The four Imperial admirals with six of their senior captains were already seated when Steg arrived at the small conference room. He discerned a tenseness in the attendees. There were no smiles, and some faces reflected the strain of their command.
“Richard, everyone, welcome.” Two holograms formed beside Steg as he spoke; they were Zhu and Alke. “I’ve had Nyx transmit to you copies of our detailed report on our meetings with the Alliance military. Apart from some interference by ImpSec, the results were positive. Please raise questions once you’ve read the material.”
Richard Breval replied, “Steg, I read the highlights. The result is excellent. We’re interested in working with the Alliance; it’s not something we’ve managed before. There’ll be opportunities to improve relationships, I’m sure.” His fellow officers nodded their agreement.
“Good. We need their active involvement and resources. Richard, my people are concerned about the lack of success with our war game program. While I’ve had good reports regarding Djiis and Homeworld involvement, there’s apparently a significant pushback from your teams. Thoughts?”
Admiral Coup was the first officer to reply. “I’ll add my support to the comment made by Roberts. We need to see some action.”
Steg looked at Admiral Breval and repeated his question “Richard? Your thoughts?”
“We’ve been discussing this issue. About a third of my people do not see advantages with pursuing further war games. Mainly, I suspect, because they’ve failed to win through any of the strategic or tactical challenges embedded in them.”
“What’s your opinion?”
“I—I’m inclined to agree with you. We need to train.”
“Very good. It’s mandatory, as far as I’m concerned. I’m going to decree that all units must conduct the war games we’ve defined. Anyone—irrespective of rank—who refuses to participate in the war games will be immediately removed from the task force. There’ll be no second chances. The same will apply to an officer who fails to comply with orders from his admiral. An admiral who fails to control his officers, after five failures, will be removed from the task force. We’ll recommend the Emperor dismisses these officers from the Imperial Navy. When we commit to a real battle, all officers will be subject to court martial if they disobey a command.”
“You’re being very harsh,” objected Admiral Coup. “I’m not sure I can serve under this decree.”
“Admiral, how many of your teams have successfully carried at least one war game?”
“None.”
“You don’t recognize that as a failure?”
“No, certainly not. I have good officers reporting to me; they’re people I’ve known for years. If they decide to take action, that decision is based on their experience.”
“Admiral, your approach leads to chaos. It might work when you have ten destroyers attacking a pirate ship or a system that doesn’t have a navy.”
“I resent your attitude. What do you know about tactics?”
“Admiral, we’ll have a hundred or more destroyers and frigates, with numerous other warships, fighting at least a thousand Xesset warships. An undisciplined, uncoordinated approach on your part, with captains taking unilateral actions, will not work. I have only one thing to say: you’re either in one hundred percent or you’re out. What’s your decision?”
“What—you want my decision now?”
“Yes.”
Pairs of eyes moved from Steg to Coup and back again.
After a silence of about sixty seconds, Coup said, “I’m withdrawing from the task force. I’ll communicate my objections to your dictatorial approach to our Emperor.”
“Alke, please delete Admiral Coup’s files and security clearance. Contact Major Kirby and request he send an escort for the admiral. Coup, you’ll pack and be off Wanderer in one hour.”
“Yes, Admiral. The major said there’ll be an escort here in two minutes.”
“Richard, are you going to allow this jumped-up barbarian to treat me like this?”
“Coup, you’ve created your own destiny. I agree with de Coeur. My report will be going to the Emperor once we finish here.” The senior Imperial admiral looked at the other officers around the conference table. “If anyone else feels the same as Coup, tell me now. There’ll be no second chances.”
Two senior captains pushed back their chairs. One said, “We’re out of this backworld circus.”
“Alke, add two more officers to the exit process.”
“Yes, sir.”
Steg said, “Anyone else?”
Admiral Galaway caught his attention.
“Yes, Helen?”
“Admiral, my people have been experiencing problems with the war games. We’ve made mistakes. I’d like to persevere.”
