All the Senior Command Officers were presented at the docking station receiving area when our visitors arrived. The King popped his head out the hatch, first.
"King Edward and a party of twenty-five requesting permission to come aboard, Captain." He stated to the ship's Captain.
"Permission granted, your highness; and, welcome!" The Captain snapped. There was silence as the entire group entered the space.
"Ship!' The Captain paused as everyone came to attention. "Present arms!" He snapped as all unarmed personnel raised a salute while a boatswain played the familiar three-note order arms. An honor guard conducted the "Present Arms" with their Ceremonial Weapons as the boarding party returned the salute.
"Ship - Stand easy!" The Captain called out, and everyone stood in a relaxed pose.
Though all the senior officers on the Valhalla already knew most of the party, the Captain welcomed them and began traveling along the receiving line introducing each one.
"Thank you all so much, for the warm welcome. We are pleased to be aboard the Valhalla." The King offered.
Admiral Bryant took over as host.
"First, since you will be here for several days - maybe a week - I'd like to advise you all that; Field deployed commands set their clocks based on OFSA Headquarters' time on Rigil. So, you should all set your watches and data pads accordingly. Shall we make our way up to my office? It has enough room for us all to be very comfortable - and secure, while we talk." Fleet Admiral Bryant suggested; as the others were setting clocks, correctly.
We traveled the halls, corridors, and elevators, with a Marine Security contingent; eventually arriving at the heavily secured Flag Bridge, at the office marked Fleet Admiral G. T. Bryant C&C on the first line, and Commander Fifth Mobile RAC on the second line; all painted, in gold, on the glass door. Though they had often approved the construction and acquisition of Super Carriers, none of the visitors; except Steven and Olivia Hurst had ever been aboard this version. They expressed their awe and jealousy at the Commander's office.
Two sizeable view windows were evenly spaced, opposite the doorway, on a fifteen-meter-long wall; exposing all the wondrous stars and anomalies within the velvety blackness of space, toward the border. The room was easily eight meters across. George's dark oak desk, credenza and two office chairs stood at the end of the chamber to the left of the doorway. A door on the rear wall to the right of the storage cabinet led to a four piece en-suite bathroom. A very long fully stocked wet bar currently sporting coffee, beverages, and sandwiches, was positioned between the two windows on the far wall. Three leather couches and two leather armchairs surrounded two coffee tables, in the area to the door's right. Four end tables with lamps were strategically positioned for access by the people on all ends of the couches; and, between the two chairs. Evenly spaced sconces surrounding the entire perimeter softly, but adequately, lit the whole room. An antique dark oak coat and hat rack stood in the corner to the left of the door, by the desk. A variety of official jackets and hats hung from it. A hefty folder and an equally copious book sat on the otherwise clean desk; where, George dropped his datapad, as they all entered the room.
"So, this is what the rich live like; eh George?" Stephenson chortled.
"It kind of makes up for not having a permanent home. The quarters aren't too bad, either, Admiral." George chuckled, as he returned the barb.
"I don't doubt it. But, it's the least we can do for the people who never get to put down roots; and, who risk their lives to protect the rest of us." King Edward pipes in; to an array of nods from all in attendance.
"Please…before we start…everyone help yourselves to something.' George offered with a wave of his right hand to the fully stocked bar. 'If you don't mind, your highness, I can take this." George said; as everyone found a seat on the couches and chairs.
"Absolutely, my boy, it's your show!" Edward responded with a broad grin.
"I thought we'd spend the next two hours here. I will take you all on a tour of the current battlefront, in detail. Then, I'll run three-D simulations of the proposed battle and all its variations. That will be based on the approved plan. By that time, you should all be pooped out from the briefing and your travels; so, we can break to my quarters for an informal dinner and some pleasant conversation.
Tomorrow, we'll tour as close to the border; as, we dare, at the center of the enemy build-up. So, you will have a good perspective of the battle front and how we intend to deal with the Inscrutables.
The following day, we will all tour through the training area where Fifth Mobile are rehearsing offensive moves. We practice a part of a mission, at any one time; so, you won't see everything. Once we have each part right, we do the entire thing many times.
The day after that, I'll take you to where SOCC is preparing for their covert maneuvers. You'll be able to see the headquarters ship and the Fleet assigned as targets for the stealth vessels; but, you won't be able to see the subs themselves." Bryant stopped as he was cut off.
"Why's that, Admiral. We'd like to see the whole thing." A committee representative piped in.
"And you will see it all!' Bryant chuckled and continued. 'The covert vessels operate cloaked. They are virtually invisible to the eye and sensors. So, out the viewports and on the visible light screens, you'll be seeing what the enemy sees. But, on our big screen, you will be able to see the covert vessels; because, we track their transponders, during practice. During missions the transponders are off; so, the enemy can't follow them. Once you've seen that operation, in its entirety, we will have one sub turn off its cloak; so, you can see what is actually happening, during their mission. We can only show you one; because a good deal of keeping them covert is never allowing the enemy to track them. We go to great lengths to go dark; after going light. We don't want to have ninety-six subs all going through that exercise; because, we wanted to show off. Then, you'll meet with the SOCC Commander Rear Admiral Savign who was part of the receiving line, when you boarded.' He placed his hands on her shoulders. Then continued.
