by Ben Winston
"Sir, if you think I can help, I'll help. I can certainly understand the risk you are taking with me as well. You don't know me; I could very well be a spy for anyone. I swear to you on my life that I am not working for anyone and have no hidden agenda. Luciano, I am not as sure about. He is a cat; they always have a hidden agenda," Miss Shapiro replied smiling weakly.
Ian returned her smile. "I'm sure you got to see the size of this ship when Cindy and her team brought you here. Just so you have a frame of reference, she isn't the largest or the most powerful of our warships. In about ninety days, hundreds of other warships, most of them larger and more powerful than this one will arrive here to destroy us. By us, I mean all of humanity, and not just the warships. Their mission will be to sterilize the planet and destroy every human they can track down in this entire sector of space. We have no idea why they are coming to do this, only that they are.
"What the world leaders are having difficulty with is how we came about this information. Mental abilities such as telepathy, and telekinesis do exist in our universe. As does precognition. We were warned of the coming attack by multiple precognitives having the same, or close to the same vision. That opens a whole different can of worms about how the ability works and all that, but suffice it to say, the coming attack is a certainty and we have been treating it as such.
"A few minutes ago, we got confirmation of part of it. Do you remember the reports of the huge warship that we destroyed a couple of years ago?" Ian asked.
The woman nodded. "Yes, there was a lot of speculation and gossip surrounding it, but no one doubted the event itself."
Ian nodded. "We know that five more of those super ships are now in route to us. This time, they are not alone either, they are bringing their entire fleet with them. According to the seer's visions; this is only a small part of what we are going to be hit with. In fact, one of them hadn't even noticed they were part of the attacking force since there were so many other ships involved. That's what we're facing, but we won't be alone. The Alliance is already preparing to send us fleets of warships and entire devisions of troops to help fight. We can win this," Ian said and looked at his hands. "We are going to lose people, maybe a lot of people, but we can stop them from destroying us if we work together."
After Miss Shapiro agreed to help, and Ian had her take the oath, he asked Cindy to take her down to see the Master Sergeant. "I'll need you in the main conference room in a couple hours, but that should work out okay; I imagine she'll be pretty tired by then, so find her and Luciano a place to sleep for the night and show her how to work everything. You might want to do that first so Luciano can check the place out before his mistress returns. Oh!" Ian said, surprised.
Luciano jumped up into his lap, put his front paws on Ian's chest and looked him in the eyes. Knowing cat-etiquette, Ian looked back for a short time before looking down. Luciano leaned in and nuzzled Ian's chin before turning to walk across the table to his 'mother'.
"Now that's really something! Luciano never does that to strangers, and even then never to a man!" Olivia replied. She had asked Ian to call her by name as Miss Shapiro reminded her of her mother.
"Well, I guess that means I have his seal of approval!" Ian said."I just hope he likes living on a shuttle."
"He should; he seemed to like the Damocles well enough," Olivia said as she picked up the cat and followed Cindy to the door.
"Sir, did you have something you needed me to do?" Lissa asked.
"Yes I did. I would like you to make a horror movie I can show the world leaders that will give them an idea of what is coming. If they can see it, maybe they'll finally get it through their thick heads we are running out of time," Ian replied.
"You would like for me to create a video based on our current estimates of what we are facing and probable results of the battle?" Lissa asked.
"Based on current knowledge, I want you to show them what's going to happen to them if we fail," Ian explained. "I want you to show them the worst case in graphic detail. Make it as frightening as you can and still remain in the realm of possibility. Can you do that in four hours?"
"I think so, do you want me to make any variants? Perhaps the fighting that could take place on planet or in the atmosphere?" Lissa asked.
Ian nodded. "If you have time, that would be great. I need them to understand that even if we win, we are still going to take a lot of damage. I need them to know that they need to work with us to prevent our destruction."
"Do you really think showing them videos will do that, Sir?" Lissa asked.
"Maybe not, but they are not taking this threat seriously at the moment. We need to make it more real for them. This is the only way I know of to do that. If this doesn't work, we may need to go public, but that'll open up a whole new can of worms we have been trying to avoid," Ian replied. "Just do your best, please."
"Will do, Sir," Lissa replied. She saluted Ian and left the office to begin her task.
Ian watched he go and sighed. "Alex, can you get me that list of senior military officials from Earth? I still need to find commanders for the forces stationed there."
"Certainly Sir," Alex replied and began typing on her terminal. "Admiral H'joles sent along a list of senior officers you can borrow for the battle. Would you like those as well?"
Ian nodded thoughtfully. "Yes please, they wouldn't be a good choice for Earth defense, but there are other positions we need filled as well."
Ian returned to his desk to review the files he'd asked for. He had a pretty good idea who he wanted for the Earth defense teams, but the problem had been with their loyalties. Both men we very loyal to their nations and potential bad security risks. The problem was that Ian was beginning to believe that if they did manage to somehow survive the coming battle, the current political structure of Earth would not.
