"Two. The Admiralty Board has assigned the two scout-destroyers to me for this operation. Our problem now becomes one of how to put together two crews consisting only of volunteers for a highly secretive operation that could take us far from home."
"Milor?"
"Yes."
"We won't have any difficulty putting together a command for that, ma'am. Every Space Command officer, NCO, and crewman on this station will jump at an opportunity to take the fight to the enemy for a change."
"Perhaps, but we have to verify that before we leave, and we can't afford to have anyone learn of our real mission. I've considered starting a rumor that we're hunting for Raider bases."
"That sounds reasonable, Admiral. Everyone knows how much you dislike the Raiders. And why."
"But the problem remains one of recruiting two crews."
"Why not just start by asking the current crews of the two ships involved?"
"We reassigned most of the crew to other ships before the battle. Only sixty percent of the original crew remains. Still, it would be a start. Arrange for a shuttle and we'll go over there."
"Aye, Admiral. I'll have one ready to go in five minutes."
"Welcome aboard, Admiral," Lt. Commander Gallagher said, after completing the formal greetings in the shuttle bay of the Colorado.
"Thank you, Commander."
"I was surprised when I was told of your inspection tour. Since we were being held in reserve, we didn't suffer any damage in the fight."
"I know, Commander. I came aboard to discuss your status now that the threat from the Milori has been reduced."
"Reduced, ma'am? You thumped them!"
"Thumped, maybe, but not beaten. We're still at war with the Milori and must remain extra vigilant."
"Of course, Admiral."
"Let's continue our discussion in the captain's briefing room. Invite your second in command."
"Aye, Admiral."
Lt. Cmdr. Lori Ashraf, Lt. Cmdr. Peter Gallagher, and Lt. Maria Cruz all took their seats in the briefing room once Jenetta had taken hers. Gallagher and Cruz were noticeably stiff in the presence of the renowned Admiral Carver.
"When this ship was dispatched to Stewart, I'm sure both of you expected to join the crew of the Prometheus, or receive a similar assignment. Since the original crew had worked together for several weeks, I decided to keep a core group aboard this ship for a special assignment. However, my 'Madness Ray' plan worked so well, I didn't need to employ the strategy for which you had trained. In normal times, this scout ship would now join its battleship, but these are hardly normal times.
"As you might have heard, I'll soon be turning over command of this base to Admiral Vroman. I've proposed a daring plan to the Admiralty Board and they've given me a green light. They've assigned the Colorado and the Yangtze to me for the duration of the operation, but imposed a requirement that all crewmembers be volunteers. This is not a short term operation and, by requiring that the crew be limited to volunteers, I'm sure you understand that it's extremely dangerous."
Jenetta paused for a couple of seconds to let the information sink in as she stared into the eyes of each officer. "If you choose to remain at Stewart, you'll be reassigned elsewhere almost immediately and your decision will not adversely affect your career. If you choose to remain aboard the Colorado, you'll be reassigned new roles. You, Commander Gallagher, would become second in command, and you, Lieutenant Cruz, would become fourth. I will be assuming the role of Captain and Commander Ashraf will be the second officer since she is junior in seniority to Commander Gallagher. I'll need your answers by the end of the day because I have much to do and not much time to do it."
"I don't need time to think it over, Admiral," Lt. Commander Gallagher said, "I volunteer now. It will be an honor to serve as your first officer aboard the Colorado."
"I don't need time either, Admiral," Lieutenant Cruz said, "I volunteer for this operation, whatever it is. That's why I'm out here."
Jenetta looked into the eyes of each officer and saw the determination there. "Welcome to my team. I can't reveal the particulars until we're actually underway. What I need from you right now is to put the matter to each crewmember individually and determine their interest. If they choose not to participate, the personnel officer will arrange for their transfer to another ship tomorrow. If they choose to stay— and it must be entirely their choice— they may find their current statuses changing as other more senior crewmen are brought aboard."
