by Peter Grant
Butler nodded. “I’ll assemble the shuttle crews. We’ll brief everyone as soon as your medical personnel arrive. Thank heavens our monthly shipment of medical supplies came in last week. Our storerooms and the tender’s supply holds are just about full. I think we’re about to need everything we’ve got!”
December 6, 2851 GSC, 04:30
ATHI SYSTEM BOUNDARY – LCS PICKLE
“Communications to Command, signal from OrbCon, sir.” Without waiting for orders, the console operator forwarded the message.
At last! Steve thought as he brought it up on his display. We’ve been sitting here waiting for four hours – two for our arrival message to reach them, and another two for their clearance to get back to us!
As he finished reading it, he heard Juliette’s voice from the Plot display. “The message confirms the tactical dispositions we’d already figured out by watching ship movements in the Plot tank, sir.”
“Yes, it does. We’re to go into orbit around Vellalore with the other auxiliaries, then wait for further instructions.” He reverted to formal command style for a moment. “Command to Navigator. Calculate a shortest-time course to Vellalore orbit, then start us moving at max speed. I want to get there before any fighting flares up, if possible.”
“Navigator to Command, fastest course to Vellalore orbit, aye aye, sir.”
As the younger officer bent to his task, Steve got up and walked across to the Plot. “What do you think?” he asked his deputy quietly.
“I think they’ve done the best they can with what they have, sir. I like their use of drones to widen the surveillance screen around the likely Kotai ingress bearing. The patrol craft can watch a much wider area by using them.”
“Yes, that was a good idea. Pity we can only see what was going on several hours ago. Light speed delay is a pain in the ass in a situation like this. They might already be in a fight for their lives, but we wouldn’t know about it.”
“True, sir. For that matter, think of how difficult the Admiralty’s job must be, back on Lancaster. They don’t know about any of this yet – the Kotai revolt on Devakai, the threatened attack here, or even where we are and what we’re doing.”
Steve sighed. “Yes. In a very real sense, we’re in the same situation as wet-water navies during the age of sail on Old Home Earth. Ships and distant commands took weeks or even months to communicate with their home bases. The only way to do so was by ship, just as it is today.”
She nodded. “And then and now, some wars have gone on for weeks after peace was declared, because of the communications delay, sir.”
“Yes. One of the old ones was the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, a century and a half before the Space Age. I visited the site during a school history field trip when I was in my teens. The battle was fought the month after peace was agreed.” He sighed again. “Two and a half thousand casualties, for no good reason.”
“I keep forgetting you were born and raised on Old Home Earth, sir. I’ve never been there. Earth history seems like ancient myth and legend to me.”
“It’s that way for most people on Earth these days, too. Education’s become so bureaucratic and homogenized that the flavor of a lot of history is lost. I was lucky to be in a private system, with teachers who tried to make it real to us. That’s one reason I worked so hard to get off Earth. I wanted to live someplace where freedom, in its historical sense, still meant something.”
Juliette nodded, glancing at the Plot display. While they’d been talking, Junior Lieutenant Abrams had started the ship moving towards Vellalore, accelerating fast. “We’d better make sure the Kotai don’t win, sir. If they do, freedom won’t even be a concept on Devakai or Athi, let alone a reality.”
“You can say that again!”
They both stiffened as they saw the display change. “They must have detected something!” the First Lieutenant exclaimed, pointing to the formation of patrol craft and their drones.
Almost simultaneously, the Communications console operator called, “Communications to Command. Flash emergency message from LCS Copperhead. It reads: Encrypted signal detected from unknown source bearing 071:043, aimed at planet using tight-beam microwave transmission. Presume this is Kotai arrival signal.”
“That’s close enough to your projected arrival bearing that it’s got to be them, sir!” Juliette exclaimed.
“I don’t see how it can be anyone else – and they’re right on time,” Steve confirmed, exhaling in relief. “It looks like the patrol craft are adjusting their formation slightly, to aim down the new line of bearing.”
