by Chris Hechtl
Besides, if they broke everyone it would just mean the damn Bekians would move in and take over he reminded himself in disgust.
Admiral V'r'z'll was getting Vikramaditya, two CEVs, one CruRon, six fully loaded freighters, two munitions ships, two support ships, one of the new Zephyr prowlers he'd just gotten from Antigua, and eventually another Dora class ansible transport. She was toddling behind the group at her own pace under destroyer escort.
Was he ever going to be able to build Third Fleet up to what it was supposed to be? He wasn't certain. Just when he'd gotten used to having Vikramaditya as the flagship, he'd been forced to deploy her to cover TF3.2's losses. It was that or send them the Slash and Burn, but he couldn't in good conscious do that. The ship's crew was too green. She'd only just gotten out of the yard and was still settling in. John had been forced to send Sun Tzu and Sky Titan to Amadeus to shore him up, but he refused to do that.
He snorted. Here he was mentally griping about never being able to build Third Fleet up to what it was supposed to be and John had to constantly shore up Second Fleet with ships from First. They were all well aware that Amadeus wouldn't return them either.
He shook his head. He had wanted to dispatch a battle cruiser squadron to Finagle. That had been the plan until they'd gotten the word of the losses in TF3.2. So, instead he was keeping them home to protect Pyrax and sending a heavy cruiser squadron in their place, along with another CEV and support ships. Well, he was sending them in five weeks or so.
Maybe.
If something else didn't come up between then and now he reminded himself sourly.
Two more ships had come out of the rapids, but one had been damaged in her journey. Either the helm teams were going to have to be more careful or they were going to have to slow down. No one wanted to lose a ship and crew. He made a note to John to remind him of that as he returned his attention to his duties.
~~~^~~~
Captain Firefly watched his force as they readied themselves to exit the B-87R star system. He had already reported in on arrival and had received clearance to continue on mission. There had been no word back from Shredder, so he had to assume that New Horizon was still in Federation hands.
That was the good news. He was starting to wonder about command. For one thing he hadn't been able to abandon his duties as ship A.I. while also being captain of his ship and the senior officer in charge. It wasn't until they were underway that he realized he was sharply limited on processors and memory. He would have to deal with that in New Horizon as well.
He could partition his memory and resources but when he did his attention wavered and things could pass by unattended. Perhaps he had been wrong to assume command? Or wrong in not allowing an organic to take overall command of the ship while he maintained control of the mission? But that would have opened up all sorts of chain of command issues.
Being a ship A.I. was complicated. Being a ship A.I. who was also the captain and mission commander was even more so. He had always understood why organics longed for simpler times when things were less complex. He had also seen the other side of that—when he'd been trapped in Firefly with little fuel watching Pyrax from the outer edge of the solar system. He'd wanted to interact but hadn't the energy to do so over the radio. Keeping a power reserve for times when he needed to be fully lucid had been hard enough. He didn't long for that lonely time. Not at all.
To distract himself he went over the star map again while the crew made the final preparations to jump. He had the recommendations from the Admiralty on how to proceed with securing the star system more fully. Deploying a division at the southern jump point where he least expected trouble was not an optimal use of resources. Currently Shredder's force was holding the star system with just three ships, the CEV, and her two destroyer escorts.
If he deployed one cruiser to the south, three each at the other two jump points, and had Shredder, her escorts, his support ships, and one reserve cruiser in the inner system as a reserve, that might work out better. The cruisers were trained to work as a division pair for hunting OPS, but they should be okay since they could coordinate actions across the star system. Once he got a feel for traffic, they could decide where to go from there.
Another problem cropped up when he thought about the traffic, what to do with it. Obviously, they would have to destroy or capture the enemy shipping and warships. What about civilians? Should he allow them to pass through? Legally he was supposed to, though it was not optimal to allow them to head north to Finagle to alert the Horathians of his presence. He was uncertain how Shredder was handling the situation though he was curious to find out.
With captured ships, how could he best handle that? Prize crews for each would eat into his limited manpower budget. He didn't know when he would get relief. Also, where to house captives …
He realized his attention was drifting into further what-if scenarios and checked the status. They were one minute out from jump so he reprioritized the processors and memory to focus on the task at hand for the moment.
~~~^~~~
Antigua
Vestri looked at the clock and then shook himself at his absurd preoccupation. As if it would make the days go faster!
Most of the navy knew that Second Fleet had renewed its offensive three weeks prior. They were still several weeks from getting to Dead Drop. That didn't stop him from being nervous about it. It was a little bit of stage fright; after all, the SD division would have their first time on stage against a very discerning audience. Any flaws in their design would be glaringly obvious and quite possibly fatal.
He hoped and prayed that would not be the case.
“Come on, guys, get it done,” he muttered before he shook his head and forced himself back to work.
~~~^~~~
April couldn't help but try her fireside chat again with John. She knew something was up. He was troubled, but he obviously couldn't discuss it with her.
“April, let it go,” he said testily as he wrapped his arm around her. “If I did something like that, I'd have to do it with all the networks. I can't play favorites. And I'd have to do it with someone else first just to show I'm not,” he pointed out.
