The Synchronicity War Part 1

by Dietmar Wehr

  “Now consider that observation for a moment. What kind of race decides to act aggressively against an alien race that they know almost nothing about? That’s taking a huge gamble. The race they’re attacking could be vastly superior in terms of population, star systems, economic capacity and military might. That’s why we tell our people to try to make peaceful contact on the basis that we might be the new kid on the block and we don’t want to piss off an older and potentially more powerful race if we can help it. To act the way they have from the get go would seem to indicate that these aliens have a predisposition towards behaving aggressively. In our own history there were people who were more inclined to fight than trade. The barbarian hordes that eventually overran Rome are a good example of that. I put it to you that part of the reason why Rome fell was that they underestimated the aggressiveness and the determination of the barbarians. We should not make that same mistake. The worst thing we could do now, is to shrug this battle off as an isolated incident and continue with business as usual. The SAFE strategy to pursue is to assume the worst case scenario and act accordingly. The worst case scenario in this situation would mean that the continued existence of Humanity is at stake and a crash mobilization of industrial and military resources is required. If, at the end of the day, it turns out that we overreacted, then I will GLADLY offer my resignation, and I’ll be able to sleep well at night knowing that my family and all other families are safe. In my opinion, even if we move now with maximum effort, victory will not be a sure thing. However, the longer we delay and the more we hold back from a full all-out effort, the greater the chances that victory will slip through our fingers. Let me explain why I believe that to be true.”

  “From the data relating to the combat between the alien ship and Commander Shiloh’s ship, we can make some reasonably good guesses as to the combat capabilities of the alien ships. The 344 was hit with a very powerful laser weapon. Experts have looked at the extent of the damage and their unanimous conclusion is that the alien ship had a laser weapon that produced significantly more energy than both of the lasers on the 344 combined. Sensor data indicates that the alien ship was roughly the same size as the 344. To be able to generate that much more power from a hull of the same size is disturbing. It’s safe to say that they know more than we do when it comes to power generation. The combat data also shows that the alien ship was more heavily armored. How much more is hard to say at this point. But what is clear is that right now, our ships have inferior weapons and less capable defenses. While we don’t know for sure, it’s a safe assumption that they have more ships than we do right now. If they had less, why would they put a significant percentage of their total fleet in a star system on the off chance of encountering an alien race?”

  “There are some encouraging indications that you should be aware of as well. At no time, did any of our ships detect any sign that the aliens were deploying missiles or drones. That doesn’t mean they can’t. It may just mean that they don’t want to OR perhaps it just means that the type of ships they used in that engagement don’t carry them. But if these are their frontline combat vessels, then that would tend to suggest that missiles and drones aren’t an integral part of their tactical thinking. If that’s the case then we can use that to our advantage IF WE MOVE QUICKLY!” He took another sip of water.

  “If we can develop and deploy combat drones in large numbers, then we may be able to offset their laser weapon advantage with standoff weapons. The other bright spot is what appears to be a much longer recharge time for their laser weapon. If we can get two or maybe even three shots in for each shot they fire, and if we can upgrade our lasers, then we have a better chance of beating them in a standup fight. Unfortunately those are the only perceived advantages that we can see at this point.”

  “The question that I’m sure all of you would like to hear the answer to, is this. Given the nature of the threat, what do we do now? A definitive answer will take some time to analyze and cost out. My staff are examining some short term options that are worth considering right away and an Ad Hoc Strategic Planning Group is in the process of being put together that will come up with a comprehensive long term plan. I hope, but can’t guarantee, to have something for the Committee to look at in that regard in about a month’s time. However, in terms of what we can do right now, here are some of the options that are being seriously considered.”

  “While our Exploration Frigates weren’t designed for this kind of combat, we can improve their combat capabilities by adding additional hull armor and by upgrading their lasers. That would be just a stopgap measure. In the longer term we’ll need larger, more powerful ships but that will be covered by the report from the Strategic Planning Group. Right now we can improve our chances of winning encounters by changing our operational doctrine. And by that I mean, we should not be sending out frigates to a particular star system in anything less than squadron strength. Two or even three squadrons operating together would be even better. I’ve already ordered the recall of all of our Exploration Frigates so that they can be reassigned. And as part of that doctrine, the Space Force is going to have to transform itself from a paramilitary organization concerned mainly with catching smugglers and scouting new star systems to a purely military organization that is trained and organized from the outset to deal with external threats. That means we need to start changing the ‘corporate culture’ so to speak. For example, up until now, the Space Force hasn’t had or needed a medal that would recognize exceptional conduct in a ship vs. ship battle. I’ve now changed that. From this point forward, any commanding officer that distinguishes themselves in combat, will be awarded the Distinguished Combat Medal, which will be a small red star on a jet black board that can be pinned to the chest or lapel. Another example of changing the corporate culture will be the testing for and development of, strategic and tactical skills. Those officers that have an intuitive feel for combat tactics need to be identified so that they can be fast tracked to command positions. The Space Force Academy will start teaching classes in tactical combat. Officers will be encouraged to be aggressive in their thinking and those that aren’t able to develop the ‘killer instinct’ for lack of a better phrase, will be assigned to less critical areas such as logistics and support operations.”

