by Chris Hechtl
As the various officers clocked in to the conference, he pulled General 1010111 aside into a separate channel for a private conference. “I read General Anheuser's recent report. Are you working on plans to reinforce him? Does he need Marine units to help?”
“With respect, sir, I think the army can handle it once they get enough tech to support them. I believe the Spacebees are there and working on that now.”
“I know. But don't get too overconfident. There is never such a thing as too much help in a war.”
“A point, sir. However, the Marines are needed here, on the Horathian front. My people are needed to back them up. We're shorthanded across the board, another thing I wanted to bring up. Fortunately, the Senate approved of the bases in New Texas. One of the things on my agenda was appointing a chain of command there. I was hoping to get with General Anheuser to discuss it soon.”
“Understood,” Admiral Irons said. “Anything you need let me know.”
“We will, sir.”
Once the others were on hand, he closed the private channel. “Okay, I know we're all busy so let's get this show on the road. Obviously, the two recent crises have thrown a pair of painful monkey wrenches in our plans. To recap, we are still in the process of rushing forces to Protodon. We need to get them in motion now before it is too late.”
“We appreciate that, sir,” Amadeus stated.
“How bad is it?” Admiral Subert asked. “I scanned the report but still …?”
“It's bad. I've got enough antimatter for one more strike but not enough platforms to get in and do the job. They've got some serious firepower with them. We're working on consolidating all of the small craft onto my carriers. But that has stripped them from the escorts.”
“You should be seeing additional carriers soon, correct?” General Anheuser asked.
“Correct. But they are CEVs, not Fleet Carriers.”
“Ah. But any help …”
“I know. The other problem is none of them have antimatter. With what we have we could probably take down two of their ships. Maybe. They know we've got them now so surprise is lost.”
“Ah.”
“Which is why you need additional support,” Admiral Subert said. “This is rapidly devolving into a carrier war,” he stated.
“Our capital ships still play a part, Phil. The problem is we need them sooner than expected. And yeah, I know the quote on asking for anything but time,” Amadeus stated.
“Sir, the SDs may not be ready,” Admiral Creator of Things stated. “That is a major concern. I know the ships still in the star system are weeks away from working-up exercises let alone full deployment. We can't rush things too fast or we may overlook something critical.”
“And none of us want to lose an SD in hyper over something stupid like a one credit part or misaligned sensor array,” Admiral Champion stated.
Admiral Irons grimaced. “But needs are forcing our hands. If we have to, we'll have them take their time but get moving now.”
“It is still a risk, sir. A high one,” the T'clock warned.
“Then they'll have plenty of time along the way to figure out what's wrong and fix it. We're running out of time. Get on it.”
The bug's antenna waved. “Aye aye, sir.”
“And yes, I know you and Vestri already are,” Admiral Irons said with a shake of his head. “It never rains but it pours.”
“Sir?”
“First Dead Drop, then Tau. Damn it. We're being pulled in both directions.”
“If we hadn't launched the Tau mission …,” Yorgi shook his head. The others physically in the room turned their heads to him. “At first, I thought it was a time-consuming diversion, a waste of resources. Now I'm seeing it as it is, forewarned is forearmed. Now we know.”
“Right. And with them there, they can make some sort of difference. I hope,” the admiral stated bleakly. He knew how helpless Shelby and the others must feel in the onslaught. “But with the front unstable we obviously can't send them as much help as I'd hoped.”
“Well, the good news is the front doesn't need hospital ships. Those we can send,” Phil stated.
“Right, but they'll need escorts. Cruiser grade,” Admiral Pashenkov stated.
“He's right,” Admiral Irons rumbled. “They can make the long jumps easier and faster than smaller ships.”
“Yes, sir. Unless we set up a picket in the Trajin cluster and then the cycle convoy escorts on their end.”
“Look into that. Backstop Gamma flight in the Trajin cluster since it's such a hotbed of piracy. They only have the two tin cans as escort anyway. We can get more for the rest.”
“We'll also need security on the ground which means Marine and army units,” General Forth mused. “And what about the other sectors?”
“We believe Tau is a testing grounds,” Yorgi stated.
“You've confirmed that?” General Anheuser asked.
“No. I wish we could. Monty and I have put the screws to everyone we've got from Fourth Fleet in custody. Obviously, this operation was compartmentalized. But, if they didn't know about it elsewhere, it is an indicator that it is a test. We will know more when we launch the Pi mission or hear back from the ships there and in Sigma,” he stated, looking at Admiral Pashenkov.
“So far, the reports from Tir na nog do not indicate any signs of a plague,” the Neowolf stated.
“Well, that's a relief. Though, I know it's too early,” General Anheuser stated. “As soon as we've got the infestation under control and can free up our units, I'll have at least one, possible two MASH units ready for you, sir,” he said.
“We appreciate that greatly,” Admiral Irons stated. He had forgotten about the MASH units on Nuevo.
“We've put a call in to Bek to build hospital ships as well since they've got so much yard space available. Getting them through the rapids will be fun though. So far there are three converted ships going to Tau as well as Nightingale and Good Hope. I have two more Liberty class ships being converted in the civilian yard here,” Admiral Subert stated. “I sent another pair to ETMI's yard to spread the love.”
