Righteous Reign Episode 4
Ragged Remnant
by
T.J. MacDonald
©Righteous Reign Episode 4 Untitled
Copyright 2017 Thomas J. MacDonald all rights reserved.
©Righteous Reign Episode 4 Untitled is registered in Canada under the terms of the Berne Convention and the International Copyright Convention
To all the readers who stuck with me through bad proofreading and editing while I mastered this craft.
Contents
Part One
Chapter 1 Chomping at the Bit
Chapter 2 The New Typical
Chapter 3 Formulating Strategies
Chapter 4 Another Expansion
Chapter 5 Admiral Svjosloki
Chapter 6 ISIE New Tactics
Chapter 7 A Serious Challenge
Chapter 8 Pleasant Surprises
Chapter 9 A Fly on a Wall
Chapter 10 Analysis
Chapter 11 New Fronts
Chapter 12 Shifting Scenes
Chapter 13 Second Acts
Chapter 14 Slights of Hand
Chapter 15 Naabaahii
Chapter 16 From Intelligence to Action
Chapter 17 Kil Kos
Chapter 18 A Big Wet Kiss
Chapter 19 A Slight Hitch
Part Two
Chapter 20 Shock, Evaluation, Judgement
Chapter 21 Preparations and Practice
Chapter 22 Kick-Off
Chapter 23 Preserving the Future
Chapter 24 82 Eridani
Chapter 25 15 Sagitta
Chapter 26 When Pigs Fly
Chapter 27 Anguish & Recovery
Chapter 28 Seeking Justice
Chapter 29 Real Justice
End
Part One
Chapter 1 Chomping at the Bit
Wednesday, October 4, 2271
"It is better to be both right and consistent. But, if you must choose, it is better to be right." Winston Churchill
Well, we're again back to normal after experiencing another Isesinis test, yesterday. This has been occurring on a sporadic basis. We'll get a sudden warning from SOCC that a large formation has launched towards a section of the temporary border dividing us. Our response is to send all Tier One Local Regional Forces, all Epsilon Command Fleets and as many of Zeta's Fleets as are within three parsecs of the target. We have usually been able to muster around forty-eight fleets to the needy region before the enemy arrives with more appearing all the time. The Isesinis typically observe around eight hundred ships facing them. There are often as many as ten various level Headquarters' Ships, their security flotillas, and a few mobile hospitals farther off in the detectable distance. So, it can seem like a larger response than it really is.
After eyeballing each other across the boundary for a couple of hours, Kilkos' forces usually turn around and return to their normal deployments. But, when we withdraw, it is more careful. Frontline contingents will jump out, quickly. And, OFSA incoming Fleets continue to approach in case our adversary's departure is just a ploy. Another thirty to forty Federation Fleets will generally reach the hotspot during the next several hours as the first batch leaves.
I am not sure if the Isesinis are assessing our ability to respond or if, they're seeking to discover our sensing means. They have still not defeated our Covert Class Ships' cloaks. So, they don't know how we determine where they're going to land.
There is no real pattern to these maneuvers. A couple of times they've executed lunges just a few days apart. Other intervals have been as long as two months. We just have to ensure a Sub never falls into their hands. Even, the theory and concept of their shroud are unknown to most people, whether in the OFSA or not. Only a few Tier One Engineering Chiefs know everything. The rest is compartmentalized so no one person can "spill the beans."
For the most part, we've been on our best behavior since taking back the Kentaurus system at the end of March, last year. I've had more than a year and a half to think about it, and I believe we were incredibly lucky. The Isesinis laid a trap for us by giving ground to lure us into a phalanx where they could finish us, and we had almost taken the bait. But, we finally saw through their duplicity and turned the tables on them.
But Isesinis' Governor Kil Kos had put a stop to our advance by destroying one of our inhabited Federation member worlds. It was a warning we couldn't ignore.
