The Admiral employed a very circuitous route to return to his quarters. It was necessary for him to always appear to enjoy these long hikes to reinforce his need for those jaunts in the Hangar Bay. He washed up and changed for the coming sports event. Then, he left the room for a long walk with a datapad in hand and earpiece in place. He chose a music playlist he enjoyed listening to and turned up the volume until it leaked from his earlobe a little. As he moved along the corridor, Naabaahii removed an interface unit and placed the tiny chip inside. He plugged it into the datapad and brought up the opening document. After reading the heading, he selected the decryption app and directed it to the correct OTP cipher. Then, he minimized the entire operation and continued his march while the computer did its work.
"What'ya got there?" A voice from behind him asked. It was Chan.
"...just listening to a little music.' Chan refused the offered ear hoop. 'It relaxes me. I've assembled these long playlists for my walks." Naabaahii explained as he turned the screen towards the other man.
"You on your way to the games?" Chan queried.
"Yes, but I'm taking the long way. You know how much I enjoy my walks. They give me time to think and center myself."
"Sort of like meditation?"
"Yes, I guess it is. I never thought of it that way, before."
"Well, I'm taking the regular route. See you later." Chan said as he veered off into a corridor on his left.
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In the Admin Center the next morning, Nabby sat in a safe position with his datapad in hand. This particular desk places him with the monitoring camera behind his pad. And, he can see those coming in and out, just in case someone enters who may wish to speak with him.
He raised a video game to keep on the screen, then opened the message. Sparks wanted to remove him for his own safety. He expressed his concern over the recent near-miss and explained they have all the intelligence needed from him. They would remove him during his regular Hangar Bay walk the next day. It would leave a big mystery for Kos and his people. They may even think he got blown out into space by being in that section when the doors were opened. He ran the special digital cleaner. It essentially does a standard wipe. Then it zeros all unregistered memory so no information can be reconstituted. After that, he always starts the Defragment application to further muddle everything by moving data around, which overwrites previously used memory. And the record of the Defrag explains the state of the unit. The sudden inspections of all Isesinis data pads had never revealed anything that shouldn't be in his system.
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Later that morning, Kos put out a memo to all humans allowing them to take leave, with approval. But, they were not permitted to return to unoccupied regions of the Federation. They all understood that proviso.
After a full day's work analyzing incoming surveillance and observations and preparing reports for Kos, Nabby showered and changed. Then, he left his quarters for the usual stroll. In the Hangar Bay, he sauntered about showing interest in this or that and standing on the main floor looking up at one of the big warships for nearly half an hour. As if waking up, he began to move along the side walls studying piping, conduits, and hardware as usual. As he passed the back side of the cross-member used for the drop, he suddenly disappeared.
Both he and Kaule peered out from inside the cloak. No one even noticed the Admiral evaporate. Everyone was just going about their business. After a few more minutes, Kaule ushered the agent inside the Nautica's hatchway. Half an hour later, it backed out of the Polyhedron behind the departing warship Naabaahii had been examining a while back. The Admiral was prompted to maintain complete silence while inside the big base ship with a visual cue.
"Welcome aboard, sir." Captain Ignot offered a hand when they were clear of the giant Polyhedron.
"Thank you. I was glad General Sparks wanted me out. I was beginning to suffer from exhaustion."
"We'll have you home in less than a week. We're going to meet a Frigate that will take you the rest of the way. Unfortunately, we are still needed, here."
"You have a Frigate in occupied space? I'm not sure that's a safe way to travel."
"Not to worry. We have cloaks on a fleet of seventy-two Frigates, now. Let's get you some quarters and show you the way to the mess hall. You must be tired."
"Very!" The ex-Admiral replied.
They walked in silence along the hallway, stopping at a doorway. "This will be your room for the next day. But, you're welcome to wander the ship, if you're so inclined. I'll show you the dining area." Ignot extended a hand in the same direction they'd been traveling.
