want destroyed in the form of a clearly visible flag or drawing. These measures will allow us to, if not totally stop civilian losses, then to decrease them by many times."
Bionica made a dismayed grimace and interjected:
"My Prince, I beg forgiveness for interrupting Your Highness, but what is stopping our enemies from placing these emblems on their military vehicles or reinforcements to confuse our landing troops?"
But Duchess Katerina was enthusiastic about my idea and commented with a glint in her eyes:
"No, Bionica, they won't do that. At the very least on a massive scale. Because, all such cases will be immediately documented by us and exposed for all Imperial residents to see. And if they do, we can say the Blue House soldiers are knowingly placing their civilian population, who they've sworn to protect, at risk. That will be a very strong psychological blow on our enemies' positions. The population will stop supporting them."
"That's exactly right," I agreed with my cousin. "Let Marshal Savasss Jach draw up these safe zones, so they don't interfere too much with his military plans. But let's make sure one of them on the planet Paada is around Seaside — consider it my whim as a monarch. Also, Katerina, you must award that young reporter from Seaside some prestigious medal for journalism, along with a solid monetary bonus. Just make sure you point out that it is from the Unatari State for objectively casting a light on military actions, and say that the safe zone around Seaside is a result of his work. Similar medals should be awarded to another few reporters, those whose reports are the sharpest and least pleasant for us. Whether they accept the medals or not is up to them, but somehow, I don't think many of the journalists will refuse such a rare professional award, and especially the money."
My cousin laughed happily:
"You're very right there, Georg. The vast majority of those in the second oldest profession are little different from those in the first. I suspect the unexpected money and glory will turn the political weathervane in the diametrically opposite direction, and the tone of reports from the front will soon change cardinally. But what should we do with the other Blue House star systems?"
"I suggest we establish safe zones like those here, and inform the population in advance so the peaceful civilians will have enough time and chance to leave the dangerous parts. We won't rush the terrestrial operations there, but we must take control over the space and star systems as quickly as possible."
* * *
Senior Tactics Officer Max Gregor was describing the balance of power in the Uvi star system, accompanying a slideshow of photographs of enemy starships with detailed commentary:
"Before us is the core of the Blue House Second Fleet. These pictures were taken forty minutes ago by cloaked frigates. Four Monarch-class battleships. Two Tyrant-class battleships. Twenty-five heavy assault cruisers: nine of the outdated rocket Yataghans, six Flambergs and nine of the newest Katanas. Opposing heavy calibers are not in place, but are constantly changing position, not even always staying a decent distance from one another."
"Maybe they’re worried about our stealth bombers?" I suggested.
"That looks very much to be the case," Max Gregor agreed. There aren't many light cruisers, just thirty Thrushes. And at that, there are more than enough small class ships: forty-seven Flycatcher destroyers and more than eight hundred frigates, half Pyros and half Claws.
"Eight hundred frigates?!" I couldn't hold ba
ck the surprised exclamation. "That's what I'm talking about! It inspires respect, even though half of them are horribly outdated Claws."
"The enemy is not turning the Uvi warp beacon off, as if inviting us in. But that is obviously a trap, Crown Prince! I ask you to look at these scenes here. The enemy is around three thousand miles from the Uvi station and have placed a chain of mines in our direction with a laser control system and gravitational detonators. Here are some close-ups of the mines with good resolution."
In a perfectly straight line from the Uvi station, leading toward the Paada star system there was an endless chain of dark ovular objects. There were hundreds, if not thousands of them.
"Yes, the enemy is well prepared," I agreed thoughtfully. "Do we know how powerful the charges are?"
"Crown Prince, these are standard Rascal-4 space mines. They can hold between one and fifty megatons TNT equivalent. The precise power of these bombs is unknown, but in any case, there's no way a cloaked frigate of ours could jump unnoticed into the Paada system. Even with stealth systems activated, the curvature of space will set off the laser beam data readers. And also, a massive object jumping in near the detectors will be not go unnoticed, after which the nearest thermonuclear mines will all detonate. They're firmly anchored, and placed around one every mile."
I asked to see an image of the mine wall and thought hard. The enemy was obviously not afraid of wasting resources to create a barrier, and now was inviting our fleet to make a warp jump to Uvi and accept battle on these conditions. If the mines had the most powerful charges they could hold, then only the carriers of my First Unatari Fleet might escape, but all the other smaller-class ships would certainly be lost, even the battleships.
"Do we have alternative coordinates for a warp jump to the Uvi system?" I asked my officer, but Max Gregor just shook his head in pity, "the Mechanoid hasn't gone through that star system yet."
Unfortunately, my ships would have to jump right into a minefield. No other way of entering the Uvi system existed. But that also, if I understood correctly, was not the last of our problems.
"I suspect that the Blue House has a cloaker tracking the movement of our ships."
"Yes, my Prince. On several occasions, we have detected the activation of long distance communication devices in the Paada system, but we weren't able to uncover the cloaked frigate," the tactics officer confirmed.
That was what I thought. Even if I sent low value ships first to open a breach in the minefield, then the rest of the fleet, the enemy would be sure to see these preparations and take countermeasures. For example, they could let the first ships through and activate the charges only when the main fleet arrives. Or, if the attackers are too many, they could flee from battle and turn off the warp beacon in the next star system. No, the Blue House fleet wanted to do battle in the Uvi system precisely, but we only could send a small group of ships there, so they wouldn't get scared and retreat. Battle at obvious numerical disadvantage on the opponent’s terms... For such a borderline suicidal mission, we needed the best of the best, so I asked to be put through to Nicole ton Savoia.
