Retreat and Adapt

by Thomas DePrima

  "I don't think we should refer to the Galactic Alliance Senate as 'the GAS,'" Admiral Holt said with a chuckle. "I appreciate that it might be entirely appropriate at times, but I don't believe the senators will appreciate it."

  "Yes, Captain," Jenetta said, "don't refer to the Senate as the GAS. I understand and appreciate your concern for my inconvenience, but newsies must have access to the Senate's complex, and I won't have them running around on this island, which is devoted solely to military operations and therefore limited to military personnel and civilians with a military clearance of top-secret or higher."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "I do like the basic designs created by you and your staff, Captain. I especially like the amount of free space you've left near the complexes for future expansion. A one-hundred-kilometer-square space should be ample for the government bureaucracy as we expand our presence in Regions Two and Three. Planetary representatives will naturally seek to have their embassies located as close as possible to the senate complex, but we must reserve that inner zone of space exclusively for governmental operations. The high-speed travel system facilities you've designed will make everyone's commute a swift one. Locating sufficient shuttle pads in the government's space will allow Senators and their staffs to travel to and from the senate complex in minutes. The newsies and political hacks will no doubt object to their housing being two hundred kilometers away, but that's too bad."

  "Thank you, ma'am. My people have worked hard to accommodate everyone's requirements."

  "The island selected for the senate should be distant enough that our air traffic controllers can ensure that only authorized shuttles get within a thousand kilometers of this base."

  "A thousand kilometers, Ma'am?"

  "Yes. A thousand kilometers, Captain."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "Continue your work, Captain, and report back when you have suggestions for which island we'll use."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "Is there any new business for the Board today?" Jenetta asked the assembled members."

  "Just before we convened, I was notified that the Flordaryns have sent an urgent message for assistance," Admiral Poole said. "I ordered the Hephaestus to Flordarya to look into the issue."

  "What was the reported problem?"

  "They claim that the Tsgardi are demanding their torpedoes be returned to them immediately rather than waiting until their ships are ready to depart."

  Jenetta sighed. "The Tsgardi again! Why do they want their torpedoes back before their ship repairs are complete?"

  "The Flordaryns say the Tsgardi have learned we've lost two of our ships, and they claim to be fearful that there might be someone who can defeat us. They want to be able to protect themselves if the aggressor shows up at Flordarya."

  "That's Tsgardi logic for you. They know we could destroy them in an instant, and there's nothing they could do to stop us. Now they want their torpedoes back to help them against an enemy they believe might be even more powerful than us." Jenetta shook her head sadly before saying, "And the Flordaryns refused their request, I assume?"

  "Yes, and the Tsgardi threatened to attack the planet with their laser arrays if the torpedoes were not immediately returned, at which point the Flordaryns informed them that their laser arrays had been disabled the first day the Flordaryns had access to their ships."

  "I bet that wasn't greeted warmly."

  "No, it wasn't. Then the Tsgardi refused to allow the technicians working aboard their ships to leave until the laser capability was restored and their torpedoes returned."

  "Then?"

  "The Flordaryns flatly refused. That's where things stood when the Flordaryns sent their appeal for help."

  "Wonderful. I felt sure those Tsgardi were going to be a problem when they traveled outside their home system without permission. I should have had them towed home in their disabled condition."

  "How stern do you want to be?"

  Jenetta thought for a minute while everyone in the room looked on. "We don't want to risk the lives of the Flordaryn workers, but I won't continue to play games with these Tsgardi. They now have two strikes against them. One more and we'll toss them out of the game, permanently."

  "You mean…?"

  "Yes, I mean exactly that. If they harm even one Flordaryn worker, the kid gloves come off. We'll destroy those tissue paper ships of theirs and drop any survivors off on their home world as a lesson to the rest of the race. They've been warned repeatedly, and they seem incapable of understanding. Perhaps we need to destroy all their ships and leave them completely isolated on their world. The galaxy will be the better for it."

