by D. J. Holmes
“Am I the last one to arrive again?” James asked his Chief of Staff when he met Lieutenant Commander Scott outside Golden Hind’s operations room.
Scott nodded and shot him a grin. “Indeed you are Vice Admiral. The privilege of holding senior command, everyone else has to wait on you.”
Instead of waving for Scott to proceed him, James took two quick steps and got in front of her. “Well at least I won’t be the last one to take their seat.” He smoothed the cheeky expression off his face as he passed through the hatch and faced his subordinates. “At ease,” he said before anyone could jump to their feet. “Let me take my seat and we will begin.” As he sat, he grabbed the datapad prepared for him. A quick glance informed him that the agenda hadn’t altered in the last hour. “Well, it looks like we are beginning with Lieutenant Alveraz. Would you kindly update us on the latest intelligence from Earth?”
“Certainly,” Alveraz said as he stood.
James couldn’t help shooting him a small smile. Alveraz was originally from the US Colonial Fleet. They had met when James had been appointed Supreme Commander of Earth’s defenses. James had been impressed with Alveraz’s intellect and had requested Alveraz be transferred to his command staff when he had been appointed to command the forces guarding X-38 and the surrounding systems. Over the past three and a half years Alveraz hadn’t let him down.
“As you know,” Alveraz continued after nodding to James to acknowledge his smile, “an updated strategic report came in with our latest reinforcements. Its main focus was on the future of the United Nations military build-up. In short, the vote to continue our current construction rates failed to pass. As a result, construction levels will decrease by fifteen percent per year over the next four years and then plateau unless a new military funding proposal can be passed.”
Though James kept his face impassive, serval of his staff didn’t and Emilie groaned. James turned to her and raised an eyebrow. Her cheeks reddened at once and she suddenly found something very interesting to stare at between her feet. James shook his head slightly in amusement and looked back to Alveraz. Holding the rank of a lowly Sub Lieutenant, his niece was the most junior officer in his staff, though that was the required rank for his communications officer. Scott had picked her to replace James’ last communications officer who had been promoted. Initially James had refused the idea. He didn’t want anyone thinking Emilie had achieved the position through favoritism. When Scott had pointed out that she was eminently qualified and, more importantly, that if she wasn’t appointed to the Outer Defense Fleet her career would stagnate, James had acquiesced. He already knew that most of the higher-ranking UN officials detested him, and that had carried over into the senior UN Naval Admirals they had appointed. They had happily appointed him to command the Outer Defense Fleet to get him as far away from Earth as possible. He hadn’t realized their spite had been spilling over onto Emilie. She had completed her training at the RSN Lunar academy and been allowed to keep her field promotion to Sub Lieutenant, yet she hadn’t been given an active commission, despite the rapidly expanding UN Fleet’s thirst for officers.
Alveraz cleared his throat in an effort to cover up a smile. “Though I’m sure none of us agree with the wisdom the UN Interplanetary Committee has shown in this matter, the situation is not likely to change any time soon so we must operate accordingly.”
James nodded and made a mental note to send a message to President Koroylov of the Russian Republic. Koroylov was one of the only national leaders who was pushing for the UN to keep expanding its fleet. He would have a far better idea of when, if at all, an increased military budget would be passed. The initial budget had been set just after the formation of the UN fleet. It had been passed in fear due to the Flex-aor invasion and Russian Siege of Earth. After five years, political and popular support for such high levels of military spending was waning.
“Moreover,” Alveraz added, “there will be a shift in the distribution of the newly constructed ships as they complete their space trials. Up until this point our Outer Defense Fleet has been receiving forty percent of all new construction. Forty percent was being held back in the Sol system as a strategic reserve, and twenty percent distributed throughout the Human Sphere to protect our other colonies. From now on, we will switch places with the rest of the Human Sphere and will receive just twenty percent of new construction.”
More than one of James’ subordinates let out a groan or some other complaint. Rachel Beckett, James’ Flag Captain went so far as to voice her concerns. “Surely that makes no sense Lieutenant. We have less than two hundred and forty ships in our fleet, not counting our most recent reinforcements. The Flex-aor invasion force numbered in the thousands. The fleet that faced them at Connecticut had more than six hundred ships and we barely won. How can they expect us to stop a second Flex-aor invasion with more reinforcements just trickling in? Did they include any miracle battle tactics for us to use in the latest intelligence report you haven’t come to yet?”
Alveraz looked at the gathered officers, clearly unsure how to answer. Before James could intervene, Scott beat him to it. “Let’s not shoot the messenger people. I’m sure Alveraz is as upset as the rest of us. We’ve been working our socks off for the last three years getting this fleet formed into the force it now is. If the Flex-aor do come back, we’re readier to face them than I thought we would be. Given the bureaucratic nightmare we all know the UN is, it is a minor miracle we have the fleet we have.”
“Of course,” Becket conceded. “I wasn’t having a go Lieutenant,” she added as she looked back at Alveraz. “I’m sure you appreciate the difficult strategic situation we are in as much as I do.”
