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Spartan Space Force HQ:
Janicot watched another red icon dissolve, indicating that the FED ship had micro-jumped away. That made the total six ships that had survived and escaped. There were still three more that were clearly unable to accelerate and were now coasting towards the boundary. Drake’s boats were back on the ground, and the maintenance crews were frantically reloading them with missiles, but the computers were saying that any missiles launched now wouldn’t reach those three ships before they crossed the boundary. Whether they still had the ability to jump away was a question that couldn’t be answered yet. Of the remaining 11 FED warships that had started the attack, two had been vaporized, and the other nine were essentially drifting wrecks. Several had survivors who were requesting rescue. The others would be searched for survivors as quickly as possible. If any of those other three crossed the boundary and didn’t jump away, they’d be searched eventually, but catching up to them would be time consuming and difficult.
Janicot sighed with fatigue from his battle-induced adrenaline rush. By any normal standard, this battle was a decisive Union victory, but all their simulations had led them to believe that P2 could engineer an even more lopsided victory. Crippled ships drifting in Sparta orbit could be repaired, resulting in an increase for the SSU and a corresponding decrease for the FEDs. But even with those repairs, if 9 out of 20 did manage to get away, the balance of forces would still favor the FEDs. And if they could get their damaged ships repaired first, the ratio in the short run would be even more unfavorable. There was one bright spot though. Even crippled as they were, a lot would be revealed about their anti-missile laser defense system when those cripples were salvaged. With that technology plus the home grown second and third generation anti-missile missiles, SSU ships would be very difficult to hit in the future.
As Janicot turned away from the main display to head for the exit and home, he took note of the fact that Palmgren’s boats were heading toward Sparta to be rearmed as well. Both groups of boats would be back in orbit or on alert status as soon as possible just in case the FEDs tried to catch them with their pants down. Janicot had made up his mind that that wasn’t going to happen on his watch as Chief of Space Operations.
Day 018/2547
Trojan winced when he saw that Romanov had his arm in a sling and one side of his face covered with ugly red scar tissue. He kept the greeting friendly and informal. He wanted to wait until they were in his office before getting down to business.
When both men were seated and had lit their cigars, Trojan took a puff and said, “Majestic reviewed the tactical playback data. It’s now of the opinion that not only were the Spartans ready for your attack, they wanted it. That implies that the battle for Earth really was a setup. The fact that you managed to get eight ships back here is a testament to your tactical ingenuity. Without that unorthodox use of Mark 1s, there was a very good chance that none of your ships would have made it back, so congratulations are in order, Admiral. I mean that sincerely.”
Romanov sighed. “Thank you, General. That means a lot to me.” He took a puff from his cigar and continued. “What does Majestic think we should do now?”
“Well, our repair facility inside that dormant volcano here on Hadley can only repair one ship at a time. Makassar obviously isn’t in any shape to repair ships yet, so most of your ships will have to head to Earth to be repaired there. You may as well go with them. You’ve earned some leave, and I’m sure you’d rather spend it on Earth than on Hadley. As far as our next move is concerned, we can’t do much until Makassar is able to start delivering a few warships, and as you know that’ll take at least 18 months. I’ve decided that I’m not letting the SSU interfere with our buildup on Makassar again. We’ll rebuild our x-ray laser satellite network, plus there’ll be warships on patrol there from now on, and if that means leaving Earth vulnerable to another Rebel attack, then so be it. By the time Makassar is able to mass produce warships, we’ll have the troops, the transports and the infrastructure we need to start building the Empire. When you get to Earth, I want you to order the four warships left behind to come back here, and you can fire Stevens too.”
Romanov raised his eyebrows. “That won’t go over well with the Old Man. What if he countermands that dismissal?”
Trojan laughed. “He probably would at that. Okay, don’t worry about Stevens, just get those four ships back here, and if Stevens comes back with them, I’ll just fire him when he gets here and ship him right back again.” Both men laughed.
“How soon do you want 1st Fleet, or rather what’s left of it, to head back to Earth?” asked Romanov.
Trojan shrugged. “You’ve got wounded who have to be brought down from orbit, the ships will need to be provisioned for the trip back, and there may be some simple repairs that can be done while the ships are in orbit. I’m not concerned if it takes a few extra days to do all that. Nothing’s going to happen anytime soon. Besides, after that battle, which must have been pretty hairy, your crews deserve to get off those ships and breathe real air under a real sky for a few days.”