'On the final day of the official tour, we will visit Admiral Brubacher's IGB command. You will watch his forces conducting practice and drills. They are participating in the battle. You will see all our responsibilities, objectives and goals as we run through the simulations.' Now he placed his hands on my shoulders. Then, he continued, again.
'When you're ready, I'll have a team come in and redecorate; so, we can view the projections without obstructions. Does anyone have any questions?" George finished.
Fifteen minutes elapsed as George answered some legitimate inquiries; while, he deferred others to the upcoming presentation. Then, everyone broke; while, stewards shifted the couches and chairs in the room. Many topped off their beverage and helped themselves to more sandwiches. When they were done, the seating was in two rows about ten feet apart, facing George's desk. One end table was behind all the furniture; and a ten-foot-high, fifteen-foot-wide screen had been pulled down in front of the wall behind his work surface.
George took half an hour to slowly familiarize everyone with the battle region. He included the two relatively local Automated Observation Platforms and went fifty-five light years each side of the center point to show the ends of the line in Draco and Boots. He related the region involved to the attendees in light-years, kilometers, and miles; so, all would have an understanding of the expansive size of the targeted territory. He followed that by zooming out and showing the zone, as a portion of the Federation; so, everyone could digest the battle area's size, in relation to the Federation. Then he took a little time to show the various attack formations the enemy could take and the Orion Federation space they could acquire. All the visitors were in shock - even the C&C and Steven Nichols. He turned up the lights and darkened the screen.
"Are there any questions, or comments, to this point?" He asked the room.
Queries and remarks came from mostly the Secretary of Defense and the six Representatives. Most were statements of awe at the sheer
size of the region involved.
"Before I go on, there are a few technical things I must relate, for the benefit of the Committee members. The first is that; we monitor the border to a distance of five light years out, at this point; and though facilities are not as good, we have two cloaked vessels in CauDo space, right now, monitoring the enemy on each of the ends of the line. We do this so we can see any changes they may make that might affect our battle plans.
The second thing is that our communications and sensor systems can beam information to us at more than twice the speed our enemy enjoys. This gives us a distinct advantage. We see what they're doing way before they see our counter moves; and, we can order deployments of widespread fleets much faster than they can.
The third thing to understand is that our technology allows us to travel at a maximum speed that is twice their maximum velocity. The two advantages have permitted us to be at an attack point before our foe gets there to launch a mission.
The fourth thing you need to know is that the Inscrutables will self-destruct before permitting capture or destruction by us. They make it nearly impossible to apprehend a ship without endangering our forces - unacceptably. The only seized vessels we have, to this point, are those in which the self-destruct failed to operate. So, you will see, our entire mission is design for destruction - not submission.
Finally, you need to know that a part of the mission not shown in the simulations is an attack on the enemy homeworld. It is not shown; because it will begin earlier than the rest of the mission and will be beyond the scope of this visual presentation. That is to say, a team of covert ships will monitor space behind enemy lines to find where they call home. Then, they will go there and land SF Marines who will monitor and disrupt industrial production of weapons and military installations. Before leaving orbit, those vessels will bombard identified surface and space-borne targets. I am unable to show this with the simulations; because it is out of the field of the simulator's graphic display. This portion of the mission is critical to deter future attacks. If they understand that; we know where they are and will attack; they may think twice before renewing this effort. At this moment, we already believe we've located their homeworld. I noted a pattern in their attacks some time back. They strike at the same time of day every three hundred and four days. To me, that indicated they live on a planet with a twenty-four-hour rotation; like ours; and, their world orbits its star every three hundred and four days. I believed each attack was being executed on some kind of anniversary; and, I mentioned that to Kurt.' George stopped as he spotted a quizzical look on a couple of faces. 'Admiral Kurt Brubacher is the Inspector General in charge of IGB.' He extended a hand towards me. 'Anyway, Kurt had his Stellar Mapping Department look for a planet that met the criteria on the screen.' He stopped, lowered the lights and turned on the projector to show the memo I had sent to Lieutenant G Baldezeki. 'They found only one known planet that fits the bill. We have its coordinates and have tracked enemy FTL trajectories towards it. But, we still feel we need to monitor them from behind the lines to be sure. We believe they live on HAT-P-11e. We were surprised; because their resupply lines are much longer than we envisioned.
I'd also like to add that; we chose to make SOCC part of IGB; because Kurt's Command has developed the covert techniques we need to accomplish the mission. I have never seen anything like it. They have the ability to place a sub close enough to a target vessel that their invisibility cloak just brushes it; so, they can conduct EVA space operations with people working on the enemy hull within that veil. They have also refined the use of WARR technology to an art.' George was interrupted by a Committee Member, again.
"What is WARR technology?" She asks.