He selected the men, as well as his second choices, and opened the files sent from ARC. He only needed two more senior officers; one for air/space command in the Centauri system and one for logistical operations. Commodore Hawkins had been handling logistics in addition to his duties as commander of the Pleiades Stations, but it was becoming to much for one man to handle.
He picked a senior captain form the list of Alliance officers for the combat position, but found a perfect candidate for the head of Logistics in the list of Benesian Emergents. The woman had been the head of Produce distribution on Benesia before she had been exiled for becoming pregnant without Council approval.
Talith Hadron, her mate and their two children had recently arrived from Benesia. What surprised Ian was that they had been allowed to bring both children as one of them was male. Knowing Benesian custom, Ian called the woman to ask her if she wanted the position before he sent the request through channels.
"This is Talith. What can I do for you Admiral?" a handsome woman asked after answering the call.
Ian smiled at the woman. "Good Morning, Dame Hadron. First of all, let me add my own welcome to our community. Thank you for agreeing to join us."
The woman cocked her head to one side, but returned his smile. "We decided it sounded like a good opportunity. While we still love Benesia, our religion there is a somewhat more restrictive environment than we want to raise our children in. Besides, we were curious about life here. So far, we are both very pleased with the decision," the woman replied.
"That's good, I'm really glad it's working out well for you. The reason I'm calling is to ask you if you would consider the position of Logistical Commander for the sector. We are growing rather quickly and are in need of someone with your gifts to take over our supply responsibilities. I would add that, while it is a military position, it is a non-combat position," Ian explained.
"Would we be required to relocate?" Talith asked.
"No actually, the main offices of Logistical Command are there on Atlas. Commodore Hawkins of the Pleiades stations has been running, but it's becoming too much for him to handle in addition to his other duties. He's asked that we find someone
to take over these duties from him," Ian replied, and looked up some information on his terminal. "The offices are at the base, but you should be able to commute easily. I show it to be a twenty minute flight with a personal aircar, or forty-five minutes using the public transit shuttle."
"May I call and speak with the Commodore? I would also discuss this with my family," the woman replied.
"Of course, Talith. I'll let the Commodore know you will be calling him." Ian paused for a moment. "You have heard of the impending battle we are facing, right?"
"Of course," she replied.
"Talith, we have a better idea when it's going to happen now. If you take this position, and I really hope you do, you'll have about three months before it gets here. I know that's barely enough time for you to get settled in, but I felt I needed to warn you," Ian replied.
Talith considered the information. "That is not common knowledge yet, is it?"
Ian shook his head. "No, we only just found out about it ourselves. The Council hasn't made a decision yet, but it should hit the news by the end of the day or at least by tomorrow morning."
"I understand, Admiral," the woman nodded. "Until then, I will not share this knowledge beyond my mate with her agreement to also not speak of it."
"Thank you for understanding, Talith. I'll leave you to discuss it with your mate, and I'll contact the Commodore to let him know you would like to speak with him," Ian replied.
"As time is short, I will have an answer fo you by the end of this day. Will that be sufficient, Admiral?" Talith asked.
"Perfectly, Talith," Ian replied smiling. "Thank you for your considering this position for us."
She smiled at him. "Even though I get the impression you're asking me to kick a Croanian Warrior in the jallas, thank you for the honor of the offer, Admiral. Good morning."
Ian chuckled. "Good Morning to you and your mate, Talith."
Chapter Three
TDF Star Dancer
Equatorial Orbit
Earth, Sol Sector
The meeting with the military commanders of the sector went about as well as could be expected. The commanders were taken by surprise at now having a time line, but none of them panicked. Most of them simply viewed it as nothing more than going from an open-ended time table to one with a deadline. They all felt that they could still accomplish their tasks, although they still worried about not having enough people. Ian assured them that he would be addressing that very issue with the world leaders right after their meeting was over.
Current plans were discussed and modified as needed, at then end of the two hour meeting, the commanders left to kick the preparations into high gear. Ian was a little surprised when Cindy pulled him to one side. "Ian, I have an idea I don't think you'll like, but it's another option for you to consider."
"Okay, but hurry up, the world leaders are gathering for the meeting," Ian replied.
"The gangs. They are experts on urban warfare and would need very little training to get ready for this. We could use them to make sure people get to the shelters and to defend the urban shelters from attack," she suggested.
"Uh huh, and how do you propose we go about getting them to do this? They are criminals that would use any weapons we give them to fight each other, the police or to victimize the very civilians we want them to protect," Ian countered.
"You and I both know that, one way or another, they're crime days are numbered. Let me take my team down to Earth and see what I can make happen. I can't promise that I won't kill anyone, but like you said, they are criminals," she replied grinning.
"If you kill some of them, won't that make it harder to convince them to help us?" Ian asked. "I do know that Beth is worried about dealing with all the addicts once the drug flow stops because of the battle."
