by Ava D. Dohn
*
(**Originally, I had included a great deal of the following information in the narrative on the Council of Eighty , but later chose to remove it to better retain the continuity of the account. Deciding these details might be of added value to the determined reader, I have included the original draft of this portion of the Council of Eighty here, at the end of this chapter:
They began with projected, three-dimensional maps of the Empire. Gabrielle offered, “For ease of explanation, we use Palace City to define location. Through it runs the center matrix, or starting point of all quadrants. North, south, east, west, are easy to comprehend. For the third dimension, we use the term Q-North for up and away from the Palace and Q-South for the opposite direction. That understood, allow us to inform you of our strategy.”
“Far to the east-northeast by Q-South, lays our most vulnerable territories, with the Trizentine just beyond. It is a sparsely populated area, maybe a few hundred thousand inhabitants, but it is among the oldest of the territories. The Stasis pirates are quite troublesome in this arena and a disproportionate number of our ships have been stationed there to protect the scattered colonies.”
“To the north, Q-North to Q-South, sits the Northern Rim. The Kalahnit Straits are located on the inner hip of the Rim. There are several planets here that we have use of to maintain control of this jump portal, Avery being the most notable of them.”
“In the west, Q-North to Q-South, the Fourth Fleet patrols as far as the Chrusion Star System. There are only a few known jump portals in all these quadrants. The risk of invasion from this area is slim, but not impossible. For the time being, we will leave about half the Fourth Fleet in the area and move the remainder into the southern sphere where immediate support will most likely be needed.”
“The Hindly Page...Stargaton holds sway over this portal. We currently have in our possession this planet and its star system. It will not be easy to defend. During the six major wars, it has changed sides fourteen times. The fortress, Mordem, is our key city on this miserable rock. Yet, without the use of the Hindly Page, we lose our defense of the entire eastern quadrants north, past the Frontier. And to the south, our hold on Eden’s gate, which is already tenuous, would be dangerously threatened.”
“This brings us to our most important strategic point of defense...Eden’s Gate. As many of you already know, this was the most hotly contested arena of the last war. The reason for our victory over Asotos’ armies was the taking and holding of this one jump portal. We realize how great his desire is to take it back and, should he accomplish it, our forces may have to abandon all things, save our local star system. The enemy would then have virtual reign over the entire Middle Realm and most of the First. Once he entrenched in those new positions, I doubt that even massed assaults could drive him away.”
“At the present time, we have too few properly fitted ships to even adequately patrol our territories and trade routes. The fleet is aging, with over ninety percent dating from the Great War or before. The bulk of our fighting force is made up of cutters, barks, and smaller frigates...about three thousand in total. Large frigates, cruisers and small capital ships amount to about two hundred seventy-five, while all remaining capital ships and carriers are less than forty.”
“Now, for our fighter squadrons little can be said. The newest fighter is still based on the TKR-series, with some version of the ‘17’ being our best frontline ship. These are still very good craft. Trouble is, there are too few. The backbone of the fighter force is still the TKR-14, and most of them are as old as the fleet. The total number of all fighter craft, including the heavies, amount to fewer than twelve thousand, and most of them are scattered across our countless outposts and small bases.”
She summed up the dismal numbers. “The Empire is too vast for us to successfully defend it all. Our forces are not sufficient to protect the entire Empire. Asotos will strike us somewhere, and he will strike fiercely, having the advantage of surprise as to where and when. It is unlikely we will receive more than scant warning to gather our fleets and armies to stave off the attack, and even if we were to do so, I feel it would be of little value. Like the giant octopus, Asotos’ military machine is powerful and has many limbs, allowing it to attack on many fronts. His first forays shall be done to probe our defenses or excite us into chasing shadows. We must not allow him the pleasure of finding an exposed flank we opened by doing such a thing.”
“So, we are going to have to act accordingly. The enemy will strike and we will be forced to shrink back, abandoning cities, planets, and even star systems. This will happen regardless of the resistance put up to stop it. We have no choice.”
“All reports indicate that our enemy’s strategy is to move quickly, strike fast and hard, create dismay and confusion, and hurry on to the next objective. Our prepared resistance, albeit small as it sometimes might be, will still slow down his timetable, thus forcing his use of more supplies and war materials. It is hoped that his warehouses are not sufficiently filled for a protracted war, eventually blunting the spearhead of his army, as it begins suffering shortages of various kinds.”
“These two things, the inability to disengage and supply shortages, can be troublesome enough, but we have even prepared other treats that await our brother. Specially trained contingency forces will remain behind in captured lands to offer their greetings to the invaders. Their job will be to terrorize the occupying army, disrupt communications, destroy supplies and transportation, and to neutralize any and all leadership.”
“Our brothers from the Crimson Fleet have offered their ships to our service. These will do search and destroy, not only against the Stasis Pirates and enemy convoys, but some of the Tarezabarian ships will be dispersed throughout the hunter fleets - the wolf packs - if I may be allowed to borrow a phrase from the Second Realm.” She glanced over to General Finhardt, who smiled back. “These ships of the wolfpacks shall be responsible for finding enemy supply lines. They will communicate locations with other ships and will join into packs to attack, en mass, against lightly defended convoys.”
