by Dietmar Wehr
Shaw returned his gaze to Belloc. “Exactly. However, I’m not exaggerating when I say that we could ultimately lose this war if we allow our collective economies to run down so low that it’ll take years to get them back up again. My recommendation is that we use our cruisers to catch some freighters first, and when we have another dozen freighters in our hands, then we go on the offensive. There’s a good chance we’ll have a couple of our own, newly built cruisers operational by then too. With their armor, they should have a better chance of surviving the strike mission than the ones we have now.” Shaw leaned back in his chair to indicate that he was finished.
Before anyone else could jump in, Sorensen said, “We’ve already captured one freighter here on Sparta, and there’s a good chance that we can snag a few more before the shipping companies have a chance to pull them all back. It’ll take months for our cruisers to travel to FED star systems and then find and capture outbound freighters, with even more months before those freighters arrive here. In the meantime, the FED Navy will be gathering its forces in preparation for another shot at us. The Xanadu station is in the best position to support any new hostile moves against us. Taking it out now, while it’s still relatively undefended, will delay their efforts to get themselves organized. We need that extra time to compensate for the fact of news about the SSU leaking out sooner than expected. It’s also possible that the damaged cruiser that escaped will be docked with the station for repairs. If we can launch a strike quickly enough, we may be able to get both the station AND that third cruiser.”
Belloc sighed. Clearly his hope that this would be a short meeting was not going to be realized. A half hour later, everyone around the table had said their piece. A slim majority was in favor of attacking the station. He didn’t have to accept the majority’s point of view, but the fact was that he wanted to strike back. Part of him acknowledged that this desire to strike back was payback for the assassination attempt on him, but he was self-disciplined enough to understand that his personal feelings had to take second place to the ultimate success of the SSU rebellion. What was less obvious was figuring out which course of action would most benefit the SSU in the long run. Sending their cruisers into FED space to capture unsuspecting and therefore unescorted freighters made a lot of sense, but so did taking out that station before the FEDs could call in more ships to defend it. It was time to make a decision.
“If we send one cruiser to hit Xanadu, how soon could it be launched, Mandy?”
Sorensen looked shocked. “You’re not seriously thinking of trying to attack it with just one ship?” she asked.
“Yes I am. Now please answer my question.”
“Well, I’d have to check to be sure, but I think Yorktown will be back in about a week. It could take off on the strike mission 24 hours later, but it doesn’t have a full crew yet, and the officers on board right now are relatively junior and therefore inexperienced. Sending one ship to attack that station would be tantamount to a suicide mission, Chancellor.”
“I understand that, Mandy, but it seems to me that trading one cruiser for a strategic base AND maybe an enemy cruiser too is a fair exchange. Would you agree with that?”
“Yes,” she said reluctantly.
Belloc nodded. “So given that favorable rate of exchange, I’m prepared to sacrifice one cruiser, which leaves us with three others that can engage in commerce raiding.”
“I don’t know if I can order Yorktown’s crew out on a suicide mission,” said Sorensen softly.
“Then ask for volunteers. Offer promotions as an incentive.”
Sorensen looked relieved. “That might work. I’ll get started on that right away.”
“Very good. Now that we’ve taken care of that issue, this emergency cabinet meeting is adjourned.”
Chapter Seven
Day 344/2539
Yorktown emerged from hyperspace at the distant edge of the star system containing the Xanadu naval station. Acting Captain Yamaguchi nodded with satisfaction at the data on the ship’s tactical display. They had done the easy part. The hard part was about to begin. In order to achieve as much surprise as possible, and also give her and her crew as much chance of survival as possible, the ship had to make a very high speed pass of the space station in orbit around the planet Xanadu. The closer the ship could get to the station, the faster the ship could go and still be able to fire her missiles so that they could adjust their overall trajectory to hit the station. The challenge was simple in concept. It was the execution that was hard. Right now the ship was billions of kilometers from Xanadu. At this distance, even the ship’s powerful optics only saw the planet as a tiny dot. By locating other planets, whose positions and orbits in this star system were known, they could get an approximate idea of their position relative to Xanadu, but it would still have a margin for error measured in hundreds of thousands of kilometers. Yorktown would now conduct a series of carefully calculated short jumps through hyperspace. After each micro-jump they would re-triangulate their positions. The cumulative effect of that refinement of their astrogational data would narrow down the margin for error, as they got closer to Xanadu.
When the ship was 50 million kilometers away from the planet, Yamaguchi would order her to accelerate to attack speed, and they would fly the rest of the way in. The micro-jumps went smoothly, and after hours of acceleration, they were approaching the planet and the orbiting station fast.
The ship was at Battle Stations. Yamaguchi strapped herself into her Command Station chair. Everyone was wearing pressure suits with their helmets nearby. She checked the tactical display. Range was just over six million kilometers. Velocity was 99,909 kps, which meant they would cover that distance in just over one minute. She checked her number two screen and confirmed that the first wave of ten HE missiles were loaded and programmed to head for the station upon launch. The actual launch would be computer controlled because the timing had to be perfect, but she had the final say over whether the launch would happen or not.
