Yesterday, two more ships from the League of Planets had arrived to join Frozos’s forces. These ships were ones that Robert had recognized from his days on Nayan: supertanker transporters. They are more than 50 percent larger than the hull of the transport destroyers, which Admiral Tiberius captains, and have a similar hull design and coloring, but they lack the semi-red spheres on which the destroyers sit. These ships are the backbone of the League’s interplanetary supply chains, moving food and raw materials across the galaxy. Transport destroyers would often escort a handful of these ships when moving through contested zones.
“Good morning, Jake,” Robert begins. “I suspect you have news for me regarding those supertankers?
“Yes, good morning to you. About three hours ago, we began monitoring activity on these ships as the rear of the hulls opened and small crafts began taking materials out.” Thornhill flips the feed to a split screen between the command center and the satellite feed of the goings-on in space. Small drone crafts are pulling metal piping from out of the transport ship and assembling it so that Frozos’s fleet is between Earth and the space construction site. Very little is apparent as construction is very early stages, but it does appear to be in the shape of a curve.
“Okay, Jake. We need to begin prepping Operation Selena, obviously very discreetly. Let’s also alert the military representatives of all participating nations that we will be holding a conference call in thirty minutes. Please pull together all the pictures or video images you can to buttress our case.”
Robert turns to Anna. “There likely will be military action today. Your group won’t be involved, so I want you here to watch it as I think that will be valuable experience. However, I don’t want the military officials to know I have a pilot with me.”
“I can leave and you can bring me back,” she offers.
“No, I don’t want to do anything that could possibly arouse suspicion. There’s no margin for error in this part of the game. So, I’m sorry, but could you sit over in the corner of the room so you are out of sight of the camera?”
“Yes, no problem.”
“Thanks.”
Chapter 17
New Mexico
April 17, 2029
Robert Wilson is sitting in the makeshift communications office of the joint PEACE-Air Force Base in New Mexico. In the dingy room, it is just him, a few communications aides, and Group Commander Anna Small who is sitting out of sight of the camera; Robert is sure she thinks him overly cautious or paranoid. On the screen, there are three images, that of Jake Thornhill, images from outer space, showing the space construction, and a mosaic of faces from all the military representatives. There are 117 nations in PEACE, and ninety-eight military officials have logged in. It’s possible more will join, but it is 11:17 AM, two minutes after the scheduled start time, so Robert is eager to begin.
“Thank you for all being here. I am hoping to get your input and support on a planned PEACE operation to respond to what I view an imminent threat occurring more than forty thousand miles from Earth’s surface, which is our primary function. First, though, I will turn it to Jake Thornhill to provide the facts of the situation before I offer my analysis.”
Thornhill goes through a ten-minute presentation, showing the arrival of the supertanker transporters, the nature of the ships—as cargo-carrying vessels rather than ships of war—and the construction developments that are now nearing their fourth hour. It is a to-the-point, just-the-facts presentation that is appreciated as credible and even-handed by all on the call. As Thornhill prepares to turn it over to Robert, the South Korean representative interrupts.
“Thank you, General Thornhill. Tell me though, how the arrival of nonmilitary spacecrafts would constitute an imminent military threat.”
“I’ll take that,” Robert says. “We know Frozos wants to build a speedway above Earth. I do not know the technical nature of speedways or hyperdrive, but I would suggest they are beginning to build the opening of a portal they can control. Based on the extrapolated dimensions of the curve, it could fit two of those supertankers at one time. If we let them build it, they could bring in dozens of ships in a short order, which could overwhelm any military capacity we could build.” The part about not knowing the technical details is a bit of a fib, but he needs to get these people on his side.
In response, the American representative enters the conversation. “I sympathize with this perspective, Commander Wilson. But it seems you are laying out a potential future military threat rather than what I think we meant for imminent to mean.”
“Yes, but I’d rather strike now to impair their potential to develop not just an imminent threat but an insurmountable one, General,” Robert says, bitingly.
Thornhill reinserts himself before tensions flare. “If I may add a point. The question of imminence gets to motivations. If they build a portal for commercial purposes primarily but which could be used for military purposes, that’s a potential but not imminent threat. But a portal intended primarily for military purposes with other secondary uses would be imminent. We know that Frozos has said we will face repercussions, and they have already launched multiple strikes on the force field, seventeen in one day last week and in recent days several strikes, admittedly for apparent research purposes. The motive of the capacity buildout to me is clearly military.”
“Tell me,” the Russian Defense Minister asks, “Do you have knowledge the force field is not impenetrable? Otherwise, no threat outside it would be imminent.”
“No, Madam Secretary,” Robert replies. “To my knowledge and everyone who has worked on it, we do not see a way through. But I don’t think the existence of bulletproof glass should make one tolerate an ever-increasing number of guns pointed in their direction.”
“Yes, but I want to get to the risk versus reward of the operation. Tell me, if you wanted to fly a squadron from, let’s say, your New Mexico base to blow it up, you’d have to at least temporarily turn off the force field to let them through, no?”
“That’s correct.”
“While the force field is off, it would be possible for their ships to enter our atmosphere, no?”