  "They are sentient beings, Jen." Admiral Buckner said.

  "That has often been a subject for heated debate. If they can't coexist peacefully with their neighbors, we'll see that they are unable to annoy or threaten them."

  "Have you considered that the Tsgardi might be in league with the Denubbewa?" Admiral Holt asked.

  Jenetta turned to look at him. "You think they might be?"

  "Oh, not as a senior partner or even an equal partner. I was thinking that the Denubbewa might be using them as the Milori and Uthlaro used them. You know how revenge-minded the Tsgardi are. They'd love to see you— uh…"

  "Yes, I know. Their senior officer at Flordarya, Admiral Kelakmius, as much as told me that when we were there. Do you really think they'd allow themselves to become the pawn of another race so soon after their last debacle?"

  "I know that their current troublemaking would seem to be perfectly timed to function as a diversion."

  "I admit I don't personally like the species, but I have trouble believing even they could be that dumb."

  "Never overestimate the intelligence of an enemy. That assumption could help support a claim of innocence if they deny any involvement while evidence points to the contrary."

  "This is beginning to look like the THUG pact."

  "How so?" Holt asked.

  "We have the Denubbewa, Ruwalchu, Uthlaro, and now the Tsgardi. Is it possible they're all involved?"

  "It's not impossible."

  "No, that's true. This is all so frustrating. I much prefer an enemy that announces their intentions and then comes straight at you."

  "Yes," Holt said with a chuckle, "but I'm afraid that went out of style in the twentieth century when nations grew so powerful that aggressors didn't dare attack openly, or at least didn't announce their intentions before they commenced their attacks."

  * * *

  "Good morning, Admiral," Captain Barbara DeWitt said as she entered Jenetta's office in the Governor's Palace the next day.

  "Good morning, Barbara. Fix yourself a beverage and join me in my informal area."

  When both women were seated in comfortable chairs, Jenetta said, "Barbara, we need a new weapon. As you know, our Phalanx system is unable to defend our ships against the enemy missile barrage. Right now, all we can do is run away if we see them coming."

  "Yes, Admiral. My staff has been brainstorming ideas, but every suggestion has the same weakness. We just can't get close enough to ensure delivery and survive the encounter. Unless we find a ship full of volunteers willing to die to complete the mission, we don't have a chance of success. Even if we did find those volunteers, there's no guarantee we'd succeed. We don't know the weaknesses of the enemy ships, so we may not cause enough damage to even slow them down."

  "I realize that, so I've been trying to work out the details of a weapon that could allow us to bypass all their defenses without putting our people in harm's way, doesn't give them time to build an envelope and escape, can attack them even if they're traveling FTL, and is capable of destroying any ship we attack. I know this will sound crazy and impossible when you hear it, but I've given it a lot of thought and believe it's feasible. Of course, we may not know that until we build and test it."

  "It sounds like the ideal weapon. We've always sought a weapon that can be used in FTL since lasers and torpedoes are useless. Can you
give me the details?"

  "This has to remain most secret. I'll relate all the details at the appropriate time."

  "Of course, Admiral. I trust all of my people implicitly. Most have been with me for years, and there's never been a hint that anyone has passed secrets."

  "I'm sure, but we can't risk an outside person even getting a suggestion of how the weapon will work. It has to be treated like the Manhattan Project during World War II. The people working on the weapon will be sequestered somewhere far from all other military and civilian personnel until after we make the first use of the weapon. That means no vidMail to loved ones and no contact with anyone outside of the project team."

  "Where did you have in mind?"

  "There's a small Marine base designated as a weapons-testing area but has never been used for that purpose. We'll use that for the duration of this project. There's a hangar where the weapon planning and construction can take place, a barracks, and a kitchen."

  "When do we leave?"

