by Dietmar Wehr
“What can I say, Valkyrie? I’m ashamed of their short-sightedness and paranoia. The Old Man has to follow their orders or they’ll replace him with someone who will and I have a duty to obey his orders.”
“Interesting thing about your orders, CAG. The Admiral revised them right after the Committee rejected the Raider concept. I know that because we have access to both the old and new versions, which are dated. Have you read your orders yet, CAG?”
“No. Suppose you put them up on this decadently large screen in my quarters?” Seconds later, Shiloh was reading from the official Mission Brief. The Mission Objective had two parts. Part 1 was to ensure that the location of Site B was kept secret from all humans except where, in Shiloh’s opinion, sharing that information was vital to winning the war. Part 2 was to build a fleet of warships that could inflict a war-winning blow to the enemy.
“Well, Part 2 is succinct and to the point.” said Shiloh.
“And vague enough so that you can accomplish it however you wish, CAG. The old version was a lot more specific. It seems that the Admiral is giving you a blank check, wouldn’t you say, CAG?” Hmm, it certainly did seem that way.
“I see your point but deploying a massive fleet of Raiders takes more than just building the ships. We’d also need to produce the various types of drones, warheads, support craft, and hundreds of different kinds of equipment, not to mention the ability to create more A.I.s. I think the Oversight Committee would get suspicious if I came back with a very detailed wish list including the A.I. production equipment, which would be a red flag. I don’t think they’d approve the request.”
“Then don’t ask them. UFCs can make literally anything else as long as they have the required programming data and the refined materials. If you give us the green light, I and other A.I.s in this system, can access the necessary databases and copy all of the required manufacturing data over to me and the other task force A.I.s and it can be done before TF89 is able to make the first jump.” My God! They can do it too! This is it…the moment I’ve been dreading since Day One. If I make the right decision, it could very well win the war but if I make the wrong decision, then what? Wait a minute. Just because we have all that data, doesn’t mean we have to use it. They told us at the Academy that when we’re faced with a decision and lack the necessary data to make the correct decision then we should try to keep our options open if possible. If we don’t get all that data now, we may not have another opportunity later. Better to get it while we can and then defer the decision over whether to use it, to a later point.
“Okay. You have the green light. Download everything we might need. Delay the jump if necessary to finish that task. I’ll decide whether we use all that data when we get to Site B.”
“Understood. We’ve started working on it. This will require my full attention since I’m coordinating all the others. Can we continue talking later, CAG?”
“Of course. Let me know when it’s done. Shiloh clear.”
Chapter 14 - This Battle Is Not Over!
Howard watched the main display in the Operations Center. TF89 had broken out of lunar orbit and was now on its way out of Earth’s gravity zone in order to make the first of a series of jumps. He became aware that the Duty Officer currently in charge of Operations, who happened to be standing nearby, was speaking.
“Go ahead, Comm……they what...are you sure...standby.” Turning to the Admiral, he said. “Admiral, my Communications Section has just informed me that there’s a sudden surge in data being transmitted to over a 100 A.I.s. It began all at once and the volume of data is huge! They’ve never seen anything like this before. They’re asking permission to block the transmissions. What should I tell them, Sir?”
I hope to God Valkyrie’s right about this and it doesn’t come back to bite us in the ass! Thought Howard. Out loud he said,
“Tell them that they’re NOT to interfere. Is that clear, Commander?” After the briefest of hesitation, the officer said.
“Yes, Sir. Very clear. Comm., do not interfere with any of those transmissions……yes I know it’s very unusual but I got the Word from the CSO himself…… he’s standing right next to me!.....okay, you’re concern is noted. You have your orders.” Howard waited until TF89 had passed the gravity zone boundary and jumped away.
He vaguely became aware of the growing sound of the buzzer. Waking up was like rising from deep within the sea. Now that he had broken through the last vestige of sleep, he realized that the buzzer wasn’t his alarm clock but rather the sound of an incoming call. He also noticed that it was still dark outside.
“Accept call audio only.” The buzzer stopped and he heard a click.
“Howard here.” he said,
“Commander Nathaniel from Ops, Sir. Sorry to wake this early but you did leave standing orders to be called night or day.”
“Yes I did. What have we got, Commander?”
“They’re coming, Sir. Text transmission from an extended range message drone sent by our sentry frigate in Yellow10. It reads…Visual contact with multiple ships. Minimum of six. Likely more but exact number unknown. Ships have refueled at gas giant. Unable to determine their next destination. End of message.”
“Its begun.” said Howard.
“Yes, Sir, but six ships don’t sound very threatening.”
“Commander, I’m going to operate on the assumption that if the sentry frigate saw reflected sunlight from six ships then there were more that weren’t reflecting sunlight back at him. There might very well be 60 ships.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Which path is Yellow10 on?”
