The Merrimack Event (Shieldclads Book 1)

by David Tatum

  The three kingdoms of Larkin eventually noticed that powerful empires were expanding around them on all sides, and it was only a matter of time before someone’s attention turned to their system. A treaty was written to resolve their differences, the three leaders of the respective worlds agreed to share power, and thus Larkin became a triumvirate. As it turned out, the large civil war they’d been involved in for so long had given them significant military experience, and united, they had become powerful enough to fend off several assaults from other systems.

  Their unique political structure led to certain peculiarities, however, such as the decision to always send three admirals to the Wargame (one representing each planetoid). This sounded impressive… until one realized that, due to a prolonged period of peace, Larkin no longer had any significant military to speak of. They had eight ‘admirals’ to command their ‘fleets,’ but only two dozen ships to manage – four frigates and a flock of cutters.

  Nevertheless, those three admirals were treated with all the respect due an officer of flag rank from any nation. Meanwhile, Captain Dane Myles, whose rank actually put him in charge of more firepower than all three admirals combined, was treated just as any ordinary ship’s captain.

  A lone escort, and a mere cadet lieutenant at that, seemed beneath Captain Myles, but he would deal with it as diplomatically as he could.

  “Yes, sir,” Farmburg answered him. “Cadet Lieutenant Joel Farmburg, here to meet any and all needs within my authority that you may require of me.”

  Myles paused. That was one of Cygni Fleet Intelligence code phrases – which meant this ‘mere cadet lieutenant’ might be a Cygni officer. That changed some things, but he’d better not give the game away.

  “Thank you, Mr. Farmburg. I won’t require more from you then your authority grants,” he replied, giving the countersign.

  “Let us hope your authority and my authority grants us sufficient latitude,” Farmburg replied, giving the final confirmation. “If you’ll follow me, sir?”

  Giving a subtle nod, Myles followed the supposed cadet, gesturing his farewells to his fellow observers (including the three bickering Larkin Triumvirate admirals) as each of them followed their escort to their respective ‘private’ shuttles – each observation team being granted one shuttle (with accompanying Earth Alliance pilot) for the duration of the exercise. Curiosity was making it difficult for him to maintain his usual stoic air of indifference, but he bit off any words he wanted to say until they were both in the shuttle with the airlock secure.

  “So,” Myles sighed, taking his seat next to the pilot’s chair after the pre-flight communication was completed. “Mr. Farmburg, is it?”

  “Not really, sir. Lieutenant Commander, Cygni Fleet Intelligence.” A subtle pressure in their chests indicated that the shuttle was in motion. “If you want my real name badly enough, you’ll have to check with your superiors. But of course you know that.”

  “Of course,” Myles agreed good-naturedly. “Now, why did you initiate contact? You’re deep-cover, right?”

  “Yes, sir,” Farmburg agreed. “So deep that I haven’t been able to get in touch with my handler in almost a year, save for burst transmissions where I can send out my reports. Which means I need info – policy info.”

  “Ah,” Myles acknowledged. “You mean, ‘how close are we to war?’”

  “More or less,” Joel admitted. “And if there are any specific people inside of the Earth Alliance I should be keeping a close eye on.”

  Myles thought about it for a minute. “Well, I’m not really prepared to give you a real briefing, given that I’m out of the loop, myself. However, I suppose I can give you some information which you may not have access to living outside of Cygni.”

  “Anything would be appreciated, sir.”

  Stroking his chin, Myles considered just what he knew and organized it all in his mind. “Well... I suppose that the Earth Alliance is still our biggest enemy, but much of our decision on whether to pursue a war footing against them is resting on the results of this Wargame. We have no real guide as to just how good their Navy is, and we’re completely ignorant of the capabilities of their new Argus class. If our battleships can stand against theirs in a head-to-head battle evenly, then we’re in pretty good shape to attack. The Earth Alliance Navy is stretched too thin to defend all of their planets, so we should be able to assemble an attacking force large enough to overwhelm any of their planetary defenses except for those around Earth itself. However, if the Argus class is reasonably close to what their PR claims, we would be much better off going against one of our targets – likely either the Virgin Planets or Iota Draconis. Larkin might also be a secondary target, regardless of who else we fight, simply because they’ll be easy to raid and because they claim to be allied to all of our other potential targets – whether those powers agree with them or not.”

  Farmburg raised an eyebrow. “Last I heard, Pleiades was our primary alternate target. What became of that?”

  Myles shrugged. “I don’t have all the details, but in the last few months something has been happening in Pleiades that has Fleet Command downright terrified. Almost all our spies, and those we’d identified as spying on them from other powers, have… disappeared. There has been nothing in the press about this. The last report from before the disappearances mentioned something about an unusual build-up of state security forces, notable for wearing full power armor, complete with helmets, even when planetside. There was also a large amount of construction in the military sector, especially the Navy, but secrecy there was too tight for us to penetrate even before we lost most of our assets. Second-hand data retrieved from Larkin, which we believe – to our shock – is the only foreign power who still has agents in Pleiades, indicates they’ve started adapting some undisclosed advanced technology to their fleet. We think they’re preparing for war, but we don’t know why or with whom.”