  "As soon as you can organize your people. Have them notify loved ones that they'll be out of contact for a while but not to worry. I'll give you forty-eight hours to prepare. Don't even tell them that they're going to the Marine base. Make sure they bring nothing that will allow anyone to track their movements or location."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  Once you're settled in at the base, I'll fly in and brief you and your team. You'll probably think my idea is nuts, but I've been mulling the problem over for months and this is all I've been able to come up with that doesn't require a suicide mission."

  "That sounds encouraging. My people would give their lives for the good of the service, but they're not anxious to die."

  * * *

  Jenetta logged the flight as practice time and climbed into the cockpit of the Marine fighter reserved for her exclusive use after completing her walk-around. She had already briefed her protection detail regarding her destination and forbidden them to come within ten kilometers of the now off-limits Marine base. They would set their ships down just outside the perimeter and wait until she was ready to return to the SC base. The base had been restricted to all unauthorized flights, including flyovers.

  It may have been a business trip, but Jenetta enjoyed it as much as any practice flight she had taken over the years. As usual, she took her ship down to the deck and stayed there until she approached the island that was her destination. When she received clearance to land, she wiped the grin from her face and began to prepare herself mentally for the briefing.

  Captain DeWitt, upon learning that Admiral Carver had requested clearance to land at the base, immediately jumped into a driverless oh-gee vehicle and went to the flight line to greet her.

  "Good morning, Barbara," Jenetta said as she climbed down from the cockpit. "All settled in?"

  "My people are already getting antsy to start this new project, Admiral. They know that if you're directly involved, it's big."

  "The biggest. Okay, let's head over to the hangar."

  A few minutes later, Jenetta entered the hangar to a loud, "Admiral on deck." Everyone inside came to attention and held it until Jenetta said, "As you were."

  "Okay, people, take your seats," a commander said, referring to the chairs arranged before a podium in the center of the hangar.

  As everyone grabbed a chair, Jenetta strode to the platform and dropped a data ring over a small data spindle on the lectern.

  "Good morning," Jenetta said, "Welcome to Project Gazebo. Don't look for any significance in the name; it was simply chosen at random. Our goal here is to develop a weapon capable of destroying the enemy ships that have been killing our people in this unannounced war. Most of you have seen the Yenisei, so you know what we're up against. The enemy has developed a weapon that can penetrate the Dakinium hull, then detonate a small nuclear device. The nuclear charge might be tiny, but without the protection afforded by the Dakinium, it's devastating. Furthermore, each enemy vessel appears able to fire approximately twenty thousand small missiles before having to pause to reload. All missiles can be fired simultaneously, so the Phalanx system is quickly overwhelmed and unable to provide adequate protection. As a result, we can't win in a shooting contest.

  "So we have to devise a way to attack them in which their missile barrages are rendered immaterial. We can't depend upon finding them in a relaxed mode as we did with the Uthlaro armada. Right now, our DS ships are scouring the region at Light-9790, searching for the enemy ships. Once we locate them, we'll need a weapon that will forever end their attacks on ships in GA space. This next fight will not depend on who has the biggest gun or the most missiles, but who can deliver the first swift, killing blows.

  "Here're my thoughts for the weapon. I'm hoping you can make it a reality. This is, of course, a rough drawing composed by my computer from verbal instructions. You are the first to see it, other than myself. Computer, Carver Gazebo One."

  An image appeared on the large monitor behind her and Jenetta stepped to the side so everyone could see. There was silence for several minutes as the knowledgeable audience studied the diagrams.

  Finally, Captain DeWitt said, "Admiral, I don't see a delivery system. It appears to simply be a bomb."

  "Yes, Captain, that's correct. It's a simple bomb. At the front is a hemispherical piece of Dakinium. Behind that is a nuclear device in a cylindrical casing. The rearmost part of the cylinder contains the delivery mechanism."

  "It hardly seems like a challenging weapon to manufacture. The Dakinium face will be the only component that may present some difficulties. How powerful a weapon are you proposing?"

