Smoke on the Wind

by Sean Benjamin

  There were none. Baby Doll turned to Tactical. She stood up and Baby Doll passed the clicker. Tactical clicked a button and two route lines shined within the display. “Our attacking force consists of thirty destroyers. Thirteen Flot 1 and seventeen Royal Navy. Captain Jack Wilson has overall command. Captain Killian O’Hare in Nemesis is second in command and commands the Flot 1 contingent. All ships will leave their shuttles behind with the exception of Captain Wilson’s Topsail and Captain O’Hare’s Nemesis. Your shuttles will be used to transport Royal Marines at Rurik. Every destroyer without a shuttle will have her empty bay filled with magnetic mines. Upon departure from the Metal Moon after the attack, all mines will be jettisoned and then activated. These mines will move toward enemy ships and the Moon itself to cause additional damage and confusion as our ships withdraw.

  “As of today, our destroyer forces are widely separated and will remain so. They will move across the border into enemy space as six separate units by six different routes. The goal is to minimize message traffic by commercial ships who see our ships and talk about it over their comm. If any of our separate forces are reported by merchant vessels, we hope the reports will be viewed as looking like just another patrol on the move. Prior to the operation, we will send out false sighting reports of OrCon activity into the areas we will be going through so as to discourage commercial shipping from going there. In the event that merchant shipping starts to talk about our formations once we are on the move, we will have other ships broadcast false reports to confuse the issue. With all these reports, it will be difficult to separate truth from fiction.

  “Once the destroyers cross the border, they will rendezvous deep in OrCon space and move to target as a single formation with two cruisers ten hours in front of them to provide early warning of enemy sighting. If spotted, the two cruisers will return home while the destroyers will evade the enemy by course changes or going subspace as the situation dictates. The enemy will be concerned with the two cruisers and focus on them. Twelve hours from the Metal Moon, the force will divide into two parts, Royal Navy and Flot 1 and will use two separate routes for ingress to target. This move will be via subspace. Since ships travel at half speed in subspace, total time in subspace will be twenty-four hours.” Dozens of officers shifted in their seats at the mention of twenty-four hours. That number of continuous hours to be spent in subspace was more than any of them had ever done. Many officers present did not believe it was possible to spend such a long amount of time in subspace and emerge prepared to fight. Tactical and the other pirates noticed, but none them much cared. They knew from experience it could be done. Tactical knew this would come up in the detailed mission brief and would be argued about there, but she continued the current brief without pause. “The routes will have a 120-degree offset and boundary limits to ensure safe separation between the two attacking forces while in subspace. Squadrons and individual ship positions will be covered into the detailed mission brief for the Metal Moon attack. Timing is to arrive at 0200 local time over target. This time was selected for coordination with the attack at Rurik and is not adjustable. Royal Navy ships will close in tight on the Moon while Flot 1 vessels will engage from the floating anchorage above the Moon. Target engagement priority, missile engagement zones, and withdraw procedures will be covered in the detailed brief. I will say here that target priority regarding ships is engines first to eliminate pursuit and make repairs difficult. Duration of the attack will be at Captain Wilson’s discretion. Departure will be in the direction of the Orion home planet of Silovik to present a threat to that planet. Even though the Moon attack will be over, the enemy force coming out of Rurik must pursue our ships to ensure they don’t menace the homeworld. Once outside sensor range of Zavodila and her Metal Moon, the destroyer force will turn toward the border. With luck, the Rurik OrCon ships will continue to move away from Rurik as they search for our raiders.”

  Tactical turned back to Baby Doll and the clicker switched hands again. Baby Doll cleared the briefing table and then brought up a single planet with two moons. There was a red colored area on the planet’s surface and a green area in space above the red area. She continued the brief. “The second battle will be at the OrCon base on the planet Rurik. There are two moons which we call big moon and little moon. The surface base, shaded in red, consists of the Orion Sixth Fleet headquarters, barracks, admin buildings, power plants, repair facilities, etcetera. There are underground facilities. Beyond locating several entrances to this underground, we have no other intel on these facilities at this time.”

  Baby Doll moved her pointer from the surface red zone to the floating green zone. “There is a spaceport in synchronized orbit over the surface base. The spaceport is primarily military, but there is limited docking for civilian and commercial traffic. There is a small military shipyard with one floating dock with eight berthing spaces. Total ship berthing in synchronized orbit is one hundred and fifty-six spaces of various sizes in eighteen floating docks. As of two days ago, we believe there are approximately one hundred and four ships in the spaceport with the great majority being military.

  “Base defenses start with a globe of mines that encompass the planet at one-hour max speed out from the planet. This is a thin minefield meant to discourage approach via subspace. The mines are magnetized. There is enough distance so ships in normal space can pass between the mines with no problem. Because of the hazards of this minefield, we cannot realistically make a subspace approach to our target with our large number of attacking ships. Our force will emerge from subspace in front of the minefield, push through it and any patrols in the immediate area of the minefield, and move on target.

