The director shook her head and looked at Tag and said, “She is good! You’re right. Joe Coronado is given credit for inventing the power cell, and any Alliance investigation into the technology will show all the details of his research. We have been using this technology for ninety years now and have developed our warships using it. The Alliance was actually right to fear that technology.”
“Director, how many warships does the Earth have to defend it?”
“Tag, call me Misty. We’re being informal here. We have over six thousand that are armed with power cell technology. We have a class of battleships we have kept hidden that are quite powerful.”
Even Danielle was speechless. “How could we have built that many ships without anyone knowing?”
“That information is highly classified. Even the general staff doesn’t know the full number. We have only two spaceports on Earth, which is all we’re allowed on our planet. The Alliance never said anything about building construction facilities off planet. I think they assumed we would understand that we were only allowed two. But the actual written document says only two on Earth. So we have ship-building facilities carved out in the center of moons and large asteroids within our twenty light-year-limit. That’s why we patrol the limit; to ensure no one detects our shipyards. We have eighty-eight ship-building operations within ten light-years of Earth.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Tag asked.
“Because we’re about to have a meeting about our response to the Alliance’s occupation plans, and it’s important that you know what our capabilities are.”
“How do our ships match up with the best of the Alliance?” Danielle asked.
“We think we’re superior. We won’t know for certain until an actual battle is fought. One of our destroyer class ships destroyed two Alliance cruisers.”
“Wow,” said Tag.
“They even managed to use the cruisers’ own missiles to destroy each other. I think we are faster, our sensors are better, our weapons are stronger, and our screens are far ahead of them.”
“So why are you worried, Misty?” Danielle asked.
“The Alliance has more than twenty-five thousand ships among its 820 members ready for instant mobilization, and another twenty-five thousand if they’re needed. They could overwhelm us if they used them all to attack.”
“Then we’ll just have to take them on piece by piece until we get better odds,” Tag said. “By the way, I’ve noticed that the Directorate has relaxed the tight controls on Earth’s population.”
“Yes we have. They were put in place to prevent a close inspection by the Alliance. They had their place then, but now we need our people free to grow and develop naturally. The planet’s population has grown remarkably close and has a pride in our standing up to the Alliance threat.”
“Let’s hope we can protect them,” Tag said.
State Leader Sten had the Cainth ambassador in his office and was showing him the recording of the massacre at Ross’s star. “What do you think you were doing? This was to be peaceful occupation. My office assured the humans that they had six weeks to prepare for your arrival.”
“Sir, our military commander took it upon himself to take that action to make sure the humans would offer no resistance.”
“They didn’t offer any. They immediately surrendered.”
“I think it was for the benefit of the humans’ home world that it was done.”
“If there are any other mistakes like this, I will call for a censure of the Cainth Empire and will send an occupying force for your own worlds. Did you ever think that this might cause the humans to fight back?”
The Cainth ambassador was silent. Then Sten understood. Sten said, “That’s exactly what you hoped would happen. Now if they resist you have a reason to finally destroy the humans after your two hundred years of whining, and I can’t help them against a member of the Alliance. I also can’t in good conscience tell them that they will be treated fairly. Get out of my office. Your whole race sickens me.”
Chapter 25
Admiral Kosiev looked around his bridge and thought, “My, how quickly things change. I’ve gone from captain to commodore to admiral in record time.” He was called into the general staff meeting by the Director and was told that he was being promoted to Grand Admiral over Fleet Operations. He was flabbergasted and asked why he was selected; there had to be other officers with more seniority.
The young man he had rescued from the moon spoke up and said, “Because you are the only Directorate naval officer to have actually had real combat experience against the Alliance. You also showed quick thinking and ingenuity when confronted by superior forces. You could have run but chose to fight because of the long-term consequences if you didn’t. Remember, Admiral, humans have been at peace for over four hundred years. We have to relearn how to defend ourselves, and we need to learn quickly. Our past has shown us that aggression only leads to destruction, so we have not had a naval rank higher than commodore, and this was deliberately done. We did not want anyone to know that we had enough ships to constitute a fleet. That’s why all your instructions were given through the general staff. I’m sure you assumed there were higher ranks, but there were not.”
“I have no experience in fleet exercises, or formations.”
“No one does, Admiral. That’s why I’m going to assist you in organizing your fleet units. I seem to have a certain flair for how things work together. We will begin training immediately for the retaking of Ross’s planet. You will have three hundred ships under your command for that mission, and I would suggest that you look at your duty roster from the ship that fought the Alliance ships, and I would recommend that a high percentage of your crew from the two Alliance attacks be spread out in command capacity in as many ships as possible. Plan to meet with me in two hours on board the Washington, which will be your flagship.”