“Thank you. Admiral Lae? Your position?”
“I agree with Richard and Helen. We’ll persevere.”
“Good.” Steg waited while his Ebony Company marines escorted the Imperial officers from the conference room. He continued, “Richard, you’ve been silent?”
“I’m concerned about how to ensure we build an effective team—with the emphasis on team. I’ve been tearing my hair out, I’ll admit.”
“I agree, we have a challenge, both short and longer term. I have some other news to report. We encountered a gathering of starships on our return. We counted twenty destroyers and over forty frigates. Their origins were mixed and included Xesset, other aliens, and human. The latter included at least two ImpSec destroyers.”
“What? That’s—that’s—”
“It’s true. Alke, forward our report on AR 84993 to the flag admirals. Include recent updates from Echo.” The updates included more specific identification of the military starships; three destroyers were Xesset, two destroyers and five frigates were ImpSec. The ImpSec ships were crewed by humans. Echo had forwarded crew details with her latest report.
“Yes, sir.”
Richard’s face paled as he read through the summary forwarded by the AI. He looked at Steg. “I’ll forward this to my Tac team. Do your people have any suggestions?”
“We were tempted to build a force using the likes of Coup and others, to get them out of the way. However, that would have condemned hundreds if not thousands of Imperial crew members to death. We’re not that uncaring. No, the best we have come up with is to mount a raid using the best of our forces. If your team wants to discuss our possible strategy, we’ll listen. The Alliance Tac Commander working with us will be involved. The significant point for you and your advisors is that the Imperial Navy would be waging war against ImpSec.”
“That point might worry my people, as well. We’ll meet with you with our decisions”—he looked at his team “—what, in twelve hours?” When Helen nodded, and no one objected, he said, “Twelve hours. This will keep us up all night.”
oOo
CHAPTER 33
THE TASK FORCE lost more than a hundred Imperial officers in the following twelve hours. Admiral Breval, working with his Tac team, had found time to arrange the dismissal of any officer unwilling to work under the rules imposed by Steg. Alke was keeping score; she and Zhu were running a competition where the person who guessed the final number of departures would receive a reward of some kind. As the AIs did not have access to credits, there were also some guesses as to the prize. Participants were restricted to the so-called Old Timers, the AIs, and a few others including Denke, Hamilton, and Sullivan. Steg had frowned when he heard details and threatened drastic action if details became widespread. He knew he’d failed when Breval asked him what number had he selected.
The proposed meeting with the smaller group of Imperial Navy admirals and senior officers took place in the same small conference room. The atmosphere was discernibly different. Steg thought Breval was more confident, and other officers were displaying an enthusiasm that had been previously missing. He had added Tziksis, Theas, Commander Hamilton, some of his people and the AIs.
He explained to the Imperial of
ficers, “Commander Hamilton represents the Alliance. If they have warships here by the time we’re ready to take action against this fleet in AR 84993, they’ll join us.”
“Welcome, Commander,” said Breval, and his greeting was echoed by the other Imperial officers. “General Theas, Admiral Tziksis, also it is a pleasure to welcome you.”
Once greetings were out of the way, Steg said, “Richard, this is your presentation. You have all the information we’ve obtained. We’d like to hear what you consider to be a suitable approach to the problem I described yesterday and why.”
“Steg, everyone, I’m going to hand over to senior Tac Commander Griffin and his team. We’ll welcome questions either as we go, or at the end of our analysis and description of how we propose to handle the presence of a large force, possibly under control of our enemy, the Xesset. Commander.”
“Thank you, Admiral Breval. Admiral de Coeur, everyone, we’ve examined your prior action files as well as the data provided from your observations in AR 84993. My team appreciates the detailed records and your forthright approach. We note the presence of ImpSec forces and agree with your concerns. We’ve produced a short presentation. Lieutenant Golders, present the first item.” Griffin watched while his junior staff member linked in his comunit to the large screen display.