  Farmburg frowned. “All of the intel inside Pleiades has been stopped? That’s... unusual.” The word he really wanted to use was ‘disturbing.’ Farmburg made a mental note to look into the Pleiades situation within Earth Alliance spheres. However, that was getting off track – he needed to bring things back to more relevant topics.

  “Does our leadership know whether Earth Alliance suspects anything – either of us or of Pleiades?”

  “They always expect us to do something,” Myles answered. “They devote many of their intelligence resources against us, and our own sources in their embassy have noted that they’re worried. They’ve had a fleet patrolling just outside of our space for quite some time, trying to project power against us. They’re as aware of the tactical situation between us as we are, and are hoping their performance in the War Games will convince us they’re too much trouble to go to war with. Their focus has been turned towards us so much that they’ve practically ignored their other borders. But they don’t seem to know how close we are, either.”

  “So, in other words, they know we are coming, but not when we’re coming.”

  “Correct.”

  Farmburg sighed heavily. “I’m greatly concerned with this news about Pleiades. I’m hesitant to start a war with Earth without knowing what they are planning.”

  Myles shrugged. “It’s not my position to create policy, nor is it yours. We just follow orders.”

  “I realize that. My concern is just that my communications from Cygni have become so spotty that I have to guess if there’s a change in policy and whether that change would effect my orders. If the situation in Pleiades is as unsettled as it seems, my more… active espionage efforts may work against our best interests.”

  Myles shrugged. “I have never been involved in the clandestine service, so I don’t know what it’s like to be out of communication with my superiors for so long. I might have the same concerns in your position. So, what do you think our policy should be?”

  Farmburg hesitated. “We raid and plunder, in the tradition of our pirate ancestors, but we don’t occupy any
territory outside of our own. We are not conquerors. Pleiades, however, is a different story – they’re imperial in nature, despite being a confederation. And they’re on a war footing. If we take out Earth’s navy, I wonder how they would react? Perhaps they might target only other power capable of challenging them?”

  Myles nodded. “Perhaps it would be better if we waited for Pleiades’ move. I’ll send your analysis up the chain of bureaucracy, and see if they can get word down to you about what to do. In the meantime, make preparations to act quickly against either Earth or Pleiades, depending on what orders you receive. And God help us if those orders lead us into folly.”

  CHAPTER XIX

  EAS Sirius, Flag Officer's Suite

  “Captain Burkhard, I know we discussed this earlier, but it’s a flag officer’s prerogative to change his mind,” Acting-Commodore Green sighed. “I hadn’t realized we would be so behind in preparation before the Wargame. We only have nine battleships and three corvettes ready to participate at the moment, and I must have everything I can stay here for defense. I cannot afford to send out anyone until we can present a show of force. The Natsugumo will be ready tomorrow, as will two of the other battleships, so maybe then—”

  “Before you make a final ruling,” Burkhard interrupted. “I think you need to consider something: Because we’re so understaffed, we must develop a little subterfuge to make our enemies think we’re more ready than we truly are. I recommend that we send all three corvettes and one battleship – let’s say the Superb, since I’ve worked with her Captain during the refits – to take up a position inside of the ‘neutral’ territory. If there’s a superior force present, we’ll jump out fast. If our forces are nearly equal force, we’ll arrange to have Chihuahua take point and skirmish with one of their corvettes to, ah, intimidate them, while holding the rest of our ships back so that they can maintain the illusion that they also have shields. If there’s an enemy presence that we feel we can easily handle, we’ll encircle them to prevent any chance that one may escape and then wipe them out. If there’s no enemy force, the Chihuahua would be the ideal ship to fly into their territory for a scouting mission – with her shields and at our maximum speed, we should be capable of avoiding combat while still flying close enough to get a good idea of how they’re forming their groups, all the while projecting a sense of strength and confidence in our own forces.”

  Green narrowed his eyes angrily. He knew, already, he wouldn’t win a debate over this plan if he allowed one – he couldn’t out-think a master of tactics like Burkhard on the tactical front, and he didn’t really have enough force to do things by the book if he expected to put in a good showing early on. Burkhard’s insubordination by interrupting him was a challenge to his authority, however, and it couldn’t be ignored. Green weighed his options briefly before coming to a decision.

  “I suppose that might work, Mr. Burkhard. However, I will not let you be in charge of the, ah, expedition. Captain Daniels will be in overall command of the squadron, with orders not to stay in the system if even a single battleship is present. The Superb is no match for an Argus, or even a lesser battleship in the Navy’s forces. I don’t want to risk the Chihuahua by having it go up against a battleship on its own just to have a chance to ‘skirmish’ with a Fleet corvette.”

  Burkhard held his gaze for a brief time, but took that in stride. He hadn’t asked for command of the squadron, and knew he wouldn’t have been given it anyway as he was the most junior commanding officer in the Academy fleet. Having someone even remotely competent in charge, like Daniels, would be better then he had hoped. As to the battleship restriction... well, it made sense in this case. Perhaps Green was better at tactics then he thought. Or perhaps he was just trying to keep some control of the situation. Either way, it was a reasonable decision.

