by Ryk Brown
“I can’t do that,” Nathan said, taking another swig from the bottle. “I have to see this through, all the way to the end.”
Vladimir chuckled, taking the bottle back from Nathan. “That, is why you are the captain.” Vladimir took another drink from the bottle, then handed it back to Nathan. “Because you have ethics.”
“They have a cure for that, don’t they?” Nathan asked as he took the bottle back and took another drink.
“They do,” Vladimir replied. “You’re drinking it.”
* * *
Admiral Dumar sat at his desk, studying the intelligence analysis on the Jung home system. He had reviewed it nearly a dozen times over the past five days, ever since the Alliance council had asked him to submit a plan to attack the Jung homeworld. It had taken him less than a day to put together the plan and submit it to the council. That was four days ago, and with each passing day, he could not help but continually review his plans, looking for the slightest mistake that could snatch victory from their hands. In all those days of review, he had yet to find an error.
It was a daring plan, one that made a lot of assumptions about how the Jung would react, but there was no way around that. Although they had tested the Jung tactics many times in battle, military forces tended to behave differently when defending their home turf, as opposed to foreign battlefields.
A knock came at the admiral’s door. The admiral looked up and saw President Scott, standing in the doorway. “Mister President,” the admiral said in surprise. “I was not aware you were coming.”
“It’s a surprise visit,” the president said. “However, I would have expected your staff to at least alert you of my arrival.”
“I left strict orders not to be disturbed unless we were under attack,” Admiral Dumar explained as he rose from his chair. “But I am surprised they didn’t feel your presence was worthy of interruption. I shall have to speak to them.”
“I’m kidding,” President Scott said. “I actually never told anyone I was coming. I didn’t even use the presidential shuttle. My security team and I just caught a ride on one of your personnel shuttles. Your staff didn’t even know I was here until I entered the command wing. So, go easy on them.”
“Of course. Please, have a seat, Mister President,” the admiral offered, coming around his desk to sit on the same side as the president. “So, why all the secrecy?”
“The media loves to make a big deal out of every move I make these days,” President Scott explained. “Especially with Galiardi and his people squawking at anyone with a camera. Besides, I wanted to talk to you in person, and I know you’re a busy man.”
“No more so than you.”
“Nevertheless.”
“What is it you wish to speak to me about?” the admiral wondered.
“I’ll get straight to the point,” President Scott said. “Several members of the council are concerned about how the Jung will react, if we attack their homeworld. Now, I know what you told us when you presented your plan. But I also know that you were playing it safe, taking a middle ground, so to speak. I don’t blame you, considering all the pressure from Galiardi’s group. So I decided to come to you, and ask you straight up. How do you think the Jung will react? And don’t worry, I won’t hold you to it. I just want to know what you really think.”
“I see,” the admiral replied. “I’m afraid my answer will not be as simple as you might have hoped. You see, the Jung are not as simple and straightforward of a society as you might think. They have many factions, or ‘castes’. Each of these castes has different branches and layers. And each of them will react differently.”
“Try to simplify it for me, Admiral,” President Scott suggested.
“Well, take the three main factions within the ruling caste,” the admiral continued. “First, you have the Isolationists. I speak of them first, because they are the original Jung Empire. They couldn’t care less about conquering the Sol sector, or any other part of the galaxy. Their primary concern is the Jung home system, and the nearby systems that made up their empire for the first five centuries after the bio-digital plague. Their reaction will be to withdraw and protect their own core. They will likely call for a cease-fire, and offer to enter into negotiations. They might even do that without us having to attack them. Then there are the Core Expansionists. They are the ones who pushed to expand and conquer the Sol sector. Their original justification might have been to ensure the safety of the original Jung Empire, which they felt was threatened by the resurrection of the core worlds of Earth, but their true goal is to grow the core empire in traditional fashion, from its center outward.”
“And how might they react?” President Scott wondered.
“I expect their pride to be the biggest problem. It’s bad enough that we’ve been wiping them out all over the core the past few months, but when we attack their home system, they’re going to want revenge, and in a big way. They are the ones who will be the biggest threat. They are the ones who will want to rally their forces and send everything they’ve got to destroy us. Fortunately, they are not the controlling party. That would be the Isolationists.”
“That’s good for us, then,” the president surmised.
“Yes, and no,” the admiral corrected. “You see, although the Isolationists control the government of the Jung homeworld, they do not control the military, or the worlds that the military has conquered. At least not directly. So, it is entirely possible that the Core Expansionists would ignore a decision by the Isolationists to call for a cease-fire. In fact, they might even attack during peace negotiations, without the Isolationists’ foreknowledge.”
President Scott sighed. “Not simple at all.”
“Indeed,” Admiral Dumar agreed. “And finally, we have the Conquerors, whose goals have very little to do with the core empire, or the Jung worlds in the Sol sector. The Conquerors are aware that there are many human-inhabited worlds further out in the galaxy, and they want to go out and establish their own empires. They would likely still align themselves with the Jung empires of old, but that is not guaranteed. It is almost impossible to predict how they will react. They may side with the Core Expansionists, in which case we will be in even greater peril. On the other hand, they may simply decide that it is not their concern, and go about their escapades further out in the galaxy.”
