“I’m sorry, Sir. This seemed the best way to avoid giving the rebels a chance to escape. I’m sure Lord Sar’Clax will weigh up the advantages of all the plans and select the one he feels is most appropriate.” Crineal gave a slight shrug.
The admiral studied him for a minute, disappointed in the brute force plan that one of the fleet’s best tacticians had come up with. “Very well. I’ll submit the plans to the Fleet’s First Lord and notify you when I get an answer. Is there anything else?”
Crineal appeared to think for a minute before speaking. “I’d like to return to flight duties, if I may, Admiral?” Ken’Rathel nodded his approval for the request. “Also, I’ve heard on the grapevine that Personnel Section might be considering a large scale redeployment of crews. So if we have anyone that’s causing us problems now might be a good time to submit transfer requests,” he suggested thoughtfully.
Aldar raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Oh? I hadn’t heard anything. You know that we always try to clean house but never succeed. And for every problem we do manage to get reassigned, we just get another back in return.”
“I know, but that doesn’t mean we should stop trying though,” Crineal said with a smile.
“I haven’t heard anything either, General. How sure are you?” Ken’Rathel inquired curiously.
“My source is pretty well placed. It’s no certainty but I think we might want to start doing some paperwork to be ready.”
The admiral shrugged. “Well, it can’t hurt. We’ll get started on that whilst we wait for Lord Sar’Clax to give us a decision. Alright, gentlemen, that’s all. Dismissed.” As he watched his two subordinates leave Ken’Rathel felt he was missing something important, but he couldn’t quite grasp what it might be. Eventually he just shrugged it off as a bad feeling and started to compile the proposed plans for Sar’Clax’s consideration.
The communications point in Crineal’s office became heavily over-worked in the next few days as he contacted old comrades scattered throughout the fleet to catch up with their doings and make suggestions that they might want to get their commanders to start filing transfer requests for their problem people. Crineal was almost relieved when he was able to lead Hera Squadron out on a short patrol two days later as the Annihilator once again sat parked around Earth Orbital Three. The flight was uneventful and Crineal was glad to get back on board the carrier without incident.
Strieger cornered him following the debrief meeting. “Any news on what we’re doing, Sir? We were originally scheduled to swing out by a couple of the newer colonies on our way back to sector HQ.”
“Just waiting for new orders, Major. I’ll tell you as soon as the admiral tells me,” Crineal told her unhelpfully.
She made a face at the lack of information before speaking again. “Hartmann and Gyrenne seem to be shaping up nicely. They both have good attitudes and are fitting right in with the rest of the squadron.” She paused and checked to make sure they were alone in the ready room. “How are you and Cyndy doing?”
“Officially, I’m very happy with the performance of my assistant.” He smiled at her. “Just for you though, we’re doing well. Taking things slowly. Her year in the prison system left a lot of mental scars and I’m just giving her as much love as I can.”
Strieger nodded somberly. “It’s much easier to look at the assistants when they are just a name and a face and you know they are criminals. When you find out they are real people it’s a lot harder, isn’t it?”
Sighing, he agreed with her. “Yeah, I always knew that some of them didn’t always deserve what was happening to them. Others probably do, but how do you tell the difference?” The general shrugged helplessly.
“Fel thinks the world of Cyndy. She doesn’t see her as an assistant, either. I hope you’ve got a long term plan for her though.”
Crineal shook his head. “Not yet. I think I can get her transferred with me if I’m moved anywhere but I’m more worried about what happens to her if I don’t make it back from a patrol one day.”
“If that happens I’ll do what I can, Sir. Perhaps call Lord Sar’Clax and see if he can help?” Strieger suggested.
“Thanks, Major. It helps knowing that someone will be looking out for her.” He gave her a warm smile. “Now, I need to go and change out of this flight suit. I’ll see you later.”
His arrival back at his quarters was greeted by a flying hug and Crineal found his arms full of Cyndora. “Miss me much?” he asked as he returned her kisses.
“I’m sorry, Sweetie. I was worried because it was your first patrol since you were hurt.” She kissed him some more.
“It’s ok. But I would like to get out of this flight suit,” he laughed.
Cyndora put her arms around his neck and looked smolderingly at him. “Want some help?”