“And I've got two more here in Antigua, one each at the civilian yards,” Admiral Irons stated. “That is eleven hospital ships not including the one in Tau already and any other assets Shelby is liable to scare up there. I'd like to keep some in reserve here in case we do run into trouble in Pi or Sigma or elsewhere,” he stated.
There was a round of agreement from around the table. Admiral Irons took a moment to take a sip of water.
“Is the Ptah mission still a go?” Admiral White asked. One of the biggest headaches for John he knew was the ongoing piracy in the other sectors and the threat of it spreading to Rho. They had assembled data on pirate bases and movements and one of the Ptah mission objectives other than to set up a base was to take out one or more of those pirate bases and reduce the piracy in the area. That would also protect the Federation's flanks.
He was all for it in theory. But the problem was the mission along with TF3.2 and the Tau mission competed with his fleet for resources. He sometimes wondered where they'd be if he'd had those resources available.
“We sent her escort to you so she's on hold again. There are also some discussions on who is going where,” Admiral Pashenkov stated, looking at the image of Admiral Heals Quickly.
“I've discussed the situation with Commodore Richards,” Admiral Heals Quickly stated. “I have modified their plan. As senior officer, I will be headed to the capital to take over BUMED. In my absence Commodore Thornby will continue to run things. Commodore Richards will be going to Tau to assess the situation and command the medical fleet with the Mercy II flight. I strongly suggest we put a courier to use running personnel and information through B101a1 to Pyrax as well.”
Admiral Irons blinked and then nodded slowly. It was news to him but he agreed. Helen had gone through one plague and her grim experience would see her in good stead. He'd miss her though. He was glad to see Heals Quickly was
on top of things despite still being in Bek.
“We are also obviously working with Doctor Kraft to refine the vaccination program. We are focusing a new round of mandatory vaccinations on the known bioweapon strains. Medical facilities will need to train their personnel to recognize and treat symptoms and to begin stockpiling support material as well as treatments in case of a local outbreak. We also need strategic centers to distribute large groups of help as well as logistics in the event of a major outbreak. Usually a hospital ship would be the source of such things. However, if we are sending them all off …”
“We will definitely keep at least two in reserve here,” Admiral Irons said, cutting in. “Thank you for the reminder, Admiral.”
“Understood, Admiral.”
“I don't know of anything more we can do on that front so let's switch gears for a moment. We've discussed the front and Tau, but we haven't hit on a recent proposal that crossed my desk a few days ago. I understand that even with everything going on you three, excuse me, four,” he nodded to Major Lyon who was sitting at the table with him, “wish to start a drop commando school?”
“Don't we have one already?” Amadeus asked.
“Two actually. There is one here on Agnosta and another there in Antigua. They are not active full time since there aren't enough students to make up more than one class a year at the moment. That will change in time,” General 1010111 stated. “Currently only Marine Raiders, Recon, navy SEALs, Delta Force, and the Cadre are drop qualified to one degree or another. Of that group, only the Cadre and Raiders are fully qualified as drop commandos. We have a very small pool of each. We'd like to open that up to general infantry, not just to specialized units.”
What they were talking about were infantry pods similar to those used by the Special Forces though most likely with less stealth infiltration systems to cut down on cost. The pods were only one of several options that could be used to infiltrate a target. A HALO drop, High Altitude, Low Opening parachute jump, or a standard jump, or even an orbital parachute jump could be used by the Special Forces.
Infantries were normally inserted by shuttle or a parachute drop. Both had their pros and cons. Just the thought of a shuttle going down loaded with a couple squads and a flight crew bugged anyone. He could see the lure of the pods, if you lost one you lost one or two personnel.
But, there were other factors to consider, he reminded himself.
“Normally a drop is special forces since they are so expensive and a one-time thing, unless it is a combat drop in a full invasion against a hardened target. Those sorts of operations engineer mass casualties I doubt any of us would like to see or endure. I don't see us using that option any time soon,” Admiral Irons mused.
“No, but we have to lay in the groundwork now in order to make that option available in the future, sir,” General Anheuser argued. “I'd also like to put a training center here on Nuevo A as well as one on New Texas. Though I understand others are arguing against the expense and logistics involved.”
“Centralized training centers make sense,” General Forth stated. “Hell, I wasn't thrilled about the one in Antigua, though I get why we needed one for the Cadre. Replicating resources on multiple planets is redundant and a waste of time and resources we could commit to other projects.”
“But shipping personnel means they'll burn time in transit,” General Anheuser argued.
“I see you four aren't fully onboard with this concept—at least beyond the idea of expanding the program,” Admiral Irons stated. “Have any of you looked into the logistics involved in such an expansion? Not just in kit for the personnel, but the drop pods themselves, the means to transport and launch them, coordinate them … drop things like cargo …”
“We've discussed it. Jersey and I,” General 1010111 stated. “But we never got into details, sir.”
“Perhaps you four should get together and go over that and the numbers. Your A.I. can help you put actual figures and cost spreadsheets together so we have some facts to look over,” Phil stated.
