by Dietmar Wehr
Drake heard someone on his crew curse over the intercom. He wanted to curse too but decided it was better to continue to let his crew see him remain calm. Calm leaders tended to inspire confidence. Upset leaders tended to encourage doubts about the mission’s chances for success.
“Black Bird Leader to all boats. The FEDs seem to be learning from our past attacks. We can learn from our failures too. I guarantee you our next attack will turn out differently. In the meantime, we need to stay vigilant and look for opportunities to inflict some damage however we can. Anti-missile boats will keep their tubes loaded with AMMs, and the rest of us will keep our tubes loaded with HEs. Our primary mission now is to get all our boats back to the carriers. Keep that as your main focus and stay calm. Leader out.”
The next two and a half hours seemed to last twice as long. The Task Force was within effective range of the lasersats now, but they weren’t firing at his boats. Drake wasn’t sure why not, but the consensus among his boat commanders was that the remaining lasersats were too valuable to waste on maybe taking out a few missile boats. It would make sense for the FEDs to save what they had left to use against larger and maybe less well armored ships in the future. That didn’t mean the Task Force was home free. Ground-launched missiles with fission warheads could be fired at missile boats just as easily as at clusters of missiles.
When Makassar finally did start to fire missiles at his boats, Drake felt relief that the waiting was over. Each industrial complex the Task Force was about to overfly seemed to have its own network of anti-ship missile launchers, and as the 24 boats got close to each complex, a cloud of missiles rose to intercept them. It would take only 21.5 minutes for the missile boat formation to whip around the planet and head back out again. Drake had a feeling he wasn’t going to be bored during those minutes. The 12 boats loaded with anti-missile missiles co-ordinated their defensive fire, and the other 12 boats fired HE missiles at industrial complexes as the Task Force reached their closest proximities to those targets. So far, his 2nd generation AMMs were getting the job done. The question was would they have enough of them to get through the gauntlet. Twenty-two minutes later, as the Task Force began to pull away from the planet, anti-ship missile fire from the planet’s surface ceased, and the answer to that question turned out to be ‘yes’ but just barely. His 12 AMM boats had a total of 13 AMMs left out of their original load of 192.
Drake didn’t really relax until his boats were well out of effective lasersat range. Rendezvous with the carriers would take another six and a third hours. He was already starting to compose his After Action report to CSO Janicot, but it would be a short report. No boats lost or damaged. No enemy targets hit with certainty. The Task Force had failed in its mission while Makassar’s defenders had succeeded in theirs. Bragging rights definitely belonged to the FEDs, no doubt about that. Drake wondered what this failure would do to his checkered career, but he could take some comfort from the fact that none of his crews were killed or injured. At least he hadn’t failed to hurt the enemy AND lost boats on top of that!
Chapter Sixteen:
Day 282/2547
Foster fidgeted as she waited for Chancellor Belloc to arrive for the briefing. She looked over at Janicot and took notice of his calm demeanor. Nothing much seems to rattle him lately. Maybe I should try to be more like him. She shifted her gaze over to Sorenson, who happened to be looking in her direction, and the two of them gazed into each other’s eyes for a couple of seconds. Sorenson smiled ever so slightly and then looked away. Foster wasn’t sure what that meant, if anything. Did the SecDef still hold a grudge against Foster for keeping her in the dark or was she forgiven? Maybe she’d have a better idea after this briefing. Any further thoughts were interrupted when Belloc strode into the room and sat down at the head of the table in one smooth motion. I’ll say one thing about the Chancellor; he sure knows how to make an entrance.
“I’m glad to see that everyone’s here. Let’s get right down to the business at hand. Major Foster, you may begin your briefing,” said Belloc.