“Now that’s just mean. I have to get back on duty and you helping me would delay me, pleasant as it would be.” Crineal looked into her sparkling eyes and seriously considered her offer. “Could I take a rain check on that for this evening?”
She let him go reluctantly. “Maybe, if you hurry home.”
“That’s all the encouragement I need.” He kissed her again and went to get changed.
Admiral Ken’Rathel sat at his desk looking at the latest readiness reports from the strike force when his comm link buzzed and announced that Lord Sar’Clax was waiting to talk to him. He opened the hyper relay and the First Lord of the Fleet’s image appeared. “Lord Sar’Clax. Good morning to you, Sir.”
“Morning, Admiral. How are you doing today?” Sar’Clax inquired.
“Very well, thank you. Just reviewing some readiness reports,” Ken’Rathel replied.
Sar’Clax nodded. “Good, I’ve sent out orders to the other strike forces to make a rendezvous with you. I’m sending you a data package with the details. The fleet has decided to adopt Operation Coventry. I want General Crineal to implement it under your guidance. All the information is in the transmission.”
The admiral nodded his acceptance. “Thank you, My Lord. We’ll get the job done.”
“You have my fullest confidence, Admiral. Now, don’t let me keep you,” and with that Sar’Clax broke contact.
Ken’Rathel was a little surprised that they’d approved the plan after only a week and he’d expected Aldar’s plan to be the one accepted. But then who knew what went through the minds at HQ. He’d been studying the file from Sar’Clax for about an hour when Clandad buzzed him to announce that Captain Aldar would like to see him. The admiral told him to show the captain in.
“Captain Aldar. How fortuitous,” Ken’Rathel greeted Aldar as he entered. “I was going to send for you in a little while. We have the go ahead. HQ has opted for the general’s plan.”
Aldar nodded. “It’s a good solid plan. We’ll take casualties, but the rebels will be hurt more.”
“I agree. I’ll call a preliminary meeting with you and Crineal to go over it. Now, what can I do for you?” he asked settling back into his chair.
“It’s about those transfer requests we submitted. They’ve been approved.”
“Well, that’s good news. How many of them?” asked Ken’Rathel, looking pleased.
Aldar gave him a steady look. “All of them.”
The admiral’s eyes widened. “Are you serious? Every single one?”
“Yes, Sir, and some of them have been approved with promotions,” the captain replied with a troubled expression on his dark features.
“Promotions? For who?” Ken’Rathel was now looking at Aldar incredulously.
Referring to his data pad, Aldar began to recite a list. “Lt. Commander Gar’Tara has been promoted to commander. There are promotions to lt. commander for Ineskar, Purleot, Lythia, and Mangann. There are a few others, but these are people I’ve had work for me.”
“Gar’Tara is an idiot! And a thug to boot. How many times did we charge him with abuse of junior crew members? The others are as bad if not worse. They need to be mustered out, not promoted!
What does Personnel think they’re doing?” The admiral was incensed. “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter as they aren’t our problem anymore. I pity the ships they are headed to though,” he muttered angrily.
“You mean ship, Sir. They are all going to the same place. Well, almost all. They’ve received orders to report to the Devastator or one of its escorts.”
Ken’Rathel’s eyes narrowed. “The Devastator? They hardly need more problems. Wait…let me guess where our replacements are coming from: the Devastator,” he groaned.
Nodding, Captain Aldar confirmed his guess. “Yes, Sir, but the records of the incoming crews would indicate that we seem to be getting competent, hardworking people.”
“Are you sure? That doesn’t seem likely.” The admiral looked doubtful.
“As sure as I can be without seeing them work, Sir. I found it all very odd, too, which is why I thought I should bring it to your attention.” Aldar seemed to be as perplexed as he was.
“Thank you, Captain. Leave it with me and I’ll have a think about it. I’ll see what I can find out. I smell a rat, which is odd as they all seem to have been transferred.” Ken’Rathel nodded an informal dismissal to Aldar and sat back to think as the captain departed. After a few minutes he opened up a hyper relay link to an old friend on the Strike Carrier Cataclysm. The image of a strong-faced, silver-haired woman appeared in front of him
“Rath, to what do I owe this pleasure?” she asked with a delighted smile. “I thought you’d be seeing me soon enough according to the orders I just received.”
