The Gathering Storm

by Chris Hechtl

  :::{)(}:::

  The Eastern Front launch was all over the Pyrax star system news as well as federal news. Knowing it would be some positive publicity, the navy used it to showcase the fleet. They provided great camera angles for the news boats to see the ships. Fighters and bombers flew in formation around the ships. Some even performed light training exercises. The dancing fighters was an inspiring sight for those interested in being a fighter pilot. Young impressionable minds were thrilled and awed at the sight of such craft and the idea that they too could one day fly one.

  The massive fleet carriers drew a majority of the attention. Each ship carried a whopping 360 craft in 33 squadrons. Each of the fleet carriers was the same size of a super dreadnought. They lacked the armor and firepower of the super dreadnought but their carrier wing more than compensated for the lack.

  KNOX news presented a positive spin while other competing networks took a more negative vibe. They started trends like the disenchantment of sending such ships and personnel out, along with leaving Pyrax vulnerable to attack. The expense was also among the grumbling.

  “Too many of them will come back broken. Some not at all. How much will this war cost in the end? Can we find a path to peace?” a human reporter grumbled.

  To the rank and file within the navy, they did their best to ignore such grumbling, for they too were caught up in the moment. Pyrax wasn't going to stand on the defense any longer. The Eastern Front made up of TF 3.2 and TF 3.3 were moving out. Arrayed in front was the screen, but behind them was the carrier force made up of TF 3.2.

  TF 3.2 was the primary punch of the force. It was made up of ten carriers, two of them the fleet carriers Collective Destiny, the flagship of Rear Admiral V'r'z'll, and Righteous Swarm. Captain SG Liota Chavez had been convinced to take on the fleet carrier by the rear admiral. Publicly she stated it was because the 4th BC Squadron was not going with them, but scuttlebutt said that there had been some arm twisting on the part of the admiral to get the captain to agree.

  Two CVs, Akagi and Shōkaku, rode behind the two massive fleet carriers, along with the CLVs, Courageous and Ark Royal. Four CEVs, all the Mark II Kittyhawk class, completed their compliment.

  Each carrier had a division of fleet defense destroyers as escorts. The destroyers were a mix of Nelson, Fletcher, and the new Shield Maiden class.

  The screen was fleshed out with TF 3.3 made up of newly reorganized CruRon 1. The Resolution class Enterprise 1701 was the flagship of newly-promoted Commodore Zachery Binks. The black Neocat seemed pleased by the posting, if not the amount of ships under his command.

  Enterprise's division mate Defiant 74205 was there as well as two other Resolution class heavy cruisers. CruRon 2 was made up of four light cruisers. Each of the cruiser squadrons would run light due to the deployments of so many cruisers on other missions. They expected additional reinforcements when they became available.

  The commodore also commanded a full squadron of Arboth class destroyers, though two of their number were detached with four Nelsons to escort the fleet train.

  The fleet train was surprisingly heavy. Two Cabeiri Zeta class factory ships were there along with four Paul Revere class couriers, six Liberty class and four Dora class colliers, three Liberty class oilers, six Liberty class munitions ships, two of which carried ship munitions while the rest carried carrier wing ordinance.

  One Dora class hospital ship, two Dora class personnel transports, and two Dora class ansible transports with three cores and three platforms each rounded out their number.

  The fleet train rode in the rear of the force. The Eastern Front had few Marines among them. There were several Marine fighter squadrons, but none of the Marines were intended for ground combat. Part of the delay in their launch was due to Admiral V'r'z'll's consternation at having Marine pilots assigned to her carriers and her attempts to have them transferred to naval service “as was proper.” She had been disillusioned by the pilots when they had resisted her efforts.

  Marine invasion forces would follow and invade bypassed planets when it was practical to do so. The Eastern Front's primary mission was to hit the starships and orbital industries fast and hard and then move on.