“So, that is why you want a fail-safe, a way to guarantee that the Jung will not attack any Alliance member world, lest they risk their own destruction.”
“Precisely,” the admiral replied. “It is the only way to exert any level of control over all three main factions. Imminent threat of destruction.”
President Scott leaned back in his chair. “Well, Admiral, the council did like your attack plan. They thought it was bold enough, and destructive enough to make the Jung think hard about continuing their activities in the Sol sector, but conservative enough to maintain a reasonable level of post-attack defense. However, they still did not want to commit to such an all-out attack against the Jung homeworld.”
“I see,” the admiral replied. Although part of him was disappointed, another was relieved.
President Scott stood. “However, what swayed their vote was the fact that the loss of the Tannan propellant pipeline represents a serious short-term reduction in not only our own propellant supplies, but also the financial resources that have made us able to procure so many of the basic resources that many of the member worlds, Earth included, still desperately need. In other words, as much as we dislike the idea of provoking the Jung further, we feel we have little choice. The Jung attack on Tanna must not go unanswered. Your attack on the Jung home system has been approved. Furthermore, you are instructed to carry out the attack at the earliest possible date, so as to capitalize on the fervor of support the destruction of Tanna has generated for the Alliance across all worlds.”
“Thank you, Mister President,” the admiral said as he stood up to see the president off.
“I only hope we are doing th
e right thing, Admiral. To be honest, it feels very much like we are about to poke a hibernating bear with a very pointed stick.”
* * *
The captains and lead tactical officers, as well as the CAGs from both the Aurora and the Celestia, were gathered in the Karuzara’s main mission briefing room. None of them had been told the topic of the briefing, but they all had their suspicions.
Captain Nash and his lead tactical officer were the last to arrive, making their way over to sit next to Jessica and Nathan.
“I was wondering if you were going to make it,” Jessica said under her breath as her brother sat down next to her.
“Captains,” Robert said in greeting to both Nathan, and to Cameron, who was sitting to Nathan’s left, along with her lead tactical officer, Lieutenant Delaveaga.
“Did you get to fly your new ship here?” Jessica asked in jest.
“Nope. Took a shuttle, like everyone else.” He gestured to his tactical officer. “Jess, this is my lead TO, Nessa Monath. Lieutenant, this is my sister, Jessica, her CO, Nathan Scott, the Celestia’s CO, Cameron Taylor, and her lead TO, Luis Delaveaga.”
“A pleasure to meet you all,” Lieutenant Monath greeted.
“Koharan?” Jessica asked, recognizing her accent.
“Yes, sir,” the lieutenant replied.
“How’d you end up as TO?”
“Just lucky, I guess.”
“The lieutenant was trained by the Jung as a weapons systems engineer,” Robert explained. “That, and her high scores on the tactical improvisation simulations got her the spot. Not luck. Any idea why we’re here?”
“Nope,” Jessica replied. “But I’d bet a month’s pay that it’s got something to do with attacking the Jung home system.”
“It’s about time,” Nathan mumbled.
“It’s only been nine days,” Cameron retorted.
“Eight days too long,” Nathan replied.
“No argument here,” Jessica agreed.
Admiral Dumar entered the briefing room, followed by several assistants, as well as Commander Bowden.
“Admiral on deck!” the guard at the door announced, causing all in attendance to rise to their feet and stand at attention.
“Seal the room,” the admiral ordered as he walked to the podium in the corner of the room. The guards at both entrances closed and locked the doors, after which, one of the admiral’s assistants activated the sound curtain.
“Everything discussed from this point forward is considered classified, and is not to be discussed with anyone outside of this room, unless otherwise directed by myself. Not even amongst yourselves.” The admiral looked around the room, making sure everyone had heard him. Satisfied that everyone understood his last words, he spoke. “As you were.”
As they sat back down, the admiral pressed the control pad on the podium, causing the lights to dim and the main view screen to come to life, displaying a system chart that was unfamiliar to most of the officers in the room.
“CP-60 424,” the admiral began, “Otherwise known as Patoray, a variation of the Jung word for ‘home’. It is a G8 star, slightly smaller than Sol with about half the luminosity, and is roughly sixty-four light years away. It has only four worlds. Three of them rocky, and a single gas giant. The Jung homeworld is the second planet in the system. They call it, Nor-Patri. If you are interested in the specifics of their homeworld, they will be available on your secure data pads, which are being updated as we speak. The Jung homeworld has four satellites, the biggest of which they have turned into a combination shipyard, spaceport, and military base. We believe that Jung command is located here. The satellite itself appears to be an asteroid. It is unknown if it orbits the Jung homeworld naturally, or if it was moved there by the Jung. The asteroid itself, which the Jung call Zhu-Anok, has a mean radius of four hundred and fifty kilometers and is composed of water-ice and rock. Although we were not able to use active sensors to scan its interior, there is evidence on the surface of interior excavation, which is most likely quite extensive.”