“Thank you, General. They’ll appreciate that as do I.” Romanov paused and Trojan waited. “I had a lot of time on the way back here to think about that battle. I think Majestic is right. The battle for Earth was a setup to entice us to attack prematurely. Somehow they managed to create a situation that even fooled Majestic. We know they managed to steal the technology to build their own Oracle machine, but I have difficulty understanding how their Oracle could outfox our Majestic.”
Trojan leaned back and stared at the ceiling while he puffed on his cigar for a few seconds. When he finally did respond, he spoke slowly. “I’ve watched Majestic generate results long enough to realize that it is far more capable than our Oracle could ever be. I think you’ve seen that too. Therefore their Oracle can’t outfox our Majestic, regardless of the fact that it might appear that way. What I suspect happened and is happening is that they’re not relying on their Oracle to outthink our machine. Instead, I think they’re brainstorming ideas themselves and are using their Oracle to evaluate those ideas. The attack on Earth fits that theory. Prior to that attack, if anyone had suggested to me that the SSU would deliberately sacrifice 16 ship crews to lure us into a premature attack on Sparta, I would have said they were crazy.”
“But that’s exactly what they did,” interjected Romanov.
“Did they? I know it looks that way, but what if those 16 Union ships had no crews at all and were controlled by computers?”
“But...” Romanov left the sentence unfinished as he thought about Trojan’s conjecture.
Trojan smiled and nodded. “You see? If those ships had no crews, then suddenly the whole sacrifice gambit becomes a lot less crazy, doesn’t it? Our Majestic might be capable of coming up with that kind of unorthodox strategy on its own if it was helping the SSU, but I don’t think any Oracle computer, our old one or theirs, could have thought of that without being asked specifically to evaluate it. A human being thinking unconventionally came up with the idea, and their Oracle figured out what they had to do to make the strategy viable. I’ll bet you that’s what happened.”
Romanov nodded. “It all fits. But I still don’t see what they hoped to accomplish in the long run even if 1st Fleet was totally wiped out. With our four ship reserve to protect Makassar from future attacks, we’d eventually out-build them in warships and simply overwhelm them with superior numbers. Surely they have to know that.”
“If they can brainstorm ideas, then so can we. Let’s you and me do some brainstorming right now. Put yourself in their shoes. What would they have to be able to do in order to prevent us from getting an overwhelming superiority in ships?” asked Trojan.
Romanov thought for a bit and then said, “They’d have to either be able to work on a lot more ships at the same time, which implies a whole lot more shipyard capacity, OR they’d have to be able to build ships a lot faster than us, but I don’t see how they could do that.”
“I agree on that last point. When Makassar starts building ships, it’ll be using robotic equipment for the actual construction, and those robots will be working far faster than humans could. I don’t see how their robots could possibly work five to ten times faster than our robots, which is what it would take to offset the capacity that Makassar will eventually have. So I think we can dispense with faster. That just leaves working on more ships at the same time. The obvious problem there is that if they’re building ships the old fashioned way, in shipyards built with private sector capital using raw materials purchased from private sector sources, then their economies would have to be a whole lot bigger than we think in order to be able to afford the cost of those extra ships.”
“What if they have their equivalent of Makassar, a planet with abundant resources that doesn’t belong to any private sector owner?” asked Romanov.
Trojan snapped his fingers. “Exactly! That’s the only way I can see how they might think they have a chance to at least match us ship for ship, and Majestic can figure out where that site would be. Even if it comes up with a short list of possible locations, we can send scouts to recon those systems, and when we confirm the location, we’ll launch a strike and destroy it. Let’s see how they like having THEIR main shipbuilding site smashed!”
Day 071/2547
Romanov was surprised to see Army Chief of Staff Masterson sitting next to Admiral Chenko when he entered the conference room. Then again, maybe he should have expected that. Masterson had lost 50,000 of his infantry at Sparta and could argue that he had a right to be present.
Chenko waved Romanov to a chair opposite to him and Masterson. “Have a seat Commodore.” Chenko waited until Romanov was almost seated before continuing. “Naturally General Masterson and I have read your report that you transmitted while your ship was approaching Earth. Both General Masterson and I agree with the conclusion that your overwhelming victory here was a setup for a trap at Sparta. I know it’s little consolation to General Masterson regarding the loss of 50,000 of his infantry that Majestic and General Trojan both supported the mission to Sparta, and I’ve already offered the ACoS and the Army as a whole personal apologies for my own part in this debacle. I think it’s also appropriate that you be congratulated on managing to get eight of your ships out of that trap.” Turning to Masterson, Chenko said, “Take my word for it, Frank. If the Commodore hadn’t used his Mark 1s for anti-missile defense, NONE of his ships would have made it back.”
