by R. A. Ender
When she did answer, it included a rather blunt criticism. “True, but a fleet for what purpose? As far as we know for sure, TeleGod is down in the F’lwok area only. To be frank, the only evidence of an IAE invasion is the coincidence of Bazan’s recall when TeleGod crashed. We need more. Otherwise, we are just running around in the dark.”
Richard was taken aback by Robin’s skepticism. So much so that he turned around to look at her, which was not easy to do in the fighter safety restraints.
“Really? You sound like Janus, not believing we are being invaded as we speak!”
“Rick, I’m not doubting it’s happening,” Robin used a very casual name for him to indicate her need for him not to be hurt and take it personally that she was doubting him. “All I’m saying is we don’t have any proof. What makes you think the Fleet Admiral in charge of the Western Fleet is going to be any more accommodating than Janus was?”
Richard turned back around, acknowledging, at least to himself in his head, that Robin had a point.
“At least if we go to the Old Colony Region, we can get some intel to take with us when we try to raise a fleet. And besides, if it’s an IAE invasion, for sure F’lwok is a target, but the Old Colony Region is more important. They need to kill the Confederacy and that means occupying our most important worlds. New Rome has to be their first and most important target. Probably New Earth is next, and then down the list from there. If we can get proof of an IAE fleet invading one of those key systems every Admiral we meet will commit their ships to an effort to free those conquered worlds.”
Trying to not have to admit she was right, Richard didn’t respond to what she said. He just moved the conversation along.
“So, where do we go? We can’t just drop out at New Rome. If the IAE has a fleet in system, we’ll be destroyed. Maybe we should go to New Earth?”
Robin didn’t answer for a moment, and when she did she sounded a little reluctant to reject New Earth as a destination. Richard, of course, knew why. She didn’t want to tell him that he had picked the world for personal reasons, which if he was truthful with himself, he probably did.
“Huh, well... the problem I see with that is that I don’t think New Earth is in a position to defeat a fleet. If New Rome is the Old Colony Region Fleet recall location, that will leave New Earth undefended. We are more likely to be eaten up by a huge invasion fleet coming out at New Earth all by ourselves,” Robin finished.
Richard jumped in to make his counterpoint quickly. “But, New Earth can resist a siege. I have no doubt that the entire IAE, with every resource thrown at them, couldn’t conquer my world. It can resist for a long time. That gives us a chance of entering the inner system with only a small garrison fleet present. It would give us a chance to get intel and leave with our lives. I think it’s best.”
Again, the silent pause from the rear seat was long. Richard knew that he was arguing a little dishonestly. Though what he said was true, the odds of encountering a garrison fleet so early in an invasion was not great. Maybe four months from now, but not in the first few weeks. But, I need to help Heather, Richard thought selfishly.
“Rick, with all due respect, I don’t think New Earth is a good choice. But, we can decide once we are on board ship. Ok?”
Robin’s question sounded a little meeker than her usual, but he knew she was trying to be sensitive to his personal conflict. I should be more mature and rational than this, Richard thought to himself with an element of disgust creeping in. Come on, personal stuff is for later, now is all business!
As he reprimanded himself, the Squalus suddenly changed course and the wings behind and to his side followed suit.
The freighter, now clear of its fighter screen, suddenly accelerated and started its run to jump. After a bright flash of white light, it disappeared from the sensor screens.
CHAPTER 16
Before turning off his station, Richard took one last look at the travel progress for Watabaeg. The distance counter was cycling wildly, as it always did while traveling in Olympus Space. Travel was just too fast.
The time tracker was slower, though, and it tended to be the most accurate means of monitoring travel outside of normal space since no maneuvering was involved. The current readout still registered ten days. It had already been five.
By the time we arrive at Watabaeg, this war will be five weeks old, Richard thought to himself. Five weeks was a long time in this high-tech day and age. But, space travel had a very old-fashioned aspect, the journey was always long. Despite the best technology, the fastest engines and the most advanced knowledge of the universe, the distances were just massive. When you had to get somewhere in a hurry or time was of the essence, that distance became ever more noticeable. When Old Earth began to use sailing ships to cross the globe, New Earth watchers instantly found a parallel with space travel.
For a tall ship, traveling for months at a time to reach a distant port was not unusual. And in fact, warfare developed its own unique and slow paced strategy as a result. It was not unusual for a war fleet to be dispatched in the spring thaw in the hope of arriving before the early fall, several months later. Many military campaigns suffered defeats as the result of this slow pace. It took planning well in advance and a bit of luck to ensure you had the right assets in the right place at the right time.
Though the parallels to present day interstellar travel and war are not exact, the extended time lines of travel are. To complicate matters, communication across the interstellar space was nearly instantaneous. This made the long travel time even more agonizing as usually, you could learn aboard ship about events that you could not act on. At least in the old days, communication came with the ship so you knew all you were going to know.
