The Wages of War

by Saxon Andrew

  Justin shook his head, “I should have done that.”

  “He would have probably turned you down; he’s neck deep in things that have to be done and the only reason he took the time for me is because he loves Taffy and Grady so much.”

  “Well, maybe this new officer can get me up to speed.”

  “When will our crew arrive?”

  “I’ve ordered them here in another two hours. I wanted some time with my console before they arrived. I hate to say it, but I’m wasting my time struggling with this.”

  “Then order them to report earlier.”

  “No Cami. When an officer constantly changes orders, it makes those under him nervous about doing anything for fear of having things change. This isn’t important enough to require changing their reporting time.”

  Cami smiled as she turned to her console. By not routinely changing his orders, those under his command would realize when he did change them that he was doing it for an important reason. She learned something from him in that moment. After a moment she turned to him, “Have you come up with a name for the ship?”

  “I have and it’s registered with Fleet.”

  “What is it?”

  “Red Rock.” Cami’s eyes narrowed and Justin tilted his head, “That is all that was left of New Britannia after the alien’s missile attack. I never want to forget that image.”

  Cami nodded, “It’s a good name Sir.” Cami’s eyes narrowed slightly, “The crew is arriving early.” Justin turned around and saw the three officers entering the bridge.

  They went to attention and the pilot said, “Sir, we’re reporting early to spend some time on our consoles if that meets your approval.”

  Justin smiled slightly, “You have about two hours before I plan to meet with you.”

  The three officers went to their chairs and Cami’s eyes narrowed slightly. She went to the computer’s data base and pulled up their files. After a few moments she turned to them. All three of them were Senior Captains but the pilot had seniority over the other two. She looked at the pilots file and saw Senior Captain Frank Fulmer had been on scout duty in the Triangulum Galaxy for more than a year. He was ranked number one in Fleet’s standings for telepaths and was an excellent choice. The Weapons Officer was Senior Captain Janie Chambers and she was also ranked number one in Fleet’s standings. She was a little over five feet tall and shorter than she was. But she had eyes that showed her intelligence. She constantly looked around and Cami doubted she missed anything. The Resource Officer was…different. He was young…almost too young to be in the position. She looked at his file and saw that he was a recent Academy graduate. Humm…that didn’t seem right. The Academy didn’t teach students the real details of Fleet Warships. That would have to come after graduation. She looked further in his file and saw he had graduated from Britannia Tech when he was sixteen years old with a doctorate in advanced electronics. Her head went back, and she looked at him sitting in his chair between Janie and Frank offering them suggestions. She focused on him and saw the aura around him was more intense than any she had seen in any other telepath. Maybe even her own, although she couldn’t see her own aura. This was one smart cookie. It appeared Justin got the cream of the crop for his command ship. Well, that made sense; his ship was the most important ship in the fleet. It was also a lot larger than the others. Each member of the crew had their own quarters and the ship had fifteen of the new reactors on board. It wouldn’t be slower than the smaller warships in his fleet.

  Cami didn’t remember the Resource Officer. He was twenty-two years old and he should have been among the telepaths found on New Britannia. She looked deeper into his file and discovered that he had not come out of hiding until he was sixteen years old. That’s odd. He revealed he was a telepath when he graduated from Britannia Tech. She read further and saw that he had worked directly with Joshua Goldman before entering the academy. She wondered if he played a role in developing the new technology being used on the new Garrions and Warships.

  He smiled a lot. Most telepaths didn’t; they were a product of their years of staying hidden and were usually more closed and quieter in their demeanor. She would keep her eye on him and try to find out why it took so long for him to come out of hiding.

  After an hour, the Resource Officer stood up and went to Justin, “Sir, Captain Robert Robertson reporting.”

  “You still have some time to study your console Captain,” Justin replied.

  “I already know it Sir. I was wondering if you would like me to show you some of the things your console can do.”

  Justin smiled, “I’ll appreciate any help you can give me.”

  “Do you mind if I give you the information telepathically?”

  “Go right ahead Captain.”

  Justin closed his eyes and Robert stared at him in silence. Cami didn’t have to look at their minds to see that a huge amount of information was being exchanged. Forty minutes later, Justin opened his eyes. “That is amazing!”

  Robert smiled broadly, “Thank you Sir.” He turned to Cami, “Would you like me to do the same with you?”

  “I was updated by Joshua Goldman. I doubt you have anything I don’t already know.”

  “Dr. Goldman left the development of the communication systems to me and I do suspect there are things he’s not aware of Sir.”

  Cami sighed and nodded. Thirty minutes later, she opened her eyes and shook her head, “It appears there’s a lot he doesn’t know about my console.”

  “He has a lot on his plate Sir; keeping track of everything is extremely difficult for him.”

  “Thank you Captain.”

  “Yes Sir.”

  Robert returned to his chair and Cami stared intently at him. The organization of his mind was…impossible. But she saw it during the transfer and was amazed he didn’t reveal any personal information during the transfer. He also didn’t look at her inner thoughts. That sort of discipline was…disconcerting. Was he like her? She wondered what the range of his telepathy was. She decided to find out at the first opportunity.