“Agreed,” Admiral Irons stated. “Amadeus, is there anything new you need to bring up?”
“No, sir. Not at this time thankfully. Other than the need for additional antimatter and bombers.”
“We're working on that.”
“And we don't have the Eastern Front's report yet. So, let's break down into subgroups to discuss various problems. I'll pop in to each,” Admiral Irons stated.
“Are you still going to be acting secretary of the army, General Anheuser?” Admiral Pashenkov asked.
“For the moment. When we settle things here, I'll discuss it with the army chain of command. I've made it clear I'm not thrilled about leaving Nuevo. But, if I must I must.”
“Understood. For the record, as senior officer of the army you are acting secretary of the army. Now, let's break for a moment,” Admiral Irons stated.
~~~^~~~
Once the conferences concluded and the new orders were issued, Bekian Admiral Creator of Things took time out of his schedule to tour the engineering school on Antigua. He was attending it virtually to play catch-up with his education, but he'd already gotten a lot of his classes in during his transit time to Antigua.
Still, he loved to see new things and new innovative ways to pass that knowledge on to the students. He had wanted to come during a Maker's Faire, but he'd missed the last one. He had gotten the opportunity to visit when a group was working on a bridge for a demonstration at the local homecoming event later that evening. The class was mixed, some Spacebee trainees as well as army, navy, and Marine engineering students. The demonstration was something intriguing to him. They used a pile of notched lumber and dowels to construct a bridge. Once the arch was done a few of the group actually climbed over it.
The bridge was called a Da Vinci bridge; the 2x4s and dowels formed a self-supporting arch that required no glue or fasteners.
It was fascinating to see it though he doubted it would be practical in the field. Still, it was nice to see the school teaching out-of-the-box thinking and old school methodology.
~~~^~~~
In the evening the admiral was invited to a sports game in the evening. The school was having a sport game and were having a bit of a homecoming carnival. Since his flight had been rescheduled, he had decided to stay and participate. The T'clock was surprised to see a long stretch of coals with a group nearby. The staff and students egged each other on to try it out.
Realization dawned on the admiral that they were fire walking! They were walking across the hot coals without wearing protective gear. In fact, they were shedding their normal shoes and doing it barefoot! It wouldn't bother him as much, his claws would insulate him and he had no pain receptors in them, the same for a Veraxin, but it was a novel sight to see other organics willingly test themselves with fire.
Once most of the group had a go of it, the instructor explained with a grin. “What you are seeing here isn't just a case of mind over matter. It is an example of physics in action. Can anyone tell me why?”
“Wood is a poor conductor of thermal energy?” a student asked throwing her hand up eagerly and bouncing in her eagerness. A few around her chuckled.
“Got it in one, Betty,” the instructor said, though his manner said he'd wanted to draw the problem out for them some more. “Ash also is cooler and protects your toes. As long as you didn't curl your toes and walked at a brisk pace and wiped your feet off when you were done you were safe. If you had some toe hair, well, it got singed.”
There was an amused titter over that.
~~~^~~~
The T'clock admiral was a little less amused when he noted a booth with students showcasing their attempt at creating a robot. He wasn't as prejudiced as most Bekians, but that didn't mean he was at all thrilled about autonomous robots either.
The students had created what they called an astromech droid. They explained that it was a revival of an old idea, to provide a ship or small craft a robotic engineering attendan
t to maintain the craft.
“Our droid is a tool repository, distinctly different from the Artoo units that military craft use. That is largely a dumb A.I. built into the software of the craft. This robot is different. It is an independent entity and has the blueprints of the craft and can interface with the ship to download diagnostics to make repairs.”
“I can see uses in some situations, but a proper ground crew and maintaining a maintenance schedule will negate the need of this,” the admiral stated cautiously. If he remembered correctly, such a thing had been done before.
That seemed to deflate a few of the students but their leader rallied. “Yes, sir, but this isn't intended to replace them. It is a helper. You can't bring every tool with you. Not unless you are a cyborg. But this robot can be there to supply tools or act as a third hand.”
“Interesting,” the dean said from behind him, then jerked her head for him to move on. He bobbed a nod and then continued the tour.
At another booth the visitor watched a group with safety goggles showing off what happened when one mixed aluminum foil and chemical drain cleaner. The bubbling mix made a gas that filled a balloon. It was then lit by a fire stick at a safe distance. The resulting explosion startled some who were nearby and unaware.
The instructor then explained that they had induced a chemical reaction by mixing the aluminum into the solvent. It had created hydrogen gas. The admiral realized that even though they were entertaining the group they were also taking the time to educate them a little as well.
When the T'clock had a momentary thought, he noted the assistant dean was near and went over to talk to her. “So, is it always this way?”
“What do you mean?” the Neochimp asked, turning to the admiral. “Oh, sorry, Admiral,” she said as she checked herself.
“Not a problem. This is mainly a social function so minimum protocol is acceptable. I was curious about how you went about this. I mean mixing education into things that they find enjoyable,” the admiral said.
She smiled politely. “Yeah, explosions tend to get everyone's attention. But, you should know how it is; Admiral Irons did it all the time.”