by James Edward
“Perhaps to prevent bloodshed and damage, we can have you withdraw to your bases and remain there for the moment. In return, I will advise the local government of your cooperation and suggest that they leave you be. You will take the crews of the ships, and we will hand over the administration of the planet to the authorities for them to deal with. Either way, you are sort of isolated there for the moment.”
“Reasonable. Most of my men here are more loyal to me than the PRC, and I don’t want any bloodshed unless it is required. Hmmm, tell you what. I will return to base, but I want to negotiate a turnover of the planet to the proper authorities, not to the corrupt idiots that were running the show here. If you send Hammer down, I will talk to him.”
“Well, talking to Hammer will be a bit of a problem since he is busy elsewhere, but I can get him here as soon as possible. I am more interested at the moment in what you mean about the ‘corrupt idiots.’” Ray got the coms operator to call for a fast ship from Conrad to bring Hammer.
“Well, son, by your own explanation, I am not going anywhere, so I can wait. The people in power when we arrived were a collection of covert operatives brought in by the PRC. It was a sort of civilian coup de tat. They tossed out the civilian government and imposed martial law. They then asked us to come in and control the population. Their own military was co-opted by the idiots and ordered to stand down. They brought most of the military leaders into a meeting and promptly shot them all. The rest are incarcerated in one of their prisons along with the legitimate government. The problem is the idiots have no idea how to run a planet and just got busy trying to loot as much as they can.”
“Roger that, General. I have sent for Hammer, but travel time will put him in system in about eight days. I would like to invite you up to my ship. You would be the first outsider to see one,” Ray said.
“No thanks, son. If you were to lure me up and hold me, that wouldn’t sit well with my troops. Some are not as loyal to me as others, so I am going to decline your offer. Besides, I have no idea what is good and what isn’t on a spaceship.”
“XO, have the marines start ferrying Fleet personnel down to the surface. The sooner we have those ships unmanned, the better. It is obvious that the frigate that escaped Centari has headed for the home world. If the PRC is dedicated in their desire to capture these two systems, I would expect a fleet to arrive here or Centari. Have coms contact and update Valkyrie and ask him to bring Matilda here to this system along with a mine ship,” Ray ordered. “Also ask for the representatives of the legitimate government. Even if you have to get the marines to persuade the present rulers forcefully.”
Hammer arrived in just seven days. By the time he arrived, all the Fleet personnel were interred in the bases on the planet. Negotiations with the real government were ongoing, and the PRC cronies were either already arrested or were on the run. Some of the Filray space personnel had going back to their ships and now were patrolling their system. Ray had negotiated a ten to seven split of the surrendered warships, ten ships to go to Centari and the other seven to be kept here. The thinking there was that Centari needed operable ships, as all of theirs were destroyed and the captured ships were in bad state of repair. These ten would help out until the damaged ships were repaired. There were lots of parts still floating around the system. The work for Centari would be to rebuild the repair docks and get ships repaired.
Hammer got on the channel and called down to General Shavak. It took a little time, but soon Shavak responded.
“Hammer, is that you up there?” the general asked.
“Hey, Sil, you still war horsing? Thought that they got you cashiered a long time ago.”
“Thought the same about you, Jud. What’s the deal here with this CSWS Banshee and such?”
“Well, Sil, they are legitimate and, I must admit, pretty deadly. They have killed six dreadnoughts in just four months without a loss to a ship or a marine. We are fighting the PRC and beating them in every engagement. Sil, why don’t I drop down with a couple of my guys and have a talk. We would like to get this cleaned up before the PRC returns.”
“I will put the beans, whiskey and hardtack on the table then.” General Shavak laughed. “I will see you down here.”
Hammer told Ray that he was going planet side with a two-man guard—well, one was a woman—to meet and negotiate with Shavak. He believed that Shavak would only negotiate about the safe welfare of the men in his command. He was also sure that he could talk Shavak into joining him as an expanded ground force.
It took another two weeks to solidify the two systems and to get most of the problems pertaining to ship repairs and personnel sorted out. Hammer was right that General Shavak had decided to join their cause. He had talked to his troops and told them that they were to decide for themselves whether to swap sides or not. Those that wanted to stay with the PRC would be left behind to deal with the local government. Out of the ten thousand troops on the surface, eight thousand decided to go with Shavak. Both Ray and Hammer were under no illusions that there would be some PRC people in that group. Ray had called for a transport for the troops and had them loaded and sent to Hammer’s training moon. Hammer and Shavak both took the fast corvette back to Conrad, Shavak marveling at the modernization of a planet-less system.
The whole exercise took over a month to complete. They soon shook hands with the new local government and said their good-byes. Ray had left a few covert satellites in both systems to relay information to Conrad. The task force left the system and with some fanfare entered Conrad. As Ray and his task force approached the Nerve Center, he saw that George was back from the core as well.
CHAPTER 18
Battle Plans
RAY LAY BACK IN BED relishing the feel of Sinclair next to him. He held her as he told her of the battles and how well the Banshee had performed. The dreadnoughts had stood no chance against the stealth attacks and the missiles. He told her that at least two systems were free for now from the PRC, and they had weakened the PRC with the loss of six dreadnoughts. It was a telling blow that would cause the PRC delays in consolidating their gains in some systems and making it harder to enforce their presence in others.
