"I am going to send all those who were not included in the earlier session the basic outline for the upcoming beating we intend to lay on the Isesinis at Rigil. They have been most underhanded in their attempt to lay a trap for us. But we discovered it!"
George sent everyone a copy of Savign's report then explained its meaning as he saw it. Then he forwarded all new attendees the nine-item blueprint approved by the C&C Commission, the Planning Committee, the Defense sub-committee, and the King.
"We need to flesh this out into something that creates a more comprehensive overall plan. Then, I can request detailed tactical plans from all the secondary levels; so, we can build a final strategy. But, please bear your most likely precise objectives and requirements in mind when making suggestions to this overview.
The toughest part of this will be item one. It has to be handled in a matter that's believable. It cannot appear we intentionally leaked the information. It must seem accidental. We need to figure out a way to create this illusion.
We dissolved for the day an hour and a half later with an eight-hundred-hour meeting scheduled the next morning. Addison Blythe asked George if she could speak with him alone, for a few minutes. Then, they asked my T1-1 Commander Admiral Astinov to join them. Still further into the evening, they requested my presence. The little piece of the plan we discussed was to be secret - even to other members of the Commission and War Council. Its success depended on everyone's surprised reactions.
In the end, it took us three days to come up with all the little details George could build into the strategy. But, most importantly, we found a way to create the atmosphere we desired around the first point of the fundamental plan. He spent the next day setting objectives, responsibilities, and rules of engagements for each individual Command. Then, the day after was consumed composing requests for tactical formulations that would meet all those specifications.
On February 16, I received the one directed at me. It allowed two weeks to build a complete proposal. The document set Zeta HQ objectives, areas of operations, defensive responsibilities, and rules of engagement. I was required to present my tactical plan for achieving all those requirements by eight hundred hours Wednesday, March 2, 2270. I called in all my senior Commanders.
...........................................................................................................................
On Tuesday, February 22, the entire OFSA was shocked by the arrest of Admiral Astinov. He had made a terrible mistake which could be punishable by imprisonment. In transmitting tactical information to his subordinates via Earth's orbital communications station, he included high-level classified material he failed to encrypt at the proper level. It was open to discovery by our enemies if they are capable of deciphering the lower level code.
I contacted JAG aboard the Examiner. They decided that this situation fell within Rule five-hundred-three of MMCM-2269 and appointed the Chief Judge who would select and appoint two additional members to the three-member Court's panel. R&R required all members to be a senior civilian Federation judge, a Jag officer of no lower rank than Commodore, or a superior member of the OFSA Admiralty; since a Senior Admiral was being tried. From the list I supplied, the judge decided on a Jag jurist and Vice Admiral Svjosloki. The public trial required three days. The defendant was ushered in, the charges were read into the record, a plea was accepted, and a defense attorney was appointed.
The defendant was permitted to meet with counsel for an hour. Then, both sides conducted the discovery portion of the hearing based on available evidence. A trial date was set for three days after that.
When the trial was convened, the prosecution entered only three items of interest into evidence and called only one witness.
The expert testified to the Level One Encryption on that date. Then she testified to the classification of the documentation transmitted. She explained the difference.
"Standard encryption ciphers are based on sequences created by computerized Random Number Generators. But, no automated system algorithm has ever been able to create a chain that is truly arbitrary. Because they start with a root number and can only calculate the number of operations specified in the formula, they usually repeat, at some point. There are different instruction sets. Some are more complex than others. We employ those as we go up the levels of security until we reach Secret. At that point, we use a system known as Unique Once Page Code. These are cryptographs created one at a time by humanoid operators. Each Staff Office has a crew of these people among their employees. Those people do nothing but sit at a computer all day every day and generate these codes. These cryptographs are a minimum of two pages long - but can be as extensive as ten pages. Secret will be translated with the two-page one. Top Secret will correspond to a five-page code. And, the encryption for an Ultra Secret message will be based on a ten page code. The number of pages indicate how many letters can be typed without repeating the use of a cipher character. A single page usually holds thirteen hundred. So, a two page code allows the sender twenty-six hundred characters before repeating and a ten page one would offer thirteen thousand. You need a copy of any particular Unique Once Page Code encryption to be able to decode a communiqué encrypted with that cipher. Each headquarters gives its subordinate commands copies of these crypts. Each one is identified by a serial number. These interpretors are only passed to subordinates by hand. This ensures they can not be intercepted. When an authentication number is placed in the heading of a message, it is referring to the code's identification number. Once a Unique Page has been used, it is destroyed.'