Admiral Kosiev left the meeting almost in a daze and took a shuttle to the Washington. He had no idea what kind of ship it was, and he held his head in his hands all the way until docking. “Am I up to this responsibility?” he wondered silently.
“Sir,” Yeoman Lang said. “Do you want to see your new ship?”
“Yes,” he said. The view screen opened and there it was. He was amazed. It was seven hundred feet of pure white elegance hanging in space surrounded by a universe full of stars and shuttles unloading supplies. The clear armor shone brightly in the sun and he could see engine ducts at the rear of the ship that were enormous. “This ship will be fast,” he decided. He realized that if the engines match those ducts, it will fly faster than anything he had ever seen. He also noticed that the power cells on the surface were three times larger than the cells on his old destroyer, Moscow.
“Sir,” the yeoman interrupted his thoughts, “your new ship is powered by three new black hole reactors.”
“I didn’t think we had mastered that technology.”
“We did that over two years ago. We’ve been hiding these ships. A microscopic black hole sucks atoms into it, destroying them and generating power. The atoms then pass through the black holes’ back side and emerge in another part of the reactor as a different form of matter to repeat the process. These reactors have twenty times the power of the old fusion reactors. Your ship has three of them.”
“Do you know if the power cells can handle that much power?”
“You’ve probably already noticed how much larger the power cells are on your ship. They were originally designed to operate using a black hole reactor. Your ship can handle the full load of all three reactors and still have the capacity to absorb the energy of ninety primary lasers for storage. Your ship is, we believe, the fastest and deadliest ship in our arsenal. Your ship and its sister should be a handful for anyone to attack.”
“Who is her captain?”
“He was just promoted. His name is Captain Lin Mikado.”
Kosiev had to admit that things were looking better.
After Kosie
v left the staff meeting, Tag looked at Colonel Solerio and said, “I have something I want you to do. The enforcement committee is holding a prisoner by the name of Richard Wiseman. I happen to know a lot about his skills and character. I want him released and returned to full active duty. Give him the rank of a naval marine battalion commander and plan to drop his command on the settlement on Ross that has the highest concentration of Cainth soldiers. He has something to prove to himself and this is the only way he can atone for what he’s done.”
“But he’s a criminal.”
“So was I. Sometimes circumstances make people do things that they ordinarily would never do. This is not a request.”
Tag looked at the Director and she turned and looked at Colonel Solerio and said, “This man is the chosen leader of special forces. Next time you question one of his directives, you will be the prisoner. Is that clear enough for you?”
The colonel turned red and said, “The orders will be issued immediately.”
Tag said, “Give him three days’ leave to go home and get his affairs in order after he reports to Admiral Kosiev.”
“Yes sir.”
Director Nicole and Tag sat in her office drinking a stimulant drink. “Thomas, do you think we have any chance? Should we just yield to the occupation?”
“No, Misty. By the way, call me Tag. Right now I believe our ships are better than anything the Alliance has. They will eventually learn about our Coronado technology. However, they don’t know now, and unless one of our ships falls into their hands, they won’t know how we do what we do. You’re right to be concerned about a mass attack. Our task is to make them make small attacks until we bleed them dry enough to even the odds. We can’t show them our ship numbers, but we can use a small number on each attack. We’ll also shift the fleet around so that all our ships will have the opportunity to learn how we maneuver and acquire some combat experience. By the time the final battle is fought, the odds will be more even. Another thing that will help us in the long run is that our construction facilities are producing 150 new Washington class ships every month. If we can draw this conflict out, we’ll have more than seven thousand ships in a year. We have to be careful. We have to make sure that the Alliance thinks they can destroy us any time they choose.”
“Perhaps they can,” Misty said.
“We’ll know shortly,” Tag answered.
Admiral Dorg was pleased with the results of his plan so far. The humans had been shown no mercy during the occupation and he felt certain that the home world would fight before allowing him to occupy it. He has not lost a single ship in destroying the Grendap. Their civilization was so primitive. They couldn’t even crash their ships into his because they were so slow. He would wrap up operations in another eight rotations and be ready to invade the humans within fifteen rotations. He had to stop on the way back and have the troop ships join his armada. Oh, how he wished he could have been there when the hostages were executed. He played the recording over and over, enjoying it more with each playing. He looked forward to personally executing all the members of the humans’ government. “Just a few more rotations,” he kept repeating to himself.
