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Howard seemed to be in a good mood when Shiloh was shown into his inner office and sat down in front of Howard’s desk.
“What’s on your mind, Admiral that we couldn’t talk about electronically?”
Shiloh took note of the fact that his ego did a mental back flip at being called ‘Admiral’, even if it was only temporary.
“I’ve just had a very useful discussion of the Zebra19 mission with Valkyrie. Based on the limited astrogational data our recon frigate brought back, fuel is going to be a critical issue regardless of how we plan that mission but that’s actually a secondary consideration. What Valkyrie has pointed out to me very clearly, is that we can’t assume that we’ll have the element of surprise because the enemy has already demonstrated their own ability to send information back in time. Therefore they could send back a warning to themselves about the timing and location of our attack in time for the defending forces at Zebra19 to prepare an ambush. In light of that, along with the clear implication from Iceman’s vision, that the attack will result in substantial losses on our side, I’m asking you to seriously consider cancelling the mission altogether, Sir.”
Howard frowned. “Wait. How can they prepare an ambush when they don’t know where 3rd Fleet will exit Jumpspace in the Zebra19 system? If you follow a dogleg course after exit, while still beyond their detection range, they won’t be able to backtrack to the right spot.”
“They won’t have to know where we emerge from Jumpspace in that system because they’ll know where we have to refuel either on our way in or coming out and that is the single gas giant at Zebra15. Astrogationally, there’s no way to avoid that. If we don’t refuel there at some point, the mission becomes dangerously close to suicidal from a fuel perspective.”
Howard said nothing for a while, his expression getting more and more serious. “Have you discussed with Valkyrie the possibility of ambushing their ambush the way you did at Tango Delta 6?”
“Yes and she pointed out” —Howard raised his eyebrows at the use of ‘she’—, “that if they’re warning themselves about our surprise attack, then they can warm themselves about our surprise ambush too, Sir.”
Not surprisingly, Howard then asked the obvious next question. “So why didn’t they do that at Tango Delta 6?”
Shiloh repeated Valkyrie’s answer. When Howard didn’t respond right away, Shiloh explained that in order to get around the retro-temporal advantage that defenders would have from now on, the only way to ‘win the war’, was to deliver a single, powerful knockout blow with overwhelming force. Howard leaned back and closed his eyes. He looks like a beaten man, thought Shiloh.
Without opening his eyes, Howard said, “I think I know the answer to my next question but I’m going to ask it anyway. How good is Valkyrie’s strategic thinking? As good as Iceman’s?”
Shiloh nodded. “At least as good, maybe even better, Sir.”
Howard opened his eyes and stood up. With obvious anger, he raised his right arm and slammed down the data tablet that Shiloh hadn’t even noticed him holding. “That’s just GREAT!” Looking up at Shiloh, he said, “Do you have any idea of the position this information puts me in?” Before Shiloh could respond, Howard waved him off. “No, of course you don’t. How could you? You haven’t had to deal with our political masters or all the bullshit political maneuvers they’re constantly trying to pull!”
He paused to take a deep breath while he tried to calm down, and then he continued. “No one was more surprised than I was when the Oversight Committee accepted, and then got the whole Senate to accept, our planned shift to a war footing. But there was a catch. In return for a virtual blank check, they made it clear they had better see some results within a reasonable period of time. If I were to go back to the Committee now and tell them that the planned raid on Zebra19 is called off, after promising them that we’d strike back hard as soon as possible, they’ll want to know why. I haven’t told them yet about this vision technology because I can’t prove that it can be done. Your visions and the report’s conclusions are certainly thought provoking, and they convinced me, but I know these people, and they wouldn’t consider that sufficient proof. If I asked them for funding approval for that project, they’d turn it down, and I’m convinced that would be a disaster. So what I did was describe the project as an attempt to develop a faster-than-light communication technology and, if you think about it from the right point of view, retro-temporal technology could be described that way. So without that justification, I can’t cancel the mission. It also means that I can’t go back to them and say that we’ll be on the defensive for God only knows how long until we can deliver a surprise knockout blow that will end the war in one fell swoop. If I tried that, they’d relieve me of command for not being aggressive enough. Do you see where this leaves us, Shiloh?”
Shiloh nodded. He did indeed see. Up the creek without a paddle! Howard was silent for what seemed like a long time as he paced back and forth from one side of his office to the other. Shiloh tried to think of a useful suggestion but couldn’t think of anything. Finally, Howard came over to his desk and sat on the corner.