  “We also need to seriously look at a crash program for the development of drones that are specifically designed to inflict damage on an armored target. The normal acquisition process which takes years is no longer acceptable. Therefore, not only will I be submitting a proposal in the near future that will request such a crash program but it will also contain a faster acquisition model, that this Committee will have to approve. Speed is now more important than accountability. In fact, while I appreciate the fact that this Committee has to make recommendations to the Grand Senate which has the sole authority to approve new spending programs, I also know that this Committee DOES have the authority to authorize the reallocation of previously approved spending initiatives for emergency uses and I’m now asking this Committee to approve the use of 200 million Credits, that has been set aside for preliminary Pre-Colonization Ground Surveys, for the purposes of initial design, testing and pre-production tooling for the Advanced Combat Drone Program that will require additional funding later. Because time is of the essence and we literally cannot afford to waste even a single day, I’m asking that this Committee approve that reallocation request today.”

  “There are two other initiatives that can and should be started immediately. We need to have far better intelligence on where the enemy is at any point in time and where they’re from. The first requires the establishment of a network of passive sensor satellites in our frontier star systems and in the systems just beyond our frontier. They will take time to design, produce and deploy. However we can begin to use our tankers in a long range reconnaissance role, where they will be self-sufficient in refueling capability that will give them a much longer range. In that role, their mission will be to creep into an unexplored star system t
hat may have an alien presence of some kind, and they will then passively scan for any signs of the enemy including ships, colonies or industrial infrastructure. I cannot overemphasize how hazardous this duty will be. Our tankers will be totally defenseless. If they are discovered, they will likely be destroyed. I’m going to be asking for volunteers and if a sufficient number of personnel volunteer, we’ll only ask each of them to go on one of these long range recon missions. Multiple missions like this would be tantamount to asking them to commit suicide and I’m not prepared to do that…at this point.”

  “There is one final recommendation the importance of which cannot be overstated. Unfortunately, it’s not something that the Space Force can accomplish merely by deciding to do it. Its success is absolutely vital to our chances for victory in the months and years ahead. The Space Force needs to build its own internal industrial infrastructure and shipyard capability and the sooner the better. Without this internal capability, the kind of force structure that seems to be needed will be impossible to acquire if we must pay private sector companies to build it. Even with this internal capability, the fiscal demands will still be onerous. Without this internal capability, we may as well just give up right now and wait for the aliens to arrive. What I’m referring to specifically is the acquisition or at least the use of one of the Universal Fabrication Complexes owned by GED. I’m aware that GED has repeatedly refused to sell a UFC to the Space Force in the past despite very generous offers. I even understand why they insist on keeping a monopoly on UFCs. The ability to make anything including more UFCs using robotic equipment and asteroid-based resources means that GED can manufacture and assemble an Exploration Frigate for a cash outlay of just one or two percent of what it would normally have cost them using more traditional manufacturing techniques. If they then sell the ship to us even for a greatly reduced price, they would still make an enormous profit. I have no philosophical objection to GED making money but I do have lots of objections if their greed is threatening the very survival of the Human Race. They have to be convinced either by persuasion or by legislation, that they must give up their monopoly over the UFC technology for the Greater Good. I’m not insisting that they be forced to give it to us without some form of compensation. Rather I’m suggesting that compensation is a question that can be resolved later but we need access to the UFCs NOW! Even if we can’t start building new ships right away because they haven’t been designed yet, we can certainly start building more UFCs. The kind of output of ships and equipment which we will very likely need, will require hundreds of UFCs and we can reach that level of capacity through geometric growth if the existing units reproduce themselves with the new units doing the same over the next few months. The classic example that illustrates this concept is starting with one penny and doubling it every day. In less than a month, you’ll be a millionaire. To give you some idea of how urgent it is that we get started with this initiative now, let me just point out that if, as I’ve been told, it takes about one month for a UFC to reproduce itself, and if we wait one month before starting this program, we will have half as many UFCs at any point in the future as we would have if we started today. Half as many UFCs will translate into half as many ships. And half as many ships could very well mean the difference between survival and genocide for Humanity.” He paused to take another sip of water. “This concludes my opening remarks. I’m now prepared to answer any questions that members of the Committee may wish to ask.” The Chairman of the Committee nodded and looked around at the other members before responding.