The first item read: “What have you omitted?”
Steg controlled his reaction. They had purposefully omitted information, for example, details of his and the AIs’ abilities to penetrate starship systems. At last, someone in the Imperial officer cadre had identified gaps in their intelligence files. Although he remained reluctant to reveal the full scope of his personal abilities, he understood the need to disclose more about their AIs.
“Please explain, Commander,” Jessie said.
“Yes, ma’am. We’ve replayed some of the files a number of times. They show action against the Xesset reaching a point and then somehow—unrecorded—the enemy starship is under your control. The primary example is Zhu and his two-destroyer escort in what he calls The Battle of Harm’s Way. The files you’ve provided do not contain a valid explanation of how the damaged starships captured the Xesset dreadnought. We’ve also examined some of our files relating to your takeover of ImpSec starships; there’s a gap there as well. To put it simply—we don’t know how you’re doing this. A lack of knowledge can materially impact our planning and possibilities of success or failure in live action.”
Hamilton said, “I’ll admit I’m also intrigued. I have a possible thesis. The Glass Complex has a powerful reputation. Somehow, they have developed tools that permit such a takeover. I’ve assumed the AIs are able to utilize whatever the Complex has developed. Most of the gaps in the files are resolved by this possibility.”
Tac Commander Griffin said, “We’ve reached a similar conclusion, and as you suggest, we consider it covers 80%, perhaps even 90% of how Admiral de Coeur has achieved his victories. So, Admiral, if you don’t mind, my team challenges you to respond.”
“This is the result of team efforts and analysis?” Steg asked.
“Yes, Admiral.” The Imperial officer was standing firm.
“Well done. My congratulations to you and your team. Yes, it was a challenge. I think anyone who fully analyzed our war games’ scenarios would reach a similar conclusion; that was part of the challenge. We have been withholding details. The reputation of the Glass Complex has been justly earned.” He still did not want to disclose his own abilities. “The AIs have the ability to reach into starship systems and take control. The major issue is the Xesset reaction of destroying their warships when defeat looms. If you examine the wreckage details in the Harm’s Way conflict, you’ll note it was from Xesset warships, caused in the main by their destruction processes, which the AIs were unable to prevent. By the time the AIs were attacked by the last starship, they’d determined a solution, thus their success with the capture of the dreadnought and its files, relatively in one piece.”
“Aah. Thank you, Admiral. We can work within the scope of that response. We’d like to examine aspects such as: how far can an AI reach, can a single AI manage multiple starship systems simultaneously, and how many of your AIs have this ability?”
“Some of the answers you’re seeking are still unknown to us. Zhu, given your experience with the Xesset starships in Harm’s Way, what do you think is the maximum number of starship systems you can control, simultaneously?”
“Steg, it will be difficult to estimate. If I’m under attack, I’ll need to devote a percentage of my processes to defending myself, and that percentage will depend on the type of attack. I believe—subject to test—I can handle two dreadnoughts or five destroyers at the same time, gradually increasing my control until they are mine. Range? I suspect I can operate on starships within ten light seconds or so.”
“Thank you, Zhu. Admiral de Coeur—that’s remarkable. What about Wanderer’s AIs?” asked Griffin.
“My assessment is double the number estimated by Zhu. Alke, what do you think?” Steg knew the AIs in control of Wanderer were far more powerful than Zhu; however, he didn’t want the Imperial Navy to be fully aware of how powerful these AIs were, especially if he was directing and supporting the attack on the fleet in AR 84993.
Alke said, “I agree. If we take over Ioke’s other warmaster duties, it will allow her to focus 100% on controlling Xesset or other starship systems, doubling her control scope.”
Griffin and Hamilton both looked at Steg. Hamilton said, “Nyx, Echo, Amber—can they control as many as Zhu? If so, your combined AIs can control at least twenty-five Xesset destroyers. You have a formidable weapon.”