So, on the surface, we appear to have accepted our lot. We patrol an Orion Federation that is only fifteen percent its original volume as if our new borders are permanent. A stranger happening upon us would quickly conclude that this is all overkill. Nearly thirty-six hundred large warships, ninety thousand small fighters, and more than twelve-hundred covert subs, supported by all their mobile infrastructure, move throughout this region ensuring its safety. I am talking about a wedge of space that is forty-five degrees wide by sixty degrees high and extends out thirty-six parsecs from its central point at Sol. The Isesinis hold the areas above, below, and on both sides of this segment, leaving our only escape on the end at the Orion Federation Border. So, we are nearly completely surrounded. And though it is small relative to the size of the Federation or even the shard of space we manage now, that rear doorway is actually nearly eleven thousand square light-years, a pretty sizeable hatchway to attempt to close while maintaining pressure on all the other fronts.
But, we concentrate forces on that boundary, and those civilizations on its far side are Orion Federation allies and sworn enemies of the Isesinis. So, though they could impede our withdrawal, it's unlikely our opponents could prevent us from withdrawing if it ever becomes necessary.
What's been interesting over this eighteen months has been our technological developments and the growth of Fleet Admiral Savign's SOCC Headquarters' Command. The three Federation Worlds that possess our remaining nine orbital shipyards and all the manufacturing plants have devoted all their production capacity to the Covert Class Vessels and floating infrastructure like Carrier Flagships, Mobile Hospitals and Supply Ship Class Crafts she needed. As the enormity of her task became apparent, the OFSA R&R was rewritten again to increase SOCC strength. It is now a force of twelve hundred sixty subs divided into Fleets of seventy. Six Theatre Commands control three of these flotillas, each. And, two Tier Two Commands each run three of those subordinate operations. Standard Carrier Class Vessels serve as the Base Stations for each of the Tier One, Two, and Three Headquarters and are able to supply Raptor support, if needed. And, seventy-two Supply Ships have been added to their asset inventory. But, the real kicker was a technological advance developed by Vice Admiral Gojen Svjosloki. Half of their logistical vessels are now cloaked, too. It is probably the last special improvement he will generate for SOCC. Savign now has all her staff including her own Chief Engineer and the facilities needed for her to get the job done.
But, Gojen had sensed that the nature of SOCC's operations made covert resupply necessary. It was not an easy fix. The subs are smaller and possess relatively smooth bullet-shaped shells to facilitate cloaking them. But, Supply Ships are the length and breadth of a standard Carrier and have all kinds of jagged hull structures. This makes them very hard to surround with refractory shielding. So, he reasoned that a hybrid vessel was the answer. After six months development with the aid of a new ally who possesses this technology, the first ones were built and tested. In the last year, Savign received thirty-six of these ghost ships.
This all became necessary because SOCC has been tasked with mapping the locations of all Isesinis' deployments and finding the one that is the main Headquarters for their entire Orion Federation offensive.
For my part, I have Zeta Command's Tier Two Bases situated at Wolf 359 and Gamma Bootes. Wolf 359 is a relatively small red dwarf a little less than eight light-years from Sol, in the constellation Leo. Gamma Bootes is twenty-seven parsecs away near the other end of our sliver of territory. This deployment allows us to conduct our business over the entire region.
We have resumed our Investigative, Enforcement, Security, and Intelligence operations. They are necessary. But, this is mostly for show. We must all appear to be going about normal daily activities. I have divided my Tier One Headquarters. My Base Station and security flotilla reside in Barnard's Star system. El's is at Lambda Bootes. That way, part of the HQ is close to all the subordinates. To remain in sync, we communicate via the laser system daily, though we have to suffer through the one-day transmission delays.
The three regional Tier One setups have divided the space among them and sit at semi-permanent positions.
George Bryant's Epsilon Command is the only one that is actually floating throughout the territory, all the time.