  “The base is protected by twenty-eight floaters, equally divided between guns and missiles. The surface base has sixteen dug-in missile emplacements with four launchers at each. There are several laser stations within the surface base, but the exact number is unknown. The two moons have missiles and guns emplacements believed to be forty on each moon. The number of launchers that will be a threat to us depends upon their locations in their orbit about the planet during our attack. There are also tracking stations and a command-and-control center on both moons so defense coordination can be done from the surface base or either moon. Location of all defenses and floating docks are in the handout.”

  Again, the two briefers switched over and Tactical changed the briefing table to show a blue line indicating the attack route toward the Rurik base. “This is a general overview of the Rurik attack. Details will be in the handout and covered in the dedicated mission brief. At five hours from the target and four hours from the mine web, the attacking force will go subspace and move to target as three separate task forces for deconfliction purposes. Since we are emerging at the mine web, we will be in subspace for eight hours.

  “At the mine web, our forces will emerge and blast through the minefield and through any patrol craft that happen to be in the area. The time for this is 0615. At 0645, we will be at maximum missile range from the spaceport and will begin firing as we close on the base with an arrival time over the target at 0715. This timing is for three reasons. The first reason is sunrise at the Rurik base is 0711, and the Royal Marine assault needs daylight. Second, we need to allow time for their ships to receive word of the Metal Moon attack, get out of port, and proceed on their way to that battle. The Metal Moon attack is at 0200 their time which is 0030 local at Rurik. The timing allows the Rurik fleet to get underway and move toward the Metal Moon before we emerge at the minefield at 0615 Rurik time. The third reason for our timing is the larger of the two Rurik moons will be on the far side of the planet from the base and so its defenses should not be a factor in our attack.

  “We are planning for the OrCons to get underway in one hour, and they will then be four hours and forty-five minutes away in the opposite direction when we are at the minefield. We believe they will get underway in much less than an hour, so that would put them even further away when we attack. Once they get word of our attack, t
hey will have to return at least a sizable portion of the fleet to defend their base while still pursuing the Moon raiders. We will have a ship in the vicinity of the turnaround point to inform us of their course of action and ship numbers.

  “Our initial attack on the base will focus on the threat to ourselves and threats to the attacking marine shuttles when they eventually launch for the planet. As we close on target, floaters and the smaller moon are the priorities and, as batteries located on the surface come into range, we will take them under fire also. We will ignore all structures on the base that are not a threat. The ground assault will take care of those. We will engage the command-and-control center on the little moon. We will take that out and, when the marines take out the surface command and control center, the enemy will have to switch to local control of their assets, and this will degrade their coordinated defense. Priority of targets for each squadron is listed in the handouts, and the squadron commanders will assign targets within that list to individual ships as they see fit.

  “If the enemy is at least four hours and forty-five minutes away when they receive word that their base is under attack, that gives us four hours and fifteen minutes before the returning enemy will be within missile range. The number of returning enemy ships will determine our course of action. I think the enemy will not split their forces equally but will bring all their ships back to meet the threat while leaving minimum ships to pursue our raiders. There are a sizable number of enemy ships at the homeworld to protect it, and the Rurik ships can also draw on whatever is left at the Metal Moon. The number of returning ships will determine whether we stay and fight or depart. That decision is to be made on the spot. Those ships not carrying shuttles for the Royal Marines will have mines loaded in their shuttle bay for use at the Rurik base as needed.

  “The Royal Marine assault will not be briefed in detail as we do not have the expertise to put together that attack at this time. Brigadier Dunwater and his staff will remain with us to plan that attack.” As she spoke the last sentence, Tactical pointed at Dunwater in his seat and then at the six Royal Marines along the back wall.

  Tactical did not turn the briefing back over to Baby Doll but moved on to the third battle. “The last fight is defensive in nature and depends on enemy actions. Currently, there are two OrCon raiding forces working around Wanderlust. The movement of the great majority of Royal Navy ships out of Wanderlust will leave the base as an inviting target. Although the exact location of either of these two raiding forces will not be known to us, it is reasonable to assume at least one of the two forces will be in a position to strike Wanderlust. We will be leaving five Royal Navy warships just out of sea trials at the base. There are three ships in repair docks there that will have minimum combat capability. In addition, we have several layers of defense available to protect the base. Admiral Barrett will be in command.

  “That completes the general briefing. The midday meal will be served at 1200. At 1400 we will meet in the three mission groups for detailed briefings of each fight. Beatrice Domengeni will brief the Metal Moon attack. I will brief the Rurik attack, and Captain Luther Norton, the OpsO of Home Fleet, will brief the Wanderlust defense. Questions?”

  Nobody asked a question. Tactical knew they were saving questions and objections for the individual battle briefs so they could argue without involving those officers doing other attacks. She also knew objections would outnumber questions by a significant amount. After five seconds of silence, Tactical turned and looked at Hawkins. He stood up. “Thank you for your attention. We will break now for a meal. Just for edification purposes, I’ll sail in Typhoon but will be going ashore with the Royal Marines at the start of the battle,” replied Hawkins.

  “What about command during the battle?” asked a voice from the sitting ship captains.

