Rafe nodded. “We could damn near do the Metal Moon raid with just Flot 1. A couple of problems though. I have been promised Royal Navy forces and we need to use them. We need to bring a couple of Zeke commanders in on this so they will be in a prime position to command forces after we leave. That raid on the moon does neither of those two things.” He paused. “There is an OrCon base about six hours max speed from the Metal Moon in the opposite direction from the homeworld back toward the border. I know the travel time varies due to planet rotation, but that is a good guess. It is one of their main bases for their home system. Rurik is the name if my recall is correct. That base is between the Metal Moon and the front lines. Once we hit the Moon, the OrCons will assume we will race for our own territory. They have to sortie out of Rurik to try to intercept our raiders as they head for home. We will let them do that, and then we hit that base with Zeke forces including Royal Marines on the ground. Lots of stuff underground on those bases. The marines will sweep through the surface base and the underground facilities doing scorched earth tactics. They will cause destruction no aerial bombardment can accomplish. Destroying that base would create a big hole in their defensive web. A devastating attack there could have long-term advantages for the Zekes.”
Reed said, “The Royal Marines are disbursed on all their ships.”
Rafe nodded. “I know. It’s a waste of good combat power. We are going to take every Royal Marine off every ship assigned to us and form them back into their original units. Hopefully, they can still fight in larger formations.” He thought for a moment and then speculated. “If we get enough Zeke ships from the Royal Navy, we will let the OrCon ships depart Rurik to chase our Metal Moon attackers and, once they get out of sensor range, we attack their base. The base will scream for them to come back, and now, they have a decision to make. They come back to fend off the attack on their base, or they chase the raiders. They have to come back to the base to fight against the base attackers. If we have an advantage in ships, there might be an opportunity there to force a space fight on our terms. If they have too many ships for us to take on, we do our attack on Rurik and run away before they get back. Regardless of the enemy ship count, we have to hit their base to draw their fleet back to give our raiders the best chance to escape.”
He stopped his pondering and looked at Baby Doll. “We need to get an idea of the warship count at Rurik. That is going to take close-in surveillance.” She nodded. She knew they were both thinking about Flicker. He changed subjects. “We still get intel updates from Admiral Barrett, right?”
Baby Doll nodded again and replied, “He forwards everything he gets from his intel people, so we are up to date on the tactical situation regarding the OrCons. We have no idea how accurate it is, and there is nothing in the reports on Zeke forces. I noticed there were intel attachments to the Queen’s P4 to you. We will go through them and augment what we already have from Barrett. Hopefully, it will give a fairly complete picture of the current situation.”
Rafe looked up at the overhead in thought as he took a drink of beer. He brought his chair forward, so it rested on all four legs and put his elbows on the table. “I thought there was something in Barrett’s last report about OrCon raiders around Wanderlust.”
“There was,” Baby Doll confirmed. “Ever since the Excandor loss, two small OrCon task forces are working a large area around Home Fleet’s base at Wanderlust. They’re attacking freighters, lone warships, and doing hit-and-run raids on a few planets. Nothing major but generally being pains in the ass. Intel estimates the range to be between ten and twelve ships in each force. A couple of battlecruisers, six or eight cruisers, and the rest destroyers. They run away from any real fight but pick off whatever targets they can quickly overpower. Some Home Fleet elements are kept busy chasing them but they haven’t been caught yet.”
Raferty smiled. “If we empty Wanderlust of warships for our other two fights, maybe we can bring those raider forces to Wanderlust. After hearing of our battles on their home turf, the OrCons will want revenge and will think they are attacking a base with nothing but a few warships and a bunch of freighters on hand. Of course, the freighters will be our freighters.”