“We can be overwhelmed, though, Commander,” cautioned Zhu. “If I were attacked by three or four dreadnoughts, without assistance from other members of the task force, my survival would be unlikely.”
“That’s why we need Alliance and Imperial support,” Steg added.
Of course, if he arranged for the Acolytes to copy Zhu’s programs into the ImpSec destroyers that he now controlled, the resulting AI force would be devastating. However, he was unwilling to release that many fully operative AIs—the growth in Zhu’s and Alke’s abilities was a caveat he had mentally registered and now worried about. Nyx was also showing signs of increased intelligence and independent decision-making abilities. He had to continually balance the risks of creating a super-weapon with potential to carry out devastating attacks, with the need for victory and minimal casualties.
“We understand,” Griffin said. “Very good. With that fundamental gap in our knowledge base covered—and we made assumptions along those lines—we can proceed with our presentation.”
The lieutenant whispered something to his Tac Commander. The senior officer said, “Our working hypothesis still has one or two questions outstanding. However, they’re relatively minor, and we have enough data to continue. Next page, please, Lieutenant.”
Alke whispered to Steg, “They have questions—suspicions—about your abilities.”
The lieutenant presented a summary of the warships in AR 84993 using the latest data from Echo and Amber; they confirmed there were four destroyers plus at least ten frigates crewed by Xesset and five ImpSec vessels, while four starships were from other human systems, and the remainder were alien, from unknown systems.
“We think their presence is voluntary. Somehow Xesset and various rogue forces have managed to communicate, and it would seem they now share objectives. We’re making assumptions, of course; we need more intelligence to be comfortable about our conclusion. The downside—if we’re correct—is the Xesset may have more warships available than we expected. We believe the force in AR 84993 is waiting for a signal to attack. Of course, we don’t know the target or timing. Our recommendation: we should strike as soon as possible.”
“We may be able to supply more information from Echo and Amber. They’ll provide an update when they have new data. They’ll stay in-system until we either recall them or attack, as you suggest,” Ste
g said.
Jessie asked, “Have you considered the size of the force we’d need to deploy?”
“Yes, ma’am. Our first estimate is based on an unchanged target, complete surprise, and full involvement of AIs. We’ve included Wanderer to lead the attack.” He paused.
Steg said, “We might be able to make Wanderer available.”
There was a flicker of relief on the lieutenant’s face. He continued, “We also included Echo and Amber as key components of the attacking force. We’ll provide the major proportion of warships; our estimate is ten of our destroyers or the equivalent. We’re including two destroyers from Djiis and one from Homeworld. We’ll welcome Alliance involvement if they have warships here when we’re ready to launch our attack. We also recommend four assault wings, each of a hundred fighters; we may need their speed and versatility. Finally, as many of General Denke’s force that he can make available—we should try to capture some of these ships and the AIs may not be able to control everything.”
Steg nodded. “Assuming we can ambush this fleet, I agree. They’re powered down;, engines are cold. It would take an hour for them to get underway. Their fighters could be more resilient. They could launch in minutes if they’re on alert.” He paused for a long moment. No one interrupted his thoughts.
At last, he said, “Tell me, Lieutenant—what if we find we’re the ambush victims?”
oOo
CHAPTER 34
STEG’S QUESTION created a chaos of replies. At last, overwhelmed by the rapid-fire discussions that had broken out, he said, “All right. Slow down. Assume the probability is 50% that we have a passive target and 50% it’s a trap. The situation’s too neat, with these starships simply sitting there. I agree we can assume they’re waiting for a signal to deploy. I can as easily assume they’re ready to send a signal to a waiting fleet, perhaps larger than this. We didn’t search the system; there is a possibility there is another fleet, shielded, hiding nearby, ready to slam us. Evaluate your strategy again, this time assuming it’s an ambush.”
Diamond Cut: Book Three in The Glass Complex Trilogy Page 20
