Desperate Measures: The Issog

by C. R. Daems

  "Fossett isn't going to like it…" Wallace said, looking like he could imagine Fossett screaming at him.

  "Damn it, nobody is going to like it!" Simons shouted. "While we are fighting the Arrith, the Issog could retake Angeles and countless others." She threw her cup across the room. It shattered against the wall, and coffee splattered against the metal and slowly began dripping down onto the floor. "Perkins, when all essential repairs are completed, bring the fleets to Utopia."

  "Utopia?" Perkins asked, forehead wrinkled in confusion.

  "Yes, the crews deserve some R&R. We are going to be fighting either the Issog or the Arrith soon." Simons ended the discussion by rising and left several hours later for Utopia.

  * * *

  When Simons entered Admiral Fossett's office, she walked several meters into the expansive room and saluted. "Reporting as ordered, sir."

  "As ease, Vice Admiral Simons," he said, smiling as he rose from behind his seat. He walked around his desk to greet her, shaking her hand and handing her a velvet box with his other hand. "I knew you were the right person to crush those blood-sucking bats."

  After a minute of stunned silence as she stared at the three stars inside the box, she recovered enough to speak. "Zoe…Captain Lafon and the Odin were a significant—"

  "True, but not everyone could have managed a squadron captain with authority to make independent decisions or an untested concept like the Odin," he said, waving away her attempt to minimize her contribution. "No, you rightly deserve the credit, and command of our seven fleets to finish the job." He walked to the sidebar, poured two glasses of a red wine, and handed one to Simons while nodding to the two leather-padded chairs in one corner of the room. Before he sat, he turned to Simons and raised his glass. "Congratulations, Kathrin."

  "Thank you, sir." She sat when Fossett did. Her head was spinning, and now she was even less sure how to break the news to him. She didn't care about the promotion, nice as it was, but about shattering his delusion—or worse, him not being able or willing to accept the inevitable.

  "Sir, as you're aware, we've cleared Durban, Yorklan, Berlin, and Alexandria. At that point I sent Captain Lafon to scout Angeles, Hydera, and Kammu." She stopped for a good size drink of her wine, feeling she'd need the fortification soon and was glad to see him do the same. "Angeles was clear of Issog," she said, and noted his ear to ear smile. "However, Hydera and Kammu each have forty Issog cruisers—a total of eighty."

  Fossett's smile remained. "That's good news. The bats apparently don't have a home base, so they can't replenish their fleet. Destroy them and no more Issog."

  "Captain Lafon feels the current two Odin-class cruisers will not be effective against a force of forty cruisers. To a fleet of eight or even twelve Issog cruisers, an Odin squadron appears a threat and worth chasing. However, to a fleet of forty cruisers, they won't appear enough of a threat to chase. The Issog are massing for an all-out battle and will know the Odin configuration are only the advance squadron, the first of many to follow. Consequently, Lafon believes we will be lucky to achieve a three-to-two loss ratio at Hydera or Kammu."

  Fossett pursed his lips and then took another drink of his wine before speaking. "Seven fleets is sufficient even if she is right with respect to the Odin and the loss ratio."

  "Sir, after conferring with Admiral Perkins and Captain Lafon—who have been with me clearing Durban and Yorklan twice, and also at Berlin and Alexandria—I believe we should not attempt to free either Hydera or Kammu."

  Fossett shot to his feet, knocking his chair backward and spilling his wine on his pants. "Are you insane? The COS Assembly would court martial you and me. You for suggesting it, and me for agreeing." He ignored his wet trousers and walked to the sidebar and refilled his glass. "You can't. We are on the verge of a great victory. Not a year and a half ago, the consensus had us lasting less than three years and the Issog being victorious. And here we are in half that time in a position to win."

  "And what about the Arrith? Will our victory over the Issog scare them into continuing to honor our mutual non-aggression pact? Or will they see this as the perfect time to mop up what remains of the COS Navy and rid themselves of the monkeys?" Simons said, devoid of emotions, her voice space cold. Fossett sat quietly for long enough to drink his wine, refill the glass, and finish its contents.