Smiles were all around the table. The pirates always loved the surprise the enemy got when benign freighters suddenly sent hundreds of missiles downrange at them. Hawkins thought for a moment. “Our order to Flicker will tell her we will need recons of Rurik and the Metal Moon for sure, and we will send details as our plan evolves. It will be tough for Flicker to get ship numbers at the Metal Moon as most ships will be tied up at docks and using dockside power so will not be generating any noise. We will have to task our human elements to get most of the info there. Some of our informants and the humanitarian groups we support have been going in and out of there for years. They should know some good stuff regarding the layout and defenses.” He paused in thought and then summed up the meeting. “What we got is a plan with three parts. Two are attacks—one at the Metal Moon and one at Rurik. The third part is a defense at Wanderlust. I see destroyers only on the Moon raid including all of the Flot 1 volunteers that come with us. The fight at Rurik will be all Royal Navy ships while our freighters and a few Royal Navy ships will defend Wanderlust. We’ll have to leave a few warships at Wanderlust as the OrCons would expect something to be left there for defensive purposes. If we leave the base too open, the OrCons would get suspicious.
“I guess I won’t be asking for the freighters to volunteer. I need them so they are going whether they want to or not. Any freighter crewmember not wanting to go on this mission can get off and we will take them back aboard when we return with no prejudice. We have to get our three freighters moving now. Their slow speed requires that. I also want to take as many of the new freighters as possible. Right now, only Griffin, with Nathan Corbett in command, is ready to go. The other three have just a handful of people assigned to each and are at various stages in getting their missile systems up and running.”
He paused as he thought over the situation. “I don’t see any way to get the three new freighters up to speed in a couple of days. I thought about transferring the crews from our three old freighters to the three new ones and then sending them on their way but I don’t like the odds of all that going well. Learning new ships just before a battle while trying to bring the missile systems on line is a big job. No way that goes smoothly on all those ships. What we will do is shove the handful of people from the three new ships into one new ship and leave the other two in orbit at Agra 5. I think Gawain is furthest along so we will put everyone in her. I’ll send the messages out about that to Riki in Dragon and info Lisa Cassidy, Killian, Lew Terrant, and Shane. Riki will have command of the freighter force. I also have an idea for the captain for the second new freighter but need to check with a few people as to the legal aspects. After this meeting, I’ll send the messages to all our ships including Flicker with their taskings.
“Our people in Orion territory need to be tasked also. Recon the Metal Moon and Rurik for sure and their surrounding areas. That’s the big picture right now. We can adjust as we need to. I’m not wedded to any particular course of action or battle plan so if changes are needed so be it.” He looked at Tactical for confirmation about his summation.
Tactical nodded. She stared at her brother. “You are thinking big on this one. Lots of moving parts. Who is going to do all the planning here? I mean who besides me and Baby Doll?”
Rafe pondered the question. Tactical had a legitimate concern. This would be the biggest plan they had ever put together and would involve a large allied force of Zeke warships whose officers would argue over every facet of the plan.
“Pull anyone you want from our ship and, once we find out which Flot 1 ships are going, we can grab some of their ops people to help. I don’t want Zeke involvement in the planning for two reasons. They don’t understand how we operate, and the more people in on this little caper the more likely it will be leaked to the media, and then the OrCons will hear of my presence.
”
Reed spoke up. “If I was a really suspicious type, I wouldn’t put it past someone in the Zeke government or military to deliberately leak to the media about you or about the plan itself just to set us up for failure. If I was the suspicious type.”
Hawkins nodded. That was a true statement. In fact, he would think it more likely than not that someone would leak the news of his presence or the actual plan if the opportunity presented itself. He knew there had to be plenty of people in the Aurora Empire wanting him to fail.
He said, “I was looking at Navy Base Hartley as a rallying station for Flot 1, as we will be moving to the Aurora Empire by squadron. Let’s use Hartley as our briefing location also. I will want all the ship captains and above there. They deserve to see me in person. I’ll get a message to Admiral Wu to set that up as soon as we adjourn here.”
He looked at his staff. “Let’s keep this plan amongst us kids for now. Killian will come with us for sure, so you can use Reese Patrick. Get a backdoor path going with all the Flot 1 ops officers who end up going with us and task out parts of the plan. Also, I’ll send them all the intel we got. They need to see the situation in the Aurora Empire so they can make an informed decision on going with us.