  Rear Admiral V'r'z'll seemed to eat up the publicity and made several transmissions as the fleet crossed the star system for the B101a1 jump point. She arranged personal tours of some of the unrestricted areas of the ships with the navy's Public Affairs Department. She had managed to hang onto a newly-promoted Lieutenant JG Amelia Lately as her junior staff officer. The young woman was saddled with escorting the reporters around Collective Destiny and answering their questions.

  :::{)(}:::

  Lieutenant Commander Sayed Hasad looked over as a SBA turned the volume up on the screen in the corner. He frowned but did his best to ignore the reporter doing background material as he turned to his sickbay. He had regretted going with Hoshi within days of doing so. He'd managed to get off her ship in Kathy's World due to the Glenn's recommendation. He'd stuck with the navy since New Horizon was behind the lines and there were no ships headed in that direction. Fortunately, the fleet was headed in that direction, so he might be able to at least visit his homeworld when they got there.

  It hadn't taken much to pass the naval medical standards test and then the brief mustang course. ONI had been a pain in the ass and they kept checking in on him, but he'd more or less resigned himself to their attentions, however unwanted they were. Usually their review meant he was about to be bounced around the various postings once more.

  He had been in a few places including Fortress 5 as a junior medic before he'd finally gotten his shot at a chief medical officer's posting on various ships before his most recent transfer to Righteous Swarm. He had heard that Ensign Dana Truepath was in the fleet, but she was the only old Bounty hand he knew of. He barely knew her anyway.

  It had taken him years to get over being tainted for working with the Horathians. He'd more or less kept to himself, wrapping himself in a cloak of professional detachment. He knew he had trouble making friends and needed to do so. Unfortunately, when he got into talking with someone and became comfortable his past invariably came up. Whenever someone heard about his time on Bounty, they were either sympathetic or unsure of what to make of him. A few people wanted stories about Admiral Irons and the battle of B101a1. They seemed to look down on him as if he had been a coward for being assigned to attend patients on the ships that had gone in the opposite direction. He wondered if Dana and the others had the same problem. Ah, well, he thought, returning to the here and now.

  His long delicate fingers ran over the vacuum-sealed trauma instruments. He hoped he wouldn't have to use them, but if he did, he'd be ready.

  :::{)(}:::

  Captain Liota Chavez sat in the hot seat on Righteous Swarm and tried not to seem put out over her command. It was stupid to resent it; the fleet carrier was a massive ship after all, as big as a super dreadnought and quite powerful in her own right. She hated how she had come to be there however. She'd finally settled in to her last command only to be leaned on by Admiral V'r'z'll. The scuttlebutt grapevine had it right; the Veraxin Admiral had indeed twisted her arm to take the position. She was a battle fleet officer, not a carrier officer. Oh, she'd spent a brief tour on a carrier back on Bek, but she'd been an ensign then, and it hadn't been a pleasant experience. She had come to realize it was her mindset, not just her boyfriend at the time that had caused it. She was someone who liked to mix it up. A carrier officer was just a glorified chauffeur. She hated that.

  But, the admiral had been insistent. Righteous Swarm needed a senior officer of her grade and caliber, and none had been available. When flattery had failed to move her target, she'd resorted to threats. Threats that the captain had been forced to take seriously. One didn't piss off a flag officer lightly.

  She wasn't thrilled, therefore, when Collective Destiny took the lead as was her due as flagship. The one saving grace about the assignment was that she was getting her combat tick
et punched in her dossier. That would be enough to insure her own rise to commodore and then onward and upward from there.

  :::{)(}:::

  Ensign Dana Truepath cocked her head slightly and turned to her skipper. She wasn't certain why the captain had selected her for the assignment on Defiant 74205. She too was an elf but she was considered young. Perhaps that was it? Was Captain Purple Thorn giving her a proper shot? She certainly treated Dana like any other officer. She liked and respected that.

  She saw the skipper's left eye swivel to her, and she returned to her duties.

  :::{)(}:::

  When the fleet arrived at the jump point to B101a1, Admiral V'r'z'll had to take the opportunity to broadcast one last speech as the reporters were off-loaded from her ship. Since they were slow, the ansible transports jumped first. The fleet train and escorts jumped as well. By the time the cruisers were jumping the reporters had been off-loaded and the admiral had begun her goodbye transmission.