"WARR stands for Wide Angle Reflective Radar.' George responds; then explains. 'It is a technology that can send out X-rays and read the reflected waves like radar. Instead of needing a receiver behind whatever is being scanned; the system is sensitive enough to create an image from the reflections. We can see what's going on inside another ship. IGB subs use this technology to spy on suspected craft. It's most helpful when you're planning an assault on a pirate or criminal vessel; so, you can determine the safest point of entry. They're also expert at monitoring communications and planting listening devices on hulls.
So, it was quite logical for SOCC to be an IGB command.
If there are no questions, I will begin the simulations." George waited a few minutes during a silence; then, started the simulations with the room completely dark and the projector off. He was using a military version of a three-dimensional, holographic planetarium projector to generate the moving images throughout the darkened room. A short preface introduced each scenario. Each was followed by another. Some included enemy counter attacks and feints. In the end, the guests were exposed to twenty-two different possible turns in the battle. Losses differed a little from one to the next; but, the outcomes were all virtually the same. In each, the enemy lost between twelve hundred and fifteen hundred warships and nearly two thousand fighters.
"Impressive, Admiral Bryant.' King Edward remarked. 'It looks like you've planned for every eventuality." He added.
"No, sir. No one can do that. But we can plan enough that the enemy may come up with a variation we hadn't thought of; but, it will be possible to adjust our plan to fit that need. That's how battlefield tactics work, sir.' George explained to the monarch. 'We can break for now; if, you're all satisfied, for tonight. We'll move to my quarters and enjoy a quiet evening. I'm sure some will feel they cannot attend; because of responsibilities; but, I urge you all to come. We have a pleasant evening planned." He added to the entire group; who all followed him out the door and through the corridors to his suite.
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They were stunned at the spacious and elegant apartment.
"Flag officers are all given quarters like this. We often have to entertain large groups of officers and visiting dignitaries. At my level, our homes are designed to adequately house four and to host up to twenty-five. You are welcome here. We have prepared a menu you may choose your dinner from. There is lots of food, fine wine and other alcoholic and soft beverages to enjoy.' George said as they entered and turned into the salon. 'Please, make yourselves at home." He added.
Marie came down the spiral staircase from the apartment's upper level; when, she heard the din.
"For those who haven't met her; this is my lovely wife, Vice Admiral Marie Bryant. She's commander of OFSA Counselling Services," George called out as Edward, the two C&C, Helena and I, and the Nichols rushed forward, immediately, with hugs and handshakes and general warmth projected at her. All others introduced themselves with a warm greeting. Many were in awe of her celebrity.
They all spent three and a half hours together. Everyone was contented and happy; and, some a little tipsy on departure. It was a great night.
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"This is a Fleet Admiral's Craft.' George explained as the entire entourage entered the vessel through its docked hatch. 'Officers at the rank of Vice Admiral or above are provided one. They get larger and more elaborate as you go up through the levels; because you carry more people at each elevation in grade. For example, a Vice Admiral must be protected by two Marine Guards at all times. When you take three eight hour shifts and days off into account; it means a Vice Admiral has eight security staff traveling with them. At each level, it goes up. At Captain and above, officers are allowed personal staff to compensate for the extra workload. A Captain and Commodore have one steward per shift. That means they need a team of four. Each level above is allowed more. My personal staff is a squad of twelve headed by a Chief Petty Officer. They keep quarters clean, organized and tidy. They make sure the laundry gets done. They will convey meals to wherever we need them. You saw part of my team, last night. They prepared the room for the presentation. I also have a Chief of Staff who may or
may not travel with me; dependent on the purpose of the trip. So, no less than twenty people are shuttled on this vessel; if, I have to move. And the craft itself takes fifty-one to run it. It has a bridge, maintenance, operations, weapons, and galley crew besides its shuttle and fighter pilots and security team. We also carry many guests; as is the case, this morning. These vessels allow us to journey safely and in relative comfort for long distances. I travel from the war front to Rigil once every three months for face to face meetings. This ship is fully equipped; so, I can use it as a mobile command. In effect, I am never away from Mobile Fifth; when, I am out of sight. To travel from ship A to ship B, I would often use only a shuttle. But the current battle line is so long, we have forces spread over several light years. I often need this ship to travel from one of my commands to another. In my case, I make the determination by deciding if the trip will be overnight; or not. I only explain this; so, you committee members have first-hand knowledge of where the sovereigns go; and why. This may seem a bit extravagant; but, I assure you it's necessary. Just look at what it's doing while you are all with my Command." Admiral Bryant finished as the ship went into to FTL for the first three-light-year leg of its tour.
"Admiral, can I ask you a question?" As he turned to the voice, George saw the young Committee Member who had asked the first question, the night before.
"Of course. Feel free to ask anything, at any time." George responded warmly.
"Is it always so complex and elaborate?" The man asked.
"Is what so elaborate, Assemblyman?" Bryant queried.
"War. Does it always require so much planning - all the battle scenarios and possible ones - all the people - all the equipment?" He asked with tears welling in his eyes.
Righteous Reign The Series: E-version Boxed Set Edition Page 80