TSN: The Best Laid Plans (Terran Space Navy)
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TSN: The Best Laid Plans…
By
P.R. Phipps
Copyright 2013 all rights reserved to P. R. Phipps
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.
The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry
No matter how carefully a project is planned, something may still go wrong with it. The saying is adapted from a line in “To a Mouse,” by Robert Burns: “The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley.”
* * *
Prologue
The Year is 1967, a small boy who had just celebrated his tenth birthday was happily moving through the waters near a small town in Indonesia overlooking the South Pacific Ocean. The previous night he had awoken to the sound of thunder and saw a meteor hit the surface of the Ocean. He had decided then and there to see if he could find it.
His face mask and snorkel had been a present from his step-father and the fins were from his mother. Slowly he swam on the mostly calm surface of the ocean peering down through the amazingly clear waters at the reef below him. Then he saw what must be the meteor! Swiftly he moved and then he dived down… down.
‘How wondrous’ he thought ‘and look at that strange creature, it looks like a jellyfish but with no tentacles.’ He reached out his hand to touch it…
* * *
“Come on son”, his step-father told him sternly, its two hours to the airport and you need to get on the plane. Your Grandparents will be waiting for you and it’s time to begin your next year of school.”
“But Sir,” The young man told his Step-Father, “I really like it here now and I feel I need to stay awhile longer.”
‘What a strange change’, the older man thought, ‘the boy had never really liked him although he knew that he respected him. And now he wants to stay…’ “Son when the school year is over you will be coming back here but for now you must go. All of the arrangements have been made and cannot be unmade at this time.”
“Yes, sir.” The boy said unhappily.
::Go with my permission, Learn and report back when you can.:: Came the soft voice of the Mother and his heart lightened as he knew that he would not be punished and was free to go and learn more about this new world.
* * *
White House June 2021
“Mr. President, Admiral Hutchins is here for your 2:30 opening.”
“Thank you Ms. Gamen, send him right in please.” The President-for-Life of the United States directed.
A few minutes later the Chief of Naval Operations came into the Oval Office, or rather the new Oval Office. Ever since the cold Civil War had turned ‘Hot’, the President-for-life had stayed at the above top-secret Government continuity facility located ‘somewhere’ in the United States.
“Well, what do you have for me Admiral?” The President-for-life asked in the voice that made millions swoon just to hear it.
“The Lair is nearly complete; the self-destruct system has been installed and hidden so that no one can find it other than by blasting out the walls and floors. The ‘device’ was placed in the central pool and the pedestal and its attached railway were fabricated over it.
As per your instructions I have had the dead man’s switch tested exhaustively. All the triggers worked flawlessly each time.”
“Excellent! When will I receive it?”
“I brought it with me sir.” With a small flourish he removed a gold tone titanium case from his breast pocket. The case was an inch wide by a quarter inch thick and only two inches in length. There were two slightly recessed buttons under a protective sliding cover.
“And how do I activate it?” The President-for-Life asked in a tone of wonder. He looked at the small device in his hand with a curiously wolfish smile.
“You simply press both buttons at the same time. As long as the heartbeat monitor implanted next to your heart keeps registering your heartbeat the device won’t trigger the activation signal. To deactivate hold down Button #1 firmly and then press button #2 three times and the dead man’s switch is deactivated.” The Admiral told him.
“Very Good Admiral… Very, very good.” He finished in a soft breathy voice. “When will the Lair’s construction be complete?”
“Unless there are major disruptions it will be fully operational by October of 2022 Sir. All of the tunnels are complete and operational now and the submarines are the only way in or out at this time.
The smaller tunnel to the mainland is also complete and the end terminal was completed last week. The connection to the surface is to be the last item before the Lair is commissioned.”
At that point the President-for-life had some refreshments brought in and the two chatted comfortably about family and other inconsequential things, such as how the Civil War was going. They both knew that their forces would be victorious; it was inevitable you know the rag-tag insurgents in the general population were idiots for going up against the might of the Federal Government. And the FEMA camps were doing quite well at holding down discontent once the new ‘Camp Tranquilizer’ Drugs had been made available.
‘Sheeple… What a wonderful term and it described them so well too.’ The President-for-life thought to himself then with a return of his wolfish grin he whispered. “I do hope Mother likes the new place I’ve had built for her.”