“Comp, this is Captain Yamaguchi. Enable missile launch.”
“Missile launch is enabled,” said the electronic voice. Before the ship’s computer had finished the sentence, the Weapons Officer yelled out, “They’ve spotted us on radar!”
Yamaguchi shook her head in dismay. Being seen this early was going to be a problem. If those navy people on duty in the station Bridge were on the ball, they’d have just enough time to fire their missiles at Yorktown, and there was nothing Yamaguchi could do about it. Yorktown had to maintain its current vector in order for the programmed missiles to hit their target. If it deviated from its current course by even the tiniest bit before missile launch, the missiles would probably miss.
“Ten seconds to missile launch,” said the computer.
“Comp, as soon as missiles have been launched, begin evasive maneuvers!” yelled Yamaguchi. Raising her voice hadn’t really been necessary, but what the hell, it made her feel better.
“Launching in three…two…one…all missiles have been launched. Evasive maneuvers engaged,” said Comp. Range was down to less than a million klicks.
“They’ve fired on us!” yelled the WO.
Yamaguchi wanted to curse, but instead she yelled out, “Helmets on!” As she reached for her helmet, she saw that seven of Yorktown’s ten missiles had hit the station. She managed to get her helmet on just before Yorktown was hit by station-fired missiles. Those missiles had all been armed with kinetic energy warheads. It didn’t matter that the missiles themselves hadn’t built up a lot of speed. They were hitting a target that had lots of speed. From the aspect of Newtonian physics, the result was the same as if the missiles had been traveling fast and had hit a slower moving target. The tungsten rod that formed the core of each warhead instantly changed to a super-sonic jet of super-hot plasma upon impact. Each of the nine plasma jets ripped through the ship. One of them ripped through the Bridge, instantly killing everyone in it. By the time the crippled ship was past the disintegrating station, t
here was no one still alive on board.
* * *
Day 44/2540
Admiral Chenko breathed a sigh of relief as he and General Masterson walked out of the Council Chamber. Masterson said nothing until they approached their respective limos. Just as Chenko was about to peel off and head for the Navy vehicle, Masterson touched his arm.
“We need to talk. Your staff can ride back with mine, while you and I talk in your car.”
Chenko didn’t try to hide his annoyance. Masterson’s comment sounded more like a command than a question. They both had five stars on their shoulders, and neither had the right to tell the other to do anything. He resisted the impulse to say no mainly because riding with the just the two of them in the back of the limo would give him an opportunity to tell the Army Chief of Staff what a presumptuous ass he was. Chenko made certain that he got into the Navy limo first.
As soon as he was seated and the door slid shut, Masterson said, “I know about Stacker’s secret orders, Sergei.”
Chenko managed to keep his face passive and said, “What secret orders, Frank?”
Masterson smiled and shook his head sadly. “So we’re going to play games, are we? Okay, I’ll play along. The secret orders that Commodore Stacker will admit to under verifier when the Council orders an investigation after I go to them and tell them what I know. Do you now know which secret orders I’m talking about?”
“I wouldn’t advise doing that, Frank. That kind of scandal will generate so much shit that some of it is bound to land on you too.”
“My God, Sergei, what the hell were you thinking when you ordered Stacker to try to decapitate the SSU? What if the Council found out that their plan for a peaceful resolution was sabotaged?”
Chenko shrugged. “A risk I was willing to take.” When Masterson rolled his eyes in exasperation Chenko continued. “Did you read all of Trojan’s report on Oracle’s assessment, Frank?” He could tell by Masterson’s reaction that the answer was no. “Well I did. Oracle concluded that all signs point to this rebellion being a well-planned operation. That level of commitment makes it very unlikely that the SSU would agree to anything that limits their autonomy. Oracle then points out that if the Federation and the SSU were to conduct negotiations, the optimum strategy from their point of view would be to stall the negotiations for as long as they can while they continue to build up their military assets. Oracle also concluded that the optimum strategy from our side is to provoke them into making what appears to be the first act of aggression. The attack on Xanadu fills that condition perfectly. You saw how some of the Council members were almost foaming at the mouth. They think the SSU fired on the envoy squadron without provocation and then hit Xanadu as an act of intimidation.”
“Son-of-a-bitch, Sergei, you’re telling me you deliberately sacrificed your own people on that station to speed up the war?”
“Collateral damage, Frank. Look, we have to crush this rebellion and we have to do it fast. If other planets get the idea that the FPS is weak, they’ll jump ship too. The whole Federation could start to collapse like a house of cards in slow motion. And in order to crush this rebellion fast, we need the Council’s support for Oracle’s master plan. We’ve now got it. There’s going to be a whole lot more collateral damage before this war’s over. I can live with what I’ve done. The question now is will you keep this secret to yourself so that you and I can get on with winning the goddamned war!”
