“I’ll be damned if they don’t come to investigate. And if I give them a sign, a tale of my fleet, they will come.”
The plan was forming in his mind even as he thought of that. He suddenly realized that he will need a resupply of nuclear warheads. He smiled a shark’s smile as he stood up and exited the cabin. He covered the distance to the bridge fast.
As he entered everyone stood up, and his wife gave him a loving smile, accompanied with a questioning look.
He returned the smile and went to his seat.
“What happened? I thought you will take the next couple of hours and use them to rest.”
“I thought so too, but my mind didn’t agree. You can say I had an epiphany.”
As he said that she looked at him with look that said that he has to speak. And so did the others on the bridge.
He smiled, cleared his gave them his plan. As he spoke he saw that their faces lit up. It wasn’t much but it was something new, a challenge, and one that will have to be timed perfectly to the last detail.
When he finished a silence engulfed the bridge. It lasted for just a moment but it seemed like a lifetime.
“That is a great plan admiral. It will be a challenge but it is doable. And when it works…”
The comment drew a smile on everyone’s face.
“Thank you Markus. Let’s just hope that it will work.”
The young lieutenant smiled.
“O it will work sir. They might be more advanced but the bastards are over confident and arrogant. I was there when we fought that cruiser and I saw that. We can take them…and we will.”
Jennings looked at the young man, Lieutenant Markus Davidson. He was a recent addition, coming on a transfer from the Demetrion. His record showed that he served on the Kinkaid, one of the rail gun equipped battle cruisers. He was injured during the battle, when one of the enemy rounds got a hit on the Kinkaid but he stayed on his post and continued firing until the battle was concluded. He nearly lost his life for that and got a medal of honor for the act. He wore it proudly and he was close with the marines that served on the ship. They knew how he got the medal, and what he did to get it. That went a long way. And considering that he saw them in battle his comment had merit.
“From your lips to God’s ears Lieutenant…”
“Yes Sir.”
“But in order for this plan to work we will need mines…the nuclear ones of course.”
He turned to his coms officer.
“Contact the Farragut and give captain Kirkpatrick the layout for the new plan. And inform him that he has command of the fleet. Tell him we are leaving the system.”
The officer quickly relayed the order.
Several minutes later the Prometheus left the formation and headed towards the warp point.
At the speed it was going, it would take several hours to reach it. This time Jennings decided to really take a rest. He retreated to his cabin and in a short time he fell asleep. It seemed that the epiphany was over.
Simonson was drinking his coffee on board the Demetrion when the alarm sounded. He jumped and spilled some of it on the floor.
“Damn.”
“Sorry commander.”
“It is ok Aria. What do we have?”
“It is the Prometheus. They just transited in the system.”
Simonson scratched his head. He knew that Jennings was in command and that the Prometheus was the flag ship of Third Fleet. And that at the moment Third Fleet was conducting exercises in the Proxima Centaury system. It had to be important for the admiral to return at this moment.
“Contact the Prometheus and tell the admiral that I await his arrival.”
“Yes sir.”
The AI shimmered out of sight, and Simonson smiled. The way she appeared and disappeared looked like magic.
She returned a moment later.
“Commander Jennings will be on board in twenty minutes. He said he has a plan he needs to discuss, and a request.”
“O…well I guess it is something really important then. Return to your duties Aria. I have some reports to look at, and as it seems only twenty minutes to finish them.”
The AI smiled.
“Yes Admiral.”
Before he could respond she disappeared. He smiled and returned his attention to the reports on his desk.
Most of them were evaluations of the exercises of the fleet, the latest results. From what he could see he could say that the results were surprisingly good. They were still far from perfection but they were close. The new ships were integrating with the old ones and the greatest problem was coming from there. He knew from experience how much the integration is important, the knowledge that you can trust the others that they will do their job and be there when you need them. As for the fire power the results were excellent, better than even the greatest expectations.
The mine field was finally finished. The last warheads were placed the previous day. Two thousand four hundred and eighty warheads were placed around the warp point. They were deactivated now but it only took a second to activate them. They ranged in power from twenty to five hundred megatons, and there were ten with a power of one gigaton each.
It was an awesome power, one that frightened him when he thought of it.
As he looked at the reports he didn’t notice the time.
When the door opened he looked at the clock and noticed that the twenty minutes were almost done.
“Sir the shuttle from the Prometheus will be docking in two minutes.”
“Thank you. Tell captain Telford that he should wait for the admiral and then escort him to my office.”
“Yes sir.”
The young officer retreated and Simonson stood and took care of his uniform. He always did that but especially when he was meeting Samuel Jennings. They were old friends and if he had even a scratch on it he knew he would get a beating from the newly appointed admiral.
Jennings smiled as the pilot landed the shuttle with ease. It was a relief. He knew that he could have complete confidence in the pilot but he always felt a little awkward when he was in a shuttle. He suspected that the memory of the old shuttles that they flew couple of years ago was the main reason for that. He missed those old birds.