  “On behalf of the Committee, I’d like to thank you, Admiral Howard, for that very comprehensive and insightful report. You and your staff have obviously given this unexpected development a lot of thought in the short time that was available to you. Speaking only for myself, I admit that I’m somewhat overwhelmed at this point with what’s happened and what the implications are.” Shiloh saw most of the Committee members nodding their agreement to that. “Given that we haven’t had time to actually ready your report carefully, I’m going to ask your indulgence when we ask questions, that are already answered in the report. I think you can safely assume that this will be a long session, Admiral and as the Committee’s Chairperson, I have the privilege of asking my questions first. My first question is this…”

  As he and the Admiral left the Committee room hours later, Shiloh realized he was sweating.

  “What happens now, Sir?” Howard snorted.

  “Now? If by that question you mean what am I personally going to do right now Commander, the answer is…I’m going to go back to my office and have a stiff drink…or two. If you mean what happens next in the process, then here’s the answer. The Committee will meet In Camera, that means privately. I think I’ve convinced them to take this seriously. If they agree with that assessment, they’ll report back to the Grand Senate which will debate the supplementary budget that the Executive Branch will be tabling. Unfortunately that will take several weeks. The government can’t just ask for gobs of money. They’ll need to make a detailed request that will take time to compile. Unfortunately there’s no way around that. That’s where you can make a valuable contribution. I’ll have my senior planning staff member contact you to start the Strategic Planning Group. The two of you can then figure out who else should be in the group. I can have anyone you need reassigned temporarily. Don’t waste any time with this. We need creative thinking. The end result doesn’t have to be a polished report. That’s not the group’s objective. What I want to get from the SPG is recommendations and ideas. The more ideas the better. In terms of recommendations, I want to see the whole gamut ranging from what kinds of R&D we should be conducting to force structure, deployment, infrastructure, and anything else you can think of. No area is off limits for consideration but speed is essential. Anything the group comes up with can be revisited and polished later. Cost estimates are a must but no one expects them to be dead on accurate. Ballpark figures are okay for now. The SPG report will form the skeleton that the Emergency Supplemental Budget request will be built around. Do you understand what I’m asking for, Commander?”

  “Yes, Sir, but I do have a question.”

  “Ask your question.”

  “The group could spend months coming up with ideas. How do we know when to stop brainstorming and give you what we have so far?”

  “That’s a good question.” The Admiral stopped walking and looked thoughtful. “Okay. Here’s what we’ll do. I’ll give you two days to identify and collect the rest of the group, three days to brainstorm ideas, and five more days to crunch the numbers and prepare a report. That means that two hundred and forty hours from now I want a preliminary document in my hand. Remember…substance is more important than format. It doesn’t have to be pretty. Okay?”

  “Yes Sir.” Howard nodded his approval but didn’t continue walking immediately.

  “One more thing, Commander. I’m sure this next point is redundant but this is too important to risk a misunderstanding. I don’t expect the Planning Group to work 24 hours a day, but I also don’t expect its members to work just from 9 to 5. Do you understand what I’m saying, Commander?”

  “Loud and clear Sir.”

  “Good!” They started walking again. When they got to the Admiral’s offices, Shiloh saw that a Lieutenant Commander was waiting in the outer office. The Admiral made the introductions.

  “Cmdr. Shiloh, this is Cmdr. Amanda Kelly, my senior planner. Kelly, this is the Officer whose reports you’ve been studying all day. He’s going to be temporarily assigned to the SPG until his ship is ready for action again.” Kelly and Shiloh shook hands and said the usual pleasantries. Howard gestured to his inner office and led the way. Once inside, he pointed to two comfortable chairs that were facing his desk. After everyone was seated, he leaned back and looked at both of them carefully.

  “This Strategic Planning Group is an unusual creation. Right now it’s very ad hoc and unofficial. Eventually that will change and it will become a forma
l department with its own budget and bureaucratic red tape. But for now, because it’s unofficial, we have the flexibility to bend the rules a bit. Normally the senior ranked officer would be in charge and I’m aware that Cmdr. Shiloh is the senior officer. However, he will be returning to his ship in several weeks and I think continuity of leadership of the planning group is more important than following the normal rules of seniority. Therefore, I’m going to make Lt. Cmdr. Kelly the Team Leader of the Special Planning Group.” Kelly smiled and said.