Richard Wiseman was having his nightmare again. He was asleep in his cell turning restlessly as he saw the young girl try to run by him in his dream. He reached out and stopped her and held her by the arm. Her face showed that she was terrified, and she looked helplessly in his eyes as one of the Marco brothers came up and stabbed her in the chest with a knife. She screamed and he woke up. He hated himself for all that they had made him do, and the young girl visited him regularly in his dreams. “Part of the price of my sins,” he thought. He was worried about his family and he was also worried about Daniel.
Daniel had turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to his family. Richard knew in his heart that he deserved what he was getting. He just hoped his family would survive.
“Richard Wiseman?” a man in military uniform asked at his cell door.
“Yes, that’s me.”
The man turned to the security officer and said, “Open this man’s cell; he’s being released.”
“What? What? What?” Richard said.
“Come with me, please.”
Richard followed the soldier into a room where there was a naval marine colonel sitting at a desk. The colonel nodded to the soldier, who then left the room. “Richard Wiseman, please sign this form.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a pardon for all your crimes from the Director.”
“Why? I deserve what happens to me.”
“We reviewed the tapes and it appears you never actually killed anyone. It was the other four that did the murders. We’ve been told your family was threatened, and if you had not participated they would have been killed.”
“It doesn’t matter. I helped those monsters, which makes me as guilty as they are,” Richard said while holding his head in his hands and looking at the floor.
The colonel looked at him for a long moment and then said, “Maybe so, but sign here anyway.” Richard signed the form, and then the colonel said, “I also need you to sign this form.”
“And what is that?”
“You are being assigned to active duty with the rank of lieutenant colonel. You will report to Admiral Kosiev in fleet operations immediately, and in three days you will take command of a battalion of naval marines that is scheduled to be dropped in a relief effort at Ross’s star. Your training will start as soon as you report.”
Richard was dazed. “How can this be happening?” he thought. His highest rank when he served was master sergeant. Then he asked, “Do I receive a lieutenant colonel’s pay and benefits, sir?”
“You actually receive double pay because of forthcoming combat. You will have full benefits including retirement and medical as soon as you sign.”
“Hand me that paper, sir.”
Richard was transported to the Washington. “Boy, that’s a beautiful ship,” he thought as the shuttle approached. He still could not understand what was going on, and now he was reporting to the fleet admiral, no less. The ship docked and Richard was met at the port by two naval marines that saluted him and said, “Welcome aboard, sir. Will you follow us, please?”
Richard returned their salute and said, “Lead the way.”
He walked to the ship’s bridge that was a hundred yards up ship, entered, and came to attention as he saw Fleet Admiral Kosiev. “Lieutenant Colonel Richard Wiseman reporting as ordered, sir,” he said. “Damn. I just can’t get used to saying that,” he thought.
“At ease, Colonel,” Kosiev said. “Do you know why you’re here?”
“I’m confused, sir. I have been released from prison for crimes that I am guilty of committing. I’ve been given a command in the marines and quite frankly, I am not at all sure this is really happening.”
Kosiev looked over Richard’s shoulder and said, “Do you want to explain it?”
Richard turned around and saw a chair next to the science consoles turn around, and there was Daniel. “Daniel!” Richard yelled and ran up and hugged the young man. “I’ve been so worried about you. Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine, Richard. I’ve had you released and assigned to the marines. It seems someone respects my opinions. Let me tell you why I’ve done it.” Tag put his arm around his friend’s shoulder and said softly, “You have some spirits that need to be exorcised, and the only way that can happen is for you to balance your debt. We are going to retake Ross’s world from the Alliance and we’re going to drop a battalion of naval marines on the largest city where the Alliance is most heavily armed. I need someone that understands the importance of saving those civilians, about thirty-five thousand of them, and won’t hesitate to act. I’m giving you a chance to redeem yourself for your past transgressions. There is a good possibility of heavy loss of life—you and your men are being dropped into an extremely dangerous situation—but I need you to rescue those civilians. Will you lead the
attack?”
Richard stared at Tag for a long moment and said, “I expected to be executed for my crimes. I don’t believe in throwing lives away, but I would welcome the chance to save them. I’m honored that you have that much faith in me. I’ve already considered my life over, so this rescue attempt holds no fear for me.”
Kosiev said, “Then welcome aboard, Colonel. Your officer training starts in three days, after you visit your family. These two marines will be your executive officer and your contact with command staff. Get to know them; you’re going to need their expertise. We’re counting on you. Dismissed.”
“Tag, are you going to be alright during this battle?” Danielle asked.
“Who can say? I’ll be on our strongest ship. If we lose, then no one is safe.”
“I want the wedding moved up to day after tomorrow,” Danielle said.
“Why?”
Annihilation: Love Conquers All Page 24