Masterson nodded. “I WILL take your word for that, Sergei. I’d like to ask the Commodore a question or two if that’s all right with you.” Chenko nodded.
“Commodore,” said Masterson as he turned to look at Romanov, “knowing what you know now, do you still consider leaving the four troop transports unescorted in high orbit a wise move?”
Romanov took his time answering. “General, knowing what I know now, the answer clearly has to be no. However, given what I knew then, which was that there were no Union missile boats or any other Union ship within five light seconds, it was reasonable to conclude that the transports were in no immediate danger. Any missile boat or ship approaching in normal space would have given those transports plenty of time to micro-jump away. No one...not even Majestic, suspected that the Union had figured out how to piggyback missile boats onto jump-capable ships. I would also point out that even if I had detached some of my ships to escort those transports, the outcome would almost certainly have been the same as far as your infantry were concerned. The Union ships dropped off their missiles boats too close for anyone on either the transports or any escorting warships to react in time. They planned that micro-jump to perfection and would have targeted the transports first knowing that without ground troops, our mission to conquer and pacify Sparta could not proceed, regardless of what else did or didn’t happen. I’m sorry for your loss, General. I don’t even know for sure how many of my crews were killed or injured, but a conservative estimate is at least 1,100.”
Masterson didn’t look satisfied and said nothing. When some time had passed, Chenko said, “Did you have another question for Commodore Romanov, Frank?” Masterson thought about that for a while before saying no. Chenko turned back to Romanov.
“The Battle of Sparta is water under the bridge. The best thing we can do now is learn from our mistakes and move on. I want to talk now about your orders from General Trojan to send Commodore Stevens’ Task Force back to the Franklin system. I have to admit, Commodore, that I don’t understand the logic of that order. Majestic’s prediction that the SSU would attempt to force a political end to this war by attacking Earth has already been verified by two attempted attacks. Why would the SSU switch to another strategy now?”
“We know, and we’re certain that the SSU knows, that an uninterrupted buildup of industrial capacity and ships at Makassar will eventually give us a military victory over the rebels. We also think that they know that it will take over 24 months for Makassar to start delivering warships in quantity, even if the buildup is allowed to continue without further setbacks. During that period of time, it’s unlikely that we’ll be able to achieve the kind of numerical superiority that will allow us to defend both Earth and Makassar at the same time. General Trojan is of the opinion, which I share, that Makassar now has to take priority over Earth, and if Earth is attacked, 1st Fleet/Army Force will have to resist the political fallout in order to break this stalemate that the SSU seems to have engineered.”
Before Chenko could respond, Masterson spoke in a clearly agitated voice. “I’m supposed to sit back and let rebel ships bombard and kill hundreds of thousands of infantry that are undergoing training on Earth so that the Navy can have some ships to play with sooner rather than later? That’s NOT acceptable, Commodore!”
Chenko leaned forward. “It’s not just infantry that’s at risk either, Commodore. Earth is the commercial and financial hub of the Federation. Hundreds of interstellar corporations have their headquarters here. If the Union were allowed to gain a free hand in orbit, they could literally destroy our whole economy by targeting those corporate centers. Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue if we lost all the data stored in those centers? I understand that the war effort will be delayed if Makassar keeps getting hit, but there’s no way that I can approve of leaving Earth undefended given what the SSU has already attempted. That task force stays here, Commodore.”
Romanov reminded himself to stay calm. He and Trojan had discussed how to respond to this kind of reaction. “May I point out, Admiral and General, that the seven ships I’ve brought back with me can be made combat-worthy relatively quickly compared with building new ships from scratch. Those repaired ships can be tasked with defending Earth—“
“NO!” said Masterson in a loud voice. “I’m not taking the risk of leaving my troops vulnerable for months until those ships are repaired. This isn’t a Goddamned negotiation for Christsake! Trojan may have three stars on his shoulders, but I still have four, and he’s not getting that task force! He’ll just have to take the risk that Makassar will get hit again until we send some of those repaired ships back to him.”
Romanov shifted his gaze from Masterson to Chenko. “Well, the disposition of those repaired ships will be determined by me, but with regards to Stevens’ Task Force, I’m in complete agreement with General Masterson. Those ships stay here. Are we clear on that Commodore?”
