The Complete Thunder Series (Thunder In The Heavens)

by Dietmar Wehr

  Harrow nodded. Ashiana’s answer was about what she expected to hear. With all of their previous space-based infrastructure destroyed by the Tyrell as they withdrew, the Odina were literally starting from scratch, and that allowed for many options that civilian leaders often needed a lot of time to evaluate and decide on.

  “I understand. I hope that you’ll be able to participate in some way when the final battle takes place. By the way, there is a very good chance that Gort Eagleton will be commanding all human ships in that battle. He’s done an excellent job of leading Third Fleet over the last few months. It’s quite obvious now that he has a better grasp of fleet tactics than I do.”

  Ashiana let her surprise show on her face. She wasn’t surprised that Gort Eagleton had proven to be such a good tactician, because her games of chess with him had shown her how good his tactical skills really were. What did surprise her was how high he had risen in rank. Although on second thought, Cate probably had a lot to do with his rise up the command chain.

  “I remember how he had an annoying habit of upsetting my carefully laid plans when we played chess, so his tactical prowess does not surprise me, but his ascension to such a high rank so quickly does.”

  Harrow kept her expression neutral. Ashiana’s casual reply could also be taken to question her own meteoric rise up the chain of command. She had to remember that Ashiana’s verbal skills were considerable.

  “At the risk of bragging, we were lucky that CEO Mirakova had the foresight and will power to promote the best people to where they could be most effective, regardless of how many other officers were left behind.” There was an awkward pause as both of them looked at each other. “How long will you be staying here?” asked Harrow finally.

  “Not long. My orders were to confer with you about the Alliance’s plans and then to return home. I would say that I can accomplish that objective within 24 hours, 48 hours at the most.”

  “I see. In that case, I’ll have my staff prepare a briefing for you for tomorrow. I’ll be having dinner in about two and a half hours from now. You and your ship’s commanding officer are welcome to join me if that fits in with your day/night cycle. If you have any questions that you’d like to ask me now, I’ll do my best to answer them.”

  Ashiana wanted to ask Cate if her injuries hurt very much, but she resisted that temptation. It was much too personal of a question to ask under the circumstances. “I have no questions that can’t wait until the briefing, Admiral. I thank you for your co-operation and dinner invitation; however, I’ve already had what is usually the last meal of my day/night cycle, and I am starting to feel tired. With your permission, I’ll return to my ship now, Admiral.”

  “Yes, of course. My staff will contact your ship when the briefing has been set up.” Harrow stood to indicate that the meeting was over. Ashiana quickly got up and saluted, to which Harrow did the same. With the formalities over, Ashiana turned and left the office.

  Twenty-eight hours later, Ashiana settled into her quarters as her ship began its journey back home. The briefing had been a real eye-opener. In the short time that Cate had been in charge of strategic planning for the humans, she had managed to get the rest of the Alliance to agree to the final battle strategy, plus agree to supply the humans with more enriched uranium in exchange for deliveries of the ingenious small craft the humans called stingers. The human officers who gave the briefing were careful not to say so, but Ashiana came away with the distinct impression that the humans no longer considered stingers to be as effective as they were initially. The final clue that this was the case was when a senior lieutenant had let it slip that their very successful carrier design was being modified to carry more drones and would also be able to launch them more quickly. At her request and with Cate’s approval, she had also received a briefing on the battles that had taken place in the human star system. Her superiors would be interested to hear her analysis of Gort Eagleton as a fleet commander. His file was going to get a lot thicker. While she liked Gort and would prefer not to have to fight against him, she didn’t experience any of the pangs of guilt about that prospect that she felt with regards to fighting a battle against Cate. At least her people wouldn’t be fighting against the humans in the immediate aftermath of the final battle against the Tyrell, assuming that the Tyrell lost. Ashiana knew that there was a good chance that she would be part of whatever contingent her superiors would send with the Alliance forces to the Tyrell home system. When she asked Cate if she regretted not being able to participate in the battle herself, Cate’s reply had surprised her. “I’ll find a way to be there if I have to stow away to do it. I wouldn’t miss that battle for anything.” So Cate would once again find herself in harm’s way in spite of the combat injuries she had already suffered. She truly was a Warrior. Ashiana turned her thoughts away from Cate and began to dictate the report she would file with her superiors.

  Chapter Twelve:

  Twenty-one months later:

  Harrow was surprised to find herself in Mirakova’s office instead of the small conference room. Mirakova moved around her desk to greet her and waved her hand when Harrow started to salute her. “Oh, forget the salute, Cate. We’re practically equal rank in terms of the responsibility we carry on our shoulders.” She took Harrow’s right hand and shook it while her left hand gently squeezed Harrow’s upper right arm. “Have a seat, Cate. Sorry to leave you hanging out there on the MCS right up until the last minute, but I didn’t want our allies to know that your trip home was anything other than a short consultation with our esteemed civilian masters.”

  Harrow laughed. Mirakova’s voice had just the right tone of respect that those same civilian masters would expect to hear, but she knew Mirakova well enough to also detect the oh so subtle sarcasm that was there as well. “Thank you, Admiral. I was beginning to wonder if you had changed your mind about letting me tag along with the Fleet for The Battle.”