  • • •

  A month later, Justin contacted his Commodores, “You will move your task forces to the Griffin currently holding station above Britannia. Commodore Arnold, your command will be boarded first due to it being organized first; however don’t get comfortable with that. You will be engaging in maneuvers and the winner of the maneuver will be designated Task Force Able and will always board and launch first. The other task force will be Task Force Bravo and will follow Task Force Able.”

  “What sort of maneuvers can we do Sir?”

  “The Griffin will drop Commodore Arnold’s Command off in a straight line with large distances between his ships. The Griffin will then move ahead of that line and drop off Commodore Kessler’s Command directly ahead of the first Task Force. I’ll order the two Task Forces to start moving toward each other and whichever unit detects and destroys a ship from the other unit with a training weapon, will be the winner of the competition. Any questions?”

  “What will be the distance between our units Sir?”

  Justin smiled, “Now why would I spoil the fun by telling you that Gerald?”

  “Just checking Sir.”

  “Start moving your commands and the exercise will begin this afternoon.”

  • • •

  Terry Adams contacted all the scout ships telepathically and announced, “The first Task Force will be dropped off in twenty minutes. All the crews from the second Task Force will be in the ship’s conference room and unable to determine the distance between the ships we’re dropping off; they will have no advantage in this exercise by going second. Of course, they will learn the distances between the ships by simply looking at the distances between their vessels. The order to start the exercise will be given when all the participants are in place and their Commanders have the opportunity to give any last-minute orders. Good luck and good hunting.”

  • • •

  Charlotte waited in the
huge conference room on the Griffin and felt her impatience almost getting the best of her. She refused to issue any orders for fear one of the telepaths in Gerald’s command might hear her. After an hour, the PA system announced, “Task Force Bravo, go to your ships.”

  Charlotte boarded her Command Ship and launched in the middle of her two-thousand scouts. The Griffin disappeared and Charlotte said over the telepathic communicator, “Do any of you have any questions?”

  “Sir, should we maintain our separation and speed during this maneuver?”

  “No! You are free to go wherever you think will allow you to find one of their ships,” Charlotte answered. “However, concentrate on the space directly in front of you to avoid any possible collisions.”

  “Should we communicate our positions to you Sir?”

  “All ships are forbidden to communicate with each other and me.”

  “Then what happens if we stumble on one of our ships and take it out accidently?”

  “That won’t cause us to lose; the other Task Force will have to do that for us to lose. If we lose some scouts, then so be it. Any other questions?”

  “Do you have any suggestions on how to detect an invisible ship Sir?”

  “Not really. However, use what you have to try and make it happen. Good luck and make me proud.”

  • • •

  Charlotte ended the communication and saw that more than twenty minutes had passed since she issued her orders. Wayne Snow looked at her, “Sir, why are you smiling?”

  Charlotte turned to her Resource Officer, “Commodore Arnold is clearly issuing more orders than I have, or this exercise would have already started.”

  “Is that a good thing Sir?” Drew Sanchez asked.

  Charlotte turned to her pilot, “Gerald doesn’t have much experience in commanding a large number of scouts. I believe he will be ordering his ships to maintain their positions in their line, and he will be constantly communicating with his Wing Commanders to make sure they do. Scouts don’t perform well in a highly structured environment; they need freedom to maneuver and operate. His nervousness at keeping control of his command might be something we can exploit.”

  Gwen Rutherford looked up from her weapon’s console, “Are we going to participate in the search?”

  “No! We won’t be doing that during actual combat conditions, and we won’t do it now.”

  Wayne smiled, “I believe you could find one of them Sir.”

  “Oh? What makes you say that?”

  “Sir, if they communicate with each other, they will reveal a weakness. That’s the only way this ship could be detected.” Wayne paused and added, “But you already knew that, didn’t you?” Charlotte chuckled and Wayne looked at the flight crew, “We’ve been told the telepathic communicators can’t be traced. But that is not entirely true.”

  A moment later, every ship in the exercise heard, “The exercise will begin in three…two…one…NOW!”

  • • •

  Gerald’s Task Force began moving forward maintaining a constant speed and held their positions in the long line. Gerald didn’t want to offer any of Charlotte’s ships the opportunity to make it past his line. He sat back and waited for one of his ships to detect one of her scouts.

  • • •

  Captain Graylin Hobbs accelerated out of the long line of scouts and moved the ship slightly above his former position. He arrived a light hour ahead of his starting position and stopped the ship. “What are you doing Sir?”

  Graylin smiled, “Jack, I think the ships in that other Task Force will be communicating with each other. If we’re directly in front of them as they approach, we will not detect their communication beams because they’re too tight and directed toward a single location, right?” Jack nodded, “They can’t be detected according to our training Graylin.”

  “Not from head on or from the rear. But, they might be detected from above or below their position. Computer.”

  “Yes Captain.”

