Rumors of Honor (System States Rebellion Book 2)

by Dietmar Wehr

  “In order to engineer this strategic reset, Majestic, General Trojan and the FED military leadership have to be enticed to commit all or virtually all of their available fleet to an attack on Sparta, which we will be ready for. Once we have destroyed their fleet AND all their industry on Makassar, which I will describe in more detail shortly, we will have the upper hand in terms of shipbuilding, both in the short term and also in the long term, because our backup shipbuilding complex will start producing ships long before the FEDs can finish rebuilding Makassar and making it operational.

  “So the question is how do we convince the FEDs to attack us prematurely? As long as their numerical superiority in ships is less than three to one, it would be foolish of them to leave Earth vulnerable by committing all their ships to an attack on Sparta. We don’t need Oracle to tell us that when their fleet is big enough to successfully defend Earth AND beat us here at the same time, then and only then will they make that move.

  “This is why we have to adopt what the planning group is calling the Queen’s Gambit. Phase One of the plan will involve modification of all our currently commissioned warships so that one of them carries an Oracle-type computer which has been carefully programmed with the necessary tactical skills, and the other ships will be modified so that they can be operated remotely by the Oracle flagship.

  “Phase II will start with a massive attack by our fleet on Makassar. The objective there will be nothing less than destroying every industrial site completely. Our Oracle is convinced that the bulk of the FED fleet will remain in Earth orbit in order to continue countering our previous strategy of using an attack on Earth to apply political pressure for a premature attack on Sparta. Once Makassar has been blasted back to square one, our fleet, which will have a minimal crew, will jump to Sol and Phase III will begin.

  “In Phase III, our crews will transfer to a freighter, and the flagship Oracle computer will take the fleet to Earth orbit via a micro-jump. At that point, our fleet will attempt to overpower the defending ships, and it’ll be done in such a way that the FED fleet will achieve a decisive and overwhelming victory. Our fleet will be completely destroyed, but since none of our crews will still be on board, there’ll be no human casualties.” Foster saw both Belloc and Sorensen react with surprise. She continued before they had a chance to interrupt.

  “Our flagship Oracle will make sure that the FED fleet will have suffered only minor damage. At that point, it will appear to Navy Chief of Staff Chenko that the FED’s numerical superiority in terms of warships has just jumped to at least 10 or 20 to 1, if not more, and that the SSU will appear to be so vulnerable to attack that it will be very difficult to resist the temptation to order General Trojan to send the fleet to Sparta. I should point out here that Admiral Chenko will also understand the geometry of the situation. If he decides to wait until Majestic has been informed of the battle results and recommends to General Trojan to initiate the attack on Sparta, then it will take another five months to send orders back to their fleet still at Earth and then have their fleet start their trip to Sparta. I can tell you from personal observation of Admiral Chenko that he would not accept that delay. He would understand that we could do a lot with an extra five months of preparation. If they were going to try to inflict a serious setback on the SSU by attacking Sparta, then Chenko would override Trojan’s orders and order the fleet back to Hadley with instructions for General Trojan to immediately send it to Sparta, regardless of what Majestic thought of the idea.

  “It will interest you to know that our Phase II Oracle has calculated that Majestic would come up with a high probability that our attack on Earth was a serious attempt to follow through with our politically-driven strategy and that we really are vulnerable to a quick retaliatory strike on Sparta. The key to convincing the FED leadership that we rolled the dice and lost will be the battle itself. It has to look like a human fleet commander screwed up. If they suspect that the fleet was controlled by a computer, it might arouse suspicion.

  “In terms of the Battle of Sparta, we have some ideas on that too. By the time the FED fleet could get here, we’ll have over 55 missile boats, each of which will carry second generation anti-missile missiles externally, so that their internal missile load can be entirely offensive in nature. Our Phase II Oracle has already calculated that 55 missile boats will have an excellent chance of defeating the 20-25 FED warships that we can expect to see. Even if they somehow managed to send 30 warships, the odds are that we’ll still win because our missile boats will be under the overall tactical control of our Phase II Oracle computer. Recent simulations have conclusively demonstrated that our Oracle can tactically outthink any of our human strategists, and the FED fleet commander should be no different.