  Mirakova smiled. Over the last few months, written references to the attack on the Tyrell had begun to appear with capital letters, and lately more and more people were giving those two words enough extra emphasis to make it clear which battle they were referring to. She waited until both of them were seated before replying.

  “I’ll admit that when you first requested to accompany Admiral Eagleton in order to ‘observe the battle for future analysis’ purposes, I was convinced that was just an excuse so that you could see The Battle with your own eyes.” They both laughed at the emphasis. In fact, I still think that’s the real reason, but I agreed to the request because I’ve come up with a much better reason for you to do it. We’ve been giving a lot of thought to winning that battle, and not very much to what happens after it’s won. That’s where you come in, Cate. You’ll be trading your CSPO hat for a newly created position: Chief of Space Operations or CSO. The scope of that position includes making on-the-spot decisions regarding our relations with our Alliance allies, with potential allies like the Odina and the Metrone, and most especially with the Tyrell. When The Battle is finally over, it’ll be up to you to make sure the war is also over officially. That means getting the Tyrell leadership to agree to a cessation of hostilities, not just temporarily but permanently, or at least as permanent as any agreement of that kind can be. Questions?”

  “Will I be required to insist that they formally surrender?”

  Mirakova shook her head. “We’re not going to make the mistake of tying your hands with fixed orders of that kind. My Psych people have told me that the Tyrell might be too proud to accept that condition. We want them to stop fighting, and if that means letting them save face or stroking their egos in order to get them to agree to it, then so be it. You’ll have complete discretion as to how you deal with the Tyrell and with our allies. If this sounds like a lot of authority is being placed in your hands, you’re correct. After watching you fight this war for the last four years, I’m convinced that you’re the right person to handle that authority.”

  “But Gort…Admiral Eagleton�
��”

  Mirakova cut her off with a wave of her hand. “There’s no one I would rather see in charge of fighting the battle than Gort Eagleton, but he’s not as cool-headed as you are, Cate. He’ll win the battle for us. You’ll win the peace. And just in case you’re thinking of refusing to accept this assignment, you should know that you either go along as the CSO, or you don’t go at all.”

  Harrow gave Mirakova a resigned look. “Well, if you put it that way, I guess I’ll accept the assignment, but I’ll want something in writing that lays out the scope of my mission and makes it clear that I have complete discretion. It’s not that I don’t trust you, Admiral, but if our civilian masters don’t like what I come up with, I don’t want them claiming that I exceeded my authority.”

  Mirakova gave Harrow a long look before replying. “And if I refuse to give you that written authorization?”

  Harrow shrugged. “Then I won’t go.”

  Mirakova nodded. “You’ve just demonstrated that you’re the right person for this assignment. By demanding written authorization, you’re shifting the political risk from you to me. I was hoping you wouldn’t do that, but it’s the smart thing to do, and I’d do the same if our positions were reversed. I’ll give you that authorization before Third Fleet leaves. Any questions?”

  Harrow took a few seconds to ponder that question. “Actually yes, there is. What if there is no clear ending to the battle? When does my authority to negotiate or dictate the peace override Admiral Eagleton’s authority to fight and win the battle?”

  Now it was Mirakova’s turn to ponder the question. “That’s a good question, Cate, and I wish I had a clear and unambiguous answer for you, but I don’t. There are too many scenarios to come up with a simple set of guidelines that would handle them all. You’ll have to use your best judgement, but I can give you some guidance. As long as the Tyrell have intact forces that pose a serious threat to Third Fleet or to Earth, then Admiral…Gort, is still in charge. When it’s obvious that there no longer is such a threat, even if there are still some Tyrell ships or craft willing to fight on, then you can take charge. If the level of threat is unclear, and you feel that communicating with the Tyrell can bring some resolution to the situation, you’re empowered to do so unless that would undermine or jeopardize Gort’s tactical efforts. Is all that clear, or have I just confused you even more?”

  Harrow laughed. “Neither actually. I’m less confused but not totally clear; however, I think I get the point. When in doubt, let Gort take the lead. Is that about it in a nutshell?”

  “Yes, that does summarize my thinking nicely. Anything else on your mind?”

  Harrow nodded. “Allies. If the Tyrell are at a point where their home planet is more or less defenseless, some of our allies might be tempted to bombard them back into the Stone Age. I don’t think that’s either warranted or morally justifiable. How far can I go to prevent it?”

  Mirakova closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. “Let me guess,” said Harrow, “Another question with no clear and unambiguous answer?”

  Mirakova’s expression turned grim. “Quite the opposite in fact. I have a clear and unambiguous answer for you, but you’re not going to like it, Cate. Maintaining good relations with the rest of the Alliance races takes precedence over everything else. If any of them are dead set on punitive actions against Tyrell civilian population and your verbal efforts to dissuade them fail, then that’s as far as you can go. You will NOT fire on any Alliance forces period! The only possible exception to that order is if Alliance ships fire on Third Fleet, and I don’t see that happening.”