When asked for her expert opinion she stated.'Yes, the Admiral should have used the day's Level One Encryption security protocol to send the message. It was sensitive enough to designate it Secret, at the very least. But, its length should have dictated it was Ultra Secret."
The defense argued it was an oversight anyone could have committed; brought on by the constant stress Zeta Commands have been experiencing since the Isesinis invasion. The only witness presented was Admiral Astinov who said he was fatigued when the incident occurred and stressed his twenty years faithful service without charge and his lack of intent to commit the offense.
Astinov was convicted. The evidence was incontrovertible.
The Courtmartial Judicial Panel ruled punishment was for him to spend two weeks in the Examiner's brig, be reduced in rank to Admiral Ten and be relieved of his Command and assigned one of lower responsibility. He essentially changed places with his Zeta T1-1-1 Commander, Anna Arce, and assumed his post on Monday, March 14, 2270. Fredricka played no small part in his condemnation in the press and the outrage that he would still hold such a senior position in the OFSA. She even gave me a hard time about it at home each night for a week. I kept trying to explain I had nothing to do with it. He'd been tried in a legal proceeding under the directions of the Military Manual for Military Courtmartial by a court which determined the sentence. My only part in it was to re-assign him to a position that fit within its ruling. Nonetheless, she continued her pressure in her daily broadcasts which were transmitted throughout the Federation via all the permanent communication stations. I finally relented and agreed to an interview regarding the whole matter.
I explained what happened and how an oversight like that could occur. I stressed the result was to derail our subsequent offensive operations until we could develop new ideas. This mistake had eliminated the element of surprise.
Fredricka was happy with the exchange. But, it only seemed to fuel her outrage more. She continued her unrelenting barrage on a system that punishes such a serious offense so lightly. Day after day, she submitted new reports. But, all the noise in the universe wasn't about to change the decision. It had been arrived at in a manner prescribed by law. And, my part in the whole affair had actually been dictated by the Court's decision. We were all just trying to make the most of a very uncomfortable situation.
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............................................
MEMO
CLASSIFIED - ULTRA SECRET (NTK)
ENCRYPTED - AUTHENTICATION ROOT I.D. ZET-SF-02-W9L89-109?{
From:F. Admiral Savign C&C / SOCC HQ Commander
To:All Tier One HQ Tactical Commanders, Rigil Chiefs of C&C Commisssion, CIC
C.CNo other distribution
Re:Kentaurus System
Date:February 28, 2270
All,
SOCC has observed a change in day to day operations of the four enemy detachments located at Rigil in the Kentaurus system. This deviation is in the form of a considerable amount of traffic between the four locations. This is not the usual activity we have noted previously. There had been only extremely limited contact amongst the three remote units, and none between them and the one at Rigil. For some unknown reason, activity seems to be evolving dramatically.
Admiral Savign
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On Monday, March 14, 2270, I submitted the Zeta Headquarters tactical plan. Other Commanders were in and out all day. George combined them with his Epsilon program and revised the overall work to reflect our individual components.
He submitted it for C&C, CIC, and Defense sub-committee approval on March 16, 2270. The final vote did not include the entire Planning Committee for security reasons. When alone with the C&C he confided a detail not included in the plans. It had been held back to achieve certain desired effects. The C&C approved it. Then, the panel continued and adopted the entire scheme.