“Thank you, Chancellor. As you all know, we received confirmation 42 hours ago that the dummy shipbuilding complex on the gas giant’s moon was attacked and destroyed. Luckily, the workers had plenty of warning and were able to evacuate the site before it was hit, so no one was killed or injured. My staff and I have spent the intervening time brainstorming ways to turn this event to our advantage with the help of P2’s analysis. What we’ve come up with takes into consideration the failure of Commodore Palmgren’s mission to inflict any damage on Makassar. When the FED High Command on Earth learns of the destruction of what they think is our ace-in-the-hole shipbuilding complex, they’ll conclude that their numerical superiority over us will only grow with time and that an eventual victory is assured. If we propose an armistice and peace negotiations, P2 has calculated a 61.8% chance that the FED political leadership will agree to that. What that cessation of hostilities will do for us is remove any chance that the FED Navy might somehow learn that our real ace-in-the-hole is at Midgard, thereby allowing us to finish building the battlecruisers that will turn the tide of battle in our favor.” She paused to gauge her audience’s reaction. Belloc was looking thoughtful and surprisingly, so was Sorenson. Janicot was clearly sceptical, and he spoke up.
“Hold on a second. I’m not sure I understand the logic behind P2’s assessment. If our positions were reversed and we were the ones who had just destroyed what looked like a secret shipbuilding project, and then the other side came begging us for an armistice and peace negotiations, I’d be inclined to recommend to the Chancellor that we say no. When you’re facing a dangerous opponent and you happen to knock him down, your best strategy is to go in for the kill, not back off and let him get back on his feet. I’m sure Admiral Chenko and General Masterson would feel the same way.”
“I understand that point of view, Admiral, however P2’s assessment is based on political logic not military logic. This war has been going on for over six years now. We’re receiving reports via our operatives on Earth that the public is starting to show signs of war fatigue. The political logic is that it’ll be hard for the Federation political leadership to refuse to negotiate if we make it appear that we’re desperate for a negotiated settlement. Their Navy won’t be in a position to attempt an outright military resolution to the war for at least another year anyway, so why not formalize that anticipated period of inactivity with a ceasefire and see what they can accomplish via a negotiated settlement? Even if the negotiations fail, the politicians can still claim that they explored other options and that we forced them to go back to the military option.”
Before Janicot could respond, Belloc interjected. “And you think that we can drag out negotiations for more than a year? Won’t they figure out pretty quickly that we’re stalling?”
“Given the distances and transit times involved, it should be easy to drag things out that long. Before negotiations even begin in earnest, we’d have to negotiate where the talks will take place. Just sending those messages back and forth will take a few months. Then every time they make a proposal to us, our negotiators will have to request instructions from Sparta, and that will take more time.”
When it was obvious that Belloc wasn’t going to respond immediately, Janicot jumped back in. “Does P2 have an opinion as to what Majestic will recommend, Major?”
“Yessir, P2 is convinced that Majestic will recommend accepting our ceasefire and negotiation proposal as a way of ensuring an uninterrupted buildup at Makassar in preparation for a knockout military campaign when they achieve a 3 to1 quantitative superiority. In other words, Majestic will be recommending that they do the same thing that we’re trying to do, except that our battlecruisers will be ready first.”
“And what about a second strike on Makassar with four converted carriers? Do we go ahead with that before we send the cease fire proposal to Earth?” asked Janicot.
Foster shook her head. “P2’s analysis of Commander Drake’s
After Action report indicates a high probability that a second strike would be a waste of time and, in fact, that we’d suffer significant losses. If the FED’s reserve fleet of four cruisers hadn’t been busy attacking our dummy shipyard site and instead had been protecting Makassar, Drake probably would have lost a quarter to half of his missile boat force. We can’t expect to be that lucky again. Those converted freighter-carriers weren’t a waste of time, Admiral. We can use them to transport the missile boats to Midgard so that the first two battlecruisers can use them right away instead of having to come here to Sparta to pick them up and then go on the offensive. That will save approximately 14 weeks, which the FEDS won’t be allowed to use to build up their fleet even further.”
Janicot smiled and, turning to Sorenson, nodded. Sorenson nodded back ever so slightly and turned to look at Foster again. “And speaking of Midgard, what’s the latest news from there, Major?”