This trip I don’t know if we are losing! Richard thought to himself and then instantly regretted that negative moment. Better to exit Olympus space to victorious news. Worrying about a catastrophe without any way of knowing the truth helps no one.
The one positive thought was that when it came to strategic planning, the Confederacy had a huge advantage over most of the other interstellar states. Olympus Jump Gate technology had given strategic planners the option of moving fleets nine hundred times faster than any other potential adversary, except maybe the B’taliyx, but that Old Timer species rarely bothered with the newer kids on the block.
And so far, that advantage had benefited the Caesar Augustus. It had meant that they were in the F’lwok system within a couple weeks of being dispatched. It also meant that they would be in the Watabaeg system in less than two weeks from the jump. All told, even if an invasion fleet had crossed the border the instant the TeleGod Network went down, it would still not have arrived at New Rome before the Caesar Augustus arrived at Watabaeg.
Not that I want to be going to Watabaeg, to begin with! Richard thought to himself, scowling. But it is the safest exit point if we are being invaded.
He had done all he could to convince his senior staff that a move to New Earth was the better choice. But, even he knew that wasn’t true. And when they all met in the conference room, he would have had to overrule the unanimous vote against New Earth. As the ship's Commanding Officer, he had the power. The Captain’s Bill of Rights ensured that. However, long ago Richard had learned that power from a piece of paper shouldn’t be used too often. Paper was notoriously weak at supporting a person when you put your whole weight on it.
From the moment they sat down around the table, Robin became much more forceful against a New Earth jump. While she didn’t criticize him openly for the choice, she deconstructed any argument he raised for that choice.
Sara had her own opinion. “We should jump to New Rome!” Richard recalled her statement, made before they were all seated. Despite universal agreement that one more ship added to the New Rome fleet wouldn’t make a difference, Sara was resolute.
“One more ship? The Caesar Augustus is not one more ship! It is a major flagship and a strong symbol.” She had argued at the time. “If we we
re floating around out here in a Photuras or a Tomauri, I’d go along. But this is a huge contribution to any fleet. We have a modern ship, fully up to date in terms of engines, maneuvering, weapons, and shields. More importantly, we have a Captain and a crew which will be known to all the other Captains we are up against. Let’s face it, we are famous, and we can use that as leverage to intimidate the enemy!”
Her impassioned appeal had merits, but it was eventually outvoted. Mato and Etu both left the strategy up to others. Jen had weighed in with a suggestion to travel to Augustus, but she was easily convinced by Robin’s need for evidence argument, and eventually backed Watabaeg.
At the end of the day, Watabaeg was the best choice, on paper. It was, without question, the most populated and powerful world in the Confederacy. It had long valued its independence and had built its system appropriately. The shipbuilding and manufacturing potential of Watabaeg exceeded that of all other human dominated worlds of the Confederacy combined. Not a big trading world, like Minnipuka or Kukatush, it still managed to export more than anyone else. It’s just that they didn’t import anything. It was a system and world designed around a model of self-sufficiency and sale to others less self-sufficient.
To protect itself, Watabaeg remained under the umbrella of the Confederacy, though it long ago banned any active presence of Defense Force in their systems. Any ship wishing to enter Watabaeg space was required to follow the same procedure as a regular merchant or pleasure craft. Instead, Watabaeg built, financed and ran the largest military force in the Confederacy after the Defense Force itself, and remained the last modern military to maintain nonmechanized armies. The Watabaeg Militia, as it was called, was formidable indeed. Even more, as no one knew the full extent of its power.
Sitting immediately along the Confederate border with the IAE, Watabaeg was in constant danger of invasion during any conflict. However, the Watabaeg system had not been invaded for centuries, despite repeated wars. IAE always went around them, and usually tried to gain their neutrality. To date, Watabaeg had always remained loyal, though they often did so after the Confederacy provided considerable inducements.
Without question, odds were that Watabaeg was not invaded. And if it were, everyone was willing to bet that it had repulsed the invaders. It was certainly safer than New Rome, New Earth or any other world in the Old Colony Region. It also offered the best chance of having intelligence about IAE movements and other worlds being invaded.
And that intelligence seemed to be what everyone wanted the most. Everyone was starting to suffer from the same worry as a result of their communication with the outside world being eliminated. It made everyone very nervous.
Though several people in the room were thinking it, it took Jennifer to say it. Usually absolutely quiet, never offering an opinion until directly asked, Jennifer surprised everyone with a simple question.
“For this invasion to work, the IAE needs to have their fleets within striking distance of our major worlds when TeleGod was killed. We know they aren’t invading F’lwok or word would have been running rampant through the base.” Jennifer paused to take a breath allowing Sara to jump in.
“Can you get to your point?” She spit out a little more harshly than necessary.
Jennifer pretended to be unfazed by the comment but a little shuffling body language showed it had hurt.
“My point is that if the fleets crossed the border only when the network as a whole failed, it will take them weeks and months to travel across space. That is more than enough time for our fleet to assemble and get organized, despite the lack of communication. Unless they are stupid, they already had fleets in our space and have had them there for a long time.”