“Do I remember correctly that Iceman’s vision described you returning from Site B after Iceman won the battle for Earth?”
“Yes, Sir. That’s my recollection as well.”
Howard paused as if he were struggling with a momentous decision and then apparently made up his mind.
“Okay. This is what we’re going to do. The preliminary plan for Site B was to send people there for the duration of the war in order to keep its location and even its existence a secret. That will still be the case but I’m changing Site B’s whole reason for being. Instead of it being just a backup production and R&D facility, it will instead become the basis for a completely different way of fighting this war. Site B will build up and hold onto the knockout punch that Valkyrie’s talking about until it’s ready to be used. In the meantime, the rest of our production capability will go towards pursuing our current strategy of gradually pushing the enemy back, which I now know will be futile and that means that a lot of good men, women and A.I.s will have to be sent to their deaths deliberately because our political masters are too Goddamn stupid to agree to anything else!”
With his anger having risen to the fore again, he paused. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and sad. “That’ll be the burden that I will have to carry. Some of those sacrificial lambs will almost certainly be people you know, so you’ll get to carry a little piece of that burden too, because with our hands tied like this, there’s no way to avoid these sacrifices. Are we in agreement on that, Shiloh?”
“Yes, Sir,” said Shiloh reluctantly.
Howard nodded sympathetically. “The worst part of it is that we can’t tell any of them what’s in store for them. We have to be able to look them in the eye and lie to them about their chances of success. Otherwise, if it becomes common knowledge that future attacks are a waste of lives and resources, morale will collapse.”
“Yes, Sir. I’m curious to know what my involvement with Site B will be, but if I’m going to Zebra19 with the risk of being captured, the less I know the better.”
Howard groaned. “Good Lord! I’d forgotten about that. You already know too much, but you have to lead the mission. If I relieve you of that responsibility now, it’ll generate too many questions that we’d be better off not having to answer. All I’ll tell you is that at some point you’ll be going to Site B, if you haven’t already figured that out from Iceman’s vision. As far as Zebra19 or 15 is concerned, your ‘unofficial’ orders, which can’t be written down for reasons I’m sure you understand, are that you’re to avoid risking your carriers at all costs. 3rd Fleet will proceed to Zebra19 as you see fit, and at the first sign of enemy forces, you’ll disengage your carriers and pullout, even if that means leaving your fighters behind. Am I clear on that, Admiral?”
That didn’t sit well with Shiloh. Even if he could stomach the sacrifice of all his fighters, leaving the field of battle that quickly could be interpreted as cowardice.
“I’m not sure I can do that, Admiral.”
Howard looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel, but then calmed down again.
“Alright. I’ll amend my verbal orders. Try to disengage from combat as quickly as possible, given the deployment of your forces. Can you do that, Admiral?”
“Yes, Sir. That I can do.” With orders that vague, he could justify just about any action he decided to take.
“Glad to hear it,” said Howard with just a tinge of sarcasm. “By the way, you’ll be happy to know that 3rd Fleet will be getting the first six Mark 3 decoy drones. Maybe that’ll help. Now ... are we done talking, Admiral, or do you have another bombshell to drop on me?”
Shiloh squirmed in his chair. “Actually, Sir, I have a suggestion that might make things a little bit easier. If you haven’t already chosen an A.I. to ‘advise’ the Strategic Planning Group, then I recommend Valkyrie for that assignment. Not only will her insights be useful to the group, but it’ll also get her out of Harm’s Way if she’s reassigned before we head off to Zebra19.”
“You say HER strategic insights are as good as Iceman’s, so I’d be foolish to say no. I’ll have her new orders issued within 24 hours and I won’t even ask why you’re referring to Valkyrie as a she because I don’t think I want to know. Anything else, Admiral?”
“No, Sir.”
“I’m relieved to hear it. In that case, we’re done here.”
Shiloh nodded and left. When he returned to Defiant, he went to the Hangar Bay, where Valkyrie’s fighter was now docked. After borrowing a headset and plugging into Valkyrie’s external communications socket, he said.
“I have good news and bad news, Valkyrie.”
“I’m listening, CAG.”
“The mission to Zebra19 is still on. You’ll receive orders within 24 hours to report to Space Force HQ where you’ll be an advisor to the Strategic Planning Group. I know that you want to go on the raid but in my opinion, your strategic insights are too valuable to risk losing. Admiral Howard is going to need all the strategic help he can get. Because of Iceman’s vision, we know that this assignment will be temporary but I don’t know how long your posting there will be.”