  ——————————

  EAS Superb

  “Hello, ladies and gentleman,” Commander Jonathan Daniels began once all four captains and their staff were seated. The Superb’s conference room was large enough (and Task Force One was small enough) that each captain was able to bring their entire tactical staff as well as each ship’s official observer without crowding the table, so at the moment his position as task force commander looked more impressive than it really was. “By now, you’re all aware that what we’ve got on our hands is little more than a scouting mission. I’ve reviewed the specifics of Commodore Green’s orders, however, and have decided to... expand on them a bit, if there are no objections?”

  Lt. Commander Terry Christopher, of the Inkadh, looked a little hesitant, but Burkhard smiled and even Lt. Commander Trevor Kushner, the Ishmael’s captain, seemed confident in the idea. The staff officers, for the most part, mimicked their respective captains.

  “None from any of us, sir,” Burkhard said after a moment.

  “Before this meeting begins,” Chris Desaix said hesitantly, looking at his hand comp and not at anyone in the room. “If the intent of Green’s orders was to prevent the Fleet from learning how few ships have been refitted with Chihuahua’s upgraded capabilities, I have some information that I just learned from these briefing papers that may expand your options a bit. While we don’t want to risk your taking fire and revealing how rare our new shield technology actually is, I think the Superb should be able to open fire as well if it attacks suddenly and from a distance. I made some of the preparations to incorporate Chihuahua’s ‘special’ particle cannon modifications into the Superb while I was assisting your engineers, here. By the time we get into Fleet territory, you could have some ‘enhanced’ particle cannons available.”

  Rachel tried to hide her wince. Chris was present as a courtesy, only. He had no official position on the tactical staff, despite deserving it, but here he was speaking out of turn to the task force commander himself, without any attempts at military courtesy.

  “My apologies, sir,” Kushner said, addressing Daniels and drawing attention away from Chris. “I should also report I arranged to have similar preparations made on board the Ishmael. I have no idea how long it would take to complete them, but perhaps our own borrowed engineer, Ms. Katz, might know?” he motioned questioningly.

  Rachel flushed slightly, being put on the spot. “Well, sir, I got the emitters and heat sinks completed, but not the capacitors or external fittings. You didn’t want to let anyone know what I was doing for security purposes, and it’s impossible to hide the installation of those parts from any outside observers. The weapon can fire, as is, but for safety purposes I locked down the system, preventing it from attempting to operate as a streaming particle cannon.”

  Chris grinned slightly. “Well, at that level it shouldn’t be a problem. If all three corvettes share the fabrication work between them, we should be able to have the streaming particle cannons done for Ishmael in under an hour, as well.”

  That was news to most people in the room – and a bit confusing, as well, since most of the junior officers had no idea what the special modifications were to the Chihuahua. A slow murmuring started among the crowd, and Daniels looked rather annoyed at the interruptions. Burkhard, though, was grinning widely.

  “Streaming particle cannons on both your flagship and another corvette – that is worth our time, don’t you think, sir?”

  Daniels rolled his eyes. He had come to expect such a lack of discipline, being related (by marriage) to Burkhard, but he hadn’t expected the man’s officers to be just like him. Unlike some in the Navy, however, he wasn’t so uptight about discipline that he let it get in the way of sound judgment, but verbal reprimand was in order at the very least.

  “Of course, Captain Burkhard,” he sighed. “However, in the future, I would appreciate it if you and your officers remembered the formalities. Everyone here will have their say, in time, even if we retain the order and discipline most navies – including our own – proscribe.”

  “Yes, sir,” They answered in unison.

  “Very good. That being said, your information suggests th
at we are more battle-ready than I expected, which may change our plans.” He noticed one of his more disciplined officers fidgeting, and sighed. “Captain Christopher, do you have a comment?”

  The captain of the Inkadh nodded his head. “Yes, sir. I hate to say this, considering the condition of our other ships, but I have yet to pass my ship through inspection as ‘battle-ready.’ We are, however, flight-ready. Work is in progress, and if we had another few days we’d probably be up to battle-ready standards.”

  Daniels nodded. “I was informed of that by Commodore Green, but don’t worry. While I can’t give you that much time to finish repairs, your part in the plan should keep you out of combat. I have another task for your ship:

  “Despite being a contemporary of Phoebe class ships like Kushner’s Ishmael, your Inkadh was a unique design. While your engineers report states that much of your internal electronics had to be replaced to get her spaceworthy, your ship still has her original sensor package. Is that correct?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Daniels nodded. “Most modern sensor suites concentrate on improving short to medium range ships sensors at the cost of long-range sensors. The current doctrine replaces these long-range sensors with coordinated multi-ship arrays, allowing for more resolution and detail the more ships are included. However, the long range sensors on board your ship have been left untouched from the old doctrine, where ships would be better equipped for independent action rather than fleet activity. Inkadh was designed to be an independent scout, so her long-range sensors were high-end even under the old doctrine. Your one ship’s sensors might not be as good as we could get if we had a dozen ships to co-ordinate with, but they are far better than anything we have. I daresay, they are better than we could manage even with a coordinated sensor scan using all of the ships in this first strike expedition.”