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One – TSN Companion, Arabian Sea One hundred miles from the Gulf of Oman, 0400L Friday, November 13, 2026
Chapter Two - TSN Companion, 0900L Saturday, November 14, 2026
Chapter Three – En Route to New York City, 0930 EST, Saturday, November 14, 2026
Chapter Four – Rover, Facility M1, 1445 Eastern Standard Time, 2345 Omani Time, Saturday, November 14, 2026
Chapter Five – Niasar, Iran Province, Iranian Unified Republic, 0215L, Sunday, November 15, 2026
Chapter Six – TSN Auxiliary Epiphany, 1630L, Saturday, November 14, 2026
Chapter Seven – TSN Companion, 0615L, Sunday, November 15, 2026
Chapter Eight – Pentagon, 2130 EST, Saturday, November 14, 2026
Chapter Nine – TSN Companion, 0915L, Sunday, November 15, 2026
Chapter Ten – White House, Washington D.C. 1830 EST, Sunday, November 15, 2026
Chapter Eleven – TSN Epiphany, 0630L, Monday November 16, 2026
Chapter Twelve – Evana’s Day - 1015L, Sunday, November 15, 2026
Chapter Thirteen – Rollins, Montana 2145L, Sunday November 15, 2026
Chapter Fourteen - TSN Star Fighter Carrier Johnny Reb 0845 EST, Monday November 16, 2026
Chapter Fifteen - TSN Auxiliary Louis Pasteur, 0930 EST, Monday November 16, 2026
Chapter Sixteen - White House, 1000 EST Monday November 16, 2026
Chapter Seventeen - Fort Detrick, Maryland, 1030 EST, Monday November 16, 2026
Chapter Eighteen - Pentagon, 1150 EST, Monday November 16, 2026
Chapter Nineteen – TSN Auxiliary Louis Pasteur, Niasar Iran Province IUR, 0730L, Tuesday November 17, 2026
Chapter Twenty - TSN Companion. 1830L, Tuesday, November 17, 2026
Chapter Twenty One - TSN Belle, Ramsheh, Iran Province IUR, 1200L, Wednesday November 18, 2026
Chapter Twenty Two – TSN Companion. 1300L, Tuesday, November 20, 2026
Chapter Twenty Three - TSN Auxiliary Louis Pasteur, Niasar Iran Province IUR, 1500L, Friday November 20, 2026
Chapter Twenty Four - TSN Susannah, Lunar Orbit,
1000 GMT, Friday November 20, 2026.
Chapter Twenty Five - TSN Auxiliary Louis Pasteur, Fort Detrick Maryland, 1230 EST, Friday November 20, 2026
Chapter Twenty Six - TSN Belle, Cornwall, England 0715 GMT, Saturday November 21, 2026
Chapter Twenty Seven - TSN Auxiliary Louis Pasteur, Ramsheh, Iran Province IUR, 0900L, Wednesday November 25, 2026
Chapter Twenty Eight – TSN Companion. 1300L, Tuesday, December 1, 2026
Chapter Twenty Nine - GameTestors Inc., La Jolla California, 0930L, December 1, 2026
Chapter Thirty - TSN Auxiliary Louis Pasteur, Ramsheh Iran, IUR, Friday December 4, 2026
Chapter Thirty One - Admirals Staff Meeting, December 8, 2026
Chapter Thirty Two - TSN Auxiliary Louis Pasteur, Ramsheh IUR, Sunday, December 13, 2026
Chapter Thirty Three - Tel Aviv, Israel Monday December 14, 2026
Chapter Thirty Four - Washington D.C., Tuesday, December 15, 2026
Chapter Thirty Five - TSN Companion, Admiral’s Staff Meeting, December 22, 2026
Chapter Thirty Six - Studios of In the Vault, LTD. Saturday, December 26, 2026
Chapter Thirty Seven- Iceland Ecologic Institute, Reykjavik, Iceland, Monday, December 28, 2026
Chapter Thirty Eight - Haridu, Iraq Province, Iranian Unified Republic, Wednesday, December 30, 2026
Chapter Thirty Nine - Pentagon, Monday, January 4, 2027
Chapter Forty - Companion, Tuesday January 5, 2027
Chapter Forty One - Companion, Tuesday, January 26, 2027
Chapter Forty Two - Wednesday, January 27, 2027
Chapter Forty Three - Friday, January 29, 2027
Chapter Forty Four - Saturday, January 30, 2027 – Alphonse’s
Chapter Forty Five - Tuesday, February 2, 2027
Chapter Forty Six - Tuesday, February 9, 2027. Admiral Webster’s Weekly Staff Meeting.
Chapter Forty Seven - Thursday, February 11, 2028, Camp Heinlein
Chapter Forty Eight - Tuesday, February 16, 2027, Admiral Webster’s Weekly Staff Meeting
Chapter Forty Nine - Tokyo, Japan Wednesday, February 17, 2027
Chapter Fifty – Asimov City- Friday, February 19, 2027
Chapter Fifty One - Admiral’s Staff meeting – Tuesday, March 2, 2027
Chapter Fifty Two - Asimov City – Wednesday March 3, 2027
Chapter Fifty Three - London, England, Friday March 5, 2027
Chapter Fifty Four - Tuesday, March 9, 2027
Chapter Fifty Five - Wednesday, March 10, 2027
Chapter Fifty Six - Friday, March 12, 2027
Chapter Fifty Seven - Saturday, March 13, 2027
Chapter Fifty Eight – Tuesday, March 16, 2027
Chapter Fifty Nine – Wednesday, March 17, 2027
Chapter Sixty - Thursday, March 18, 2027
Chapter Sixty One - Friday, March 19, 2027
Chapter Sixty Two - Monday, March 22, 2027
Chapter Sixty Three - Tuesday, March 23, 2027
Chapter Sixty Four - Monday, April 5, 2027
Chapter Sixty Five - Wednesday, April 7, 2027
Chapter Sixty Six- Friday, April 9, 2027
Epilogue One:
Epilogue Two:
Epilogue Three:
TSN Companion, Arabian Sea One hundred miles from the Gulf of Oman, 0400L Friday, November 13, 2026
The Companion set down gently onto the surface of the Arabian Sea only one hundred miles from the entrance to the Gulf of Oman.