  “After the Battle of Sparta, we’ll go to Phase IV where the short term output of the shipyards on our 15 core member planets will be used to suppress construction on Makassar and overpower whatever Earth’s shipyards send against us. At some point, especially when our backup shipyard starts to kick in, Majestic will calculate that the FEDs can’t win the war militarily and will recommend that Earth seek a negotiated peace. All that would be left for us to do would be to respond to any peace overture from the FEDs with a reasonable counter-offer, one which would be hard for the politicians to refuse, and the war would be over.” Foster paused, and Belloc took advantage of it.

  “Before I comment on the rest of the plan, and I now understand why Admiral Janicot stayed silent about it, I want to ask about this last point, Major. What kind of counter-offer does our Oracle friend think would be reasonable?”

  “The basic approach would be one where the Federation government and Earth-based chartered companies are compensated for lost property and revenues. If we also couch our offer in such a way that it appears that we’re recognizing Federation authority over SSU planets, but in an entirely meaningless way, then the Earth politicians can claim to have ‘out negotiated’ us, and they’ll have saved their own political careers by accepting our offer. We’ll still have de facto independence where it really counts. Over time, the Federation will wither away.”

  Belloc sighed. “When you put it that way, it all sounds very reasonable and obvious, but after dealing with the other SSU planetary Heads of State for the past six years, I can tell you that we may have difficulty getting that kind of deal ratified by a majority of our member planets. However, that’s a political problem, not a military problem. Considering how grim the outlook is, I’d gladly trade our current situation for that kind of problem. So putting that aside for now, I’d like to get back to the key part of this plan, which is the so-called Queen’s Gambit. What are the risks that we sacrifice our fleet and the FEDs DON’T launch a premature attack on Sparta?”

  Foster and Drake exchanged a quick glance. They had discussed that possibility too. “Our Oracle calculates only a 2% chance of that happening, Chancellor, and that’s about as low a probability as anything is likely to get. Oracle would never assign a zero probability to any possible outcome, if only because humans sometimes do stupid and bizarre things. For General Trojan to ignore what to him would appear to be a stroke of luck, the kind of unlikely event that military officers dream of, would require that he have a very different agenda from the one he was given. Off hand, I can’t even think of what type of agenda that could be.”

  Belloc nodded but said nothing. He looked over to Sorensen and gestured for her to speak. “I have to confess that I’m a bit confused, Major,” she said. “Last week you were telling us that their Majestic computer could outthink our Oracle no matter what we did, and now you’re saying that we can fool Majestic into recommending this premature attack. Do you see why I’m confused, Major?”

  “Yes, Madam Secretary. If our Phase II Oracle had come up with this plan, I’d be worried, but it didn’t. Commander Drake did what I was hoping someone in the planning group would find a way to do, and that was to think unconventionally. What makes this plan workable is the deception. Not even Majestic would
give more than the barest minimum odds that the SSU would order 16 crews on a deliberate suicide mission. That’s why our ships have to be defeated in such a way that they can’t be searched after the battle. If the FEDs find derelicts without a single human body on board, then Majestic just might begin looking at alternatives that it normally wouldn’t consider.”

  Sorensen continued to look skeptical. “I still think it’s a dangerous idea that could backfire on us badly. In fact, I’d even go so far as to characterize it as reckless, Chancellor.”

  Before Belloc had a chance to respond, Foster said, “And that’s exactly why the FED leadership and Majestic won’t suspect it. The more irrational it sounds, the better our chances of pulling it off. Let me put it this way, Madam Secretary. If you still find the plan reckless and dangerous even after we’ve described the deception and potential payoff, how much more reckless and irrational will the supposedly deliberate sacrifice of 16 ship crews sound to Admiral Chenko and General Trojan? I can only reiterate the key to this plan, which is the deception of making the enemy think they’ve legitimately destroyed 16 warships AND their crews.”

  When Sorensen said nothing, Belloc leaned forward and said, “Well I don’t have any more questions at this time. Do you, Mandy?” Sorensen shook her head but continued to look skeptical. “In that case, you and Commander Drake are free to go, and thank you, Major, for a most interesting briefing. Mykhel, I’d like you to stay a bit longer so that the three of us can discuss this privately.”