  "Kathrin, you sure know how to ruin a party." He shook his head and sighed. "What are you suggesting?"

  "It's hard to know for sure, but we have to assume the Arrith have been busy building new cruisers to engage the winner of the war between the Issog and Commonwealth. Based on our earlier battles with the Arrith, they have at least ten fleets of twenty cruisers each. They probably hoped our war would take several more years, which would have given them time to double their navy.

  "The earlier we stop fighting the Issog and turn our attention to the Arrith, the fewer ships the Arrith will have to throw against us. Today, that means our seven fleets against their fifteen, give or take a few. Not great odds, but with three or four Odin squadrons we may have a chance of convincing them it isn't worth an all-out war."

  Simons took a sip of her wine while waiting on Fossett's reaction. When there was none, she continued. "If we proceed against the Issog, we will be lucky to have one or two fleets to confront the Arrith’s fifteen. Besides, the longer the Arrith delay their attack on us, thinking we are massing to finish off the Issog, the more time we will have to build new ships and repair damaged ones."

  "Won't the Issog start trying to retake the systems they lost to us?" Fossett asked, frowning at the idea.

  "I don't think so. I think they will be content to have the two systems. If they try to expand, they run the risk of losing to us in a war of attrition, which is the reason they have chosen to consolidate their forces on Hydera and Kammu. And if they did try to expand, it might be to our advantage. The Arrith could be drawn into a war with the Issog. If we survive the war with the Arrith, then would be the time to go back to Hydera and Kammu and take out the Issog, before they are capable of building more ships."

  "Right now, you have the Third and Sixth Fleets. The Second, Fifth, Seventh, and Eighth are operational. The First should be operational in a few weeks. I will issue orders to them that you're now the Commonwealth's Fleet Admiral. I leave it to you to organize and position them as you want. I'm going to limit our decision to the core group on the Commonwealth Assembly to avoid the word leaking to the Arrith. And I'll authorize repairs to any cruiser currently not functional."

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Switching Enemies.

  "Attention," Simons’s aide called as she entered. Simons scanned the roomful of Admirals before speaking.

  "At ease," she said, sounding and looking tired. "Admiral Fossett has, on my recommendation, decided to concede Hydera and Kammu to the Issog for the time being." She paused to let the explosion of remarks and side conversations subside. "Yes, it sounds heartless and against everything we stand for. But the realities are that our seven fleets will be fortunate to survive the Arrith invasion, much less our two or three fleets that would remain after removing the Issog from Hydera and Kammu." She stopped to let everyone digest the realities of the current situation. "We believe the Arrith have at least fifteen fleets and that their factories are producing at full capacity in anticipation of fighting either the Issog or the Commonwealth. Thanks to Next Robotics and their Odin concept, we have the Issog isolated and are at least a year or two ahead of previous predictions, because that would have given the Arrith an additional twelve to twenty-four months of production. Not to mention, everyone expected the Issog to win."

  That was received with general nods of agreement and a lot of whispered conversations, which Simons let continue while she sipped her coffee. She continued when the room quieted.

  "I've asked retired admirals Cushings and Zakery to attend today's meeting because both men have had extensive experience fighting the Arrith. Expertise we will need, since I doubt our experience f
ighting the Issog will help in fighting the Arrith. Admiral Cushings." Simons nodded to a slightly overweight man of average height, grey hair thinning on top, and a round plump face. His body had a slight stoop when he stood and spoke.

  "Admiral Simons is correct, based on what I have heard of the Issog's tactics. The Issog like squadrons of four, whereas the Arrith like squadrons of five. Their typical fleet is composed of four squadrons and a flagship. The Issog’s strength is their ability to target our cruisers twice as fast as we can target them—and their effective skip tactics. The Arrith are more aggressive fighters and favor overwhelming force as a tactic. They are actually slower to act and to target but ferocious when they commit." He nodded to Zakery.