She had sailed away from Task Force 14 at a rate of 50 knots and maintained that speed for an hour or so to test her general behavior and water borne maneuvering. Once she had gone back into full masking, the Gravity/phase drive was brought on-line and she had lifted out of the ocean and stabilized at 5,000 feet and headed for her appointment with the IUR.
Former U.S. Navy officers Evana Thomas and Gunnar Johansson were in the Medical section under-going their first TSN implants. They would be receiving their internal Comm implant. After that was integrated with the brain-body matrix then they would get the enhanced computational implant that allowed the ‘Slowtime’ process to work.
Ansel Webster sat on the bridge with a command helmet covering his head. He was integrating himself with the Companion and her Primary AI. Once full integration was done, he as her Captain would have near instantaneous access to any system. Currently he was testing out each of the sixty point defense Gundecks. Each of these had two of the same Gatling laser/Metal Storm gun platform that the Epiphany used. One eight inch rail gun and four twenty millimeter rail guns.
He was expecting to need each of these stations in the next few days. Hopefully the IUR will realize that attacking the Companion was fruitless endeavor. And once all of the Weapon Stations were neutralized in the Persian Gulf Coast line that the current Iranian Unified Republic had claimed, and then the Companion would probably move to the Caspian Sea and just sit off the Coast where the people of Tehran would see them every day. Knowing that there wasn’t a damn thing they could do to rid themselves of their jailers.
He mused for a moment at how the IUR had so skillfully manipulated first Pakistan, when they had been in the throes of Tribal versus Government conflicts and then when they managed to do the same to the nascent Iraqi Republic. They really did understand the psyche of the peoples of their region. But when it came to understanding the Western nations, it was as though there was a filter on their reasoning that they just couldn’t remove.
“Ariadne, that’s the last of them, status and performance statistics please.” Ansel asked.
“Three Metalstorms failed to operate. Diagnostics indicate that they need to be replaced. We are going to have Fabrication take the faulty units and disassemble them to find out why. All other weapon Systems functioned as designed.
“Thank you, now let’s check out the Big Guns, load and unload sequences and variable ammunition loads. Full charge and then slow discharge tests.
On and on they went checking out each major system in an orderly but rapid sequence. It was 0800 local by the time they were done.
“What’s the status on Evana and Gunnar?” Ansel inquired
“They are both doing well; the implantation of the Comm modules is done. Full integration will be approximately four days. They will be awake in an estimated 27 minutes but not certified for duty until forty eight hours from now.” She reported.
“Too bad, I was holding off in the hope that they would be able to watch this next evolution. No matter…
Please engage Gravity/Phase Generators. Our initial location for the Blockade will be on the international three mile border off of Bandar Abbas. Full masking is in effect until we set down.” Ansel directed,
Companion lifted out of the water gently; however a passing Oil tanker saw a fall of water from the hull as she left the ocean. The third officer was so impressed that he called the First to witness the event. Unfortunately for both, Companion was long gone by the time the First officer showed up at the bridge and ended up reaming the Third for disturbing him at breakfast over ‘nothing’.
0820L off of Bandar Abbas – Friday, November 13, 2026
Six hours forty minutes until delivery of Declaration of War between Terran Space Navy and Iranian Unified Republic.
“Okay let’s set down and turn off the Masking.” Ansel directed Ariadne.
“Masking generators now are being placed into stand-by.” Ariadne announced 10 minutes later as the giant ship set down carefully. Her draft was so deep that she was actually sitting on the Seabed of the Strait of Hormuz.
“Let’s see how long it takes before we are noticed.” Ansel said quietly.
“Signal intercepts indicate massive confusion and consternation among the tanker and freighters making their passage through the strait.” Ariadne soon reported.
“We expected that. Any official or military chatter yet?”
“A small frigate has just put out from the IUR base at Bandar Abbas… Still no attempt to communicate with us. Ahhh, i
t appears to be a normal training cruise with reservists.” A couple of minutes passed. “Finally! Someone just woke up and spotted us. Tracking radars are lighting off. There’s two, four, twelve targeting radars of the type associated with the Sunburn II missiles China started to export two years ago.”
“Oman traffic control is issuing a notice to Mariner’s about us. We are an unknown Warship of Stupendous size in their notice.” Ariadne continued to report.
“Continue to do nothing overt. If they send a ship out to us do not acknowledge their presence. They can’t board us from the sea.” Ansel directed.
“Here comes a helicopter. It appears to be a French Alouette III Variant with two crew and five passengers. No observable weapons at this time.” Ariadne announced.