Ray sat in on the debriefings, adding his solo part in the Polimolia system. In all, they concluded that their tactics and strikes were the right approach for the moment. As they worked out some attacking guidelines, like firing and moving immediately, positioning themselves for a rear attack where the missile launch would be masked by the engine wash, Ray wondered what the PRC was going to do next. Yes, he has launched a lot of spy satellites and had some cloaked ships drifting in the important systems, but he was sure that the PRC wouldn’t sit by idly while their empire was threatened.
PRC
The private villa of the president of the PRC was packed with many of their inner circle and supporters. The booze and women flowed freely as the party picked up pace. In a room at the back of the villa, a secret meeting was taking place. Those present were the original members of the PRC and the enforcers of their policies. President Garthman sat at the head of the table and glowered at the group sitting around the table.
“Well, Fuggoret, you have managed to get four more dreadnoughts destroyed, a war fleet annihilated, and lost two systems,” he said acidly. “We have suffered defeats that can’t be hushed up, which is causing problems throughout the empire. We are weaker due to these losses, and we have not enough ships to bring the two systems to heel without pulling ships at the front. I would say that your continuous bungling is becoming a detriment to the movement.”
“There was no bungling involved,” Fuggoret snarled back. “Both systems were pacified with the space fleet destroyed in the Centari system. We had troops on the ground and were well on our way to total control when the CSWS appeared. Since we had the gates under watch, we had no idea where their ships came from or how many there are. As you recall in other meetings, I had warned against parki
ng the dreadnoughts but was overruled.”
“Fuggoret, I warned you the last time that I would expect complete victory from you,” Avis Garthman stated, slowly getting to his feet. “You are therefore relieved of command and will be placed on administrative duties prior to a court of inquiry regarding your role in the loss of the ships and systems.” He nodded at two guards that had already drawn their blasters. “Escort the ex-admiral to his quarters and post guards both inside and outside his door.”
Fuggoret was hustled out of the room. Avis Garthman, still standing, stared at the rest of the table. “Are there any dissenters to my order? None? Good, then let’s get on with this meeting. I understand that security might have some good news. For those that don’t know, Victor Zealman has been promoted to security chief.”
Victor stood and saluted the president then nodded to the rest of the table. “Excellency, we believe that we have discerned the location of the CSWS. It took us a while to figure out exactly what the CSWS stood, for but when we figured that out, the rest came easy.”
“Do enlighten us, Victor. I am very interested in who it is that has been handing us defeats,” Avis said.
“Excellency, we believe that the CSWS stands for Conrad System War Ships. We believe that Conrad system is a secret base created by the AGW. It is only there that we have not been able to get any information on. All spies sent in never come out. If you recall, they were able to destroy a pirate fleet and a small task force led by that traitor Alfred Noble. We do know by interviewing some of the independent freighter traffic that they are very heavily fortified at their gate entrance.”
Avis Garthman studied his computer screen. “Conrad was a small thorn that was to be dealt with. Now you are saying that they are a respectable if not formidable fighting force on both land and space?”
“That is our belief, Excellency.” Victor nodded. “We have studied the records of the Conrad system formally known as Zn 2091. With no planetary system that could support life, it is fairly surprising that they could defend themselves so fast or easily. They, that is the Conrad Corporation, managed to come up with the funds to purchase the system and ceded from the AGW only a year apart and thereafter showed profits enough to build the fueling stations that we expropriated in the Yegus and Garthwood systems.”
“We need to destroy that system,” President Garthman stated. “War Chief Ruiz, you are now in charge of the fleet and will develop a battle plan to destroy Conrad system and to subdue both Centari and Polimolia systems.”
“Excellency, I believe that we should concentrate on Conrad and then the errant systems later. We have proven that we can take and control those systems. It might cost us some ships to subdue them again, and it would be best to have a full complement of healthy ships for Conrad’s destruction,” Julio Ruiz stated. “I would suggest that we pull every third ship from the rim and use our most seasoned battle fleets from here. I would prefer an overkill than to be mistaken. Any ship that can destroy a dreadnought is a dangerous ship even if they did it by guile or suicide attacks.”
“Excellent. We will leave a small picket of ships stationed at the jump points for Polimolia and Centari, this way we can prevent either system getting a resupply from the core worlds. Once Conrad is destroyed we can take that task force to subdue the two systems. I think that we can kill two birds with one stone by appointing Fuggoret as fleet admiral and having him lead the charge. He will be more motivated to succeed and prove himself worthy. Inform him of this but also inform him that he is to follow orders and that he is in no way in charge but a figurehead. Julio, I don’t expect that he will return but will sadly die of his wounds in glorious battle for the betterment of the PRC.”
“I serve at your pleasure, Excellency.” Ruiz bowed.
Two weeks later, Avis Garthman, Julio Ruiz, and Head of Fleet Arnold Jagorsin met again. The war chief and head of Fleet had designed a battle plan to invade, subdue, and destroy the Conrad system.