“The extra equipment ordered on Earth has been received and installed. Construction of the first two battlecruisers has begun. Work on the other three will commence on schedule in three months, but because of the experience gained with the first two, the next three should be finished 8 to 12 weeks faster. Site X has been set up and is now ready to take over if that need should arise. Commander Murphy’s latest report is that the locals are very happy with the economic spinoffs from the project and that security is still intact.”
Janicot smiled at the mention of ‘Commander Murphy’. “Your husband has been back here now what…two months?” Foster nodded. “When will he be heading back to Midgard?” asked Janicot.
“Not for another ten weeks, Admiral.” The tone of her voice conveyed the unspoken part of her reply which was ‘if you don’t send him back early again’. Janicot got the message and mentally nodded. He had no plans to send Murphy back early, but in war shit happens, and he was certain that Major Cate Foster understood that. Turning to Belloc, he said, “I have no more questions for Major Foster. Do you have any questions for the Major or myself, Chancellor?”
Belloc’s reply was relaxed and calm. “Not at the moment, Admiral. Naturally I may have more questions after I read the planning group’s report, but I’m satisfied for now. How about you, Mandy?”
Sorenson shook her head. “I have no further questions right now, Chancellor. I’d like another day to consider this recommended course of action. You’ll have my recommendation tomorrow, if that’s acceptable.”
“Tomorrow’s fine. In that case I think we’re done here. Thank you for another interesting briefing, Major Foster.” Belloc nodded to Janicot and Sorenson as he got up and left. Foster was the last to leave, and as she headed back to her office, she wondered what mischief the Gods of War were about to engage in. The attack on the dummy shipbuilding complex was a surprise, but only in terms of timing, not the fact that it was attacked. It had served its purpose, but she couldn’t get rid of this nagging feeling that things were going too well and that, sooner or later, something nasty was going to hit them.
Day 320/2547
Trojan’s personal transport, the Mach 3-capable recon craft set aside for his own use, descended gently inside the extinct volcano that was now a Navy base and shipyard. With the craft’s auto-pilot handling the landing, Trojan was free to look at the prototype that was sitting on that bottom. It was small as ships went, only 50 meters in diameter, although that was misleading. It wasn’t a true sphere but rather a near-spherical shape that had 12 flat sides. Each side was a five-sided pentagon. Majestic had proposed the radical design as a way of foiling enemy radar, and while Trojan understood the principle behind it, a part of him had remained skeptical until the prototype testing had confirmed the principle. Radar waves hitting a true sphere would always be reflected directly back to the radar emitter because there would always be some part of the sphere that presented just the right angle. A 12-sided ship, if piloted carefully enough, would always have its flat sides at an angle that reflected radar energy away from the emitter. With no return signal to analyze, the radar emitter would see ‘nothing’, and the ship would effectively be invisible to radar and, as it turned out, to lidar too.
As he exited the recon craft, a squad of his personal Guard arrived and took up station to escort him to the Base HQ building. Trojan looked at them with a critical eye. Their jet black uniforms with minimal decoration other than the mailed fist holding lightning bolts patch, along with their weapons, were appropriately intimidating. Trojan smiled at the thought that this squad was just a small portion of the rapidly growing Elite Guard Division. Hand-picked for their dedication and loyalty to Trojan himself, he would use them as his shock troops when it came time to re-organize the Federation. As he finished inspecting the squad, he saw the Base Commander running towards him. When the approaching officer was still a few meters away, he shouted to Trojan.
“Word just came in, General! Romanov’s Task Force is back! Mission accomplished!” The out of breath officer was still smiling when he stopped in front of Trojan.
“That’s good to hear, Commander,” said Trojan. “It’s about time we had some good news to send back to those dimwitted politicians on Earth.” Trojan made sure his voice was loud enough that the whole squad heard him. Reinforcing their indoctrination whenever possible was always a good idea. Pointing to the prototype, Trojan said, “Right now I want to talk about the test results. Give it to me straight, Commander. Did the radars pick up this bird at all and if so, how far away?”