Throughout this period, SOCC has amassed some incredible information on the Isesinis and has assisted General Sparks in placing personnel in key locations. One such mission yielded some valuable intelligence that led to an ongoing undercover mission that should permit us to determine the internal workings of the Isesinis' military operations. Sparks has enlisted the help of a very special operative to act as his agent. And one new ally has been providing regular reports on observations they make throughout the Orion Federation. They are an ancient and advanced culture, and their entire Fleet employs cloaking technology.
Chris is now a full level ten General. Svesion is at grade eleven and is still the Zeta Marine Army Commandant. But, Sparks is no longer in direct control of I.S.I.E. He is Svesion's Deputy Commander. The I.S.I.E. is now a full Division with a Brigade-level headquarters in each Zeta Tier Two Headquarters' Operations and Divisional offices aboard the Examiner. And, I.S.I.E is among the two Corps that fall under his direct authority and is included along with four other Divisions. And, Sparks maintains extremely close ties with the new leader of his former operation. He takes a very personal interest in the well-being of the agents and officers under its umbrella. Chris especially loves the rush of the intelligence missions.
Whenever time permits, he makes the trip to Earth. He has become involved with Susan Sylvestry. She is the Speaker of the planet's Legislative Assembly and a candidate for President. She is also the person who turned us onto a great wine.
During the period since taking back Rigil, SOCC has used its ability to surreptitiously enter the Isesinis' Gigantic Polyhedron Headquarters Complex (GPHC). But, for now, they do not employ this tactic for assaults. Instead, it is tapped as a means of gaining information. And, these missions led to the significant discovery previously mentioned.
One of my most enjoyable tasks over the past short while was the promotion of Shane MacDonald. He'd been the master of the original Examiner back in 2257 and had taken over as Captain of its replacement. Since his promotion to the rank of Captain at the end of that year, he graduated from the War College and has steadily risen in level and assignment. Six months ago, I had the pleasure of elevating him to Admiral (10) and assigning him as head of a Tier 3 Headquarters. This was in preparation for his next move.
After three months in charge of his venture, he was offered Tom Steven's grade eleven position in Epsilon Command. After years of resistance, George Bryant had finally yielded to the idea of a Deputy and had reassigned Tom to the position. I will miss Shane. But, I know he has all the attributes to do a great job Commanding Epsilon T2-1.
Last January, all the Tier 1 Commanders headed back to Earth to attend King David's wedding. It was a week long event. First, his fiancée was granted the rank of Baroness and crowned Lady Elizabeth Montefiore Baroness of Wildwood. The rest of the week was spent in preparatory festivities like the bride's shower, the rehearsal, its dinner, and the groom's bachelor party. On the next-to-last day, we celebrated the wedding and joined in the fabulous dinner party. The next morning, Lady Elizabeth was crowned Queen. That was followed by another gathering. Then, we all returned to duty. It had all been marvelous but left everyone with staggering hangovers to nurse on the way back to our assignments.
Last March, we celebrated Bryant Edward's ninth birthday. He is already in grade seven. He has now skipped two grades, and I am sure he is smarter than his dad. Fredricka missed the party. She spent a year at the Academy on Earth and has been at the one on Rigil for the past three months. There's quite a story behind that.
The Commander in Chief, the Secretary of Defense and all the other member of the C&C Commission had intensely resisted us setting a wedding date. I knew it was because of her position as a journalist. It is in direct conflict with my high-security job. George Bryant finally sat down with me in August last year and discussed it.
"Do you want to resolve you wedding conflict of interest problem?"
"Of course, George," I responded.
"I have discussed an idea I had with the King, SOD and the other C&C. They've agreed to the plan if you guys can get on board. Are you interested in listening?"
"I'd be glad to hear anything that might help solve the problem without forcing Fred to abandon her career."
"Okay. But, you have to listen to me without interruption."
"I'll try."