Masterson looked Chenko in the eye and said nothing. When he finally did speak, his voice was calm. “I’ll keep my mouth shut on one condition.”
Chenko felt a chill go up his spine. Was he about to make a deal with the devil? “Name it,” he said.
“The price for my cooperation will be that the overall Field Commander of the entire campaign, including all naval planning and deployment, will be an Army Officer.”
“You can’t be serious! We’re talking about an interstellar war fought primarily with armed ships, NAVY ships, Frank. What does an Army officer know about the strategic nuances of deploying fleets of ships?”
Masterson smiled. “Nothing, but you’re forgetting that the Council has just approved Oracle’s plan which includes building a super-Oracle device that will understand the nuances of interstellar naval strategy. Since that project is an outgrowth of the Army’s Oracle project, it stands to reason that General Trojan and his staff have the most experience in utilizing a super-Oracle device to the fullest extent. Your Vice-Admirals and Commodores will still be commanding the fleets and squadrons, but the super-computer will tell them where and when to attack. Trojan will manage the implementation of the super-computer’s recommendations. He has the right kind of personality to handle that arrangement. Be honest with me here, Sergei. Most of your flag officers are Prima Donnas with egos the size of small moons. How well are they going to be able to play second fiddle to a giant computer for God’s sake?”
Chenko didn’t want to admit it, but his Army counterpart had a point. Any of his flag officers worth a damn did have egos to match. In fact, he couldn’t think of any naval officer who was both competent and egoless enough to take charge of the whole effort. There would be a lot of grumbling among his flag officers when they heard who was being put in charge, but he could handle that. And if the super-Oracle didn’t succeed in winning the war, then Trojan and the Army would be left holding the bag when the Council started looking for scapegoats in order to cover their own political hides.
“Okay, Frank. I won’t oppose Trojan’s nomination as the Field Commander, but you better hope he and this super-Oracle can win this thing, because if he fumbles the ball, the Navy will take a lot of satisfaction from seeing him and the Army Brass get ripped to shreds by the Council.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything else from the Navy, Sergei,” said Masterson softly. Chenko tried hard to avoid seeing the smug look on Masterson’s face on the way back.
* * *
Trojan was late for his meeting with his own staff. “My apologies for being late, but when the Army Chief of Staff wants to talk, everything else has to wait,” he said as he sat down at the head of the oval table. He looked around at the assembled officers, half of which were Army and half Navy. “I’ve just been given the official word that the Council has approved Oracle’s Master Plan, including developing the Majestic computer, so we are going to be very busy for the next few weeks. Hell, it’ll be more like months.” He paused. “As most of you already know, Oracle is predicting a long war, and it’s not hard to figure out why. The distances between inhabited planets means that each fleet of ships will be able to strike at only two or maybe three targets per year. Logistical considerations will include not only where to send material and personnel but also when they have to be at their destination. The right stuff has to be at the right place at the right time. The complexity of this war will be unlike anything that humans have ever experienced. Oracle will give us a good head start, and Majestic will hopefully be ready to take over by the time that Oracle is no longer able to stay on top of things. That’s the big picture. Now we’ll start working on the details. We’ve got a long list of things on the agenda to discuss. I’m going to skip over the first three items, which we’ll get back to later, but right now I want to hear what Oracle thinks about new warship designs. Captain?” Trojan nodded to the senior Navy officer on his team.
The Officer leaned forward and said, “Yes, sir. Oracle has recommended the following designs.” He and everyone else turned to look at the holographic display forming over the middle of the table.
“I’ll start with the transports. Currently the Navy has transports that are 300 meters in diameter. Oracle is recommending that we build three larger classes of transports. They would be 500, 700 and 900 meters in diameter.”
Someone whistled in amazement, and Trojan nodded in agreement. A spherical ship almost a kilometer in diameter would be an awe-inspiring sight.
“Excuse me, Captain, but I have to wonder how practical a ship that size will
actually be. It’ll be too heavy to land, won’t it?” asked Trojan.
“That’s correct, sir. Both the 700-meter and 900-meter-class transports will not land. They’ll hover on anti-gravity, and they’ll be loaded and unloaded via anti-gravity vehicles that will enter and leave through openings in the sides.”
“I presume that these transports will be used to land troops and tanks on hostile planets. What kind of defenses will they have?” asked Trojan.
“The lower half will have a ring of 200 mm cannon for air-to-ground fire, and the hull will have a thin coating of neutron armor.”
“That means they’ll have to be built in orbit, right?”
“The lower half can be built on the ground. It’ll then be able to lift itself into orbit where the upper half and the armor will be added, sir.”
“And what volume of cargo will the 900-meter ship be able to carry?” asked Trojan.
The Captain checked his notes. “One hundred thousand infantry, plus enough supplies and ammo to last them for two months, plus a thousand anti-gravity personnel/cargo carriers and tanks, sir.”