  “Certainly, Chancellor,” replied Janicot.

  When 72 hours had gone by without any word, Drake began to fear that the Chancellor would veto the plan, so it was a relief to finally hear that Foster and her people had approval to execute the Phase I conversion of the ships. They heard from Janicot that full approval of the rest of the plan would be given once it was certain that the conversion process could be completed successfully.

  Chapter Eleven:

  Day 77/2546

  Chenko stormed into Masterson’s office and waved the data tablet in his hand. “Have you seen this report?” he asked in an agitated voice.

  Masterson leaned back in his chair and calmly said, “Yes I have Sergei. If you’re going to browbeat me, you might as well sit down while you’re doing it.”

  Chenko muttered something that Masterson didn’t catch as he followed the General’s suggestion. When he was seated, he took a deep breath and said in a calmer voice, “The Council’s not going to be happy to hear about the damage the Union raid did to Makassar. I’m not happy about it. I’m telling you, Frank, if this kind of thing keeps up, Trojan’s credibility as the overall Field Commander is going to plunge, and the Council just might demand his replacement.”

  Masterson waved Chenko’s comment aside with his hand. “No, they’re not, Sergei. You and I both know that Majestic predicted this might happen and that it’s the price we have to pay to counter their best strategy for a quick end to this war. I think enough members of the Council understand that too. General Trojan is just implementing Majestic’s recommendations, and that means that our fleet will continue to stay in Earth orbit indefinitely.”

  “But the delay in building up Makassar…” asked Chenko. He let the sentence remain unfinished.

  Masterson shrugged. “Nothing we can do about that delay, but at least we’re close to being able to prevent damage from future raids. Now that we know the X-ray laser concept works with the successful test of the prototype, we can plan on deploying a network of them in Makassar orbit. If the SSU send another raiding force, they’ll get a big surprise.”

  Chenko’s expression lost a lot of its anger. “I’d love to see that, but wouldn’t it be easier to deploy those satellites in Earth orbit and send the fleet to defend Makassar?”

  Masterson couldn’t help smiling. Chenko might be the Naval Chief of Staff, but at heart he was still a ship commander looking for the opportunity to fight a space battle, even if only vicariously.

  “Well, apparently a majority of the Council members are nervous about fusion bombs going off over their heads, even if the explosions are thousands of kilometers away. Keeping the ships here instead seems to give them a warm and fuzzy feeling.”

  “Yeah, you’re right, but dammit, now that the Union knows we have our fleet here, they’re unlikely to go head to head with it. I think they’ll just keep raiding Makassar instead. It’s a damned shame that my boys and girls won’t get some glorious fleet to fleet action any time soon.”

  “Oh, don’t worry, Sergei. I’m sure that your people will get to fight a fleet battle eventually. I don’t see the rebels giving up without one, do you?”

  Chenko was actually smiling when he said, “No, I don’t, thank God.”

  Day 084/2546

  Murphy stood at the edge of the construction site and nodded with satisfaction. Work on the new office tower complex on Midgard had begun. The next ship from Earth was due to arrive in a couple of weeks. That meant that his advance team could travel to Earth and go through the motions of raising the billions of credits that the new Midgard-chartered company would supposedly need to pay for equipment bought on Earth and eventually shipped to the Midgard star system for installation on Midgard’s moon. He hoped that the freighter crew wouldn’t think it suspicious that their Midgard passengers would have a LOT of luggage. Unfortunately, there was no easy way to transport the first 10 billion credits worth of FED currency that the advance team would need in order to make it appear that the capital had been raised from Earth investors. He was still debating whether or not to bribe the freighter crew to ‘mind their own business’. Midgard did not produce any kind of dangerous substance that had to be smuggled, so any bribe to the crew had to include a believable cover story about something else that couldn’t be transported openly, but that was a mere detail. By the time the advance team had done their job on Earth, with the first equipment orders placed and the team back on Midgard, the office complex would be almost finished.