“Hello, Sybil, I’ve been most remiss in not keeping in contact. How is life treating you?” he inquired with a warm smile.
Admiral Sybilene let out a little chuckle. “You know how it goes in charge of a strike force, too much work, never enough time. So… what are we going to be up to? The orders I got were very cryptic. Rendezvous with the Annihilator where I’ll fall under your command.”
“Sorry, Sybil, can’t tell, much as I’d love to. I’m afraid I have my orders, too,” he told her regretfully.
The woman’s image pouted at him. “Spoilsport. I bet I could change your mind over dinner and some wine, just like old times.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief.
“I bet you could,” he chuckled. “I’m not sure that my wife would be too understanding, though.” Ken’Rathel looked at her affectionately, remembering the affair they had engaged in before he was married. “Actually, Sybil, I’m calling on a semi-unofficial matter.”
“Semi-unofficial, huh? I smell intrigue. What’s up?” she asked, her curiosity stirred.
“I’m not sure. Have you put in any crew transfer requests recently?”
“Funny you should ask. I did about a week ago. My flight commander had said she’d heard a rumor about a big reshuffle.” She raised an eyebrow inquiringly.
“Let me take a wild stab at this. Your requests have all been approved for your problem people and the personnel are heading to Devastator. The ones you’re getting in return all look to be good quality.”
Admiral Sybilene’s eyes narrowed at him. “How did you know that? What’s going on, Rath?”
“I wish I knew, Sybil, but something stinks. Did your flight commander say where the rumor had come from?”
“No, she just said she’d got it from a well-placed old friend. You think I should ask her? Colonel Barazon doesn’t usually dabble in murky stuff.”
Ken’Rathel sat up straight. “Barazon? She did a tour here on Annihilator. My flight commander recommended her for a command of her own. That was two years back.”
“You mean Crineal? If Barazon was any less competent then I’d offer to trade you, but he does train up some great commanders,” she commented approvingly.
“Crineal suggested to me that we apply for some rotations based on a rumor he said he’d heard. That was about a week back, too.” Ken’Rathel looked thoughtful.
Sybilene returned his look. “You think they heard the same rumor?”
“Maybe, maybe not. This feels like a setup but I can’t see who is being set up or why.” Ken’Rathel shook his head in puzzlement.
“You’re the noble, Hon. If anyone can smell chicanery going on, you can. You want me to grill Barazon?” she asked gravely.
“No, let’s keep this to ourselves for now. If I find out anything that you should know I’ll get straight on to you. But I will host you for dinner when we rendezvous. We can catch up properly then.”
Her smile lit up her face, softening the strong lines, and it brought back to him why he’d fallen for her all those years ago. “You have a date, Rath, and I promise I’ll behave. See you soon.” Her image blew him a kiss before the connection shut down.
Crineal sat in front of Ken’Rathel. He could tell the admiral was irritated and wondered what he’d found out.
Following a few minutes of studying the general silently, Ken’Rathel spoke up. “General, I’ve known you for three years now. I’ve come to respect your abilities tremendously and I even like you as a person.” He paused significantly. “I don’t like it when my senior officers are playing politics behind my back. So I’m hoping that I can prevail on you to tell me what’s going on with these transfers you so conveniently suggested.”
“I don’t understand, Sir. Is there a problem with them?” Crineal inquired with all the innocence he could muster.
“Apart from the fact that they’ve all been approved and we seem to have good replacements? Oh and all of our transfers have gone to the same place. And we’re not alone. It appears that other strike forces have had similar good fortune. Apparently they all heard the same rumor and acted on it.” He gave Crineal a hard stare. “Now, I don’t want to bemoan the fact that we’ve improved the quality of our crew, but I would like to know why.”
Crineal sat looking at the admiral for a moment. “Sir, I have the deepest respect for you and your integrity. You’re one of the best commanders I have worked for and I hope you know that I would never want to put you in a position that would damage your reputation.” He took a deep breath. “I would therefore ask that you trust me when I say that I only have the best interests of the fleet and the Emperor at heart.”
Silence filled the admiral’s office for a long minute. “Is it that bad, Crin?” Ken’Rathel asked softly.