“I do,” Alveraz said as he visibly relaxed. “I’m not in favor of the strategic thinking coming out of New York any more than you are. Yet they are the cards we are being dealt.”
“Indeed,” James agreed. “As much as I share Becket’s sentiments, Scott has a point. Golden Hind is worth three pre-UN battleships in a straight up fight. And if we add in our Spitfire squadron, we could maybe take on four. Right down the line our entire fleet can boast similar improvements over the older models of ships they have replaced. Though our numbers are less, if we have to face the Flex-aor, we will give a good account of ourselves. I’m not saying we could fend off a full invasion. You all know how our simulated engagements have panned out. Yet we would seriously blunt any future invasion. Our problem is that the UN diplomats and Admirals know that. Hence these new decisions. I imagine many back in the Sol system are nervous about having so much of Humanity’s fighting power concentrated in one system so far from Earth. If another attack was to materialize from a different vector, we would be caught with our pants down. Plus, it is no secret how I feel about the UN and its military build-up. If it was up to me, we would have at least tripled our military spending over the last five years. It’s also no secret that for most UN officials, the animosity I feel is mutual. I’m not surprised they don’t want more ships coming under my command.”
“That just shows their foolishness,” Becket added.
James rolled his eyes. “It’s a good thing they don’t request full transcripts of these staff meetings. If they did, I think you’d be replaced even quicker than me.”
“I think we would all be in trouble,” Scott suggested. “But the day the Interplanetary Committee decides to go that far is the day I resign. It’s hard enough to keep your complaints out of the minutes I have to prepare. Is it any wonder your Flag Captain is learning from your example?”
Though James knew Scott was teasing him, he made an appropriately contrite face. She had a point; he was meant to be a positive example. “I think we might all resign if that day comes,” he said. “Now, Alveraz, do you have any positive news?”
“Well,” Alveraz began and then paused as he scrolled through his notes. “There are a few minor updates you can read in your own time regarding new ship designs and other planning strategies. There isn’t much in there that
will change our strategic situation in the next year or two. There has been no sign of any Flex-aor activity on any of our other border systems. I suppose that is good news. Two new systems have been discovered. One on the edge of Chinese space and the other on the edge of the German colonies. Their fate is being decided by the Interplanetary Committee. Oh, yes, deep within the latest brief was a petition from Admiral Jil’lal Lackesh. She has requested that the Vesterians be allowed to dispatch a support fleet to X-38 to supplement our forces defending this system.”
“Trust Jil’lal to be looking out for us when no one else is,” James said with a nod.
“Or perhaps it is your wife we should be thanking,” Scott suggested. “I could easily imagine her giving Jil’lal a hint or two to make such a suggestion.”
“Yes,” James said as he silently berated himself for not seeing Suzanna’s hand behind Jil’lal’s request. “That’s exactly the sort of thing she would do.” He lapsed into silence as he tried to think of what else his wife might be doing to aid him. She was no longer the British Governor of Haven. Neither of them were particularly liked by the new British Prime Minister and her government. Thankfully Pennington, the former First Councilor of Haven, had been selected to replace her as Governor after Pennington’s term had finished. The new government might be vindictive but they weren’t completely stupid; they knew they needed to replace Suzanna with someone the people of Haven trusted.
After being relieved of her position Suzanna had returned to Haven where the Haven people, as if to make a statement to the British Government, had elected her their new First Councilor. As such, she was trying to use her influence to boost X-38’s defenses. She knew how concerned he was about the Flex-aor threat.
“What is the likelihood that the UN will accept the request?” Becket asked.
Alveraz shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. They could say yes in the hope it might give them a stronger reason to keep saying no to our requests for more ships. Or they could say no simply because they don’t want any more focus being placed on X-38.”
“If they did say yes, how long would it take the Vesterians to get a fleet here Ivanov?” Beckett followed up. “And how many ships might they bring?”
All eyes turned to James’ operation’s officer. Kirstie Ivanov had been personally recommended to James by President Koroylov and James hadn’t been able to refuse. Now that he had come to know her over the last three years, he was glad he hadn’t. Though she was quiet, she was competent.
“They have been working on increasing their logistical capabilities ever since they sent a fleet to fight against President Koroylov’s fleet,” Ivanov began. “I think they have a permanent operational capability to field a fleet anywhere in Human space and keep them in supply for six months. They could dispatch a fleet to us tomorrow if they got permission. I couldn’t say for sure how many ships they could keep in supply for such a length of time, but it must be at least as many as they sent to fight in our last war.”
“Perhaps we will get some unexpected reinforcement after all,” James surmised. “Scott, make a note to include some battle simulations with Vestarian warships in our next cycle. If Jil’lal does show up, I want our forces to be familiar with her fleet’s capabilities.”
“Yes Admiral,” Scott replied.
“Anything else to report?” he asked as he turned back to Alveraz.
“Just one other piece of good news,” Alveraz responded. “It seems that as yet, there has been no move to decrease the funding for X-38’s defenses by the United Colonies and British Star Kingdom.”