“Since we don’t know the Zeke forces we will receive for our plan, the main effort right now will be tailoring our plan to known intel at this time. Once we got the plan sketched out, that will also tell us the minimum number of Zeke ships we will need. We can’t ask for the entire navy. That will create severe pushback. I don’t want to be seen as building a personal empire. There is enough of that going on back there without me jumping in. When we get to the Aurora Empire, we will take all the time we need to put together the plan, so there is no hard time limit here unless you uncover something in the intel that would require us to act within a certain time span.”
Tactical and Baby Doll nodded. They knew that haphazard planning was the best they could do for now. Of course, haphazard planning is what gets people killed. By nature, Tactical always wanted a plan nailed down to the nth degree. It would take time, but she would get there. Tactical nodded toward Reed. “Can I have him?”
Rafe shrugged. “Sure. It’s not as if he is ever actually busy anyway. If he has to do some actual work, it might be a nice change for him.”
Mason shrugged. “I should resent that, but since it is true, I don’t. Be glad to help in the planning.”
Everyone smiled as the meeting adjourned.
Ten minutes later, Hawkins was at his desk finishing a P4 for all the Flot 1 captains with all attached intel information. The captains were to brief their crews on the situation and discuss whether they wished to participate in the new venture to the Aurora Empire. There would be a meeting at the Fort in four days to discuss the situation and to solicit for volunteers. Nothing would be said if any ship decided to stay home. Rafe also tasked the freighters to get underway after offloading any crewmembers who didn’t want to participate. He also sent orders to Flicker. The freighters and the spy ship were not as fast as any Flot 1 warship and needed to get underway as soon as possible.
A knock came on the hatch to the passageway. A second later, the hatch cracked open, and Blondie’s voice came into the day cabin riding a formal tone. “Request permission to speak to the commanding officer.”
“Of course, Blondie.”
Blondie entered and came to attention in front of Rafe’s desk. He pointed to a chair. “Have a seat.”
“No, thank you, sir. I prefer to stand.”
Hawkins shrugged as he let the “sir” slide by. “Have it your way, but you won’t be standing there long. The answer is no.”
Blondie looked perplexed. “No? I haven’t asked for anything yet.”
“You’re going to ask for a transfer back to the Royal Navy. No. Thanks for stopping by. Have a good day. Get out.” He gestured toward the hatch.
Blondie continued to look perplexed. “How did you know?”
Raferty looked at her and sighed. He spun his chair to his cold unit and pulled out the always ready beer. He opened two bottles and shoved one across the desk. He flicked his hand to a chair. Blondie took the bottle from the desktop and then took the seat. She took a healthy swig. Then she took another.
Rafe looked at her intently. “You just lost someone that you admire and respect. It’s natural that you would want to avenge her. You come in here all formal with clean overalls and your hair done up per regulations. I didn’t have to be clairvoyant to see what was coming.” He paused and leaned across his desk toward her. “The answer is still no. I need you more than the Royal Navy does, and you are more valuable here than as an intel drone back on some ship that may or may not be in the fighting.”
“I have to do something,” Blondie replied softly.
“You will be doing something. You will be the chief engineer of this ship when we meet and destroy OrCon warships in battle.”
Blondie gave him an inquiring look. He responded, “I’m the Duke of Black Hallow—a peer of the realm and one of the oldest peerages in the Empire. I also win battles, more than anyone in the Royal Navy right now. Queen Alexis knows how to add, and she is keeping score. She’s changing the team around.” He paused and then continued quietly. “The Queen has issued a Call-to-Service. There is one name on it. Mine.”
Blondie looked perplexed. “I never heard of that.”
“You’re not alone. Last time it was done was over one hundred and fifty years ago so, apparently, nobody else knew about it either, but they do now. The Crown can call any peer into service for a particular job. Alexis is doing it now.”
“How do you know the Queen is doing this?”
Rafe smiled. “She told me in a P4 while ordering me back to the Empire. The Queen figures all the Zeke military geniuses have had their shot, so she is taking a turn now. She knows this is not the time to start throwing untested Royal Navy officers into command positions just to see who might work out. The home team needs a win, and she expects me to get it for her.”