  “We go off to do battle with the barbarians. We will roll them back, force them back to the caves from whence they had crawled out from, and then we will go on in after them to root them out once and for all. We do this for the noblest of pursuits, for life, liberty, and for the pursuit of happiness of all. For honor, for the survival of all of our species …”

  “Does she ever shut up?” Admiral Subert muttered as he listened to the speech. There was of course a time delay of four light minutes, but that didn't stop all of the broadcast networks from running it. Saul couldn't help but chuckle at the sour note in the admiral's tone of voice. Admiral Subert shot him a mock glower and then went back to listening to the speech.

  “Let me guess, she's going to do this in B101a1 through the ansible too, right?” Admiral Subert asked sourly.

  “Probably,” Saul replied with a shrug. “She'll be more or less yesterday's news by then though. Most people will lose interest in her until she sets up the first of her ansibles once she gets to her first stop.”

  “Yeah. I'm looking forward to some peace and quiet,” the admiral grumbled.

  :::{)(}:::

  Admiral Subert's headache with the Dyson Sphere never seemed to end lately. Lawsuits had started within days of the project going public once more after the Eastern Front's launch had finished its tour of the news cycle over the weekend. Fresh Monday morning it was back to the grind, which meant arguing and putting up with crap which he shouldn't have to deal with.

  Some citizens and government officials were for the project; some were vehemently against it. Those who had just started to terraform one of the moons were justifiably against the project.

  The navy was also being sued; apparently, some thought that the navy was involved or should be involved. The supporters of the project wanted the navy to do the job and pay for it. The people against it had misconstrued that and were suing to prevent the navy's involvement. Sorting the mess out was keeping Lieutenant Commander Jeremy Lavot over at JAG busy and on his toes.

  The idiots didn't realize you don't build the cussed thing in your own star system! He'd told them that, but they hadn't listened. They'd been caught up in the excitement of the moment. They also hadn't considered cost.

  Well, they were learning now. Projections were coming out of accounting, and none were good. That had tempered some of their eagerness but not all. Unfortunately, those who tried to get them to slow down or abandon the project only challenged them to press on. He shook his head at the thought.

  The good news was the media had latched on to the idea of a public referendum on the project. That would post the pros and cons of the project for everyone to see. Hopefully, both sides would stick to the truth … ah hell, who was he kidding? He shook his head in resignation at that thought. He'd already seen the ads from the pro Sphere people saying it would mean mass employment for everyone and a paradise.

  :::{)(}:::

  On Monday, BUSHIPS cleared several ships for duty so operations followed their orders from Admiral Subert and cut orders for a destroyer picket force to move to Airea 3. Once the orders were verified, the destroyer division began to take on fuel and stores.

  Operations ordered several of the pickets to be swapped out as well. The dance would take time, but the orders had to be cut to get things moving smoothly. By the end of the day, ships were preparing to move out to B-452c as well as B101a1 as well.

  Saul had to be called in to mediate a request for a tiger cruise. Apparently, Captain Logan had authorized such things from time to time during his tenure as star system commander. Admiral Subert had denied the tradition for several years on the theory that a naval ship was no place for children. However public affairs put in an additional request as did the Antigua Public Affairs Department so the chief of staff had to take it seriously once more.

  A tiger cruise was a short journey for a warship or other naval vessel where civilian friends and family were allowed on board to spend time on the ship to get to know how their family members did their duty in the service. It was generally good publicity. It was also a way to encourage young folk to take an interest in a naval career, which was why Commander Strongbirth was in favor of renewing the tradition.

  It took a few hours to come up with just the right argument to present to the admiral. They needed to hit him in the right mood as well. Given that the Eastern Front had launched, there was less headaches for the admiral to deal with at the time.

  Commander Strongbirth lined up a series of civilian families interested in a ride along with links to social postings for evidence.