...........................................................................................................................
MEMO
CLASSIFIED - ULTRA SECRET (NTK)
ENCRYPTED - AUTHENTICATION ROOT I.D. SOCC -HQ-02-P66TY3-@22?{
From:F. Admiral Savign SOCC HQ Commander
To:All Tier One HQ Tactical Commanders, Rigil Chiefs of C&C Commisssion, CIC
C.CNo other distribution
Re:Kentaurus System
Date:March 25, 2270
All,
In the last week, we have seen more evidence of our friends' amalgamation. We have endowed our blessings on the base here and on the other big brothers elsewhere and delivered another seven hundred gifts to their little friends.
Admiral Savign
After reading this one, George sent a memo to all of us.
MEMO
CLASSIFIED - ULTRA SECRET (NTK)
ENCRYPTED - AUTHENTICATION ROOT I.D. EPS-HQ-05-A7895B-!09&*
From:F. Adm. G. Bryant Epsilon, HQ Commander
To:All Tier One HQ Tactical Commanders, Rigil Chiefs of C&C Commisssion, CIC
C.CNo other distribution
Re:Kentaurus System
Date:March 28, 2270
All,
Please refer to our plan to visit our friends. Calculate your best departure time, so we reach them together on April 31, 2270, at the time specified in the comprehensive strategy.
F. Adm. G. Bryant
So, that's' it. We're going. I've been eyeing Savign's reports and wondering if George was thinking about advancing the timetable. The enemy has started preparing to strike. They evidently tapped into Astinov's communication error and all the press coverage surrounding the trial. I called him and his replacement, Admiral Anna Arce, in. I explained it all for Anna's benefit and apologized for our deception. Then, I restored their original ranks and assignments. I contacted the Chief Judge from the Court Martial panel and illuminated him. He did some research and summoned the other members of the triad. They reversed the conviction.
Zeta jumped out for Rigil at fourteen hundred hours thirty minutes on April 30.
...........................................................................................................................
We entered Rigil like we did for the other attacks of the recent past. Epsilon attacked from above. Gamma attacked from below. Zeta assaulted the Polyhedron unit and its surrounding flotilla. We came barrelling in with all guns blazing and Raptors launching as fast as we could. The fight raged for an hour.
MEMO
CLASSIFIED - ULTRA SECRET (NTK)
ENCRYPTED - AUTHENTICATION ROOT I.D. SOCC-HQ-06-D8342L-709$$
From:Admiral Savign SOCC HQ Commander,
To:All Tier One HQ Tactical Commanders, Rigil Chiefs of C&C Commisssion, CIC
C.CNo other distribution
Re:Kentaurus System
Date:March 31, 2270
All,
We have monitored the three remote enemy Fleets leaving their current location at nine hundred, today.
Admiral Savign
We continued fighting as if nothing had changed until we saw the first reinforcing vessel enter our area. We all began giving ground. Ten minutes later, the region had another two thousand enemy assets buzzing around. Half an hour after that, the additional Polyhedrons appeared. George issued the critical order.
"Savign - detonate! I repeat. SOCC is free to detonate."
After a few seconds delay, enemy Carriers and Cruisers begin exploding. And, sequentially and slowly for effect; she activates the bombs aboard the Orbs, one after the other. Each destroys a host of their own nearby vessels as they annihilate. We move back into close proximity. It's a reasonably fair fight, after that.
Our vessels pour on missiles and torpedoes. And, once they sense an issue with shields and hulls, Spears of Fear and particle cannons are employed to finish the job while conserving antimatter ammunition. Over six thousand allied fighters are divided into contingents. Some are in dogfights with the twenty-two hundred Isesinis ones. Others are involved in offensive operations attacking enemy warships or assisting in our activities against the Orbs. And still, more are employed defensively as a shield that protects our own vessels. Missiles, torpedoes, and spears zip through the flickering space; lighted by exploding shells, brilliant particle streams, and annihilating ships. Smokey dust is thick in the space that fills the gaps between all the ships in the region. Ships have to be vigilant in an effort to avoid the sudden surges of spiraling shrapnel as enemy warships burst into millions of deadly projectiles. To an untrained eye, it all looks like pandemonium. But, it's all to plan.