“Excellency.” Ruiz bowed. “This is the plan that we wish to put forward for your approval. It is a simple plan that requires 150 ships to attack in three waves.”
“One hundred and fifty ships would require that we strip everything that we have, including fast attack reserves,” President Garthman stated with a little concern.
“It is imperative that we overwhelm the defenses at the gate entrance, Excellency,” Arnold said. “We have studied what little information we have available from the freighter captains that we have interviewed and have discerned that the two guard platforms at the gate entrance are very powerful. The plan will be to attack in three waves. The first wave will be fifty frigates and fast-attack corvettes that will fire their missiles into the minefields to force the detonation of the mines. Once the mines are clear, they are to pick one platform and fire everything that they have at it. The plan is for the platform to expend their ordinance engaging the incoming missiles and ships. Once the ships have used their missiles, they are to get in close to the platforms and use their lasers to target the sensor arrays and weapons stations. Minutes after the last ship has cleared the gate, the next fifty ships will enter. These will consist of frigates, destroyers, light cruisers and cruisers. They will target the second platform again, getting the platform to use their missiles on defense while engaging the fifty ships. We figure that at this point we will take, worst-case scenario, 40 percent losses, leaving approximately sixty ships. Five minutes later, the final wave will enter; these will be cruisers, heavies, battle cruisers, and battleships. They will destroy the damaged platforms and continue in system to engage the system defense force. We believe that we will overwhelm them and their defense will collapse.”
“This sounds like a workable plan. The losses are hard to deal with, especially considering that the ships are all in critical supply, but we also need to remove this cancer of a system.” The president nodded. “How long will it take to muster the ships and do some training?”
“Excellency, we believe that this is the best action,” Ruiz said. “Once the ships have been selected, it will take two months for the ships to arrive and be prepared.”
“Hmm, okay. I suggest that the first wave, which will take the most casualties, be comprised of the poorest performers. Oh, also have one heavy cruiser added to that first wave. Our illustrious Admiral Fuggoret will lead the charge.” Avis Garthman laughed. “Gentlemen, you have three months, no more.”
“It will be as you command, Excellency.” Arnold bowed. “We have decided on the code word Orion for this exercise.”
“Orion it is then. Thank you, gentlemen. Don’t let me down.” Avis Garthman stood and strode out the door.
The two chiefs sat there and watched him leave. This was going to be a tough fight, and they knew that their lives depended on the success of this operation.
Ray had gathered the system leaders for another board meeting. It was over a month since they had returned, and they all needed to get up to speed on what the system was doing and what the PRC could be planning on doing. Ray had received a flag from Lyn Dawson, the AGW spy that answered to someone other than Ray. She had sent a message that the PRC was gathering ships in the Yegus and Garthwood systems. They seemed to be practicing multiple ship gate exit and entrances. To date, there were close to one hundred ships, with more arriving each day.
“Let’s get started, shall we?” Ray said. “First off, we have enjoyed our successes, but we all realize that there will be some sort of response. We have made major progress in the shipbuilding, with one more Anaconda carrier completed along with a hundred Taipan fighters. The addition of the ground forces that we gained with the liberation of Filray has given us the ability to fill those Taipan fighters. One more Mamba has been completed, with the captaincy handed over to Olaf, who is right now gathering a crew and training them. In addition, one Cobra battleship has been completed, and fleet is taking requests for her from our fleet captains.
“Our complement of ships is now up to forty fighting ships, with three hundred Taipans and four guard platforms. Lyn has informed our system intelligence that the PRC has gathered a major strike force of over a hundred ships to attack somewhere. I will go out on a limb and say its here. We have a corvette shadowing from a safe jump point. If they enter our gate, we will have five days to prepare. If it is here … ladies and gentlemen, be prepared for a major slugfest. As well, we have decided that it is time to initiate operation Sleeping Sickness. That is for the corvette to activate the code words to wake up the nanobots in the fuel tanks to start their work on destroying the engines of the ships. We assume that the ships have been fueling up from our old expropriated tanks. A week after, all our old tanks, all the fuel storage, and the docks will self-destruct in both systems. This will leave them without fuel and hopefully knock a fair percentage of their ships out of the attack. They can execute the executive of Great Ursa for their incompetence.
“We gained approximately eight thousand seasoned troops with the liberation of Filray, which we planned on using to free up the planets in the Centari system, but it is taking a lot longer to process these troops. Rest assured that there will be PRC plants there. Hammer and our newly acquired General Shavak will be sorting that out as much as they can.
“I will pass the floor to George for his report on what transpired in the core worlds and what help, if any, they can be.”
“Thanks, Ray.” George Lincoln stood up. “The core worlds are holding for the moment. If the PRC consolidates the rest of the systems, then the core will fall soon after. They have jump points into their systems that don’t require jumping in PRC territory. They are revamping, arming, and developing as fast as possible, but some of the system worlds are in turmoil. There are lots of agitators there that have done their best to disrupt production. Some worlds have called martial law and are no better than the PRC in dealing with their people.