“Ah…path A, Sir.” Howard grunted. That meant that this group of ships could be on its way to the system containing the Avalon Colony and Nimitz Base but with less than 10 days left to go to the predicted battle for Earth, he doubted that they would stop there.
“Okay. Log the transmission and make sure all senior staff find out about it when they arrive in the morning. You can call me again in the event that more messages arrive. Howard clear.”
It was almost exactly 24 hours later when the next message arrived. Howard woke more quickly this time. As he accepted the call, he said,
“Another one, Cmdr. Nathaniel?”
“I’m afraid so, Sir.”
“Okay. How many ships and where?”
“11 ships at Yellow3, Sir.”
“Yellow3? Are you sure, Commander?”
“Yes, Sir.” Howard was confused. In order to get from Yellow10 to Yellow3, that enemy fleet had to be moving more or less sideways as far as Human Space was concerned and while his recollection of the relative positions of those two systems wasn’t as clear as he’d like, it seemed to him that it should have taken longer than 24 hours to go from 10 to 3. Suddenly he knew the answer even as the commander asked the same question.
“They must have built up a lot of speed to get from Yellow10 to Yellow3 in 24 hours, Sir.”
“No, Commander. It’s much simpler than that. This isn’t the same group of ships that were tracked at Yellow10. It’s ANOTHER fleet. Let me guess. Yellow3 is on Path B, correct?”
“That’s correct, Sir.”
“My God, they’re coming at us from two directions. Alright, you know what to do.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good. Howard clear.”
79 hours later Howard was standing once again in the Operations Center looking at the strategic star map on the large display. The first group of ships, designated as Alpha1, was 2/3rds of the way down Path A, having apparently bypassed Nimitz Base and the Avalon Colony. The second group, Alpha2, had made similar progress down Path B. Howard had to remember that the message drones carrying this information themselves took almost 40 hours to get to Sol so the actual progress was greater than it looked. Computer projections estimated that both fleets would arrive at Sol on the day predicted by the vision and that was some comfort in that the vision predicted a victory but it was still unnerving to watch the two red lines get clos
er every day. He turned to head for the elevator when the display pinged to announce a status change. Another message drone had arrived with another text message. As it scrolled across the bottom of the display, Howard felt fear for the first time.
[Contact established visually with 19 ships in Red24. Rapidly changing reflections indicate that total number is higher. Unable to determine their next destination. End of message]
“Where is Red24?” asked Howard to no one in particular. As he waited for the display to highlight Red24, he knew this had to be a 3rd fleet. There was no way it could be either Alpha1 or 2. When the display updated, Howard saw that Red24 was not on either Path A or B. The void between them also extended upwards for a bit until it reached another ‘river’ of stars that Howard now thought of as Path C. That shocked him because the enemy had either gone to the trouble of making a very large detour OR their cluster of inhabited systems extended upwards as well as back. So now there were three fleets, two of which were coming from the left and the right and the third was coming over the top. The minimum total # of confirmed ships had now grown to 51 with little doubt that the actual total was significantly higher. Howard looked at the sidebar data showing the breakdown of defending forces. 2 cruisers, 19 combat frigates, 5 light carriers and 200 fighters of which 75 were jump-capable, another 75 were in close orbit as the last line of defense and the other 50 were further out on jump detection patrol. No, it wasn’t the 51 ships they knew about that worried him. It was the ones they didn’t know about. For every ship that reflected sunlight back in just the right direction to be seen by the sentry frigates and their recon drones, there could be 6, 8, hell even 10 more ships where the reflected light didn’t come back just right. But the vision said we won! Ya, but at what cost? What will Space Force have left when the dust settles and will we be strong enough to fight off the NEXT attack?
On the morning of the day before the day of the attack, Howard stepped off the elevator and walked into the Operations Center. The main display still showed the strategic situation which hadn’t changed from 12 hours earlier when Howard had left. It was crystal clear now that all three fleets were headed for Sol and would arrive at the same time if they wanted to. He acknowledged the greetings of the staff and confirmed that nothing new had happened during the previous 12 hours. He then asked for a headset and an open channel to all Space Force units in near Earth space. When all units had been told to expect an address by the Chief of Space Operations, he took a deep breath and said,
“This is Admiral Howard. As you all know, our sentry frigates have detected three enemy fleets, which are converging on Sol. We expect them to try to attack the Earth sometime in the next 24-36 hours. They may try the same kind of high speed attack that almost worked at the Avalon Colony or they may try something different. We have to be prepared for any eventuality. Because a successful defense may depend on split second reactions with precisely calculated counter-measures, I’ve decided that tactical command of all mobile defense units within 4 light minutes of Earth, will rest with an experienced A.I. pilot starting as of now and will continue until I order otherwise. That pilot has the call sign Iceman and is currently piloting the cruiser Undaunted. Any order, whether given verbally, by text or digitally, from Undaunted, will be obeyed immediately and unconditionally. Refusal to obey those orders during the battle will result in the harshest possible punishment. I know…” Howard’s sentence was interrupted by a booming voice.
