ROMA

by R. A. Ender

  “Once it is laid before us, we will all be asked to improve it as best we can.”

  “Does anyone have any questions?” Abad asked and began scanning the room. As no one spoke up, Abad continued.

  “Excellent. Then, I will begin. I am High General Addisus Abad of the Watabaeg Militia. I am the sole representative of the Watabaeg Government at this meeting today, and have full authority to make decisions which do not violate written treaty agreements.”

  “To my left, may I introduce Chief Florrus Flavia, head of the Kukatush Planetary Security Force, and the sole representative of her government. She has been authorized to speak for her government, offer military advice and return requests to the duly elected government of the Kukatush. Correct?”

  Flavia nodded. She sat upright and with excellent, though a somewhat stiff posture. Her hair was cut very short and she was a very plain looking woman. Perhaps if she smiled and styled her hair, she might be intriguing, Richard thought quickly before returning his thoughts to business.

  “Thank you. To my right, may I introduce Minister Mark Scipio of the Auxilia Forma for Minnipuka. He is here to observe only, but knowing him he will not fail to share his opinions.”

  Scipio began chuckling to himself, “You got that right, Abad!” He said loudly. His chuckle was enough movement to make his multiple chins, jowls and big belly giggle joyously. It was clear that his uniform needed to be replaced as he had obviously outgrown it. The buttons were strained and the material stretched. His large and rounded hand chose that moment to reach up and grab his mug of steaming calda, offering an unflattering view of his sides squeezed into the chair.

  Abad smiled, “I know you will, that’s why I asked your government to send you!” And with that, Abad gave him a slap on the shoulder. It was obvious that they were friends, no doubt they socialized outside of official parties.

  “The rest of our entourage is our aids and Watabaeg government officials who are here to observe only.”

  And with that, Abad took his seat for the first time. Without receiving his cue, Richard stood to introduce his party. Most of them he had only met during this current crisis, except Robin.

  “Well, first, thank you to our host for his hospitality and participation in our military planning. I know that all the citizens of the Confederated Union of Worlds, including those of Watabaeg, Kukatush, and Minnipuka, will be thankful for all your efforts.”

  “My team is certainly newer to me than you all appear to be to each other, so if I mispronounce some names, I apologize.”

  “First, to my left, is my second in command for the past twenty years, Captain Robin Shelbus. On my right, is Admiral of the Fleet Hanno Longus, Commander of the Defense Force Western Fleet, and to his left is his second in command.”

  “On Commander Shelbus’ right is Captain Florrus Keus, Acting Admiral of the Fleet for the Augustus System Fleet. The Royalist League is maintaining patrols in our absence and Augustus, in particular, has donated over one hundred ships to our cause and we are very grateful for her support.”

  “The remaining members are aids. And as for our authority, given that I have heard that New Rome has fallen to the Imperial invasion, I believe we have complete authority.” And with that, Richard sat down.

  A nodding Abad again rose from his chair to stand. “Thank you, Admiral Hilbornus. And yes, our information is that New Rome has indeed fallen to the invasion forces. If you will all refer to the displays, I will take you through the history of the conflict that we have assembled from our various sources.”

  “Almost a year ago, the IAE invasion began with the use of a technology which disrupted the TeleGod Network completely across the entire Old Colony Region, extending as far West as Kuk’Tak and the outer systems of Septimius.”

  “Speculation is that this disruptive technology is deployed from a large number of small ships placed throughout the region, primarily along the borders. We have yet to be able to fully understand or stop this disruption.”

  “Once the disruption was established and all interstellar communication ended, the IAE invaded the Old Colony region with three separate fleets.”

  Abad took a moment to sip from a small glass of water he had sitting in front of him on the table. At the same time, he toggled a control panel and projected onto the large displays throughout the room a map of the Old Colony region.

  “From the timelines we’ve created, it appears these fleets had already crossed the border into Confederate space and coordinated the disruption of the TeleGod network for when they were all ready to exit hyperspace at their respective targets. We base that on the fact that each fleet was detected within two days of the network disruption in near system space. It is not known how these three large fleets failed to be detected however it is fair to guess that they used the same disruptive technology to slip past the Apollo system.”

  “The fleets appear to be nearly the entire Imperial force. Though Admiral Hilbornus assures me he is certain that at least one IAE fleet remains inside their own territory. The intelligence we’ve obtained about the fleets roughly equals what Watabaeg Intelligence had long identified as their military force numbers. They have divided their force into three separate fleets, roughly 20/20/60. The first twenty percent fleet assaulted New Earth. The second twenty percent fleet assaulted New Desh. The remaining sixty percent fleet assaulted New Rome and the Old Colony Region Defense Force fleet. We are not aware of any surviving ships from that battle.”

  “In all, this coordinated assault resulted in the three fleets starting their attacks at almost the same time. The New Rome assault appears to have been the first.”

  “I believe this clearly shows that the invasion plan was being executed perfectly and as planned.”

  “At New Rome, the IAE fleet numbered over 1,200 ships of various classes, including two IAE Dreadnaughts. They exited hyperspace in mid inner system.”