As the door opened he noticed a lot of movement in the bay. The vipers were having an exercise and everyone was running somewhere, both pilots and the crews that worked on the birds. He noticed a group of marines and an officer waiting for him.
As he exited they saluted and he returned the greeting.
“Admiral…”
“Captain…”
“If you would come with me Sir, Admiral Simonson is waiting for you in his ready room.”
“Lead the way captain.”
“Yes sir.”
Telford turned and so did the marines and they all went towards one of the doors on the other side of the bay.
As they passed the crews they received several salutes but most people just ignored them and continued their work. He approved of that. They all had jobs and they were more important than him, or any other officer.
He looked at the captain that was leading him. He didn’t know much about Telford just that he was in command of a destroyer back on Earth. He was forty nine years old and it showed both on his face and in his hair, through the gray hairs that were starting to show.
He was named captain on the Demetrion just couple of months earlier but considering that he was here at the request of Simonson himself he had to be good. His friend was a good judge of character.
That and his excellent knowledge of tactics and ambition was the reason for his rapid advancement through the ranks.
The marines left them alone when they left the hangar. He remembered the previous times he walked this same corridors in the past months. Compared with the corridors on the ships that humanity built today these were big and spacious. So were the cruisers. He smiled as he remembered that the launch bay of Argus could house the whole Deadalus and have room to spar
e. His old ship was now on the edge of this system going towards the distant gas giant and its moons. The command now was in the hands of Peter Sellers, one of his colleagues at NASA. He wished them luck.
“We are here sir.”
He was caught by surprise by the captain’s comment. He was so deep in his thoughts that he never noticed that they were close to the bridge. Same as on the Argus, the captains quarters were connected directly with the bridge. They could be accessed both from the bridge and from the outside corridor.
Jennings flashed a smile at the captain.
“Thank you Captain Telford.”
The captain saluted and went to the bridge. He opened the door and noticed Simonson looking at the door.
“Well you are a pleasant surprise Sam.”
“Ha-ha not as big as you Jack. But at least you can’t bully me with your rank anymore.”
“Congratulations for that Sam. You earned it, more than anyone I know. Want a glass Scotch?”
“Thanks.”
Jennings took the glass that Simonson gave him. He took a sip and looked at his colleague. He looked tired and considering the number of ships he was commanding, and the experience he had with his small fleet he knew the reason. It was exhausting command.
“You look tired.”
“Well you don’t look much better. We both know the reasons. And it will be harder as the day approaches.”
“Yea it will.”
They both emptied their glasses together and Simonson poured them a second tour.
“So how is your fleet forming? I guess you have a little excitement and trouble with the integration of the new ships.”
“They are doing fine. By the time the Dacarians show up, they’ll be ready. As ready as i can make them.”
“That is good to hear. So what brings you here? I thought you were in the middle of an exercise. “
“The fleet still is. And the exercise is the reason I’m here. I have a plan and in order to implement it i will need something.”
Simonson looked at his friend and at the small smile that was forming on his face.
“What do you need? You have the look that you always had when you thought of something good.”
Jennings smiled.
“You know me too well.”
“Well we are friends for how long?”
That comment brought a smile on both their faces. The answer was from kindergarten. Jennings was older but they were from the same neighborhood and they were friends from the first time they met. It was so long ago that it looked like ancient time by now. They both joined the military but took different pats. While Sam joined the Air Force, Jack chose the Navy. But they never lost touch. And now years after they both had the same rank and the same command. It seemed that their destinies were intertwined.
“I need a mine field of my own Jack. I will need at least twenty maybe even thirty fifty to a hundred megatons nukes.”
As Simonson looked at him with surprise he laid out his plan. As he spoke he noticed the same smile he saw on the faces of his officers appearing on the face of his friend.
Half an hour later they both laughed and Simonson looked at him.
“You will have them by the end of the day. We have several hundred left that we plan to place on approach vectors for Earth and through the Asteroid belt. I will give you thirty from them. It as a bold and a sneaky plan you bastard. And knowing our friends they will bite and bite hard. I knew you will think of something like that.”
“They killed my nephew Jack. That is a debt i plan to return with an interest.”
A short silence came after that comment. Simonson still remembered the day he brought the news of Pits death. Both Sam and his sister were broken. The young boy was the pride of his family, and he was an excellent officer. He was also a great science fiction fan, and he belonged to this future and the future they were fighting for.
“To his honor Sam…to that and to revenge…”
They both emptied their glasses.
“So how is Linda? She has her work cut out with you.”
“She is fine. She said to say hi.”
Simonson smiled. Linda was the second wife Jack had. The first marriage with Kate didn’t work out well. But this one seemed to be going well.
“Tell her that i said hi and that I’m waiting for her. I think I can find some free time for a dinner together.”
“I will. And I sure hope you do. It’s been a while…”
“Yea it has…”
They both exhaled and just stayed quiet for a moment.