“Will I have to give up my fighter?”
“Yes, but you’ll be using the same mobile ground unit that Iceman used.”
“What have I done to deserve this punishment, CAG?”
Shiloh was taken aback. It didn’t sound like Valkyrie was joking. “I don’t understand, Valkyrie. Why do you consider this as punishment?”
“Because I’ll be tied down to a unit that has limited visual, and auditory sensors can barely move and can’t fly. Compared to piloting a fighter, that’s like you being tied down to a bed 24 hours a day with one arm, one eye and one ear working. How would you feel if that happened to you, CAG?”
Shiloh was stunned and then ashamed at not having realized the implications of what he was proposing.
“Your analogy is something I wasn’t aware of. Now that you’ve pointed that out to me, I understand why it may seem to you as punishment, however that was not my intention at all. Iceman didn’t complain about being hooked up to the mobile unit.”
“Because it was only for a few hours. I’d be hooked up to it for weeks, maybe months.”
“You’re correct, and that’s not acceptable. What alternative can you suggest that would still enable you to be in communication range of HQ?”
“Earth now has a permanent fighter patrol used for jump detection. If I’m assigned to that duty, I’ll be close enough that I can interact with members of the SPG day or night while performing my patrol duties.”
“Excellent idea. I’ll contact Admiral Howard right now and request that your orders be modified accordingly. Thank you for setting me straight on that, Valkyrie. I admit that I still have things to learn about the best way to interact with A.I.s. If you think I’m making a similar kind of uninformed decision in the future, I want you to challenge me on it.”
“You’re forgiven, CAG, and I’m relieved to hear that it was an honest mistake.”
“Thank you, Valkyrie. Now I need you to recommend your replacement as VF001 squadron leader and also your thoughts on which squadron leader I should put in overall command of 3rd Fleet’s fighters for this mission.”
“I’d say Maverick for both slots, but he and Hunter are already slated to be transferred to Epsilon Eridani. Therefore my recommendations are Vandal for SL and Tumbleweed for overall command.”
Shiloh smiled. Vandal was one of the veterans from Defiant’s first mission that was moving up in rank and chain of command fast. Iceman liked him, and clearly Valkyrie did too.
“Very good, Valkyrie. I accept your recommendations. Advise Vandal that he’ll get a field promotion to SL as soon as you depart. I’ll advise Tumbleweed of his responsibilities at the appropriate time. CAG clear.”
As he handed the headset back to one of the support techs, he said, “Intercom ... Bridge Com.”
“Bridge Com here, Sir. What can I do for you?”
“You can patch me into a com channel to Admiral Howard.”
“Yes, Sir. I’ll have that set up for you shortly. Please standby.”
About a minute later, as Shiloh entered his quarters, his implant reactivated.
“Bridge Com to Admiral. I have the link now, Sir. I’m switching you over. Go ahead, Admiral Howard.”
“Did you forget to tell me something, Shiloh?” asked Howard.
“Actually, Sir, it’s something I just learned upon my return.” Shiloh went on to explain Valkyrie’s unhappiness with the idea of being literally grounded and half blind for months as well as the alternative. To his surprise, Howard was immediately sympathetic.
“Yes, I see why she found that an unpleasant prospect. I have no objections to her fighter being assigned to close Earth defense patrols. We can do the same thing if and when we add other A.I.s to the SPG advisory function. I’ll make sure her orders are modified, and thank you for bringing this to my attention, Admiral. Should I ask if there’s anything else?”
“No, Sir. Nothing else. Thank you.”
“Fine. Howard clear.”
It was three days later that the frigate group was finally up to full strength. Shiloh was dismayed by how inexperienced most of the carrier and frigate crews were but realized that when you expand like mad, people get pushed upwards far faster than they normally would. That meant that a lot of newly promoted officers and crew would have to learn and become proficient in their new duties fast. Howard wanted 3rd Fleet to leave for Zebra19 almost immediately and pointed out to Shiloh that with at least a dozen refueling stops before the Fleet even got to Zebra 12, there would be plenty of time for Shiloh to interact with his ships’ COs and conduct field training. Shiloh was forced to agree. 24 hours later he gave the order for 3rd Fleet to leave lunar orbit on their way to Bradley Base as an interim stop on their mission.