She growled and poked him.
“Unless you want to do a joint one with Toni Chambers?” he asked.
“Oh, hell no!” she growled, eyes glaring up at him for even daring to suggest such an idea.
He chuckled. “I thought so. And as much fun as it is watching you and Toni Chambers catfight, I prefer to do so from a nice safe distance,” he said with a shake of his head. “You know, like in another station? Somewhere where I can't get hurt but I can watch the live video feed. Preferably with popcorn. Do you think you could add mud or choc …?”
He was cut off with a gasp as she poked his ribs and tried to tickle him.
“See?!?” he gasped out, fending her off.
She blew her distressed hair to one side and then finger combed it into its proper place. “Chickenshit,” she accused mock glowering at him.
He smiled. “Maybe. Or maybe I'm enough of a strategist to pick my battles more carefully,” he said.
“Oh?” she demanded, one hand on her hips. “You know you are going to lose this one eventually, right?” she demanded.
He smiled innocently. “I haven't yet,” he said. “There is still hope. Besides, like I said, the catfight in mud or chocolate would be fun. Clothing would have to be limited to a bikini …”
She sputtered and began to pummel him. “Pervert!” she accused laughing as he fended off her blows.
He took a step back, hands up and grinned. “See? Think of it for charity, dear! We could sell ticket …,” he got that far before her fingers curled into claws. “Hey! You are supposed to hit her not me!”
“It's your idea. And you are in arms reach,” she growled.
“Well, I can fix that,” he said, taking another step back and pretending to cower. Her eyes glittered, and she took a mock swipe, then a real one. He caught her in a b
ear hug, pinning her arms. “Surprise,” he said tightening his grip until she gasped.
“Okay, I give!” she gasped out.
He chuckled and let up slightly. She squirmed but he kissed her and she stopped. The glitter in her eyes softened ever so slightly.
“I tell you what,” he said, running a hand through her hair. “You've got jury duty. After that you can talk to Liobat about it,” he said.
She sighed. “You would bring that up,” she grumbled.
He snorted.
“So, Second Fleet got the reinforcements and are on the attack again,” she said ever so softly. He stiffened. “That's what's bothering you. It doesn't take a genius to know it,” she said.
“You know me so well,” he said, stroking her hair again briefly before he kissed her.
~~~^~~~
Odette scowled when she got the report from Second Fleet. She brought it to Yorgi's attention, but he just shrugged it off. When she brought it to Georgi's attention, he shook his head and flicked his ears. “What did you expect?”
“I didn't know he'd do that! We should have sent more flag officers to them! We have them now!”
“Yes, but they aren't up to speed. Some are delaying having their implant upgrades. It's still a problem. They can play catch-up with the changes to tech and strategy, but if they aren't willing to play ball, Admiral Irons won't use them. He's also slow to promote out of the zone. It's been an ongoing issue for some time.”
“Damn it …”
“You just wanted to go too,” the Neowolf accused.
“No. Yes … no,” she shrugged it off.
“Which is it?” he asked, clearly amused by her discomfort.
“Both. I know I would have jogged Amadeus's elbow since we're both of the same rank but I'm senior. I don't care.”
“You want your combat ticket punched too. And you resent Irons playing favorites with his own people?”
“Yes! Both!”
“Well, news flash, we're his people too. Amadeus did frock a Bekian too you know,” he reminded her. She grunted. “And we can always sort things out properly later.” He didn't mention that the brass had a ways to go too. Midshipman Geni's request for transfer had hit the grapevine after being sent to BUPERS. He wasn't certain what to make of that situation. Hopefully, Yorgi was handling it. The request hadn't been withdrawn.
“True,” she said reluctantly.
“So, Concord is on its way to replace Vishal. We won't have another carrier for this quarter; the rest are going to TF 3.2 or replacing losses in TF3.1,” the Neowolf stated, changing the subject. “You'll have your hands full with Concord. If Amadeus can take down De Gaulte or at least push him back, we might be able to let you keep the next two divisions of SDs,” he said.
“Oh goody. So, I get to keep them, play with them, work them up, and break them in only for him to scream when he needs them and poach them from me?” she demanded.
“Sounds about right,” the Neowolf replied with a brief smirk.
“Sometimes I hate my job,” she muttered. If anything, the Neowolf's smile widened. She just rolled her eyes at him.
~~~^~~~
Admiral Irons read the latest reports on the expansion plans and then logged that he'd read it. He pulled the chip, dropped it in his out-box, and then went on to the next.
The next one was quick and more of a FYI brief than something navy related. Antigua, Pyrax, Senka, and other star systems were expanding at an exponential rate. For the planets it meant new cities were being born and towns were being turned into cities or restructured as priorities shifted.
Also, there were space colonies. Dozens, no hundreds of them going in every year now. A few of the independents folded within a month though. Even more people waited impatiently trying to raise funds to try their hands as well.