“Correct, though only briefly. Likely under two minutes,” Robert responds, confidently. He had been hoping for this line of questioning.
“So, I agree a speedway portal is an imminent threat, but it may not be realizable. To combat this threat, you’d create a realizable imminent threat by turning off our best protection, temporarily. That’s poor risk versus reward.”
Murmurs on the call indicate broad agreement for this point.
“I can sympathize with that point, Madam Secretary. Let me ask a question back. If I could launch an attack, only on the supertanker transport ships to signal our opposition to a speedway but without engaging in provocative action against the military vessels, and without ever having to turn off Earth’s force field, would that be a risk versus reward you would support?”
“Well, I suppose, yes I would, but that’s not this situation.”
“Actually,” Thornhill chimes in, as planned, “we have a contingency plan, Selena, that I believe will meet your criteria.”
Dovetailing the retired General, Robert adds, “I do not need your approval, but I very much want it. It is important that PEACE be seen as acting legitimately to ensure support on Earth and to signal to our opponents that were united as one planet. I think you will find this plan is low-risk and will take out an imminent threat to our ability to prevail in potential further military conflicts.”
After a further ten minutes of discussion, there is an anonymous nonbinding vote of 84–17. It is then agreed that the participating nations would provide unanimous support for PEACE’s operation when details are disclosed subsequent to its completion.
Admiral Tyrone Tiberius is standing in the conn of his ship, staring at Earth. Every few minutes, he peppers his radar and communications teams w
ith demands for an update. Earlier, at about 10:50 AM in New Mexico, Tiberius’s satellite cameras discovered that SF-01s were being moved from storage and onto active runways. Tiberius hopes that Robert has taken the bait and will try to blow up the beginnings of the speedway gate. Tiberius has amassed all of his fleet’s firepower pointed down at Earth to capitalize on what he assumed would be a brief few minutes to get as many ships as possible inside of Earth’s atmosphere to reap devastation. He doubts he could get enough ships in to conquer the planet, but just enough to destroy several cities. He hopes that will be sufficient to torpedo confidence in Robert’s leadership and cause the planet to capitulate. At the least, it will show much needed progress to an increasingly agitated Frozos.
It’s now 11:35 AM, and there is still no sign of action from Earth’s runways. Tiberius is nervously pacing back and forth across the conn, wondering what is taking so long.
“Planes are taking off, Admiral!” a radar specialist shouts.
“Are they near the edge of the atmosphere?” Tiberius asks, prepared to send his ships even closer to the edge of the force field.
“No, they appear to be circling low, waiting for more jets to take off.”
“Smart,” Tiberius concedes. “He wants them flying tight together to minimize the time he turns off the force field. Tell all ships to inch closer to the atmosphere’s edge.” The entire fleet, except for Frozos’s ship, Magnus, are within 1,000 miles of the force field and more than 100,000 miles away from the portal. Magnus is about 25,000 miles behind Tiberius’s destroyer. Suddenly, a massive explosion shakes the entire conn.
“What was that?!” Tiberius demands. Mayday calls are pouring in from one of the supertankers, which is on fire. 500 SF-01s are flying around the nascent construction site, making quick work of the cursory defense force of seventy-five small crafts.
“Admiral! What should we do? Supertanker 1’s shields have suffered catastrophic breaches. Supertanker 2 is trying to fly toward us, but two hundred bogies are attacking it.” The communications team shouts as the conn descends into near panic.
Tiberius is momentarily frozen. He doesn’t understand how so many ships slipped past his radar but is afraid this is a trap to get him to turn his back on Earth and leave himself vulnerable to the building assault. “Send Destroyer C and its team of small crafts, full speed. Maximize enemy casualties. A and B hold positions to prepare for a second wave from Earth.”
Meanwhile, the 500 SF-01s are zig-zagging across the construction site, shredding the metal frame. One fighter has been lost to sixty-eight League planes who were totally unprepared for an attack from their rear. Just as Destroyer C turns to head to the construction site, there is a massive explosion from the already burning, rudderless Supertanker 1. The fires apparently reached the fuel cells, causing the entire ship to explode in a blindingly bright ball of fire, that must be visible from the Asian nations the fleet is flying above.
Supertanker 2, virtually defenseless against the high-speed SF-01, is enduring waves of attacks. Nearly 200 SF-01s are flying in a series of V-formations of twenty-four planes firing down at the top of the hull, before rolling and circling back to hit its underside. The repeated sprayings of hundreds of laser bullets have pierced through the outer shields. The supertanker’s engines have stopped, and the ship is now floating helplessly away from Earth with ever-intensifying fires.
With the speediest crafts from Destroyer C Group nearing the fleet of SF-01s, they are recalled to base, having achieved the mission. They turn away from the second supertanker and move full-speed to the moon. At full speed, they seem to travel at least as fast as the League’s small crafts. By the time the last of the SF-01s is close enough to the moon for the force field to be turned on, the nearest League plane is still over 30,000 miles away. Just subsequent to the reemergence of the moon’s force field, the second supertanker explodes, its fires having grown uncontrollable.