He crossed to his console, picked up the microphone and adjusted a control. “Attention all hands! This is the Commanding Officer. Our patrols have detected what they believe to be a Kotai arrival signal, aimed at the planet from almost exactly the direction we thought they’d come from. If that’s what it is, it fully justifies all the short-cuts we took, and all the safety regulations we violated, to get here as fast as possible. If we’d come at normal speed, we’d still be more than a day away, and Athi would have been taken completely by surprise. As it is, we can see from the Plot that our ships are ready to intercept intruders, and I’m sure our forces on the planet are prepared for trouble as well. Once again, thank you, everyone, for all your hard work. It’s paid off big-time.”
Faintly, through the thin compartment plating, they could hear cheers coming from fore and aft as the crew took in the news.
—————
ATHI SYSTEM – DEVAKAI MERCHANT SHIP VARAHA
“But how could they possibly have known we were coming, or where to look for us? Who has betrayed us?”
Captain Palli looked around. His bridge crew appeared as stunned as Lieutenant Kallan, who had just exclaimed in shock when they detected radar emissions two light-hours ahead of them. He curled his lip, thinking, Why worry about what cannot be changed, you fools? Aloud he said, “It may not be betrayal. It may just be coincidence – but what does it matter? They have set themselves against us with only the power of man. We shall strike them with the power of the Incarnate God! Fear not! Put your trust in Kodan Sastagan, and remember his promise. If we fall in his service, we shall be reborn in the next higher caste. Even if we die, we triumph!”
He hugged to himself the glorious prospect that, as a Brahmin, there was no higher caste for him to attain. Kodan Sastagan had promised him, in person, that if he died to achieve victory for him, Palli would attain moksha, the final release from samsara, the endless cycle of death and rebirth. All he had to do was keep faith with the Incarnate God, and his eternal bliss was assured.
He turned to the Communications console. “Lieutenant Uppara, recalculate our forces’ landing time from this distance, update our arrival signal, then transmit it to Athi immediately. Send it at full power, using microwave tight-beam.”
“Yes, sir!”
He turned to face the assembled officers standing at the rear of the bridge. “You know your duty. There is nothing more to say. All that remains is to do! Go to your posts, and commence launching on my command. In the name of the Incarnate God, Kodan Sastagan!”
“KODAN SASTAGAN!”
The bellowed battle cry from a score of throats gladdened the Captain’s heart. He watched them turn on their heels and hurry out, eagerly heading for their stations. One slowed, looking back at him, and he gestured. The young man followed him as he stepped into the conference room at the side of the bridge.
“You are afraid, my son?”
“Not of battle or death, father. With the Incarnate God to lead and guide us, that holds no fears for me at all! No, I… I’m afraid I may let my people down, that I may not accomplish all Kodan Sastagan has entrusted to my ship and her crew.”
His father nodded understandingly. “It’s a heavy burden to lay upon one so young; but you are my son. I know you, and I trust you. When the Incarnate God asked me who was the steadiest and most reliable patrol craft commander, I said that you were. I told him you were my son, but I w
asn’t blinded by paternal pride. I invited him to ask others about you. He told me later he’d done so, and they confirmed all I’d said about you. You’ve earned your place in this battle. Don’t fear letting down your people or yourself. Have faith, and trust in the Incarnate God. He will guide you.”
The young man drew himself up. “I shall, father.” They embraced briefly, firmly, as one warrior to another.
“I’m proud of you, Anandkumar. Now, listen carefully. You know why we are here. We have two primary goals that take precedence over all others. The most important thing is to get enough of our ground forces onto Athi to defeat the United Planets troops there. Those we do not kill will serve as hostages against any new intrusion. Second only to that, we must inflict as many losses as possible on the unbelievers in space, destroying their ships and killing their spacers. We want to cost them so much that their people at home will revolt against such losses, and demand that their governments bring their forces home. Thus, we shall be left in peace to rebuild Athi as the Incarnate God wishes. In due course, his message will go out from here to the rest of the settled galaxy.”