Suddenly turning to Mato, Jennifer asked the smartest question to date. “Mato, if a fleet had those disruption ships around it, could it mask those ships from the Apollo sensors? Would it just look like a rolling comm failure that we might ignore for a while as the network has been rock solid for generations?”
Mato absorbed the question and immediately started rubbing his chin. “Sounds like a great theory, but I don’t know the answer.”
Richard, who had been rubbing his chin jumped into the speculation as a thought suddenly jumped to mind which should have been obvious from the beginning. “Funny, when I met with Bazan he said that the IAE already traded with the Lanwouk via an alternate route that was much longer and riskier. I never thought to ask what it was as I assumed longer meant around the Confederacy and through Canua space to access Lanwouk. Maybe “riskier” was the important point. I wonder if they haven’t had a means to bypass Apollo for some time. Once their ships are in our space, off the space lanes, it would be random chance they would be discovered. Dammit to hades, I bet that is it.” And Richard capped off his feelings on the subject with a soft pound of the fist on the conference table.
Bazan, that is exactly what you meant, Richard thought to himself a little annoyed that his friend had not added that detail.
Mato jumped back into the conversation. “But this just adds to the reasons for heading for Watabaeg, Admiral,” Mato said. “If they have fleets dropping out for assaults within days of the network collapsing, they will be able to pick off returning Defense Force ships one by one as they return to the recall locations. Our only safe bet is to return to Watabaeg where we know a concentrated fleet already exists!” Mato finished his statement, folding his hands in front of him on the table. It was a clear signal that his mind was made up.
When the time came to vote, everyone followed Mato’s lead and picked Watabaeg. Richard, who never voted, accepted their verdict, and quietly was sad that he had failed Heather.
Oh, Heather, he thought. I’ll make sure this ship comes to New Earth with a massive fleet to make up for this. Just stay strong.
And that was one of the few things that made him happy. Richard had no doubt that under Heather’s leadership, New Earth would successfully resist planetary invasion. A planet under siege was not desirable, but as long as orbital weapons could be controlled or destroyed, no planetary siege could subdue a world. And when Richard had his fleet assembled, it would drop out of hyperspace and decimate the enemy.
The decision was made, and Richard gave his order to Jen to plot the hyperspace course to Watabaeg. They all knew it would be a long trip, but Olympus Gate at F’lwok didn’t seem to be an option. But before he could say dismissed, someone spoke up.
As the Caesar Augustus was a training ship, all aspects of ship operations were part of that training, including, senior staff meetings. Each senior staff member had three deputies who essentially trained to take their position. The three chosen were always the best of the best and it was a great honor to be selected. For staff meetings, each senior officer had a seat at the table. All the deputies lined up along the wall and took notes and observed. Usually, Richard would ask for input either along the way if the discussion would teach something, or at least at the end. This time he forgot, but one of Mato’s deputies took the initiative.
“Ah... sir. If I may?” He asked very timidly.
Everyone turned to look at the deputy. He was George Lupanus, the second deputy to Chief of Ship Engineering Mato. He had not been a particularly vocal individual so far during training, though Richard did know his name since he was often with Mato. With a wave and a quick “go ahead,” Richard encouraged him to speak.
“Sir...why do we not travel via the Olympus Gate?”
The question hung in the air for a moment before anyone spoke. Sara spoke up first.
“With TeleGod down, the gates can’t communicate the passage information. If we enter a gate, the other end won’t know to open at the right time and we will be spending a long time traveling in Olympus Space. A long time!” she concluded with a smile.
Lupanus did not smile though or act embarrassed. In fact, he continued to push his point. “Not to question you, sir, but I think you are mistaken. The gates do not use TeleGod, they communicate with each other directly. Just as w
hen we were waiting for a signal from Admiral Hilbornus’ fighter to jump in to protect the freighter, the gates can send direct communication to each other since they know the exact position of the other gates.” The young Lupanus barely finished his long statement as he ran out of breath. He hadn’t had the nerve to pause.
Richard furled his brow. “How do you know that, Trainee?”
Lupanus swallowed hard before opening his mouth to speak. “My father was the chief of operations for the gate at Prosth, sir.”
Richard cocked his head sideways and turned his attention to Mato. “Is that true?”
Mato pushed out his bottom lip and looked puzzled. “Honestly, Admiral, I don’t know. But I’ll find out. It’s certainly possible. The gates rotate and reorient, but they always maintain a fixed position, so direct communication would be possible. I’ve never lived without TeleGod so I never ever thought to ask. May I be excused to go and check with the local gate operation?”
Richard nodded agreement and Mato immediately left the conference room to find a communication display. Before Richard could speak again, though, Sara was back to questioning Lupanus.
“It’s all fine that they can still communicate, but there is still a huge risk.” She turned back toward the rest of the senior staff. “What makes us think the gates won’t be targeted and destroyed the instant a fleet invades? Why leave a doorway into a secure system?”