A big problem with the indies were thermal control and radiation, not just supplies. Yes, many lacked supplies or started with the basic start-up. But they could always trade for more. Two of the indies had been forced to abandon because they had been on the surface mining their rock and gotten too many rads. Another had their thermal exchange system fail and had lacked a backup.
The ones he liked the best were the Bernal sphere makers. Two groups were advertising they could do the job, one in Pyrax and another in Antigua based out of Antigua Prime. Both had yet to do more than a slick advertising campaign. They were very heavily watched by the DOJ and financial bureaus. He'd looked into them. Everything was going to where it should; there were no mansions and slush funds. He'd even lent them a hand with some suggestions on rock selection and advice. He had flat-out refused to sell them a military sphere in Antigua. He had given them the option of leasing the navy to get them started however. Their leadership had said they'd consider it but didn't have the funds in their budget.
Which was true. He'd seen their budget. They were getting by with a very minimum cash flow and reserve.
Knox News had reported the Dyson Sphere project in Pyrax was being shelved. That was a bit of a relief. He remembered the things. He had to question the need given Pyrax had such a small population. Sure, they could make them like Mareska dolls, one inside the other, but why? It hadn't made sense then nor now. In the future, a few centuries down the road maybe. But now, no.
He was surprised ET hadn't taken an interest in more orbital habitats. Then again, they had a perfectly good planet to expand on still. And further, he'd shudder to think what the corrupt corporations and mobsters would do to such an endeavor. The loss of life would be hard to swallow.
He turned his attention to the Ptah mission. He had launched the ship with a minimum amount of support to head to Syntia's World. From there they'd make the long journey. They had orders to stop in Tir na Nog and wait however. The scout he had sent into Pi had sent in some reports, but he didn't like the confirmation of a pirate base so close to the major shipping route in the area. Something was definitely going to have to be done about that.
The scout and the cruisers he'd sent into Pi had reported several population centers that rivaled Antigua and ET. They were spread out, but it was interesting. The one with Daikoku for instance was very promising. Once the pirates were flushed out and destroyed, it might be a nice candidate for Federation membership.
If there weren't anything hinky going on with their government and population, he reminded himself.
He shook his head. He really hated being behind the ball in Horath. He had no idea what was going on with Project Pestilence. Had they launched another mission? One to another sector like Sigma and Pi?
He was afraid to find out but knew eventually they would have to.
Chapter 50
Ps-64
“Great,” Chief Gomez said as he came onto the bridge. “What is this, a convention?”
“They have those,” Buck said. The chief gave him a dirty look. “What? I mean the civilians do. They get together. It's like a gypsy thing. The ships get together and exchange stuff, sometimes people.”
“Oh,” the chief said as he stared warily at the icon of the three ships. “Or it could be something else,” he said warily.
“Something else?”
“Yeah. One of those ships, hell, two of them could be pirates. The other ship could be their prey or two of them could be.”
“Or one ship could have lost her hyperdrive and she's acting as a station now,” Buck said. He shrugged at the dyspeptic expression on the chief's face. “You go with glass half empty. I'll try to stay positive.”
“Sure. You do that,” the chief muttered.
“What do you want to do?”
“We have to cross the star system. Let's see how far we can get before they notice but pass the word to get ready to fight.”
“Sure. Fight in a fat ass freighter with little weapons, mainly pea shooters and spitballs, with a skeleton crew. Sure,” Buck said dryly.
“Now who's got a problem with a glass being half full or not?” the chief demanded.
~~~^~
~~
“Captain, another ship has entered the star system at the P-66f3 jump point. She's making her way to the Ps-63R15 jump point.”
“And they haven't squawked an IFF?” the captain asked.
“No, ma’am.”
“Curiouser and curiouser,” the captain said, turning to her A.I. “Io, what do you think about this?”
“I think we need more information, ma'am. Unfortunately, our sensors are a bit messed up at the moment. Fortunity's sensors are the best we've got.”
“Get Captain Lessa on the horn and see what she says,” the captain said, waving a hand.
“What about Varyag? Can't see anything?” Zoya asked.
“I thought we were going to rename the ship?” someone else asked, but the captain impatiently waved to them to be quiet.
“Meia is still getting a handle on her systems. Most of them are down,” Io replied. “She's trying to clear for minimum action, but I have my doubts. Ma'am, if this is a warship we're in trouble.”
“Not necessarily,” the captain said.
“Ma'am?”
“I'm playing a hunch here. Remember, the navy is bumming around here now. Io, send them our IFF. Your IFF I should say. Let's see how they respond.
~~~^~~~
Buck rushed to the bridge when they got the communications request. He stopped impatiently and stared at the screen. The chief was in the way, so he moved to his right side. When he saw the IFF icons, he blinked. “Io 11? Fortuity? Varyag? What the hell?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” the chief replied with a shake of his head. “Io 11 is claiming to be a naval reserve vessel. I've got a tag in my implant war book, but the ship was considered lost. Fortuity is squawking a civilian transponder.”
“Sir, Varyag is in our war book, the Horathian war book. According to their files she's one of theirs,” Scrounger, their dumb A.I., reported.