"We'll start interviewing the crew immediately, Admiral," Lt. Commander Gallagher said.
"Thank you, Commander. Forward your report to Commander Ashraf by tomorrow morning."
"Aye, Admiral."
Jenetta and Lt. Commander Ashraf visited the Yangtze next and met with Lt. Commander Soren Mojica and his second officer, Lieutenant Adel Baran. Like the other two officers, they immediately volunteered for the mission, even with the knowledge that they would be stepping down in authority. Jenetta had already decided she must have a more experienced officer in command of the Yangtze.
Admiral Vroman was sitting in Jenetta's office talking with Captain Gavin when Jenetta returned.
"Good morning, gentlemen. Sorry to keep you waiting, Admiral. I had a couple of things to take care of."
"Good morning," both men said.
"No problem, Jen," Admiral Vroman said. "Larry and I have been catching up on old times."
"Hi, Larry. I suppose you've heard you're not getting the Colorado back right away?"
"Yes. I received a message from Supreme Headquarters last night. What's up?"
"The Admiralty Board has approved my plan to take the fight to Milor. The Colorado and the Yangtze will constitute my task force."
Captain Gavin smiled. "With all due respect to the Admiral, didn't someone once tell her that she had more guts than sense?"
Jenetta also smiled. "Commandant Bacheer said that to me after I took Stewart. Are you thinking he was right?"
"You're planning to take on an entire empire of 'nasties' with just two tiny ships. You tell me."
"A crippled empire, at this time. If we wait until our main force can travel there, we'll have to face many more warships than they can presently muster, so we must strike as quickly as possible before they have time to reconstitute their fleets. Also, they won't be expecting an attack right now because they'll believe it will take us several years or more to get there. If I accomplish nothing more than the complete destruction of their main shipbuilding facilities, and the ships presently under construction, the operation will have been a huge success. My goal is to put the Milori military on the defensive and in disarray. We'll hit and run until we reduce their ability to wage war to near zero."
Captain Gavin looked at Admiral Vroman. "Do you support this action, Thad?"
"It's difficult to argue the merits of the action, Larry, although I wish we had more ships to send. Jen will have to travel all the way back to GA space to re-supply."
"I never have been able to establish a sustainable position against Jen's logic," Captain Gavin said, smiling, "even when she was first assigned to my ship as a recently promoted Lt. Commander. Okay, Jen, is there anything I can do to help?"
"Militarily, no. Even at Light-412, I'm afraid the Prometheus is just too slow to help this time. However, I need some good people to round out the crew of my two ships. I can't go into a situation like this with a sixty percent crew complement. They must be volunteers, and this must be kept as quiet as possible so we don't lose the element of surprise."
"I'll find you some, although my crew is still very understaffed."
"I understand. I also intend to contact the other captains and see whom they can offer. Right now, I need a good, experienced officer to captain the Yangtze. Any suggestions?"
"Commander Frank Fannon from the Lisbon," Admiral Vroman said without hesitation. "He's intelligent, tough as nails, and an excellent leader. I considered him to be my best man on Siena, although I had to rely on Captain L
indahl to handle most command duties because of his rank."
"But he's just returned from a grueling year and a half on a primitive planet. He needs time to recover and recharge his batteries."
"Don't use me as a comparison, Jen; he isn't eighty-two years old. I saw him in the gym this morning and he's already getting antsy from sitting around with nothing to do. He lost his post on the Lisbon when you re-staffed it to participate in the battle, and he's hoping the temporary reassigns are sent back to their original posts soon so he can return to duty."
"Thanks for the suggestion, Thad. I'll speak with him later today to see if he'd like to volunteer."
Commander Fannon jumped at the opportunity to join the volunteer effort. He correctly guessed the goal might be to take action against the Milori, even if he didn't know the particulars, and he was anxious to repay the enemy that had marooned him on Siena. He was further delighted to learn he would captain the Yangtze. It would be his first command, other than when the Lisbon had been in port and Captain Lindahl had gone ashore briefly.