  Saul was surprised when he and the elf presented the tiger cruise pitch and the admiral readily accepted. “I know it's time. I ended the practice because I didn't want the complication. But we need the publicity as you said, and it's good to encourage the next generation to enter the service.”

  “Yes, sir,” Saul said, bobbing a nod.

  “I don't want any crap,” the admiral warned, holding a finger up. “Any problems on this end and I come down on anyone and everyone involved. As long as this is a positive experience I'm okay with it. The ships won't be anywhere near the jump points, correct?”

  “Ah, no, sir. We'll move off duty personnel and families from the naval annex to San Diego or other points or to civilian ports of call on their way to other destinations. Short hops, the longest lasting about a week,” Commander Strongbirth stated. “Friends and family first, but I'd like to extend it to ROTC students eventually.”

  The admiral nodded slowly. “I hate the idea of giving free rides, but I can see moving family members to civilian ports to visit family or whatever,” he said expansively.

  The elf shot the human chief of staff a surprised look. He shrugged ever so slightly in response.

  “Surprised?” the admiral asked, catching the exchange.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Since Oasis of Space is stuck in dock and court, plus the transports are getting expensive as you mentioned, I thought it was time. And, as I said before, I am supposed to be encouraging the next generation,” he admitted grudgingly.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Good. Glad that is settled. Now, the next issue?”

  “Um, yes, sir. We've got the replacement pickets moving. They are taking on stores now. Do you want to cycle the Agnosta and Seti Alpha 4 pickets as well? And, related to the tiger cruise, we've had requests for personal transport to and from Agnosta and Seti Alpha 4 for family members as well.”

  “Start small and in-house,” the admiral said with a warning sound in his tone of voice. The two officers nodded, realizing they couldn't push the idea any further. “Build on small successes. I thought we didn't have the ships to cycle Agnosta and Seti Alpha 4 yet? And what about the rest? Gaston, Centennial, Nightingale, B443 and so on?” he asked, pulling a star chart up.

  “We're working on manning the next group of ships currently in production. We don't have enough for all of those. We already put the relief for B443 into motion as you know, sir,” the elf replied. The admira
l nodded sagely. “They will need a resupply mission but that's not my area.” He nodded again as she looked to the chief of staff. His eyes followed her gaze to get the answers he sought.

  “Not to step on operation's toes, but …,” Saul shrugged and then took the plunge. “We have several carriers that are going to launch in a couple of months. After their working-up exercises, they could take on one of the picket duties as well, especially the escort carriers, sir. Agnosta would be a good place to cycle the Marine fighter squadrons through for instance; they could get some ground attack practice in and work on invasion exercises.”

  Admiral Subert looked up as he envisioned the scenario and then nodded slowly. “Okay, I'll let you two explore the idea with OPS and the rest of the staff. I'd like to limit it to CEVs; I don't want a larger carrier tied down on picket.”

  “Of course not, sir,” Saul replied with a nod, glad of the win.

  “Now …”

  :::{)(}:::

  B-95a3 Second Fleet

  Not to be outdone, Second Fleet received the notice from a returning light cruiser that the enemy had abandoned B-97a so Admiral White moved out on the star system a week after the Eastern front launched. Admiral White left behind two Arboth class destroyers and the original two light cruisers, Shepard and Almirante Grau, to picket the star system. Captain Song wasn't happy to be left behind, but he was aware that the two ships were due to rotate back to Antigua as soon as relieving ships arrived. Both ships were destined for some time for minor refit while their crews enjoyed long overdue liberty. As much as he would have liked to go on the mission with the fleet, he was well aware of how tired his crew was and how likely they would end up as picket or scouting something along the way. Given that the admiral had a prowler out in front, that meant they would most likely have been stuck on picket duty.

  Besides, he'd received the promotion test and had passed it. BUPERS had asked him if he was interested in taking on a new command once they returned to Antigua. He wasn't certain what they had in mind, but he was open to suggestions. Hopefully, Daisy would get the same treatment.