  At this point, the displayed graphics, which had been showing the path of each fleet in a single flight line, zoomed into New Rome and showed the fleet formation. Abad took a moment to gesture toward the changed displays, in case anyone missed the visual.

  “As you can see, all 1,200 ships emerged from hyperspace as a single fleet, formed up, and moved deeper toward New Rome nearspace.”

  The display followed the fleet as it approached the planet and for the first time showed Defense Force ships.

  “It was here that they faced the first Defense Force resistance of the invasion. Our information shows that the Old Colony Region fleet had only assembled to approximately twenty percent strength or one hundred and eighty ships. Not surprisingly, this fleet was no match for the IAE.”

  “Despite broadcasting surrenders on open frequencies, the IAE fleet engaged the Defense Force ships and did not end until all ships were destroyed. They captured no ships, they took no prisoners. The destruction was total.”

  Richard let out a long sad breath. He had already heard this news from Abad during their strategic planning sessions awaiting the arrival of his colleagues from Kukatush and Minnipuka. The three worlds had formed a triumvirate interstellar alliance of neutrality after it became known that New Rome had fallen. The news of such vicious destruction without pity was not surprising given the enemy. IAE had always conducted its wars with this type of strategy. But, knowing that so many lives had been lost, so many colleagues and friends murdered, had been deeply saddening. Even a few days later, the sting came back every time he heard the news.

  Abad had continued while Richard was mourning and rethinking the route in his mind.

  “...having laid siege to New Rome, the IAE broadcast a surrender demand. While broadcasting, they bombarded the planet in non-populated and remote regions, obviously to make a point. It is quite clear that they did not want to destroy the planet's infrastructure. Not surprisingly, New Rome’s government surrendered and our information about planetside conditions has been limited ever since.”

  The display zoomed back out to show t
he whole Old Colony Region again.

  “This seems to be the first time their strategic plan had a hiccup. It’s obvious that they conquered New Rome much faster than expected. Our estimates are they had established effective control of the system within four days of exiting hyperspace.”

  “Now, of course, this wasn’t a negative. A large number of ships which remained fully operational, our intelligence says only forty ships were severely damaged and fewer than ten destroyed, allowed them to deploy a large number of divisions on picket duty. As Defense Force ships returned to New Rome on their recall orders, they were destroyed. Since their arrivals were scattered, we have no accurate numbers. Nor do we know where any of the ships have gone that may have escaped but we also don’t know if any have.”

  Abad turned to gesture toward Richard. “Admiral Hilbornus has speculated that they likely withdrew to deep space or the Nebula Star Base. In either case, these ships are effectively lost to our cause, as we can’t find them.”

  “The only piece of good news from the New Rome invasion is that the Commanding Admirals Council members were not captured, neither was the Senate. Apparently, all members of both organizations were absent from the planet when the invasion happened. We can also confirm that the CAC fleet was not in the inner system. Our assumption is that they decided to leave for safety a short time after the TeleGod Network went down, fearing an invasion.”

  “Now, we have no intelligence about the invasion of New Desh except that the IAE fleet secured the world quickly and seventy-five percent of the fleet proceeded toward Prosth within a day. This also foretold their strategic plan, as the conquer of Prosth was equally swift, and forty percent of the original fleet proceeded to Gogomac, and ten percent proceeded to Tionaga.”

  “This ten percent was apparently joined by half of the New Rome fleet and half of the New Earth fleet. The total fleet size bound for Tionaga was estimated to be 840 ships.”

  “Not surprisingly, Tionaga was a tougher nut to crack. Again, we have no intelligence from the siege, but we know that no ships appear to have left the system since the invasion. Furthermore, the IAE approached the government of Watabaeg only a week after the Tionaga siege began to discuss our neutrality directly. Before that time, they had simply broadcast their intentions to preserve our independence.”

  Abad took a drink and toggled his controls. This time the display jumped out quickly and showed the entire Confederated Union of Worlds.

  “So far, the military invasion has been limited to the Old Colony Region. Our contacts have confirmed that the Ituas, Colukto, and F’lwoka have all been approached by IAE agents attempting to obtain neutrality agreements. Our contacts have also confirmed that none of these worlds have been invaded and that the TeleGod Network between their worlds is no longer disrupted if it ever was.”

  “Our contacts are not privy to whether these worlds accepted the agreements.”

  “We know for sure that the Vev’tev have not. The Vev’tev have been in direct contact with all the triumvirate governments to confirm that they have refused IAE neutrality offers and have declared war on the IAE. Their war is limited to defending their space, though. And, so far, the IAE have been smart and are not challenging them. They would be foolish to do so, given the advanced organic technology we know they possess, but the full power of which is unknown.”

  “From Admiral Hilbornus, who traveled to the Kingdom worlds, we know that the Royalist League, under the leadership of King Dredmoorus of Augustus, has also declared war on the IAE. They have provided the Admiral with a Royalist Fleet of one hundred ships which are attached and under Defense Force command. They have partnered directly with the Ka’Tak to ensure the Lanwouk respect the non-aggression pacts they have signed over the years and don’t try to take advantage. They have also sent strong warnings to the Canua that they will launch a destructive invasion on their home world if they act directly in the war. They have reminded them of the Siege of Veselyy and informed them that we know about their complicity in the IAE disruption of our TeleGod Network.”