  "Large enough to destroy the enemy ships you've seen in the high-resolution images provided by the Yukon. Building the bomb is not the challenge here. The delivery is the challenge. The bomb is simple because passing through a ship's temporal envelope would destroy any electronic information. Once deployed, the bomb must detonate using strictly mechanical means."

  "You intend to simply drop the bomb like a wet navy ship would drop depth charges on submarines and underwater installations?"

  "Essentially, yes. But it's far more complicated than that. I want a weapon we can plant inside an enemy ship using Transverse Wave technology."

  The hangar was so silent that one could hear the proverbial pin drop.

  "With all due respect, Admiral," Captain DeWitt said, finally breaking the silence, "that's impossible."

  "Why? It's been amply proven that when traveling at Light-9790, our ships pass through any solid matter. The bomb cylinder will be secure inside a Dakinium cradle until released. When that happens, air pressure jets in the rearmost bomb cylinder will push the bomb away from our ship. We simply eject the bomb while we're inside the enemy ship. As soon as the separation distance is enough, the envelope surrounding the bomb dissipates and the bomb is back in normal space. The bomb cradle inside the SC ship will be surfaced with Dakinium, so the envelope will instantly re-form and remain intact once the bomb is released."

  "There's nothing simple about it, Admiral. At that speed, you can't determine where the bomb will wind up. You could be a billion kilometers away by the time the envelope around the bomb dissipates."

  "That's what makes this project a challenge. Anyone can build this bomb. Placement is where your section's expertise will come into play. If you need additional expertise, just tell me who or what skills are needed, and I'll assign them to you for the length of the project if they're available."

  Captain DeWitt stepped closer to the image and studied it again. "We can't shape Dakinium. That level of manipulation can only be accomplished at the Jupiter foundry."

  "The cap need not be hemispherical. I only drew it that way because it would allow visual confirmation that the bomb had released if we mount vid devices near the bomb placement area. We only need to provide an almost unbroken Dakinium surface so the ship can build the double envelope. But it does require that the cradle be surfaced with Dakinium.

  "This hangar is yours for as
long as you require it. When you're ready to modify a ship, the Winston will provide you with concealed workspace where no one can see what you intend. The ship to be used for this project is the scout-destroyer Tigris.

  "Once the basic work on the bomb and ship is complete, we can begin testing to see if this is feasible or not. We'll use dummy bombs and cargo containers for the tests."

  "The chances of placing a bomb exactly where we want it are probably about one in ten trillion," Captain DeWitt said.

  "Back in World War I on earth, pilots dropped hand grenades over the side of the cockpit walls because they hadn't developed bombs yet. It took time, but by the next war, twenty-five years later, they had precision bombsights that used the aircraft's ground speed, direction, and altitude when computing the drop point. With the computers and instrumentation we have these days, we should be able to cut that time down by a wide measure."

  "Admiral, at Light-9790, actually Light-9793.48, the ship will be traveling at almost three billion kilometers per second. The chances of depositing a bomb inside the enemy ship are about the same as dropping a pebble from fifty kilometers above the earth and expecting it to land in Admiral Moore's coffee cup on his desk in the Admiralty Board Hall."

  "If you could calculate drift from all wind currents, and there's a hole in the ABH roof, even that's possible. Here, we don't even have to consider wind drifts. It's all a matter of timing. I have confidence in you and your team, Barbara. The people that gave us a ninety-five percent kill rate with the Phalanx system can do almost anything."

  "Okay, Admiral," Captain DeWitt said in seeming resignation. "We'll make it work, somehow."

  "Wonderful." Picking up her data ring, Jenetta added, "It's time for me to go. Let me know if you need anything. You have top priority for all available SC resources."

  When Jenetta turned towards the hangar door, someone shouted, "Attention on deck," and everyone in the hangar jumped to their feet.

  As Jenetta walked towards the entrance, Captain DeWitt watched her admiral's back and shook her head almost imperceptibly as she muttered, "One of us is definitely certifiable— and I'm really afraid it's me for saying I could do this."