  “I want you to use the passive telepathic scanner to search for telepathic communication beams below us. I’ve stopped the ship only slightly above our start position and original course we were on should be inside the range of the passive scanner, right?”

  “If they are moving directly toward our starting position, we are in scanning range of their approach below us.”

  “Will you be able to detect a telepathic communication beam?”

  “Uncertain, Captain.”

  “Just keep scanning and let me know if you detect anything.”

  “Scanning now.”

  Graylin waited patiently and Jack finally said, “What are you going to do if the computer does manage to detect one of their communications?”

  “See if we can exploit the discovery. Be patient; we may have to start over multiple times before any of the ships manage to find another.”

  An hour later, the Computer announced, “I have detected a tight communication beam.”

  Graylin sat up in his chair, “How long was it active?”

  “Twenty seconds Commander.”

  “Ok, did you lock in the coordinates when it first started?”

  “Yes.”

  “And were you able to keep a lock on it until it disappeared?”

  “Yes.”

  “Show me on the tactical monitor the line that ship was moving.” A green line appeared and suddenly ended. Graylin stared at the line and asked, “Was there any deviation in the course of that line.”

  “No Commander; it remained straight.”

  “Estimated speed of that ship?”

  “A light minute every ten seconds.”

  “What are you thinking?” Jack asked.

  Graylin held up his hand and asked, “Computer, can you extrapolate where that ship will be in exactly thirty minutes from now if it maintains its course and speed.” A small red circle appeared on the tactical monitor a long distance from their location and Graylin turned the scout and accelerated toward the location of the red circle. “Computer, count down the time for that ship’s arrival.”

  “Twenty-eight minutes eighteen seconds from…now.”

  Jack shook his head, “Graylin, my targeting system won’t be able to lock that ship in.”

  Graylin nodded, “It’s the best shot we have Jack.”

  • • •

  They arrived at the red circle and Jack was shaking his head, “That circle got bigger as we moved closer. It’s more than ten miles in diameter.”

  Graylin looked up, “Computer, how far away would our ship have to be for our blasters to fire a spread that would cover that entire circle?”

  “Do you intend to use all nine hull blasters and the heavy blaster in the bow?”

  “I do.”

  “If you set them on wide dispersion, you will have to be eight miles above the target area.”

  Graylin moved the ship and brought it to a stop. He looked at Jack and said, “Don’t target anything Jack. Just fire a spread into that red circle on the tactical monitor. Computer, count down the time until the ship arrives inside that circle.”

  There was a pause and then the Computer replied, “Exactly twenty minutes from…now.”

  Jack was shaking his head, “If that ship slowed or sped up even slightly, it will not be in that target area.”

  Graylin shrugged, “We can only do what we can with the information we have. Once you fire your blasters, I’m moving the ship away; if we miss, that ship will see us.” Jack nodded and set the blasters’ training beams for wide dispersion.”

  • • •

  Charlotte sat in her chair and waited. She knew Justin wouldn’t put their units so far apart as to make the exercise take a long time. She suspected that once the two Task Forces passed each other without detecting each other, they would be moved back to do it again. This exercise wouldn’t end until one of the Task Forces won it. Thank God only one ship had to be detected. More than that and they could be out here for a month. Time passed and she began
to expect to have to do this again.

  • • •

  Justin sat on his command chair and Cami asked, “Who do you expect to win this?”

  “Charlotte has the edge.”

  “Why?”

  “She’s been in some very tight situations scouting in Andromeda and Triangulum. She hasn’t commanded a large number of ships, but she knows how they should be used.” Cami’s eyes narrowed and Justin smiled, “You need only remember how Charlie set up our scouts in Triangulum. She learned from that experience.”

  “Gerald scouted Triangulum,” Cami remarked.

  “Yes, but he did it alone. He’s never commanded this many ships and Gerald is somewhat of a control freak. That has its good points…” Justin’s voice trailed off.

  Robert looked at him, “But?”

  Justin shrugged, “Scouts don’t function well in a highly-controlled environment. At least I don’t believe they do. If Gerald wins this, I might have to change my mind about that.”

  “That’s why you’re doing this, isn’t it?”

  Justin turned to Cami, “I also have not commanded a large number of warships and I’m in the learning process just like they are. This will help me decide how to handle our units.”

  • • •

  Graylin had his hand on the thruster handle as the computer said, “Five…four…three…two…one…Zero.”

  Jack pressed the red firing button and the scout lit up as nine large blaster beams leaped out from it. They went off and Graylin whipped the ship vertical and went to full speed. He waited for his ship to be hit but heard a mechanical voice over the PA announcing, “Maneuver is complete. A scout has been hit ending the exercise.”

  • • •

  Justin jumped up and activated his communicator. He glanced at his display and ordered, “All crews will report back to the Griffin immediately and go to the conference room. Commodore Kessler, your Task Force will be landing first.”

  Charlotte jumped up and yelled, “YES!!” Wayne high fived Gwen and Drew. Charlotte wanted to know which of her ships managed to hit one of Gerald’s scouts, but that information did not appear on her console.