  "Don't get Cushings wrong. The Arrith are not cowards, just the opposite. I've never heard of one surrendering. If their cruiser is disabled, they will attempt to ram you with their cruiser, shuttles, or escape pods. They like disgorging their fighters and never retreat. Don't think lizard. Think Komodo Dragon." Zakery smiled, his narrow face like a hawk with his black piercing eyes. He was a tall man and almost bald, resembling a bird of prey. "They aren't stupid, just aggressive to the point of being rabid." He paused, looking around the room. "If history is any guide, then you can expect a three-to-two kill ratio. That sounds great until you figure they are estimated to have three hundred cruisers to the Commonwealth's one hundred fifty. If those numbers are correct, then we will need a kill ratio of two-to–one, or we lose the war."

  "Thank you, gentlemen. I think that clarifies our current situation and why we can't afford to remove the Issog from Hydera and Kammu." Simons looked at each admiral sitting around the table before turning to face me, sitting against the wall and feeling out of place as the only captain. "Captain LaFon is the Odin Captain responsible for the strategy that helped us reverse our three-to-two lost statistics against the Issog and shorten the war by at least a year. Any comments?"

  "The Odin concept was perfect against the Issog as a distraction, causing them to waste their skip capacity and to be finessed out of position. That doesn't appear like it will work on the Arrith, based on Admirals Cushings and Zakery's experiences," I said, feeling like I had just gotten quizzed on a question which wasn't in the curriculum.

  "I agree. That means in order for us to win, each Commonwealth cruiser must be considered valuable and not a throwaway. That will require some very difficult decisions, whereas before we would rush to help anyone in trouble. Today, we must consider whether it's worth it…just as we have had to abandon Hydera and Kammu—to save ships that we need to save the Commonwealth. We are fighting for our existence. Forget that, and we may lose everything we love and cherish."

  * * *

  "Sorry for the unexpected question, Zoe," Simons said later that evening. She had requested that Perkins and I meet with her after the conference ended. "But we have too many admirals who favor the Arrith’s strategy, and I wanted everyone to understand that the Odin concept wasn't going to provide the solution…of course I hope it does." She laughed.

  "I tend to agree with Zoe's assessment that the Odin won't be as effective as it was against the Issog," Perkins said, rubbing his jaw in thought.

  "I initially thought maybe as assassins," I mumbled, more to myself.

  "Assassins?" Simons and Perkins said together.

  "Dart in and kill a flagship or squadron leader."

  "I think we will be back to Authorized to take Independent Action," Simons said. "Which I'm comfortable with for you, but not sure about Marsh or another Odin captain." She laughed. "I hate being the Commonwealth Fleet Admiral. I feel so helpless. I can tell the admirals what I want done, but I have no way to affect their actions."

  "Maybe we should adapt the Issog’s tactics," I thought I said to myself, but Perkins and Simons’s heads jerked in my direction.

  "What do you mean?" Simons asked.

  "Admiral Cushings indicated the Arrith were slower than us to target. We were slower than the Issog…"

  "Musical cruisers." Perkins laughed. "It might work if we could develop a strategy for the fleets to use when they encounter the Arrith."

  "The Arrith skip to our position. We target them and fire, they return fire, and we skip…" Simons said while nodding and then smiling. "It might work. Perkins, you and Lafon see if you can work up a cookbook for the fleets to follow, or a seminar. Something to get everyone on the same page. If we can convince the Arrith we can kill two of their cruisers for every one they kill of ours, then we might be able to get them to honor our non-aggression treaty."

  * * *

  When Perkins entered his conference room for our afternoon meeting, he found Mikel, Elaine, and me. I rose and braced to attention as he entered. It was a minute before he spoke.

  "At ease, LaFon." He nodded to Mikel and Elaine.

  "I called Mikel last night and told him our problem. Elaine volunteered to create an interactive simulation for us to work out various scenarios, and Mikel volunteered to think about possible software that could help the Fleet Admiral and his squadron leaders," I said, thinking I knew him well enough that he wouldn't consider me presumptuous.