The Base Commander was now grinning from ear to ear. “No, SIR! The test vehicle managed to get within five kilometers of the radar picket ship without any detected microwave emissions whatsoever! I’m told the radar operators weren’t even sure the test had started until the test vehicle announced its position by com laser. We ran the test three times with exactly the same results.”
“Five kilometers? How long would it take our standard anti-ship missile to cover that distance?” asked Trojan.
The Base Commander laughed. “Less than two seconds, General. Not enough time for missile defense systems to locate, lock on and intercept it, not even with anti-missile lasers.”
Trojan nodded with a great deal of satisfaction. This was the kind of breakthrough he needed to finish off the SSU. “VERY good! I’m extremely pleased, Commander. How’s the design of the 400 meter cruiser version coming along?”
“We’re making good progress on that, General. I estimate that the shipyards could start fabricating hull components in another week or so if they were given the go ahead.”
“Well then, you tell them they’ve just gotten the go ahead. I want construction of stealthy cruisers started ASAP and never mind continuing the capacity expansion. We’re not going to wait for our long term target capacity. We won’t need hundreds of ships like this. Half a dozen will be enough to wipe out the SSU’s fleet. They won’t even know what hit them.”
“I’ll pass that authorization to them right now if you’ll excuse me, General.” The Base Commander waited just long enough to see Trojan nod before turning and running towards the Base’s Communications Station. Trojan decided that he might as well take a look inside the test vehicle while he had the chance. He had plenty of time before Romanov’s Task Force dropped into orbit. As he started walking toward the prototype, his Guard escort fell in beside him on both sides. He made a mental note to himself to get out of the underground complex more often. Having an Elite Guard escort was an intoxicating exercise of power that was hard to resist.
Day 092/2548
Trojan stood up and threw the data tablet in his hand against the opposite wall of his office, just barely missing a ducking Romanov in the process.
“Unbelievable! A Goddamned cease fire has been ordered by the Federation Council so that they can negotiate an end to the war! Son-of-a-bitch! This throws all of Majestic’s plans into the disintegration bin. They’re going to stop sending me troops, just in case they’re not needed. I NEED those additional troops to fight for me in taking control of Earth
, not fighting against me defending Earth!”
“What about Makassar? Did they order you to halt or slow down the buildup?” asked Romanov.
Trojan snorted. “No! They’re not quite THAT stupid. The buildup will continue, and we’ll keep getting more personnel to man those stealth cruisers, but I have been ordered to keep those new ships in this star system for defensive operations only, unless specifically ordered otherwise by Admiral Chenko.” Trojan’s expression became thoughtful, and he started to pace from one side of the office to the other. Romanov had seen Trojan do this before and knew enough to stand quietly out of his way.
Trojan stopped, turned to look at Romanov and said, “Majestic anticipated this you know. Oh, it gave the idea a low probability. That just goes to show you that sometimes long shots pay off, but its already figured out a counter-strategy. A rather cold-blooded strategy too. I don’t think I could have thought of it myself. Essentially what it boils down to is this. We wait a few months. If the negotiations don’t collapse of their own accord, then we give them a little push by staging a raid on one of our own planets and making it look like the SSU did it. That apparently dastardly stab in the back will enrage the general public on Earth and force the politicos to give me the green light for offensive operations. By then, there should be half a million trained troops on Earth. I’ll make it clear that Majestic has determined that I need all those troops here, ready to deploy before the stealth cruisers can begin operations. When we’re certain that those troops are on their way here, you’ll take the stealth cruisers and ambush whatever orbital defenses the SSU has around Sparta. With control of Sparta’s orbitals, our troops will be able to land and pacify Sparta. As you know, by that point, Majestic is predicting that the SSU will start to collapse as member planets vote to leave the Union and rejoin the Federation, but we’ll inform Earth that we expect heavy resistance from further invasions, and I therefore need a lot more troops. By carefully managing the final stages of the war, I’ll have enough troops to conquer Earth by the time the SSU is defeated.”