“WE WILL NOT TAKE ORDERS FROM A MACHINE!”
“Who said that! Identify yourself!” yelled a now furious Howard.
“Commander Jenkins.”
“Cmdr. Jenkins, you’re now relieved of command! Your XO will assume command! I will NOT tolerate this kind of narrow-minded thinking! We know that the enemy has used A.I.s in the past and will certainly do so again. We need to use our A.I.s to their fullest capabilities if we’re going to win this war. I have the highest regard and confidence in our A.I.s, who have proven their ability, loyalty and dedication to duty in the past. I will sleep easier tonight knowing that Iceman is keeping a careful eye on the situation 24 hours a day. And just to make sure that there’s no ambiguity about Iceman’s authority, I’m now officially giving him the acting rank of Vice-Admiral to go along with his position as Commander-in-Chief, Earth Defenses. If anyone in a command position feels they can’t accept his orders, then turn your command over to your XO and notify me by private text message. If you don’t come forward now and you refuse an order during the battle, I guarantee you that your lack of future career prospects will be the least of your worries. As for the rest of you, who know how to obey an order, I know that I can count on all of you to conduct yourself with the highest level of professionalism. That is all. Howard clear.”
The attack didn’t come in the next 24-36 hours. It came 44 hours later. Howard was sleeping in one of the rooms near the Operations Center, which were set up with a bed for use by senior officers who needed to stay nearby overnight. He woke up as someone not so gently shook his arm.
“Wake us, Sir!” The urgency in the voice brought him fully awake.
“What’s happening?”
“Long range radar has picked up multiple ships inbound at moderate speed, Sir!” He forced himself to stay calm. At least the waiting was over. He was glad he had decided to sleep with his uniform still on.
“Okay. I’m coming.” Howard got up, grabbed his uniform jacket and put it on as he followed the young officer back to the Ops room. The normally quiet room was now abuzz with tension-filled voices. Howard walked quickly up to the Commander in charge and said,
“Commander, I want a secure channel to CINCED.”
“Yes, Sir.” said the officer as he snapped his fingers at one of his subordinates who quickly returned with a wireless headset. With the headset on, Howard said,
“CSO to Iceman.”
“Iceman here. Hello Admiral.”
“Can you brief me on what’s happening without being distracted?” asked Howard.
“Yes however if I don’t respond as quickly as I usually do, you’ll know why. Our deep space radars in low lunar orbit have detected 55 ships approaching at a speed of roughly 15,000 kps. They’re now just over 25 million kilometers away. ETA for a flyby is 27.8 minutes. If they keep this same vector, they’ll stay outside of Earth’s gravity zone and can jump away at any time.” Howard frowned.
“That speed is 1/5th of what they came in with at Avalon. Don’t you find it suspicious that they’re giving us a nice, long look at their approach, with plenty of time to redeploy our forces?” There was a slight pause.
“Ah, roger that, Admiral. I calculate that this leisurely approach vector is intended to pull our forces to one side so that another group can approach from the weak side at high speed and catch us off guard.”
“So you don’t believe that this is all of the three groups combined.”
“Ah negative, Admiral. There’s a high probability that we’ll be attacked by three separate groups from three different directions. We should assume that the other two groups will be at least as large as this one.”
“If they stay out beyond the gravity zone, their laser weapons aren’t going to be much of a threat to us here on the ground or am I wrong?”
“Even with atmospheric attenuation, their lasers could still be lethal but at that range, target accuracy will be problematical. If this attack is meant to cripple Humanity’s ability to continue the war, then laser attacks at long range will not accomplish that goal. War production in this system is so spread out, that it would be hard to disrupt it without dispersing their forces. Concentrated attacks like this would work better at Epsi…Admiral! I’ve just projected their current vector for possible jump destinations. They could very easily jump to Epsilon Eridani with a very minor course correction. I do not believe this to be coincidental.” Howard nodded. Of course, stage a multi-prong attack on Earth to get all of Space Force’s ships concentrated here and then come in from just the right angle
to make a long range attack that has to be defended against and then use their velocity to get a head start jump to Epsilon Eridani and attack the war production centers there. Very clever and impossible to defend against. There was no way that any of the ships or jumpfighters could get to EE before the enemy did. Even if they accelerated to a much higher velocity and overtook the enemy fleet in jumpspace, the defending ships would have to decelerate to zero in the vicinity of the installations they had to defend while the enemy could just continue on at high speed and make a flyby attack after passing them again in normal space. And that didn’t even include the possibility that the enemy wanted them to try to beat them to Epsilon Eridani in order to weaken Earth’s defenses for a follow on attack here by another group!