Crineal nodded slowly. “I would not want this on your conscience, Admiral. I respect you too much for that.”
The two men sat staring at each other before Ken’Rathel broke the silence again. “All right, you’ve done enough to earn my trust, Crin. I’ll drop this for now. But I expect you to tell me if anything goes wrong that would endanger our people.”
“You know I would never risk their lives like that, Sir,” he replied and Ken’Rathel nodded.
“I’ll see you tomorrow morning at ten hundred hours for a briefing with Captain Aldar, here in my office. You’re dismissed, General.” Crineal stood and saluted before exiting the office with a heavy heart at not being able to confide in Ken’Rathel.
Chapter Sixteen
Three weeks later the Annihilator and her escorts began a series of jumps that left the strike force within two jumps of the rebel base. Within hours of their arrival in a section of void that had been designated as their staging area, a second strike force appeared, this one led by the Armageddon. During the next day the remaining carriers arrived: Cataclysm, Ragnarok, Destructor and finally, more than a little late, the Devastator. Once the task force had assembled, shuttles started to flit between the ships, exchanging the last of the transferred crew members to their appropriate posts. Admiral Ken’Rathel used this time to call a meeting of the commanders of the other strike forces to brief them. The six senior officers plus Crineal met in the main conference room of the Annihilator.
Admiral Ken’Rathel stood at the head of the table. “Thank you for joining me, ladies and gentlemen. I know you must all be wondering why we’ve assembled out in the middle of nowhere. The news is that we’ve found a major rebel base.”
There were murmurs around the table as he activated a display screen to show the layout of the base and its defenses. “As you can see, it’s pretty substantial and along with supply areas and space dockyards there is a large mobile force. At the time of the last burst transmission there were five cruiser squadrons at the base. I’m sure you’ve all heard of General Crineal, even if you don’t know him personally. I’ve invited him here to brief you all as it’s his plan we will be carrying out under my command.” Ken’Rathel turned to Crineal. “General, I’ll hand it over to you now.”
As the admiral sat, Crineal rose to his feet. “Sirs, Ma’ams, Operation Coventry is to be a frontal assault of the rebel base using our six strike forces. We will make one more jump to within fighter jump range of the base and then deploy all of our small craft.” He brought up a display of the proposed attack formation. “As you can see, the carriers will be at the centers of the formations with their escort ships slightly ahead of them. The fighter and bomber wings will be deployed above and below these formations so as not to interfere with the initial strike. Once all the ships are in place we will jump to just within weapons range of the enemy base.” The screen changed once more to indicate the attack path of the task force. “On completion of the jump all of the capital ships will launch a kinetic bombardment of the fixed defenses. These will be the initial targets. We have them plotted so we should get our fire off first whilst they are still targeting our force. The return fire will still be heavy and this is where I expect us to take most of our casualties.” A few of the admirals and vice admirals at the table nodded grimly. “Once this initial bombardment has been launched then the fighter wings will sweep in behind it to deal with the enemy fighter cover. Behind our Hunters, the Star Bolts will follow up and launch a torpedo strike against the rebel capital ships. The fighters’ priority task is to give them cover. The main task force will complete its destruction of the fixed defenses before turning its attention to the remaining rebel major combatants. The Hunters will also provide a screen for our large ships against any enemy bomber attacks. Our Star Rangers will set up a perimeter around the base area to identify any fleeing transport ships and mark them up as targets for nearby fighter squadrons to disable.” Crineal paused to see how they were taking it. Most were nodding, but a rather large vice admiral seemed to be less than impressed with the speech. “Once the fixed defenses and mobile forces are neutralized then the carriers will launch marine assault parties so that they may land and capture the base. The rest should be a mopping up exercise. I propose to leave our auxiliaries at the final jump point with a screen of fighters and some scouts. We’ll call them in to us once the rebel base is secure. I’m sure that everyone will appreciate their help at that point.” A wave of chuckles rippled around the table. “The final jump will be made under computer guidance to ensure that all the ships jump at the same time.” The bulky vice admiral snorted derisively. “Sir? Is there something you wish to add?” Crineal asked politely.
Crineal Chronicles 1: In Hera's Service Page 27