The admiral changed pictures, showing a close up of the asteroid. “Zhu-Anok is encircled by a massive ring-like structure that ranges in width from two kilometers, to as much as ten kilometers in some places. The structure is connected to the surface of the asteroid by a series of evenly spaced columns, each of which is several hundred meters in diameter.”
“Damn,” Nathan said under his breath.
“We believe this structure contains shipyards, complete with pressurized dry dock bays, docks, support facilities, fabrication shops, and of course, defensive systems.” Admiral Dumar looked up from his notes. “This, is our primary target.”
“What type of defenses are we talking about?” Captain Roselle asked.
“Three layers of rail guns,” the admiral replied. “The larger the guns, the fewer and more widely spaced they are. Of the largest, there are more than one hundred, and of the smallest, there are nearly ten times that number. They also have thirty missile launchers. However, it is unknown if they employ long or short range missiles, or if their warheads are nuclear or conventional.”
“If it is that heavily defended, then perhaps we should just use jump KKVs and take out the entire asteroid,” Captain Poc suggested.
“I have considered that option. However, based on the lack of shuttle traffic between the Jung homeworld and the asteroid base, we believe that the asteroid itself is a shell containing hundreds of levels, and quite possibly hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people. Again, the reduced shuttle traffic would indicate that these people both live and work within this asteroid, and the structure encircling it. Even a single KKV strike would be catastrophic, and would likely kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people.”
“It didn’t seem to bother the Jung,” Nathan commented under his breath.
Admiral Dumar heard Captain Scott’s comment, but decided to ignore it, despite the fact that he sympathized with the captain’s position. “We believe that our usual hit and run tactics, using primarily plasma weapons, should do enough damage to the structure to send a clear message to the Jung leaders.”
“Message?” Jessica wondered aloud. “You want to send a message?” Jessica turned to Robert. “How about payback’s a bitch, asshole.”
Robert wanted to laugh, but controlled himself.
Jessica felt Nathan’s elbow in her side, and stopped chuckling at her own remark.
Admiral Dumar paused, sending a disapproving glare at the lieutenant commander, followed by a quick glance at her commanding officer next to her. “Do not misunderstand,” the admiral continued. “Our intent is not to destroy the Jung. We’re not even trying to take out all their military assets within their home system. Our goal is to arrive unannounced, cause as much destruction as possible, and then leave, all without losing a single ship.”
“What the hell kind of message does that send?” Jessica asked.
“Jess,” Nathan scolded quietly.
“That we are both willing, and able, to visit as much death and destruction onto them, as they have brought onto us and our allies,” the admiral replied.
“Could that not be accomplished through the use of JKKVs?” Captain Poc reiterated.
“We will be using jump KKVs, Captain,” Admiral Dumar assured him. “However, we must demonstrate the abilities of our ships as well as our standoff weapons of mass destruction. They must witness the full range of our abilities. That is also why we are using their own ships against them…to show them that we can capture their vessels and make them our own.”
“Haven’t we demonstrated these facts already?” Lieutenant Delaveaga wondered. “Surely by now Jung command has received word about at least some of the systems we’ve liberated.”
“Indeed they have,” Admiral Dumar agreed. “But we have seen that the Jung are quite adept at the use of propaganda. There is no reason to think that they do not do the same with their own people. Therefore, we need to demonstrate our abilities and resolve by
an attack within their home system, where their own people can witness the horror directly.”
“You’re hoping to turn the Jung population against their own leaders, aren’t you?” Nathan realized.
“Not so much against their leaders, but rather to put pressure on them to change their plans in regard to the Sol sector.”
“You’re looking for a cease-fire,” Nathan surmised, “not a victory.”
Admiral Dumar looked Nathan in the eyes. “I’m looking for a way to save us all, Captain Scott. By our estimates, the ships currently within the Jung home system represent only a quarter of their total forces… Perhaps even less. If they were to rally even half their total numbers to make another run at Earth, they would roll right over us, and then over every member system.”
“But it would take years for them to rally so many ships and send them our way, possibly even decades,” Jessica argued. “During that time, we can build more ships, create better…”
“How many ships do you think you can build in ten years’ time?” Admiral Dumar asked. “Ten? Twenty? A formidable force, yes, but against several hundred warships? And what if, during that ten years, the Jung manage to develop their own jump drive, and retrofit every ship in their fleet? What then?”
“All the more reason to throw everything we’ve got at them,” Jessica argued. “Now, before they have a chance to improve their defenses to protect against our jump weapons.”
Admiral Dumar stared at Jessica for several seconds. “Sometimes, it is more effective to show an enemy your weapon, to instill fear and to make them wonder just how badly they will be hurt should you use it. For if you do use it, and you fail to kill your enemy, they will know that they can survive your weapon. They will know that the pain it creates is not as bad as they had feared. More importantly, they will become enraged, and will seek vengeance, just as you are now, Lieutenant Commander.”