They moved a hundred feet along the walkway which opened into a concourse. To the right were the tables and serving counters. To the left, there was a communal entertainment room.
"Make yourself at home. I have work to do. But, if you need me just go forward to the Con." The Captain offered warmly as he hustled away.
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"Sir, we're here!" A young Ensign had poked his head through the small room's doorway.
"Where? How long have I been asleep?"
"We're nearly to your transport. You've slept almost a full day."
"Dammit! I had a report to finish. I need to transmit it, so it gets to Rigil quickly. I should have asked someone to wake me. Did you know the Isesinis are afraid of water?" He asked, then realized he was still half asleep.
"Sorry, sir. I didn't know!"
"It's not your fault Ensign. I never thought I'd sleep that long or I'd have set the alarm. Man, I feel like I've been on a big drunk. I slept too long." Naabaahi said with the coarseness that comes from a dry mouth and throat. "And, I must have been snoring. I could drink lake Okeechobee dry." Nabby observed as he moved toward the sink.
"Are you going to be okay, sir."
"Yeah, I'll be fine. How long do I have?"
"We'll meet the Frigate in about an hour and a quarter. But, that's not important. You're the guest of honor. They'll wait."
"That gives me time to shower and eat. I should be okay by the time they're here."
An hour later, the Admiral found Commander Ignot in the Con. Outwardly, he was wide awake and fresh. Inwardly he felt like he had a rolled up wool blanket inside. He was sluggish and lackluster.
"You finally came out of your hibernation, eh?" Ignot smirked.
"Yes. I guess I was more exhausted than I realized."
"Half a year undercover will do that. I've never done that kind of work. But, we transport agents all the time. Some are intelligence and others are Special Forces, but all are clandestine. They come back in various states depending on the length and stress of their assignments. But, none have ever slept a full day before." The Captain observed.
"It was a long, nerve-wracking assignment. There was the constant fear of discovery. Did you see the report of the executions?"
"Yes, I did. They were particularly uncivilized."
"Yes. And, those people were innocent. It was me the Isesinis were really looking for. General Sparks misdirected them to look elsewhere."
"Holy shit. The Isesinis did that to two innocent people?"
"Not entirely guiltless. The human is a traitor. And the other guy is the enemy. So, from a strictly OFSA point of view, they deserved it. But, they were not spying. I was the agent."
"We're here. All stop! Engines to station keeping!' Ignot barked. 'We won't decloak. The transfer will take place behind full screens. Enjoy your trip home. And good luck." He directed softly at the Admiral as he offered a hand.
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"I think your incompetent people killed him!' Admiral Chan yelled at the Dac Sul commanding the Hangar Bay. 'You opened the fucking doors with him inside. How
could that happen?" He added.
"I don't know. There are safety systems. People are automatically monitored on entry. We receive a warning if people are inside when we're trying to land or launch."
"And, what happens when you get this alarm?"
"We check all internal sensors and do a quick physical sweep. If no one is found we assume, the detectors missed someone exiting, and we depressurize and open. This is a busy station, Admiral."
"So, if an individual gets sick and passes out on a floor in some hard to see area, you could blow them out the door?"
"Yes, sir. I suppose it's conceivable. If instruments don't detect anyone and we can't see them, then I guess it is possible."
Chan abruptly exited and marched to Kil Kos' Command Center. They spent half an hour discussing the matter - first heatedly then more calmly. In the end, Kos locked down the station and the rest of the day was spent searching for Nabby and trying to recover any evidence that might enlighten them. A fleet of shuttles searched the surrounding space for nearly fifty kilometers around the station.
"I think we should hold a memorial for him. Naabaahi was loyal to both of us. And, he provided valuable insight into all the information we received. He had the ability to analyze it from the point of view of those in charge of the OFSA. And, he worked tirelessly. I know for a fact, he was feeling exhausted."
"I agree. We will do something for him. I will have Res handle it. I am not good at these things. He seems to understand sadness and remorse much better than me.' Kos assessed candidly. 'And, we will initiate steps to improve safety on the hangar decks." He added as he stood up indicating it was time for Chan to exit.