“Crystal clear, Admiral.” Romanov’s heart was racing, but he concentrated on keeping his expression from giving away his inner turmoil. There was far too much at stake to let these two men jeopardize the whole Plan. Trojan’s orders were quite clear. Those four ships were to come back to the Franklin system no matter what. Unfortunately, the Old Man’s pigheadedness meant that Romanov wouldn’t be able to enjoy very much R&R.
Seven days later, a surprised Lieutenant scrabbled to greet Romanov as he stepped off the shuttle in the hangar bay of the task force’s flagship.
“We weren’t told you were coming, Sir.”
Romanov smiled and waved the excuse away. “A surprise inspection, Lieutenant. Where is Commodore Stevens?”
“I believe Commodore Stevens is in his cabin, Sir. I’ll call him for you.”
“No, I do not want him to know that I’m here just yet, but you can call the CO and tell him that I’d like to meet with him on the Bridge,” said Romanov in a calm, friendly voice.
“Yessir. If you wait one minute while I call the CO, I can escort you to the Bridge, Sir.”
Romanov shook his head. “No need. I know the way. After you notify the CO, I want you to go to the Commodore’s quarters and stand outside his entrance. Do not let anyone enter his quarters until you hear from me, understood?”
“Understood, Sir.”
Romanov nodded his approval and walked quickly to the exit that led to the Bridge. As it happened, both he and the ship’s CO arrived at the Bridge at about the same time. Romanov quickly informed the CO what he wanted done. Seconds later, he was in direct visual contact with the Commanding Officers of the other three ships in the Task Force. He was in luck. None of the four ships had more than one or two crewmen on the ground, and none of those handled critical duties. With Headquarters now in the middle of the night on the planet, it was the perfect time to put his plan into effect. All four ship COs had already been briefed on Trojan’s ultimate plans and were willing to help achieve those plans. Romanov gave the signal, and the Task Force began to accelerate at maximum for the hyper-zone boundary.
It was two hours later when Chenko woke to the sound of an incoming call. He didn’t know what time it was, but it was clearly still dark outside, and that meant this was not a routine call. Something was happening.
“Chenko here. What’s the emergency?” The voice on the other end sounded nervous.
“Sorry to wake you, Admiral. I’m the Duty Officer at Aerospace Traffic Control. Something peculiar is going on. Task Force Stevens is accelerating at high speed for what appears to be a least time trajectory for the zone boundary. No departure plan was filed with us. Responses to our attempts at contact have been limited to text messages only, ostensibly from Commodore Stevens. He claims that he’s acting under your orders, but he refuses to confirm that with audio or visual communications.”
Chenko was now wide awake. “I did not give Commodore Stevens or anyone else orders or permission to leave orbit. You signal those ships to return to low orbit immediately. I’ll stay on the line while you do that, and I want to know what their response is, got that?”
“Got that, Sir. Stand by.”
Chenko could tell that the line was still open because he could hear faint voices in the background. After what seemed like a long time, the Duty Officer came back on the line. “Those ships are not responding to our signals, Admiral. We’ve tried everything: microwave, lasercom, voice and text messages. They’re ignoring all of them and continuing to accelerate on an outbound trajectory.”
“DAMMIT!” Chenko paused to get his temper under control. No sense yelling at the Duty Officer. This wasn’t his fault. “Okay, here’s what I want you to do. Keep sending those recall messages until those ships jump away. If they start obeying the recall order, then you let me know. I’m going to head for HQ myself in a few minutes. Chenko out.” After getting up and arranging for his limo to pick him up in 10 minutes, Chenko stepped into a hot shower and evaluated the situation. Romanov wouldn’t have done this on his own initiative. Chenko was certain of that. Trojan had to be behind this maneuver. Clearly, putting an Army General in charge as the overall CINC1FAF was a mistake. Even Masterson had to see that now. The problem was that Chenko didn’t have a suitable Navy Flag Officer here on Earth to put forward as a replacement. Stevens might have been up to the job, but he was on his way to Hadley, although Chenko had a strong suspicion that Trojan would send him right back here as soon as he arrived. He made up his mind to try to convince Masterson to agree to send a courier to Hadley relieving Trojan of his command as CINC1FAF, with instructions for Stevens to take over if he was still there by the time the courier got there. Trojan had to be reined in. With his mind made up, Chenko felt better as he finished getting dressed.