"Actually, she is working on a plan for that," Cindy replied. "So what do you say? It can't hurt to ask them can it?"
"No, it can't. It would also be nice to have an extra team on Earth to protect the weapons and shelters being built. Just try not to kill anyone, and where you can, work with the local law enforcement agencies. Don't let them do anything bad either," Ian replied. "Good luck, you're going to need it."
She winked at him as she turned to leave. "I think you're the one that will need the luck; I'm only going to be talking to gang leaders, you have to deal with world leaders."
Ian nodded. "You might be right. Why don't you stay here and I'll go deal with them?"
"Not on your life, I'd be more tempted to kill people if I stayed here," she said and left the room.
"Sir, everyone's ready," Alex said from her place at the table.
"Thanks Alex. Did Lissa finish the video I asked for?" Ian asked.
"Yes sir, she has three videos prepared and waiting for you. The first is more of a general overview of the battle, both in space as well as on the planets. The second is focused more on the battle on Earth neither of them have an outcome. The last one is a video showing the possible outcomes of the battle from worst case, to the best possible scenario. She added a note stating that, both the worst case as well as the best case scenes are very improbable based on our current estimates. There are three scenarios in that last vid; the second one is the most probable provided we get the assistance we need from Earth," Alex explained.
"Okay, I think I understand what she did. Let's get this party started then, shall we?" Ian said, giving her a half smile.
"You're on, Sir." Alex whispered to him.
"Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen. I am sorry for calling a meeting at such a later hour for most of you, but this news is most urgent. I am certain all of you are familiar wit htrhe events that brought us to your attention; the attack of a Caldarian Super Nova class capitol ship. During the Caldarian 'occupation' of our planet, we tagged one of their heavy cargo ships in an effort to locate it's destination as well as try to ascertain how many more ships the Caldarians had.
"We were successful in locating their base, but it was so far away we did not consider it to be a threat. Our intelligence people continued to monitor their activities while we got to work trying to undo the damage they did to our world and our people.
"Six hours ago, I received confirmation that the entire Caldarian force has left that base and are now on course for this planet," Ian said. "They will arrive in roughly three months."
Ian had to wait for the uproar to die down somewhat before he could get their attention again. "What that has to do with our current emergency is this; after discovering this information, we consulted our original sources and they confirmed that the Imperial forces will arrive at the same time. So not only will we be fighting the forces of the Empire, but we will have five more of those super-ships as well as their escorts of smaller warships as well. At this time we do not know if they will be working together or will attempt to fight each other as well. We do know that stealth is not going to be an option this time, and those ships will most likely head straight for the planet as soon as they arrive.
"We are in serious trouble here, people. As imposing as five Super Nova class ships are, they are not the main threat here. The Caldarian ships are the largest and most powerful ships we know of, but compared to the strength of the fleets that will arrive here, they will be a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things.
"I have had one of our tactical AI prepare a video presentation for you, so you will be able to see what we are facing. Hopefully, this will give you a better idea of what is heading our way. This is not a Hollywood production; these simulations are based on facts we know and what we estimate the enemy force to be." He glanced down to Alex. "Play the first and second videos, please."
As Ian watched, he realized that Lissa had done a remarkable job. She did not down play the reality of damage taken in the ship to ship combat. She showed the destruction of warships in space, what it really looked like and not what the movies and television had turned it into. She showed fighters being destroyed, escape pods being ejected from an Alliance sh
ip shortly before it exploded, and she showed the enemy getting closer and closer to the Earth.
As the enemy got closer to the planet, enemy fighters could be seen escorting landing craft into the atmosphere, Alliance fighters engaging them. Some of the enemy made it to the ground, while others could be seen to bail out of a doomed ship, to continue their mission on the planet.
Alliance Maarines and equipment met them and the fighting on the ground began, slowly. The point of view was on the surface now, showing the two forces cashing in heavy fighting outside a city somewhere in Europe. In the distance, there was a bright flash of light and a mushroom cloud began to form where an enemy bomber had attacked a city. Still the fighting continued, the massive explosions ignored by the armored Marines.
The scene changed to another group, this time in the United States. The fight here was on a much larger scale, tanks and mechs stalked the battlefield laying waste to the countryside in an effort to kill the other soldiers. Bright streaks of light shot down from the skies and destroyed a small town and the Alliance troops using as cover. The camera panned back and up, showing the bright tracks of missiles or kinetic mass weapons coming down. The enemy fleet had made it to orbit.
The camera did not stop there, it pulled back, high up into the atmosphere, so far that the curve of the planet could be seen. Below, mushroom clouds and bright bursts of light showed the impacts of orbital weapons leaving craters and starting fires that burned out of control. Still the battle continued as the camera returned to orbit to show the Alliance ships in 'close' battle with the enemy that had struck the planet. It had been a sobering and all too realistic sight.
As the video slowly faded out, Ian swallowed the lump in his throat.