The Perimeter Sector Eight Fleet Commander answered immediately. Space Major Nicole ton Savoia, despite her youth, looked very respectable with the flawlessly fitted senior space fleet officer uniform. All the gossip among her subjects had come to an end, but there used to be a lot of talk about her rank. Generally, a fleet of such size could only be led by an officer of rank no lower than admiral. However, the Perimeter Sector Eight Fleet captains had had plenty of chances at this point to assure themselves of the high professionalism of their gorgeous commander. But Nicole herself, I suspect, was still experiencing discomfort at the discord between her title and profession.
"Nicole, I'm reminded that you were once interested in new military tactics and participating in space battles with an initially hopeless balance of forces," I said, casting my line.
The girl's eyes immediately lit up with sparks of interest. Her lips stretched out into a pretty smile.
"Your Majesty, I'm still interested in new knowledge, and the fleet entrusted to me has not taken part in any space battles for nearly six months. Any mechanism, even the most well-oiled, will go bad and rust from inactivity, so my officers and I personally would be glad for any mission."
I grew slightly embarrassed, because Nicole was completely right. Her fleet had spent too much time stagnating. But my current offer was exclusively for Nicole, not her whole fleet. I needed a couple very experienced helpers for the upcoming battle. One of them, by default, would be Bionica. I'd need the android not only as my irreplaceable Iseyek translator, but also as my personal assistant, a job she was excellent at. The second vacancy was open. Max Gregor was a talented tactics officer, but didn't have a lot of experience. Valian ton Corsa on the other hand, had experience, but was less suited to making her own decisions and reacting quickly to fast-changing events, so clearly lost out as well. Nicole ton Savoia was better than anyone else in the role of a second assistant to the commander.
When I explained my idea to the girl, and her role in it, Nicole spent some time looking at me in shock, batting her lashes in surprise before answering:
"The Blue House Second Fleet rolled over our Yayho Border Fleet almost without losses, and it was made of light class ships. And Your Majesty wants to meet the Blue House ships again on the same conditions, but this time to lead the fleet myself. Is that what you’re saying?"
"That's right. But you did forget to add that this time, we will have to navigate through an enemy minefield," I smiled in reply.
Nicole shuddered, but at the same time, much to my surprise, started smiling.
"Seven of their ships to our one, and fifty to one in volley weight most likely, and also a minefield... Well, Your Majesty, you really know how to make a girl a tempting offer. How could I refuse such an alluring and fun proposal?! Crown Prince, I'm in!"
Standing change. Nicole ton Savoia's opinion of you has improved.
Nicole ton Savoia's present opinion of you: +83 (completely trusting)
Standing change. Empire Military faction opinion of you has improved.
Present Empire Military faction opinion of you: +59 (veneration)
A change of my personal standing with the Imperial Military? In general, I thought such a change could only be initiated by an officer of general or admiral rank, or that an admiral had to agree to such a proposition by a lower-ranked officer. I looked at Nicole ton Savoia and met her gaze. The girl melted into a happy smile. I didn't clarify, even though I didn't understand if Nicole had already obtained such authority to speak for the Imperial Military Faction, or her decision was supported by some admiral friends.
"Alright, Nicole. Then take ten of your fleet's best frigates and ten of the best light cruisers. Have them join the 'national team' at the seventh planet of the Paada system. We'll have all the best ships of all the fleets. We'll have one practice session to learn to work together, then right to battle."
* * *
"And now I'm satisfied. All the ships are working exactingly in formation, holding position, carrying out their missions and not getting lost. I've got no complaints!" I said into the microphone, and got an elated roar of human and nonhuman voices in response.
Eight hours of practice... I was nearly falling off my feet in exhaustion. The crews, chosen from the best starships of all the Unatari fleets, were as well. It had taken much longer than I'd imagined to perfect our coordination.
"Half an hour break. Then we'll work again on our entrance to the enemy blocked system and closing the distance. If it all goes off without a hitch again, we can jump to the Uvi system and tear into the Blue House starships awaiting us there."
Again, their reply was an elated roar from hundreds of throats. The morale of the light fleet crews was above all praise — no one considered the upcoming battle hopeless. Quite the opposite, all the captains were proud of the fact that they had been chosen to join the best of the best and get our sweet
revenge on the Blue House for destroying the Yayho Border Fleet.
I walked into the lounge cabin on the Curse-80 light cruiser, which I had chosen as a flagship for the upcoming battle. The officers and captains stood in respect when I entered. I sat at an empty table, and Bionica quickly placed a tray with a warm meal on it, as well as pointing Nicole ton Savoia, who'd been walking with me, to a free seat.
"My Prince, I am very thankful to Your Highness for giving androids such a key role in this military operation," the synthetic beauty smiled at me. "And doubly thankful that you decided to treat them with as much care as living people."
I nodded. The first step in the operation I had planned was making wide gaps in the minefield. Twenty frigates, piloted by android crews, were supposed to make the warp jump approximately one minute before the rest of the fleet. All the participants in that suicidal breakthrough were to be restored in identical bodies with minds from premade backups. To me, it seemed like the least I could do, but it was perceived very positively both by the androids and military members of my fleet.
"Crown Prince Georg showed once again that all his subjects are important to him, regardless of their race," Nicole confirmed, picking up her silverware. "The soldiers appreciate it and worship their commander, and what's more, their faith in Crown Prince Georg's ability to win in any situation is simply unwavering. In my Perimeter Sector Eight Fleet, there are some officers who aren't going to be taking part in the upcoming suicidal battle and are sincerely offended and envious of those lucky enough to have been chosen. I might be saying something seditious, but it will be the truth — if there is an upcoming split between the Unatari State and the Empire, a large part of the military would join Unatari's side."
A Game With No Rules (Perimeter Defense Book #4) LitRPG Series Page 8