His son’s eyes shone. “It all begins here, today, and we are at the forefront of his shock troops. Honor is ours!”
“Indeed. Your fellow commanders will strike the first blows. Let us see how successful they are. If there remains work to be done, you and I will see to it. Here is a rendezvous position.”
He took a sheet of paper and wrote a string of numbers on it, then handed it to his son. “If the enemy’s defenses are still strong at the last, meet me there two hours before you are due to strike. Don’t use active sensors – look for my identification light on this bearing.” He took back the paper and made another note. “We can speak via tight-beam without the enemy overhearing us. We’ll make plans to help each other, and clear the way together for our ground forces.”
The younger man’s eyes shone. “To go into battle at your side would be a blessing, father!”
“And also for me. Now go, and do your duty!”
—————
ATHI SYSTEM – LCS COPPERHEAD
“EW to Command. Sir, there’s something odd. I don’t know how to classify it.”
“Command to EW, what do you mean?” Senior Lieutenant Watson’s voice was crisp, almost annoyed. Electronic Warfare officers weren’t supposed to be so imprecise in their reports. Ensign White should have known better.
The young officer was unabashed. “EW to Command. Sir, there’s no single emission that I can identify for sure. It’s more like a background noise of emissions, very faint, as if they were light-days away instead of light-hours. They’re all roughly where the ship which sent that signal should be, but they’re not a point source - they’re diffused, and spreading out. Some may be small gravitic drive units on very low power settings; others might be tractor or pressor beams. I can’t classify them for sure, sir. They’re too weak.”
“Command to EW. Transmit the bearing to the Plot, and let’s see what develops. Break. Command to Communications. Put me on Commander Belknap’s direct circuit.”
A momentary pause. “Communications to Command, link established, sir.”
Watson picked up the handset on his console. “Copperhead to Squadron Commander. Sir, we’re plotting a group of very weak emissions, about where that ship should be by now. We can’t identify any of them for sure, but they may include tractor or pressor beams. Over.”
There was a pause as the tight-beam laser transmitted his words across two million kilometers to LCS Krait, aboard which the Squadron Commander was currently stationed. He moved to a different patrol craft every month, to keep everyone on their toes. Watson was quietly grateful that he didn’t have the craggy, demanding Commander looking over his shoulder right now. He had to admit, though, Belknap had trained and exercised the eight fifteen-thousand-ton Serpent class patrol craft of his squadron until each functioned like a well-oiled sewing machine, and they worked together as one. That was very comforting at a time like this.
The Commander’s voice crackled in his earpiece. “Squadron Commander to Copperhead. We plot them too. I think the tractor or pressor beams may be the Kotai launching all their small craft from the freighter’s holds. They’ve got forty assault shuttles, cargo shuttles, and probably the ship’s small craft as well. I suspect they want to get all their troops off the ship before she reaches our patrol line, in case she’s taken out by our missiles. Those little boats have very small gravitic drives compared to a real spaceship, so it’s no wonder we can’t classify them at this range. Over.”
“Yes, sir, but what about the four patrol craft? They should have a drive signature about as strong as ours, and I’m not seeing any. Over.”
“Neither am I. They may not have launched them yet. We’ll have to wait and see. Meanwhile, I’ll advise Commodore Singh of this development and what I think it means. Tell your EW Officer from me, well done for spotting those emissions. You’re the only ship apart from my own that’s reported it. Squadron Commander out.”
—————
ATHI ORBIT – ORBITAL CONTROL CENTER
“But why would they launch all their small craft more than four light-hours from the planet? They don’t have the range to reach Athi from that far out. They’d run out of reaction mass and reactor fuel before they entered orbit, sir!”