Jennings was the first one to break the silence. He looked at the pile of papers on the desk at the other end of the cabin and his mind shifted towards their mission.
“So how is everything on this side? Is there anything new?”
“So far it is going well. The mine field around the warp point is finally finished. And the fleet exercises are going excellent. They are surpassing even the highest expectations.”
“Well the crews have more than enough motivation. And they are good all they needed was time to get used to the new surroundings. The rest is easy.”
“Sam did you see the performance reports for the corvettes?
“All I have are the reports from the two that are in my fleet but if I have to judge I’d say that they are damn good. They have the speed and the maneuverability that the other ships don’t have and they have a lot of firepower for a ship their size.”
“They already made an impact on the other classes that are in development. TNMC sure made one hell of a ship. You know they got the idea by working with an AI. I believe his name is Marius and according to Le Blanc he is one sarcastic bastard.”
Jennings smiled at the comment.
“Well he has to be when he has to work with miners. If he was alive I would bet that he would drink just as bad as them.”
“You know I think he actually said that.”
They both smiled again. Jennings stood up and so did Simonson.
“Thanks for the drink Jack.”
“I hope we’ll have a chance to do it more often soon.”
“So do i.”
Before he exited he turned and looked at Simonson.
“Don’t forget about my mines. I hope I will be able to bring them back with me. And give Aria the lay out of my plan. Tell her that I will wait on her judgment.”
At that moment the AI appeared behind him.
“Thought of leaving the ship without saying hi? Now that is rude from you.”
“Aria… I should have known.”
“Yes you should admiral…or should I say admirals.”
“You know we could order you to be quiet and not listen.”
The AI smiled.
“Yes you could but I could choose not to listen…”
“Hell Jack I don’t think we can win this fight.”
The younger admiral smiled at his colleague.
“No Sam I agree with you we can’t. I guess you owe the lady an apology.”
“O so now I’m a lady?”
Jennings smiled at the AI that at the moment made a sarcastic face.
“You certainly are my dear. And I’m sorry.”
“You are forgiven admiral. I will review your report have my recommendations in one hour. I will share them with Anaya as well.”
“Thank you Aria.”
“Just doing my job Admiral, just doing my job”
The Ai shimmered and disappeared after that. Jennings greeted Simonson and then headed toward the hangar. Simonson watched him go and after a moment he retreated to his room. As he did Aria appeared again.
“Aria I want you to send a request for twenty fifty megatons and ten hundred megatons nuclear warheads to be delivered to the Prometheus within the next couple of hours.”
“Already did admiral. The warheads will be delivered right after you call and give confirmation.”
“Thanks Aria. Give me a link to the base. And send shuttles to pick up the warhead
s.”
“Yes Admiral.”
He had the link just seconds later and gave the command. After that he returned to the reports on his desk.
As he sat down he exhaled. He had a lot of work ahead of him. And it was a work that he hated.
Several hours later the Prometheus transited the warp point back to the Proxima Centaury system and it carried on board the thirty warheads, and the confirmation about the plan from bot Anaya and Aria. Jennings smiled. He had a plan and the bastards were going to pay.
He looked at the plan that he proposed and entered the changes that Aria and Anaya proposed. He was pleased.
The plan was simple. Prometheus along with four of the Orion class ships and five Los Angeles class will be positioned in orbit around the first planet in the system the one closest to the star. They would actually hide there. The other sixteen ships will hide in the asteroid belt on the other side of the system. It was a small asteroid belt compared with the one in the Sol System but small still meant millions of square miles and rocks. It was big enough to hide the small fleet inside it. The small change was proposed by Anaya and he accepted it.
The Orion’s carried 40 fighters each and the second squadron might have a need of fighter support. From the reports about the battle in the Mediterranean and from the reports from Anaya about the conflict in the past between the Alterans and the Dacarians they used fighters regularly. Earth’s defense net proved itself, especially the AEGIS system in the first battle. That gave him a huge hope that they will easily deal with whatever fighters the enemy will use. But the suggestion was good especially that the fighters might initiate a surprise attack before the enemy is ready.
He planned to make the trap halfway from the warp point and his troops. That is why he asked for the Intrepid. The second ship under his command was also retrofitted and it got additional armor and several plasma cannons, rail guns and point defense kinetic weapons. It was also faster than any of the newly built ships. That meant that it would be used as bait. The ship will hide on the third planet in the system and it will launch as soon as the main fleet transits from the system. He knew that the Dacarians will give chase. The ships design was changed enough that they won’t be able to recognize it as a ship from Alteran design, and considering that they will notice the life signs on Proxima he knew that they will be intrigued enough. They already knew that the probe that the dacarian scout fleet launched in Sol had data about Proxima. The bastards studied the planet before transitioning through the warp point and even took several specimens. The species was deemed unusable and to primitive and a note was made that it should be exterminated. That proved how ruthless their enemy was. And it made the determination to stop them even bigger.
The Icarian Legacy Collected Edition: Brave Souls - First Strike (Volume 3) Page 30