Blondie smiled for the first time in a while. “I can see why she would call you back. After all, you are the Queen’s Hammer.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“Once the media gets this, they won’t let you forget.”
“I told the Queen we need to keep my appointment quiet. The OrCons read Zeke media reports, and they don’t need advance notice if we can help it. If they know I’m around, they will think that I might do something the regular Royal Navy would never do so will be on guard for something sneaky. Sneaky is hard to do in the best of times; I don’t need an enemy preparing for it.” Hawkins leaned forward and smiled at his chief engineer. “Blondie, the simple fact is you are much more valuable and more important here than you will ever be in the Royal Navy. I also think you are happier here than you will ever be in the Royal Navy. We need you. I’m not letting you go.”
Blondie gave a return smile. “I don’t want to leave now. I never really did, but I had to do something. It turns out we are doing something.” She stood up. “Thank you, Captain.” She paused now and looked down at him. She spoke in a soft voice. “I know you and Captain Mallory were… close. I’m glad we are doing something for her, and that you are leading it.” Rafe smiled and nodded. She set the empty beer bottle on the desk and departed.
Chapter 6
Raferty Hawkins walked into Greg Paulsen’s jail in the town of Benteen on Agra 2. He shook hands with Paulsen and took a seat by his desk while Paulsen retook his chair behind his desk. They conversed for several minutes. Maclyn Yardley laid on her bunk in her cell, reading yet another book on her pad. She took notice of Hawkins’ entry to the jail but then lost the scant interest she had as he took up his conversation with the sheriff. If she had moved to the bars at the front of her cell, she might have been able to eavesdrop on the two men, but she couldn’t sum up the commitment to actually get up off her bunk. She continued to read.
Eventually, Hawkins stood and moved to Yardley’s c
ell with Paulsen following close behind. At the cell entrance, Hawkins stopped and Paulsen moved to the security pad on the cell door. He entered a code and then put his right thumb on the pad. The door clicked open. Hawkins entered. Paulsen left the door open behind him and returned to his desk.
Hawkins leaned back against the bars next to the door as he watched Yardley. She looked up from her reading and traded stares with her visitor. Hawkins gave her his best false smile, and she returned it with teeth gleaming.
“How’d you like to get out of here?”
Yardley conveyed little interest. “You want to walk me around the town square for my midday exercise period?”
“No. I want to give you a freighter to command and take you to the Aurora Empire with me.”
Yardley stared at him for five long seconds. She laid her pad aside, swung her legs to the floor, and sat upright facing Hawkins. She gripped the edge of her bunk. She looked at him with great suspicion but with a little hope peeking through. She knew Hawkins did not indulge in such sadistic antics just for fun, but she wanted to make sure. “Is this some kind of sick joke?”
Rafe shook his head. “Nope. Desperate times. Desperate measures. I have your former ship and three more just like her. Your ship has been outfitted for our use and has a new captain and crew. She has been renamed Griffin. The other three ships are also being converted for our use but have no captains or full crews. The three ships have a handful of people each. The original plan was we were going to transfer the crews from our current freighters to those three new ones and business continues as before. I thought there was plenty of time to do that as we are at a lull in our operations against our enemies here. However, that old timeline has been overcome by recent events in the Aurora Empire. I don’t have enough time to outfit those three ships with crews and get to the Aurora Empire and the war there. I’m taking the few people assigned to each of the three ships and putting them in one ship. I need a captain who is familiar with this class of ship because the crew isn’t. I don’t have a helluva lot of time to find such a captain. That brings me to you. You will take that ship and join my three regular freighters and your old ship. The five freighters will have a mission together in the Aurora Empire. The force commander is Riki Takahashi in Dragon. You already know how to run the ship but will have to learn about the missile system while en route to the Aurora Empire. I think it is highly probable that the freighters will see combat, so you will want to get up to speed on that system.”
Smoke on the Wind Page 4