"Fredricka resigns her position with the AP. She joins the OFSA. Her Masters' Degree in Journalism qualifies her to attend the Officers' Program on Earth. After graduation, she is commissioned an Ensign but assigned to the Rigil Academy. Then, she spends the time on Rigil needed to finish the Command Program. With her experience and these two accomplishments, we promote her to Captain and assign her the public relations department, on the Examiner. At that rank, she can marry a Fleet Admiral without question. And, she still uses her skills. Except from then on, she employs them for the OFSA and the Federation. She can come here for any leaves. It's a relatively short trip." George finishes as he brandishes some papers.
I look them over. It is an offer from the C&C Chief of Staff Fleet Admiral Tonaka. It essentially spells out the entire plan.
"I think she just might go for it," I respond.
"Can we get her in here and present the offer? Or, do you want to speak to her alone, first?"
I called Fred in. Both George and I stumbled a lot as we attempted to outline the plan. I kind of shoved the papers into her hand, as I finished. But, I could see tears falling from her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Fred. We didn't mean to upset you." I offered in a barely audible whisper as I took her hands in mine.
"You are such a dope! I'm not upset. I'm as happy as anyone could be. It is the answer to all our problems!' She blurted as she smoothed out the last page of the papers and signed them. Then, she handed them back to George. 'I agree. And, thank you all for searching for a solution for us." She finished through her sobs of joy.
George excused himself to head down to Lowry's, leaving us alone to discuss the situation. We journeyed down to join him after a ten-minute conference.
Fredricka immediately gave notice and was headed for Earth's OFSA Academy two weeks later. Since then, I've seen her during her leaves, every three weeks. Near the end of February, this year, she graduated and was commissioned an Ensign. We had two weeks together before she had to report to the school on Rigil. She has almost completed the Command Program, now. She will be here for a visit this weekend.
When she's home, we spend our days with Bryant visiting our old haunts in the mall on the promenade deck. We usually see a movie or two and enjoy the restaurants and ice-cream parlor. Evenings are spent in close embrace. When she graduates, she will be promoted to First-Lieutenant at Rigil. But, I will have the honor of elevating her to Captain and reassigning her, when she returns for the final time.
At this point in each year, I always begin organizing my thoughts for the year-end reports I must do. They are very extensive and includ
e budgets, assets, projections, and summaries of the past year and the outlook for the coming one. The first items are all based on reports I receive via my COS, but the review and forecast are based on my logs and memories. It always takes me a couple of months for the events of the last twelve months to gel into a logical story line.
I begin with our decision to lay back and "play it cool" which was made last April 10.
Chapter 2 The New Typical
Friday, April 15, 2270
"In politics, stupidity is not a handicap." Napolean Bonaparte
Posed apprehensively in the walkway between the Command Station and its surrounding technical posts, Commander Nedrif Elantham Captain of the FSS Shenzhen glances between the numerical presentations in the strip at the bottom and the spatial images displayed across the surface of the main screen. He seeks the anti-neutrino signature that tells of an impending Isesinis incursion, something that occurs regularly in this region. The Shenzhen and its sister-ships have had to repel almost daily intrusions by small squads of enemy vessels testing OFSA awareness, readiness, and strength.
Ned, as friends and associates refer to him, is a squat, rugged Barian very typical of the humanoids on his planet. And, he's always impeccably dressed in superbly tailored, carefully pressed uniforms, because neither the daily grays nor the mess and dress uniforms flatter the Barian figure. They are actually designed for the taller, leaner humans. Bari orbits HD156668 an orange / red dwarf in Bootes, emitting only thirty percent of Sol's energy output. It circles the star in an outer habitable-zone path that results in a cool climate in its regions that do support life. A significant portion of Barian society revolves around both a martial-art-like culture and an Arctic Commando one. Its people make great cold-weather, close-quarter warriors. In fact, the R&R was changed to include special weapons Barian Marines like to carry like a Hunga-Munga style blade used for throwing, slashing, and spearing in close hand-to-hand combat.
Righteous Reign Episode 4 Ragged Remnant Page 1