  "I appreciate you coming here on such short notice and your offer to help. Zoe is right. We don't know how much time we have before the Arrith decide to take action. Could be months or weeks, and the first engagement could prove decisive."

  "As I understand the problem," Mikel began, "the Arrith outnumber us by an estimated two to one, therefore we will lose a war of attrition. So to survive, we must at very least obtain a kill ratio of two to one."

  "Correct. Zoe believes we might be able to achieve that if we can get our fleets to adopt Issog skip tactics, since we can target the Arrith cruisers faster than they can target us, which was the Issog's advantage," Perkins said. "I believe the Sixth Fleet could implement that tactic today, however I don't feel confident all of the other fleets could. Our task is to create something to help the fleets understand and effectively implement Issog tactics."

  "Let's see if we can understand what you want the simulation to look like so Elaine can get started developing a prototype. Once that is operational, we can work together to determine what information the fleet admiral and his squadron leaders will need."

  * * *

  It took Elaine only a week to develop a simulator and two days to fine-tune it. Perkins invited Cushings and Zakery to consult on the Arrith's traditional formations and attack strategies, which were actually simple and straightforward—two formations per fleet with two squadrons of five in one line and two squadrons plus the flagship in the second line, which stayed approximately two hundred and fifty thousand kilometers behind the second formation. When the first line was within four light-seconds, it would skip into the enemy's line. The second formation would move up two light-seconds and wait as a reserve.

  If there were multiple fleets, each fleet would approach with a single line of four squadrons and act as if they were one fleet—the first line would skip into the enemy while the second acted as a reserve.

  Perkins and I spent the next week working thirteen-hour days testing various strategies until we thought we had several scenarios that produced two-to-one or better results in a variety of Arrith responses. We met with Simons the next day in her conference room.

  "At ease," Simons said as she entered. "I understand you got Next Robotics involved and have been working at a marathon pace for the past two weeks. I hope you're finished and have something we can use, because I plan to send Rear Admiral Perkins to New Hope to oversee the Sixth and Seventh Fleets. Oh, congratulations, Admiral Perkins."

  Perkins stood with his mouth open before speaking. "Thank you, ma'am. Captain LaFon and I with Next Robotics’ help have run more than a hundred simulations, with Admirals Cushings and Zakery consulting. From these simulations, we have scripted the best tactics based on the Arrith's formation and attack strategies. They produced at least two-to-one kill ratios. In addition, Next Robotics is looking at ways to provide the
fleet admiral and the squadron leaders information that could help during the engagement." Perkins nodded to me.

  "Ma'am, I have all of the suggested tactics as well as the ones we rejected taped for your review," I said, activating the room monitors. We spent the next three hours discussing each simulation.

  "I noticed the Odin was not involved in the simulations," Simons commented when we had finished.

  "True. Right now, I suggest the Odin retain its option for independent action and maybe act like an assassin to kill key players during the engagement. Mikel hopes his team can do something with Copernicus to provide the fleet admiral with strategic information."

  "Excellent work. I'm stationing the Sixth and Seventh fleets at New Hope. The Fourth, Fifth, and Eighth will be here in Utopia, and the First and Second at New Faith. I plan to send Captain Marsh with the Sixth and leave LaFon here with the Forth. Perkins, you already understand the Issog's tactics, so I think LaFon would be more use here and at New Faith, working with the fleet admirals and their squadron leaders on your results. I plan to send the next Odin captain who graduates to New Faith."

  * * *

  I spent the next week at New Faith, explaining the results of our simulations to the fleet admirals and their squadron leaders and running simulations to ensure they were comfortable with the various scenarios. By the time I left for Utopia, I thought I had convinced everyone that Issog tactics would work against the Arrith and that anything less than two-to-one kills would doom the Commonwealth to life under Arrith rule.

  The day after I arrived back, Simons had me scheduled for classes with the Eighth Fleet.

  "Why the training, Captain LaFon? Admiral Simons will be directing any engagement on Utopia." Admiral Eitaway asked when I walked to the front of the room.