  Harrow was shocked and tried not to let her expression show it. “You expect me to stand by while millions, maybe even billions of innocent civilians are killed? I won’t…I can’t—” She stopped when she saw Mirakova’s raised hand.

  “Before you go any further, hear this. I happen to agree with this order, but it actually came down from the very top of our civilian leadership. Their rationale for it is purely political. My rationale for it is purely pragmatic. If that battle goes as I expect it will, Third Fleet will suffer losses and will have used up most, if not all, of its RD3s. By that point, the rest of the Alliance forces will probably outnumber Third Fleet. Even if you or Gort were to somehow win that confrontation with one or more Alliance fleets, an open break of that kind with the Alliance would inevitably lead to defeat for us humans. We need the Alliance to be able to defeat the Tyrell, but there’s no way we could fight the Alliance all by ourselves and win. You have to be able to override your feelings in this matter, Cate. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, but if it does, you have to order Third Fleet to stand aside. I need to know now if you don’t think you can do that. If not, you can return to the MCS, and I’ll have to let Gort wear both hats. He may not try as hard as you would to convince the Alliance not to annihilate the Tyrell. Ask yourself this one question, Cate: are the Tyrell civilians’ chances of surviving better with you there or with Gort in total command?”

  Harrow turned away as she said, “Damn you, Admiral. That was a low blow. I’ll order Third Fleet to stand aside if necessary, but if that should happen, I’ll resign from Space Force in protest as soon as I return home.”

  In a low voice, Mirakova said, “I understand. I truly hope that won’t be necessary. All I can say to you, Cate, is to do your best, and try to find whatever comfort you can from knowing that you did. That’s all any of us can hope to do.” When Harrow didn’t respond, Mirakova continued. “One more thing I want to make clear. Your written orders will also contain a clear directive based on what we’ve just discussed, and if you find that you can’t obey it when push comes to shove, I won’t defend you from the repercussions afterwards. If you cross that line, you’re on your own.”

  “Understood. I have no other questions. Are we finished here, Admiral?” asked Harrow.

  Mirakova very briefly contemplated verbally reprimanding Cate for that brusque retort, but her heart wasn’t in it. Cate’s unhappiness at the thought of potentially finding herself in that God-awful position was completely understandable. But that didn’t change the fact that actively defending Tyrell civilians from Alliance reprisal attacks would be a lose/lose scenario and unfortunately those kinds of situations sometimes happened in war.

  “We are finished here, Admiral Harrow,” said Mirakova in the most formal tone she could manage. She wanted Cate to realize that she wasn’t the only one who was unhappy.

  Tyrell Home System / Carrier Fleet Flagship:

  Torq checked the chronometer once again. The time was now half way through the day/night cycle that the humans had specified as the point in time of the Alliance attack, and yet there was no sign of any alien ships. He returned his gaze to the tactical display, which showed dozens of red icons, each one representing a minimum of 50 ships. His Carrier Fleet, with 104 carriers carrying a total of 26,000 attack craft, was the single largest formation of ships among the entire defensive force. Training that many pilots had been a prodigious task, but it had been done. Now, all of those pilots were sitting either in their attack craft ready for instant launch or in their briefing rooms. Where was the enemy? Why weren’t they making their presence felt? He would almost prefer that some of the, in his mind obsolete, Ships-of-Battle be attacked so as to at least confirm that there would be a battle here today. His race was ready for the Mother of all Battles, with 3,400 Ships-of-Battle strategically positioned around the home world at various distances. Thousands of sensor drones were scattered in a wider search area that was not limited to just the one planet. All those drones and ships were scanning the surrounding space for any sign either from the mass detectors or visually from reflected light, but so far nothing. Torq could feel the tension in his body increasing. He could also tell that his staff were beginning to feel it too. They were keeping their battle lust under control, but that effort was causing fatigue and frayed tempers. It didn’t help matters that the officer in overall charge of all Tyrell ships, including his car
riers, was none other than that old fool, the Grand Master himself! In his last communication with Torq, he had already shown signs of letting himself succumb to his battle lust. If the Gods of War were smiling on Tyrell warriors this day, the old fool’s heart would burst from the battle lust ecstasy BEFORE the battle began so that someone with more self-discipline could take over. He manipulated his station’s controls to rotate the tactical display while also zooming out. If he were commanding those Alliance fleets instead of that human female, where would he position his forces? The distraction of pondering that question helped ease the tension.

  Third Fleet flagship (Normandy):

  Eagleton sensed Cate’s presence as she came up to stand beside him at the edge of the balcony overlooking the gigantic holographic tactical display. It was so realistic that he could easily imagine he was floating in space out at the very edge of the Tyrell star system looking down on the whole system with perfect, omniscient vision.

  “I still wish I was on Ranger,” said Eagleton in a low voice.

  Harrow snorted. “No, you don’t. What you really mean is that you wish you had Ranger’s Flag Bridge crew with you here, right?”

  “Well, of course. After serving together for that long, we were a tight-knit band of brothers…and sisters,” he said, turning his head to indicate the Flag Bridge crew behind him. “This bunch are competent enough, but they’re all strangers to me.”