“The Tarezabarians have also offered to be dispersed among various ships within the fleets. Their dialect is unknown to our ears, making their common speech like some secret code. This will allow for rapid communication among our ships, while confusing the enemy.”
“As we pull back, our military will become more compressed. Our transportation, communication and support lines will be short and well-defined. At a moment yet to be determined, we will trip the hammer! An assault on all fronts will simultaneously be opened against Asotos’ armies! Like a swinging sledge, it will smash against our antagonist, its shock sending him reeling! If successful, this punch will be the start of the campaign to drive Asotos from this Realm!”
She then strongly cautioned, “Success here should lead to victory later. But let me warn you, the victory will come at an unprecedented cost! We expect thirty to fifty percent casualties of all enlisted personnel with the winning of this war!”
Planetee detailed how the Marine officers ranked within the interdisciplinary relationships between both the Army and Navy. “Although always united under one field marshal, the chain of command structure has remained somewhat different in either department of service. The acting captain of any ship has been recognized as the traditional authority in deciding who should stand the bridge in the event of his or her absence. Should a higher-ranking officer be aboard at such a time, the acting captain may still choose whichever officer he or she desires, and that choice customarily remains final. A junior officer succeeding the captain commands the ship with the same authority of his or her successor, and that junior officer need not be selected in order of rank among those of the junior officers aboard.”
“It has been decided by the chiefs of staff to follow similar procedures for the Marine Officer Corps when it comes to taking the bridge except…if a higher ranking Marine officer comes aboard while anot
her Marine has the bridge, the senior officer, while not disturbing ship’s command, will automatically take charge of the Marine troops. The reason for this is that Marine commanders will often find themselves with mixed combat units. Using the Army’s method of having responsibilities fall upon the highest ranking officer present reduces confusion as to who the lower echelon of soldiers are to receive orders from.”
“As to the inter-relationship between the Navy and themselves, generally Marine officers will not interfere with the administration of the ship they are on. But this I do want you to understand: A Marine officer of the rank of major or above is a superior ranking officer to the captain on board that ship and may, if necessity warrants, act like a commodore or admiral, and seize command. In that event, the choice of command structure for the ship and its crew will fall to the Marine officer who now controls the bridge, and this will remain such until command is voluntarily surrendered or naval admiralty officially decides differently.”
Planetee explained some of the minor details concerning the training of new officer recruits and pointed out that all Marines would be given special military training. All future officers were to be drawn from active military personnel.
The words of Centurion General SarahCnidus were few. “From the ranks of your military forces, my students will be gathered. The best and most cunning will disappear into the darkness. Our ships shall hunt down the weak and unwary. Our troopers shall decimate the secured encampments. Our very purpose is to heap as much harm and confusion upon our opponent as is possible.”
“The joint commanders have given me their full support. I will be coordinating activities with them and will be able to supply needed information regarding enemy troop movements and activities. If my people do their jobs well, neither you...nor the enemy...will be aware of our presence or activities until our missions are finished.” She turned and silently drifted back to her seat, saying nothing more.
Field Marshal TrishaQaShaibJal stood and took the floor. She began with defining the new restructuring of the Army. “Each army unit is to be composed of a given number of corps, that number to be decided by need of efficiency and enlistment. Between two and ten divisions are to be allotted each corps, with each division having from four to six brigades. In turn, each brigade will contain six regiments, and each regiment will be composed of six companies. An infantry company will have five hundred soldiers, excluding officers and adjuncts. Cavalry, motorized combat, sea and air fleet, armor and transportation commands are all integral to the success of our infantry. Their structure is similar in makeup, as to my afore-described arrangements, but with greater flexibility of formation and unit size, which will be decided as need dictates by the corps commander.”
“These aforementioned units are designed around supporting the infantry divisions and brigades, operating under the direction of those respective commanders. They will remain fluid enough to act as infantry support, or when necessity dictates, act as independent, compact, mechanized fighting arms. It is also noteworthy to point out that the size and scope of such units is currently limited because of our manufacturing abilities. Infantry soldiers are relatively easy to equip and train, so their growth in numbers is already outstripping the support elements of our military machine. It will be necessary to have mechanized forces if the invasion of MueoPoros is to be successful.”
“We are enacting a ‘recall and salvage’ operation to help bolster these forces. In general, defending a position in a delaying action requires mainly ground support troops combined with naval action. For this reason, in designated areas believed to be untenable, we will begin to remove heavy machines of war, mechanized weapons, aircraft, surface ships, and other machinery. We hope to scuttle whatever remains behind. To assist with future manufacturing, we will also dismantle factories and other important systems in danger areas, relocating them to safer territories.”
“If the battle is to be won, it will be done by the hands and with the blood of volunteers! Yet there will be some necessary actions forced upon us that we regret must be taken. In areas of high risk of capture, our armies will be forced to deprive the enemy of their plunder. We are forced to recognize the need to remove or destroy any supplies or properties benefiting the enemy. If possible, a record will be made of such losses to individuals and, when practicable, they will be compensated for their loss. This does not apply to loss caused by the enemy through combat or occupation.”
“It has also been decided that all possible effort will be advanced to help local inhabitants desiring to escape danger of being trapped in enemy occupied territories. Safe transport to secure locations is even now being offered to any requesting it.”)