In the end, it's a two-day affair. Epsilon loses a Carrier, two Cruisers, and three Frigates. Gamma forces are reduced by two Cruisers and four Frigates. Four of Zeta's Frigates are consumed in the effort. The Spiel spends five ships on the fight, and the Polemista suffer the forfeiture of seven vessels. Combined, we all lose one hundred sixty-three fighter craft. Personnel losses total twenty-one thousand two hundred forty-three with other deaths totaling three thousand two hundred twenty-nine. These are non-OFSA family members and contractors. This is always the saddest casualty figure because it includes a number of children.
But, for all that, the combined OFSA forces destroy four Polyhedrons, nearly four thousand enemy ships, and over two thousand enemy fighters. Though we aren't sure, we believe nearly half a million Isesinis soldiers have been eliminated.
Then, George orders Ian Malcolm to send his combined force of a quarter-million OFSA Marines to the planet. It is an Army assembled from four Corps drafted from all our commands, and containing all their subordinated leadership and under the direct control of Marshal Malcolm. In all eight divisional commands are established at various points on the planet. Brigades fan out from those localities. They know where to look. Sparks' people have given us accurate, detailed information. Regiments include heavy and light armor and battalions of artillery. Small skirmishes ensue in the populated regions of our Headquarters World. The purge lasts four days. We capture or kill nearly ten thousand enemy troops. Two hundred twenty Marines die in the effort. Zeta - ISIE secures the Assembly and the OFSA Headquarters. We spend the next few days hunting down missing officials and Assembly Representatives. On April 7, we declared the battle over, and Rigil liberated. There is a week of celebrati
on among the citizens as our Engineering Corps repairs and restores various facilities, the Academies, production plants, and orbital shipyards. We reinstall Grace in her offices and call back all surviving Staff Members. We reopen the Orion Assembly. We advise all concerned that OFSA HQ has returned to Rigil from its temporary Earth location.
In the three-day debriefing, the rest of us thank Astinov for his sacrifice before our invasion.We also congratulated and thanked Admiral Bryant on his incredible tactical insights and planning. I hold an interview with Fredricka explaining the subterfuge we were creating by charging him with a crime. And, the effect it had on our mission. She is a little angry with me, at first. But, later she realizes it was necessary to get her to respond with the entirely believable indignation she displayed throughout the whole episode. She published an article about his sacrifice and heroism that was broadcast via all the communications facilities. But, on April 10, 2270, we receive another video presentation from the Isesinis.
The same voice-over can be heard issuing a warning as a small planet in the background is destroyed by one of the Polyhedrons. We scramble to identify the victim. Several minutes that seem like hours are expended as we search databases for the detailed view that will identify which world has been terminated. We finally define the system as HN Pegasi, a small yellow star with eight planets. Two are habitable and are home to advanced species that are Federation members. The Isesinis has destroyed the smallest of the two. Nearly five hundred million Grestita are now gone. The voice warns they will destroy everything if we don't cease and desist.
"Another lure?" I ask George.
"I don't think so. Not this time. They know the lure won't work. This is a genuine threat. And, if the Isesinis don't see we've stopped our attacks, I believe they'll act on it within a year.
"But, if we stop, won't they just attack us within our narrow confines?"
"No, I don't think they'd try that, now. I feel the Isesinis understand our tactical abilities. I guess they will be satisfied if we appear content with our little appendage of the Federation. So far, we have been much more trouble than they initially counted on.
Righteous Reign The Series: E-version Boxed Set Edition Page 120