Res arranged the observance quickly. The next day there was an assemblage in the Hangar Bay. Kind words were spoken. Fifty fighters did a fly-past, and fifty guns fired reduced charges. Even Kos rose to make a brief statement thanking Naaby for his service.
Chapter 16 From Intelligence to Action
Wednesday, November 2, 2270
"Thinking will not overcome fear but action will." W. Clement Stone
The following Wednesday, Beta and Delta both deployed three of their four Theatre-level Commands to sites that would see the feints. They would all arrive just after their opponents at three hundred hours fifteen minutes on Monday, November 7, 2270. Each would hold the fourth operation in reserve. But, neither expected to see real action.
But, Admiral Nichols issued orders splitting Gamma along its two Tier 2 operations sending them to border "no-mans'-land" positions at RA 237.325º x Dec 47.6º at ninety-five light-years and RA 211.755 x 47.6 at ninety-five light-years, respectively. These regions are directly across from each other on opposite sides of the wedge we have recovered. He had provided them with the detailed enemy preparations.
Each OFSA Tier 2 Command had elected to hold only three Fleets in reserve throwing the other thirteen into the boundary area scuffle. But, an Epsilon twelve Fleet Theatre was added to Gamma-T2-1, and an eight fleet Zeta one was included with Gamma T2-2 forces. There would be twenty-five Fleets on one border and twenty-one on the other. The distribution was based on information received regarding the strength of enemy formations scheduled to attack at each position.
At both, the OFSA ships would land and wait a light-year inside the border, since the enemy battle plan was to land beyond it, then immediately make another lunge for the interior and begin a slow, steady push toward the middle. The objective was to cut our wedge in half. If they succeeded, thousands of warships accompanied by Base Stations would enter through the rift and begin to push us towards either end of our archipelago. So, a significant and efficient response is required.
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It took nearly four days in the vortices at forty-percent of light-speed for the two Gamma contingents to reach their staging places then, relaunch to their assigned positions. The group on the eastern boundary arrived to find the Zeta flotilla already engaged in fierce fighting. The western deployment also found the Epsilon task force deeply involved in combat. The two Gamma T1-2 level Headquarters were positioned a parsec inside each border, away from the fighting at either place. The T1-3-level Headquarters were stationed a light-year from each site with their Mobile Hospital Units with security flotillas and reserve forces.
Fleet Admiral Nichols' Gamma T1 HQ the FSS Supernova, along with my Examiner, and George's Valhalla are situated beside one of the new SSR transmitters at Gamma Bootes, on vector RA 224.4º x Dec 38.31º at just over twenty-six and a half parsecs from Sol. That places the Central Command about twenty-two light-years from either conflict. All seven subordinate Base Stations have each been carefully situated beside one of the new SSR relay units so we can employ the new Substrata Communications System. Cloaked SOCC Subs also sit at each battlefield transmitting sensor images via SSR units near them. And, because the new technology is so heavily deployed within the corridor, no Carrier in the battle zones will ever be more than fifty thousand kilometers from one. So, all Senior Commanders are receiving reports, logs, and visual representations in near real-time and can return new orders as quickly. This is the first field testing of the Suvayeek inspired technology during an actual campaign.
In the west, Epsilon's Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic Fleets are clearly visible with the other ten a little too distant to see clearly. Likewise, to the east, most are hard to perceive, but Kalahari's FSS Prosecutor, Sahara's FSS Defender, Gobi Fleet's FSS Witness, and Negev's FSS Accuser are distinguishable. Epsilon and Zeta had both employed new naming protocols during the last R&R change, freeing standard nomenclature for the Regional Tier 1 Commands.