“Well that’s something,” Becket agreed. “If the Flex-aor do come in strength, at least we’ll be able to hide our fleet behind a wall of orbital battlestations.”
This time James allowed himself to release a grunt of disapproval.
“Let’s not have this debate again,” Scott said hastily.
“No problem,” James replied. “That is an argument for another day.” Over the last five years he had concluded that orbital defenses were a waste of investment. It was too easy for fleets to ignore them and move on through a system to attack an easier system. Huge amounts of resources were being piled into the X-38 system and many other systems that could be better spent on warships that could protect multiple systems rather than just one planet. He had tried to bring up the subject with the UN Admirals, but none would listen. Even among his own Admirals and Captains in the Outer Defense Fleet it was a debated subject. It was hard for officers that had grown up believing in the significance of fixed defenses to jettison the importance most gave to them. James felt Koroylov’s Siege of Earth had proved that large battlestations were not the direction the UN fleet should be going in. Yet not many others had learnt that lesson.
“If there is nothing else Alveraz, perhaps Commander Miyamoto can update us on our reinforcements,” Scott suggested.
“By all means,” James agreed with a nod. Miyamoto was a recommendation from Rear Admiral Sato. Sato was James’ second in command in the Outer Defense Fleet and he commanded the fleet’s second battleship squadron. James’ first tactical officer had been promoted to command a destroyer and Sato had provided a replacement from his own staff.
“Certainly Admiral,” Miyamoto said excitedly. “Medium cruiser divisions fourteen and nineteen arrived today. That brings medium cruiser squadrons four and five up to full strength. Accompanying the new medium cruisers was destroyer squadron twelve under the command of Commodore Davies, formerly of the United Colonial Fleet. The four cruisers were all Protector class cruisers and the destroyer squadron is made up of refitted British Centurion destroyers. The reinforcements bring us up to two hundred and forty-eight warships in our fleet.”
“Does anyone know Davies or the other Captains that have joined us?” Becket asked.
Everyone in the briefing room looked around at each other and several shoulders were shrugged. “Shall I invite them over for a meal Admiral?” Becket followed up when it was clear the newcomers were all unknown entities.
“That sounds good, I’ll leave it in your hands,” James replied. “Invite the commanders of medium cruiser squadrons four and five as well so they can meet their subordinates. Scott, let’s arrange some simulated engagements with medium cruiser squadrons four and five against squadrons one and two for tomorrow. I’m sure the newcomers will be rusty and it will do them good to see how far behind they are. Pick a destroyer squadron as well and arrange for Commodore Davies’ ships to sim against them.”
“Aye Admiral,” Scott replied.
“Is there anything else of note before we move on to our normal briefing material?” James asked.
“There is actually,” Yue Fei said.
Every eye turned to the fleet logistics officer. It was rare for the Chinese national to contribute much during the regular planning meetings. As long as the defense fleet had the supplies it needed, his role in deciding the fleet’s training exercises and operational procedures was minimal. That said, James greatly valued what Yue did. Behind the scenes, Yue took a great deal of the workload of running such a massive fleet out of James’ hands. “We are all ears,” James said as Yue paused, waiting for approval to continue.
“With your permission Admiral,” Yue replied as he gestured towards the room’s holo-projector.
James nodded. “Of course.”
In front of everyone a standard looking missile appeared. When James looked at Yue, it was clear there was more to what he was looking at. The logistics officer looked more excited than James had ever seen him.
“This is the Mark I Longbow missile,” Yue said as he raised his chin. “Several thousand have arrived with the latest supply fleet.” There was a gleam in his eyes and he was clearly waiting for a response. He didn’t have to wait long.
“Seriously? We have Longbows already? I thought they were at least six months away from completing their trials,” Miyamoto exclaimed.
“The estimate for completing their space trials was conserv
ative. It had initially been planned to test them for more than a year before going into production. Yet within six months all the bugs had been worked out. We’ve been given the first production run,” Yue explained. “There are enough of them to provide every warship in our fleet with one salvo. It will take nearly a week to transfer the missiles across, but it shouldn’t be too hard to split the missiles across every ship in the fleet. That is if you want to divide them up evenly Admiral?”
“Run me through their specs first. I’ve heard of the Longbows, but it seems some of you are more up-to-date on their capabilities than I am,” James requested.
Yue looked to Miyamoto and Scott. When Scott nodded to him, he smiled. “The Longbow missiles are the first two-stage missiles we have developed. Stage one essentially consists of a normal anti-ship missile with some of its fuel cells removed. It has a slightly reduced powered range of twenty-five minutes compared to our current anti-ship missiles powered range of thirty. However, after those twenty-five minutes of acceleration, the rear of the missile is jettisoned and two smaller missiles released. They can travel on a ballistic course for as long as we want, and then, at a prearranged time, power up their engines for a powered flight of five minutes. Five minutes is all they need though. Given their smaller size, they are small enough to take advantage of the new inertial compensators our Spitfires and AM missiles use.