Over the course of the following week, Jenetta filled the vacant crew posts with volunteers, as required by Supreme Headquarters. Perhaps most interesting was that not a single individual offered the opportunity to serve with Admiral Carver turned it down. Her reputation for always being in the middle of the action, her tactical abilities, and her well-known concern for the safety of her crews made everyone anxious to serve with her.
The two small ships were provisioned and armed while in orbit so spies on the station wouldn't be witness to the action. The spaces not filled with torpedoes were packed with food, clothing, spare parts, or medical supplies. Even the quarters of the crew were used for storage. Jenetta's quarters and her briefing room were both half filled with boxes and cases, and they would remain that way until the massive stockpile of torpedoes in the holds began to decrease. Each ship was carrying over six times the ordnance normally found on a full-sized Space Command destroyer.
Jenetta's last official act as the commanding officer of Stewart was to turn over her report on the Lisbon attack to Admiral Vroman. It would be Vroman's responsibility to pursue negligence charges against Captain Lindahl for his actions prior to the loss of the Lisbon.
What was originally intended as a small ceremony, mainly a photo op for the news media, turned into an event that had to be moved to the convention hall. It seemed that everyone on the station wanted to watch as Jenetta turned over command of the station to Admiral Vroman. He made a speech praising her contribution to the cause of peace and security in the region, and listed her accomplishments since seizing the base from the Raiders. Jenetta spoke about what being the base commander had meant to her, praised her staff effusively, and then praised the governments and officials with whom she had dealt since becoming commander of the largest off-world base in Space Command. Following her speech, she received a standing ovation that didn't diminish until she left the stage.
When reporters crowded around her afterwards and shouted questions about her next command she remained non-committal, but she had made sure the rumors abounded that she was embarking upon a search for Raider bases in the Frontier Zone because Space Command knew the Raiders had assisted the Milori in their invasion attempt. Those stories filled the papers and vid channels for the following week as speculation continued to grow.
* * *
"My Lord?" Exalted Lord Space Marshall Berquyth said.
"What is it, Berquyth?"
"We've picked up an interesting news broadcast from Galactic Alliance space."
"And?"
"Admiral Carver has passed command of the station to Admiral Vroman."
"I'm sick of hearing about Carver and her activities."
"The news media is reporting that she's embarked on a crusade to find and destroy Raider Bases in their Frontier Zone."
"Good. I hope she finds and destroys every one, the traitors."
"But it's good news, isn't it, my Lord? I mean, if she's looking for Raiders, she can't be coming here."
"She'll get around to us eventually. That's why we have to keep rebuilding our fleet with all possible haste. When they arrive, they'll be met with an armada so large they'll regret ever entering our territory."
"Yes, my Lord. I simply thought you should know what we picked up."
"Thank you, Berquyth, but it does little to cheer me up. I don't think I'll ever smile again until I have Carver's head on my wall."
* * *
Minister Vertap entered the King's chambers and walked to his desk. "Your majesty, I've received a communication from Admiral Carver. She requests that we join Space Command in bringing down Maxxiloth. Their task force will reach Milor in four full lunars. In exchange for our participation, all of our former territories will be returned to us once Maxxiloth is defeated."
The king looked at his minister. "She proposes to give us back our own territory in exchange for sending our people to die in her war?"
"It's not just her war, your majesty, and neither, technically, are the territories ours at present."
"The Royal Assembly has decided we'll let the Galactic Alliance fight the Milori, and then we'll step in after they leave."
"That may be unwise, your majesty. They are expecting us to participate in this action."
"Why? What can they do if we choose not to join her?"
"A similar request for assistance has been made to the Gondusans. The message from Admiral Carver seems to suggest that the Gondusans might be awarded our former territories if we don't join this coalition and participate fully."