Utterly defeated and humiliated, Tiberius collapses into his captain’s chair in the conn, head resting on his hand. “Tell me, have the planes on Earth landed yet?”
With a gulp, the radar aide says, “Yes, the jets are landing and tarmacs clearing. It was a diversion.” Tiberius is beside himself; he had never contemplated the possibility of an already-existing base of SF-01s on the moon. At the same time, he is puzzled that Robert spared the entire fleet when he could have launched a devastating attack on the transport destroyers or Magnus even, in all likelihood. This defeat was a horrible psychological blow and would greatly slow the military ramp-up outside Earth, but it did not impair their existing capabilities.
“Sir,” the communications team reads out, “We have a message from Magnus. Supreme General demands the fleet return to Magnus and for Admiral Tiberius’s attendance immediately.”
“Steering, bring the ship back twenty thousand miles, and prepare my personal vessel.” Tiberius fears his end is near in the retirement-assignment from Hell. Still, he is holding out a little hope that his one last gamble could buy him a bit more time.
Back in New Mexico and Jersey City, the mood is ebullient. Operation Selena was a tremendous success. Tiberius fell for the earthly diversions, allowing the fleet of SF-01s from Arbor Ridge’s old moon base, now a PEACE property, to launch a sneak attack. There are over 600 planes on the moon, having been secretly flown up in December before Nick Neverian took office as President. Robert had kept this close to the chest, knowing they only had one chance for a moon sneak attack. To Chris Bailey, Mark Morrison, and Jake Thornhill, he had always alluded to the presence of jets in three locations away from the twelve Arbor Ridge towers, but never informed them of the moon’s facility until two weeks ago to allow for some strategic planning.
Robert is glad to see the mission accomplished with relative ease. PEACE lost two planes and pilots; he has already requested the names of next of kin to place personal phone calls. But, the League of Planets lost two supertanker transporters, all material, and men on board, likely over 100,000 lives, seventy-five small crafts, and the first bit of construction on the speedway portal. Robert is glad to see the SF-01 perform this well in a true combat mission. The moon pilots are his most experienced, so he never doubted their ability to perform under pressure.
Robert does feel a tinge of regret that he did not go after Tiberius’s ships. He could only launch a surprise attack from the moon once, and he has now played that card. But, it was critical to deliver a win to give mankind confidence, and he needed a military plan that could win the support of the nations of the world and have a very high probability of success. Going after a Destroyer group or Magnus didn’t meet those qualifications. All in all, it was a successful day.
Robert congratulates everyone on the video conference. He asks Thornhill’s team to compile video for public release and will make a press statement in roughly one hour at 2:00 PM local time.
Robert turns to Anna, “So, what did you think?”
“I think the SF-01 proved itself capable of what we thought. It’s the fastest ship in the sky and packs enough punch to damage large carrier ships,” she replies.
“And?” Robert asks, sensing she is holding something back.
“Well, sir, we know what we can do, but I still don’t know what they can do. We destroyed unarmed, overwhelmed targets. We won’t have that luxury again.”
“That’s an astute point. But hopefully, seeing success will give our recruits confidence that we can win and to stop fearing failure quite as much.”
“I will be conveying that message for sure!” Anna says, smiling, as she gets up to leave.
“Very good. Godspeed, Group Commander Small.”
At 2:00 PM, Robert is standing out on the tarmac behind a thin metal lectern with about a dozen local reporters seated in front of him. Several television cameras are feeding national news outlets. About ten minutes ago, PEACE released videos from the battle, including the explosions of each o
f the supertankers, along with a brief statement, that he is about to expound upon.
“Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for making it here on such short notice. I am speaking to you from Holloman Air Force Base, which is now a joint PEACE facility. I am glad to tell you our recruiting and training programs have progressed nicely this past week, and I thank the U.S. Air Force and all our military partners globally for their help and cooperation.
“Today, in my judgment, the world faced an imminent military threat in space. I conferred with the military representatives as a courtesy before taking action, and there was unanimous support for today’s operation. Yesterday, two supertanker transport ships arrived to join Frozos’s military fleet. Today, they began construction on a speedway portal, which could lead to the arrival of significantly more military ships.
“We will not tolerate an ever-increasing number of guns pointed at our gates. To drive this point home, we took action against the construction site and the two supertankers while not engaging the existing military spacecraft. We launched a strike of 500 SF-01s from PEACE’s moon base, which is part of Arbor Ridge’s longstanding lunar facilities.
“At no time did we lower Earth’s force field, nor did we use any ships from Earth. I am pleased to report that this mission was a tremendous success, destroying the two tankers and all construction, as well as at least seventy enemy aircrafts. We suffered two casualties, a brave American and Austrian citizen, who gave their lives heroically to protect ours. We will be releasing their names shortly.
“I have believed from the outset that we possessed the skill and determination to prevail in conflict with any enemy; my conviction in this only grows stronger by the day. I urge Supreme General Frozos to end his acts of aggression and leave our planet alone. PEACE stands ready to protect this planet, and our readiness is only strengthening. Our resolve will not be broken. Thank you and God bless.”
Robert Wilson and the Invasion from Within Page 16