  “As of the time the Admiral left, they had received no response. Our agents in the Kingdoms now tell us that the reply from the Canua was quiet acceptance.”

  Clicking his control panel again, the display swung back toward the Old Colony Region and focused with a view that included both New Earth and Lochalsh.

  “I’ve described nothing but smooth sailing for the IAE. Here are their two failures.”

  “The first is Lochalsh. With the trouble they’ve had securing Tionaga, the IAE had limited ships to send to Lochalsh. As far as we know, they sent nothing more than scout divisions. Apparently, they did not want to dilute their fleet strength around New Rome while the CAC remained at large. Furthermore, they know about Admiral Hilbornus’ fleet and are likely holding back from any risky efforts before they can better assess the threat it poses.”

  “And, like Tionaga, Lochalsh will likely be a harder to conquer than New Desh, Prosth and Gogamac. Plus, the IAE must have a legitimate fear that the entire Northern Defense force fleet may move to protect Lochalsh. It is a border planet of the Northern Fleet territory which should activate that fleet to protect it from attack. We know that Lochalsh is in communication with F’lwok, where the Northern Fleet is currently stationed.”

  “Admiral Hilbornus’ information suggests that the Fleet Admiral in charge will likely not engage the IAE without direct orders. The IAE don’t know that, though.” And Abad smiled broadly.

  “Our intelligence service has been feeding the IAE as much information as possible to make them very wary of moving against Lochalsh. That said, they need to secure that world. Without Lochalsh, their supply routes to the rest of their fleet must circumvent our triumvirate worlds and continue in hyperspace all the way to Tionaga before they can access the Olympus Space Jump Gate network.” Abad swung his arm in a gesture toward the triumvirate representatives. “Our agreement prohibits their use of our space for transit. As we occupy all space along the border with the IAE, that poses a problem. A hyperspace transit from Port Tobo, the main IAE supply world, all the way to Tionaga could easily take a year, circumventing our territories. We know that the IAE has already redeployed its supply hub to their capital planet, Imperialis, to shrink the supply line. If they seize Lochalsh, that supply line is reduced to two months in hyperspace. And the transit is safe enough that they can reduce military escort and run a constant supply line. Lochalsh is key to continuing IAE success and the key to our effort to beat back their invasion.”

  “We know that they have been secretly using Lochalsh space for supply transits. That information has become a key plank of Admiral Hilbornus’ strategic planning.”

  “And, if the Admiral would like to speak now, he can explain the strategic plan he has created with his team.” And with that, Abad sat down.

  Richard did not hesitate to stand, but before he could speak Minister Scipio interrupted.

  “Abad, what about New Earth? The cradle of our civilization not important enough for you to mention?”

  Richard quickly jumped in, turning to face Scipio. “Actually, Minister, I asked High General Abad to leave that to me as it is the main tenet of our strategy.”

  Scipio nodded and swept his hand, “Proceed than Admiral, with dispatch!”

  “Thank you Minister, and thank you High General Abad for all the information that the Watabaeg Militia has provided for our strategic planning. Your assistance has been invaluable.”

  It was now Richard’s turn to toggle the displays. Pressing a couple of buttons on his desk display, he changed the graphic to center on New Earth.

  “Our plan is titled Fabius Cunctator, after our famed ancestor who fought the invasion of Hannibal with a unique strategy. But, we are going to begin our resistance with Operation Summanus. As High General Abad explained, twenty percent of the IAE fleet was dispatched to New Earth, and eventually, half was sent to participate in the Tionaga Siege. Despite splitting their fleet, our informatio
n suggests that New Earth has not been conquered and remains under siege even today. It is another reason why we believe the IAE has not moved against Lochalsh.”

  “Watabaeg intelligence combined with my intimate knowledge of New Earth has painted an incredibly clear picture. For the record, New Earth is my world of origin and I served the Defense Force on that world for many years. Furthermore, the head of the New Earth Defense Alliance is a close and dear friend of mine, Praetor Imperator Legatus Heather Julia Severii.”

  “It is clear that the IAE has not secured the planet. This is not a surprise. N.E.D.A.’s strategic planning has always centered around defending and protecting the planet from invasion. System defense largely relied on the Defense Force, for practical and symbolic reasons, since New Earth is one of the founding worlds of the Confederacy.”

  “N.E.D.A.’s defenses include surface to orbit fighter craft including hundreds of atmosphere capable Squalus fighters. They maintain a navy, both surface and sub-surface, which are equipped with a variety of surface to orbit weapons. The land forces include fixed surface to orbit energy weapons at shielded installations, and mobile forces with surface to orbit weapons.”

  “From war games planning and exercises that I directly participated in, I know that N.E.D.A. is capable of denying planetary orbit to any ship, even an IAE Dreadnaught. In simulations, their defenses destroyed a Dreadnaught inside of ten seconds.”