And, as expected, our opponents arranged in disc formations, static and heavily protected around their perimeters but sadly weak below and above. All the while, both Epsilon and Zeta forces kept moving, reforming, and re-attacking from the same side atop and beneath. From the left frame of the Western and right rim of the Eastern battle screens, large contingents streaked towards the Isesinis launching Raptors and firing all weapons at a ferocious pace. Gamma T1-1 divided into two arrows to fortify the Epsilon assault. T1-2 Headquarters had separated its Fleets into three to aid the Zeta operation. Within a minute of their appearance, over six-hundred fighters had also joined the fray at each location.
But though the initial ferocity hurt the Isesinis, it cost us, too. Before Gamma arrived at each battlefield, both Epsilon and Zeta had incurred severe losses. Epsilon's T2 Theatre One Command had seen the destruction of several vessels among two Fleets that had formed the point of one spear. Atlantic Fleet lost the Cruisers FSS Kadesh and FSS Tanagra while Pacific Fleet lost the Carrier FSS Vinland, the Cruiser FSS Carchemish, and the Frigate FSS Pittsburgh. Pacific's Vice Admiral Gargata quickly rolled Vinland Group into Kaupanger Group so the remaining ships would have guidance. Two more Fleets suffered critically damaged vessels that were still space-worthy. Arctic Fleet's Carriers FSS Odense and FSS Tynwald and Antartic Fleets FSS Runeston were badly mauled. Epsilon casualties totaled nearly twelve thousand dead and eight thousand injured by the time Gamma arrived. Zeta's price was not quite as high. But Admiral Anne Arce's Negev Fleet lost the Carrier FSS Integrity, and all of Admiral Tom Hurst's Chihuahua Fleet Frigates were annihilated. We suffered almost eleven thousand deaths and five thousand injuries during that period.
Combined, Anna's and Tom's Theatre Commands still had two-hundred fifty units up against the remaining three hundred twenty-four Isesinis ships and had already destroyed thirty-one of their Frigates and Carriers, when the two hundred fifty-six Gamma T2-2 formations landed. And at the other location, the original four hundred twenty-six assaulting enemy vessels had been reduced to three hundred seventy-seven, to face Epsilon's balance of three hundred seventy-nine warships, when Gamma T2-1 arrived. That was the point where our communications came online, and we saw the Gamma deployments heading in with all guns blazing and hundreds of Raptors launched.
At each loc
ale, they broke into four columns. Two traveled above existing armadas and two below. Two were to the Sol side of the fray the other on the galactic facing edge. All fired a torrent into the centers of the Isesinis formations. Within a minute of the influx, thirty to forty Isesinis craft were destroyed at each location turning the field into a brilliant flare flickering off the smoke and debris from all the sudden destruction. The massive attacks triggered the first flexibility in our antagonists' tactics we have seen to now.
On the western line, they broke into six separate Fleets. To the east, they divided into four groups, which reflected the loss of one of their Carriers. On both fronts, the detachments opened up like starbursts placing considerable distance between the various flotillas. And each individual body of ships widened their footprint. It all served to create an atmosphere that reduced the chances of vessels falling victim to chain reaction annihilations. And, they were able to fortify their outer perimeter by defending it in layers. But, they still could not adapt to our three-dimensional style of assaults, failing to adequately reinforce the territory above and below their new configurations.
In response, Gamma reformed into a single mass as it completed its first pass across the enemy, then re-split into two far-flung convoys as they made their turns for a second sprint. All the while the Epsilon or Zeta force stood its ground. And, off in the distance at each location, thirty-six exit threshold formed spewing an additional force of OFSA frigates into each battle. Admiral Laft had managed to get his typically diffused forces together and into the confrontation in time to be a vital benefit at both positions.
These independent units displayed an entirely unique tactic. Each Captain must have gauged friendly and enemy fire on their trip from jump exit to confrontation. The Frigates all zig-zagged throughout the maelstrom avoiding both sides' streams of ammunitions while lashing enemy vessels encountered on their erratic paths. Several times, at both sites, I saw Frigates make runs then complete a loop for an inverted pass above the frenzy. One at a time, they would withdraw to the outer edge of the tumult to meet a supply ship for restocking. Then, they'd return to the mission, at hand.
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