Commodore Singh shook his head as he held up a hand, stopping the flow of words from Athi’s Planetary Self-Defense Force representative. “You don’t understand, Major Padmanabhan. They’re already moving at one-tenth Cee. That’s the velocity of the ship that brought them here. They don’t need their drives to maintain that speed. They’ll only use them at low power to maneuver, or to slow down when they reach Athi, so they can enter the atmosphere without burning up. They’re launching them to get them off the ship and disperse them, so they’re no longer a single big, fat target for our missiles. Their small craft will spread out like a swarm of flies. Our ships can’t possibly intercept all of them, and at one-tenth of light speed, those they miss will pass through our patrol line and out of range very quickly.”
“But those patrol craft have twenty missiles each – a hundred and twenty in total, across all six of them, sir. Surely the freighter can’t be carrying that many small craft?”
“She isn’t; but she also has four of her own patrol craft, each carrying sixteen missiles, according to Lieutenant-Commander Maxwell’s description of them. Our ships have no choice but to make them their priority targets. If they expend their main battery missiles on assault shuttles and cargo shuttles, they’ll have none left for their real enemy – ships of their own type that can destroy them all.”
“But where are the Kotai patrol craft, sir? We haven’t seen any sign of them at all!”
“That’s because they don’t want us to. When they launch them, they’ll probably use their reaction thrusters only. Those don’t provide much thrust compared to a gravitic drive, but it’s enough for low-speed maneuvers, and they give off no emissions for us to detect. I suspect they’ll get all four of their patrol craft into a fighting formation before they activate their gravitic drives and steer for our patrol line. They’ll want to give us as little opportunity to track them as possible. Meanwhile, they’ll be tracking our ships’ emissions passively, and using that to prepare their firing plans.”
He was silent for a moment, looking at the Plot display, then said softly, “If they can sneak in close before our patrol craft detect them, it’ll turn into a knife fight out there, a bar-room brawl in space. I think we’ll take them out, all right, but we may have to pay in blood to do so; and while we’re fighting them, a lot of their ground forces will slip past our patrol craft and head for Athi.”
“But can’t you order a couple of their patrol craft to go after the ground troops, while the others fight the Devakai ships, sir?”
“No, Major, I can’t. My orders wouldn’t reach them in time. They’re three light-hours from us. The fight’s pro
bably already over out there – we just haven’t seen the tracks of spaceship and missile emissions yet. That’s the reality of warfare where light speed delay is concerned. All we can do right now is sit here, waiting to find out who killed who. It’s going to be… interesting.”
—————
ATHI – HEADQUARTERS, 24th MARINE EXPEDITIONARY BATTALION
Brooks watched through the viewscreen as the shuttle landed in a swirl of dust and a spray of gravel, dislodged by its reaction thrusters. As they powered down, he hurried down the rear ramp, followed by the Marines in the main compartment. They were carrying two stretchers, each burdened with a bloody body. Only one of them was moving. The other was ominously still.
Medics, waiting on the edge of the shuttle pad, took the stretcher handles from the Marines and carried them towards the casualty clearing station. Other Marines surged forward, one driving a small crane, others pushing wheeled rearming carts. The shuttle’s pilot opened the hatches of the missile tubes that had been fired, clearing the way for the reloading team to work as fast as possible. A tanker cart was towed into place alongside the shuttle and its hose connected to a fitting, pumping in more reaction mass for the thrusters.
Brooks left his Marines to get on with it as he ran towards the HQ tent. He found Lieutenant-Colonel Neilson issuing orders to a newly-arrived Captain. He waited until they had finished, then stepped forward, saluting. “Reporting back from Firebase Golf, sir. We got the Marines out, plus a platoon of Athi forces that were left behind when their company high-tailed it without them. I’ve told Captain Hardbarger to get them a meal, then use them as auxiliaries for his Marines here, to help with local security, resupply and casualty evacuation.”
“Good work! I followed your transmissions. Sounds like you ran into a hornet’s nest.”
“We did, sir. I’ve never seen so many Kotai in one place before. They came at us balls to the wall. They were frantic to get to grips with us, even if it killed them. They actually seemed eager to die.” He shook his head, disbelief tingeing his voice as he struggled to understand the enemy’s fanaticism.