"She wouldn't dare."
"If we don't participate, we might have little to say in the matter. We believe the Galactic Alliance to be too powerful for us to fight. Their victories against the Milori have been most impressive."
As the king threw down his pen and stood up, Vertap bowed his head. Striding to the window, while clenching and unclenching one of his hands behind his back, Jamolendre said, "We are not yet ready to take on the Milori, even a weakened Milori military. We believed we had several years before we had to face this question. How could Space Command have come so far, so fast?"
"They must have dispatched their task force after the first attack by the Milori, knowing the Milori wouldn't honor the treaty and would invade again. It's the only thing that makes sense, unless…"
"Yes, unless what?"
"There is a persistent rumor they have developed a new spaceship capable of incredible speeds."
"How incredible?"
"Twenty times the speed of our fastest ships."
"Twenty times?"
"Yes, my Lord."
The King appeared thoughtful for a few seconds before saying, "I wouldn't put any stock in that, Vertap. Our scientists all say speeds in excess of Light-862 aren't possible, and speeds greater than Light-562 may not be feasible for hundreds of years."
"Yes, my Lord."
"What is your recommendation?"
"It's not my place to say, my Lord."
"Come, Vertap. I value your opinion. What would you do?"
"I would do whatever she asks of us. To refuse might instill bad feelings in the one person who might rid us forever of the Maxxiloth threat. We know the Galactic Alliance is a democratic confederation, guaranteeing freedom from outside oppression to all member planets. I can't imagine a more benevolent group with which to be affiliated. I would join the coalition."
"But we're not yet ready. Why did she have to come now?" the king said, hanging his head.
* * *
Chapter Twenty
~ July 30th, 2280 ~
As the Colorado left orbit around Stewart, Jenetta began to re-experience the exhilaration of captaining a ship in space. It made little difference that the two small ships each had a compliment of just one hundred-eighty-five officers and crew. On the second day out, they overtook and passed the dozen warships filled with ordnance and supplies that Jenetta had dispatched a month earlier. The twelve M-designate ships,
capable of Light-450, almost seemed to be standing still as the two scout-destroyers passed them by at Light-9375. The communication chiefs aboard the twelve ships were receiving messages from Jenetta reporting the passage of the Colorado and the Yangtze even as the DeTect systems were first notifying the tactical officers of their approach. With an estimated travel time to Milor at Light-9375 of just forty-six days, the two small ships would reach the enemy planet before the supply ships were a quarter of the way to the Frontier Zone's outer border.
Every military organization trains its people to collect military information when capturing enemy installations, vessels, and personnel. Space Command was certainly no different. Many of the captured Milori vessels had yielded valuable data. Passwords and encryption algorithms are changed immediately when a ship is captured or lost, but maps and defense information can be invaluable. Perhaps the Milori had never lost a ship to an enemy before taking on Space Command, or perhaps they trusted their commanders to destroy all important files before the vessels were captured; whatever the reason, the files were largely intact and Jenetta was able to piece together an excellent picture of the enemy they were facing. She knew where all the spacedocks were located in the empire and the locations of munitions factories, military installations, and storage armories. There was no way of knowing how many ships would currently be defending the planetary, or off-planetary, resources, so the plan would have to be a bit fluid, but as Prussian General Count Helmuth von Moltke said in the nineteenth century, "no plan survives contact with the enemy."
Neither the Gondusans nor the Hudeeracs had thus far agreed to join the coalition and it was beginning to look like Space Command would have to go it alone. "So be it," she said to her pets as she sat in her briefing room reviewing her plan repeatedly in her mind while looking for weaknesses.
Fourteen days into the trip, Jenetta halted both ships and ordered them linked via airlocks. Their position was just inside the outermost border of the Galactic Alliance's Frontier Zone and she wanted to have a staff meeting of senior officers before they entered either the Buffer Zone or Milori space.
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