  “That’s Admiral Levant’s job. I saw him at work in the Electra System. He doesn’t need any help from me. I want to see the Royal Marines in action. I will return with the first wave of returning shuttles bringing out our wounded.” He gestured at Tactical. “She will remain aboard Typhoon.”

  Hawkins finished, “The rally points and routing will be covered in the detailed mission brief for each task force. It is exhaustive and will cover not only the routes for each attack force but will also show the travel times, routes, and ship groupings for each of you as your ships move from their current locations to the rally points within OrCon space where you will form into your attack groups. The last thing we need is freighter comm traffic reporting large formations of Royal Navy ships on the move. Codes and squawks are in the handouts in front of you. Once you return to your ships, we have to move fast to maintain surprise. A final resupply will be done on the move. There are no supply or repair ships going with us, so supplies and ordnance will be loaded in all available spaces aboard your ships. Also, the destroyer force must remember mines will be in your shuttle bays. Ensure you become acquainted with their procedures. One last time, anyone got anything for the entire group?”

  A movement in the admin group on his left caught his eye. He zeroed in on a hand that went slowly halfway up but then quickly descended as the owner thought better of it. He looked at who was attached to the hand and smiled. “How are you doing, Janice?” There was a low reverberation of sound as people shifted in their seats to see who Raferty was addressing by her first name.

  Communications Specialist Second Class Janice Chou stepped forward tentatively from the group. “I’m fine, Your Grace.”

  “What’s your current billet, Janice?”

  “I have no assignment at this time, sir.” She paused and then added quietly, “I was in one of the escape pods off Mackenzie.”

  Rafe nodded. Janice Chou had been manning the command comm channel in Mackenzie when Hawkins had called the heavy cruiser while in orbit over Potenka a couple of lifetimes ago. She had been the first person he had talked to in Skyler Mallory’s squadron as he warned her of the upcoming OrCon attack against her. Chou had subsequently followed Mallory to Home Fleet as Mackenzie was being repaired. It made sense she would go back to the heavy cruiser with Sky. “How did you get here?”

  “I was at Wanderlust and hitched a ride on the ship picking up ship captains.”

  Rafe wondered how she knew about the ship and its mission but figured she was in communications so was privy to all the message traffic regarding preparations for this meeting. He understood why she would come here. She wanted back in the war, and she wanted to be on the winning side for once. He asked, “How’d you like a job?”

  Chou smiled and said, “Yes, Your Grace.”

  From Rafe’s left, Killian O’Hare immediately said very quietly, “Me.”

  With O’Hare leading the pirate contingent on the Metal Moon attack, it made sense to have a comm person from the Royal Navy on her ship in case of any communication glitches. Without missing a beat, Hawkins said, “We need a comm specialist who knows Royal Navy procedures, so we happen to have a job opening. You are assigned to the pirate vessel Nemesis, Killian O’Hare commanding.”

  “Thank you, Your Grace,” replied Chou as she smiled broadly.

  “Thank you for volunteering, Janice.”

  The young woman blushed a bit as she shyly stepped back into the crowd.

  Raferty scanned the room again. “Anything else?” There was only silence. He continued, “I know this is the part where I should give an inspirational talk, but we will forgo that. You all know what is at stake here. The people of the Empire deserve a victory, and you all are going to get it for them.” It was clear the general brief was over and everyone rose to attention.

  Hawkins said, “I have one last thing.” He gestured to the group along the wall to his left. “I have no idea why you are here from Naval Headquarters. Due to operational security reasons, I can’t let you go back there immediately. You would tell your office mates what happened here, and they would tell somebody and so on. We can’t risk it. You will not be attending the detailed individual mission briefings.
You are restricted to this base for the next week. No communications at all. Your vacation starts now. Enjoy it. I hear the base has a great rec center.”

  Before the surprised group could protest, Hawkins walked out the way he had come in. The rest of the pirates, except for Blondie, followed him. The Royal Navy ship captains in the chairs stared at their fellow brethren along the wall. A truism throughout military history is fleet people dislike headquarters people so none of the ship captains felt sorry for the group along the wall. The ship captains also knew their pirate commander was right about the possibility of somebody talking out of school and word of the operation spreading. Keeping these rear echelon warriors here at Hartley for a week actually was a good idea. More than a few of the captains approved of a commander who was not afraid to step on some toes for the good of the mission. Many officers now reflected on their new commander’s lack of interest in supporting the peers and their relatives. That was another move that met with general approval.

  The officers had the midday meal and then the individual attacks were briefed in detail. As predicted by Tactical, the objections and suggestions for plan improvement were too numerous to keep track of, but few changes were made. At the conclusion of the sessions, a late meal was provided. Then all the Royal Navy captains were put back on their transportation and began the trip back to their home stations or to their ships in space. Blondie remained behind as Captain Wilson wanted to take her to Jib himself. The three Zeke naval task force commanders and Brigadier Dunwater remained at Hartley for follow-on briefings and an informal meeting in a social setting with all the pirate captains later that night. These commanders would be travelling back to their ships in pirate vessels.