  Within six to nine months, the mining, refining, manufacturing and robotic equipment needed to start operations on the moon would be delivered, along with the precursor machinery that would be used to build the very specialized machinery necessary to create the computer components for the Oracle computer, which would be installed in the cavernous underground levels of the new tower complex. When that was in place, the people who would run the new Site X bureaucracy would be brought to Midgard via another piece of equipment paid for by the FED currency, namely a small freighter that would be registered on Earth. It would be used to carry more cash from Sparta to Midgard and then on to Earth without raising any suspicions, as well as to carry people between Midgard and Sparta. Everything had been well planned out, and the only thing that bothered him was that he might not be able to return to Sparta for at least a year. But Cate knew that might happen, and both of them had accepted the necessity for it.

  In the meantime, he would continue playing the part of the visionary Earth investor and entrepreneur (under his assumed alias of course) who was bringing much needed capital investment to the Midgard star system. The planetary government, what there was of it, was delighted with the prospect of new jobs and more importantly of more money flowing into the local economy. Regulation was minimal, and no one in the government was anxious to ask too many questions. The mining licenses for the entire moon were well worth the price, even including the necessary bribes, and the total cost was actually less than the amount budgeted. He had to admit that living in the most luxurious penthouse this planet had to offer was a nice perk too. If only Cate were here to enjoy it with him. With a sigh, he turned away and headed back to his penthouse apartment.

  Day 144/2546

  “This plan is madness,” said Lee as he and Janicot finished their inspection of the modified Jutland. It had been a quick inspection. Once the slightly smaller than normal Phase I Oracle computer had been installed, there wasn’t much room for a human to move around.

  As the two officers wa
lked down the ramp, Janicot spoke in a voice whose calmness hid the annoyance he felt towards Commodore Lee. “I agree, but that’s exactly why it should work. With Jutland ready to go, we can conduct field trials, and if they go as planned, the mission will proceed in ten days’ time.”

  Lee shook his head. “We’re throwing away our entire fleet on Drake’s hunch, and to make matters worse, he’s going to be in charge of the operation! If we have to do this, then let’s at least put someone reliable in command, Isoruku for example.”

  Janicot decided to let his growing annoyance out into the open. “In spite of your opinion of Commander Drake, it’s MY opinion that he IS reliable. He came up with the idea, which I remind you was vetted by our Oracle computer, and he has the most enthusiasm for it. One thing I’ve learned is that you don’t put someone in command of an operation who doesn’t believe in it. Isoruku is lukewarm to the idea. I want someone who will take risks to make the operation a success, not someone who will look for an excuse to abort the mission.” The conversation stopped while they climbed into the Admiral’s spacious groundcar and settled down. “Now that we have some privacy, I may as well get another thing off my chest,” said Janicot. “I’m very disappointed in you, Commodore Lee, for not volunteering to lead this mission yourself. As our only operational flag officer, you’re expected to lead by example. Now, the fact is that if you had volunteered, I very likely would have turned it down, but only because you don’t believe in the mission. Still, the gesture would have done a lot to restore my flagging opinion of your suitability for flag rank. If our fleet is destroyed in the upcoming battle, it’ll be a while before we’ll once again have enough ships to warrant being under the command of a Commodore. Therefore I’m giving you a heads up that you’ll be reassigned to a desk job if you want to keep your current rank. As an alternative to that, I’m willing to give you another ship command when one becomes available. Your performance as a CO was satisfactory, but if you take that option, you’ll have to give up your star. You don’t need to give me your answer now. There’s plenty of time to think it over.” Janicot took notice of Lee’s barely controlled facial expression. The Commodore was on the verge of venting his anger. Janicot hoped he would. Insubordination would be the perfect excuse to demote him and give him some useless assignment where his negativity wouldn’t affect the war effort, but much to Janicot’s disappointment, Lee restrained himself. He had had such high hopes for Lee, but the man just wasn’t up to the role of a one-star flag officer. Of all his ship commanders, Palmgren seemed to have the most flag officer potential. Janicot briefly considered Drake for the role but dismissed the thought. Putting him in temporary command of the Queen’s Gambit Operation was enough of gamble. All Drake had to do was get the fleet to the outskirts of the Sol system and let the Oracle flagship take over from there, and it would take more than that for Janicot to seriously consider Drake for flag rank.