“Wardroom’s that way, ladies and gentlemen,” the petty officer said as Rear Admiral Reynolds and his team exited the briefing room. The Solar Warden officers had been in their meeting for over four hours when Maddox dismissed everyone to take a break and get something to eat.
“Is the officers club nearby?” Reynolds asked as most of the staff headed in the direction the petty officer had indicated.
“Yes, Sir. Down the hall that way and take your second left. Can’t miss it.”
“Thanks,” Reynolds replied as Hutch, Scarecrow, Wilkes and his aide followed him. When they were out of earshot of the rest, he cast a glance over his shoulder as he added, “I think I need a break from the faces I’ve been staring at all morning.”
His subordinates smiled and nodded.
“Commander Richardson, a moment?” General Patrick called to Scarecrow before he disappeared around the corner.
“I’ll catch up,” Scarecrow said to Hutch as he stopped to wait for Patrick to reach him.
“What can I do for you, Sir?”
Patrick waited for the hallway to clear. “I wanted to reaffirm my compliment on the success of your mission to rescue my Marines, but I also wanted to ask you the real reason why you so willingly charged onto that BCMS with such reckless abandon?”
“Sir?”
“Oh come now, Commander. Now is not the time to be coy. Everyone in that room is aware of your feelings for Major Cooper. This is still a rather small Program, and word travels fast. Scuttlebutt and all that.”
“My feelings for the Major had nothing to do with my decision–”
“Cut the crap.” Patrick returned Scarecrow’s shocked expression with an intent stare. “Sandy’s father and I served together for many years.”
“Oh yeah, that anti-aging thing.” A sardonic smile crept onto Scarecrow’s face. “She told me she got where she is on her own mer–”
“She did. As much as he wanted to, her father never helped her, and neither did I. But she’s the daughter of my best friend. While I’m very grateful to you for rescuing her from the snakeheads, let’s just say I have a vested interest in her happiness, Commander.”
Scarecrow’s expression turned to a serious bearing. “Message received, General.”
Patrick continued his intent gaze for a moment before turning and walking away.
“Wow, looks just like home,” Scarecrow said as he arrived and took a seat with his fellow officers. The mess specialist approached, wiped the table and placed a bowl of nuts before handing them their menus.
“What can I get for you, gentlemen?” he asked. They perused the menu and placed their orders. “And to drink?”
“Four coffees and a sweet tea.”
“Coming right up, Sirs.” The mess specialist turned and headed off to the galley.
“I hope that all of this discussion and preparation isn’t in vain,” Scarecrow said as they waited for their drinks.
“How so?” Reynolds asked.
“Well Sir, I keep going back to your description of your experience on LOC with the reptilian and his grays, where you said the enemy is extremely intelligent and devious. What if they know we’ll assume they’ll follow the most logical response, and then cook up something completely different, just to throw us off and catch us with our six’s hanging out?”
His comrades were silent as they considered his question.
“It’s a definite possibility,” Wilkes replied. “But I think they’ll have to err on the side of practicality. For the first time in the history of our conflict, the snakeheads have taken heavy losses. That has to be a factor in their decision-making process as they move forward with their plans. I think they’re beginning to learn that we’re no longer to be underestimated. I think they’ll take the shortest distance to their ultimate goal to avoid any more serious losses. The second phase of our plan should preclude any subterfuge on their part.”
“I agree with Gordo,” Hutch said. “We’ve destroyed eight of their mother ships, not to mention a very large forward operating base. I don’t think they want to risk continuing to suffer those kinds of losses. If they do move ahead with their invasion plans, the Mars Base would be the least risky. It puts them within striking distance of Earth, with a much lower risk of failure, especially if they want to put boots on the ground.”
“I know it makes sense,” Scarecrow replied. “But something about it doesn’t sit right with me. I don’t want us to be blind-sided is all.”
The mess specialist arrived with their drinks and informed them their meals would only be a few more minutes. They suspended their talk until he left, giving them each time to ponder their discussion.
“Your point is valid, Steve,” Wilkes said as he took a sip of his coffee. “All of our assets are on high alert. Our strategy is sound. We’re being proactive. We’ll start sending out patrols beyond our solar system, to the star systems in our stellar neighborhood. We’ll begin active scanning beyond the Oort Cloud, towards the Pleiades Cluster, the system from which we believe they originate. Our network of sensor buoys deployed throughout our star system provide real-time telemetry on anything in their sphere of detection. The second phase of our plan should help us detect any activity beyond us.
“We’ll have all contingencies covered.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to discuss phase two of our plan,” Commander Wilkes said as he manipulated the ARI.
“We still believe the Mars Base is the enemy’s primary target. However, it’s been decided that we need to be actively scanning beyond our solar system in case they attempt a feint to draw us away from their intended objective. They may appear to attack one or more of our deep space platforms to draw us away from the Mars Base, then endeavor to make an end-run around us and catch us unprepared. We have to be watching our assets everywhere.”
Wilkes scanned the room.
“We plan to send out cloaked patrols into neighboring star systems, actively scanning for enemy activity beyond our solar system. We’ll deploy a network of extrasolar sensor buoys and watch for any suspicious activity beyond our current operational theatre. These new sensor buoys are next generation–they have a much greater range than the Mark IVs currently deployed within our solar system. We’ll need fewer of them to cover a much larger area. Admiral Gibson, Solar Warden’s S-4, already has his production facilities busy manufacturing the new buoys. We’ll begin deployment in the next few weeks. The extrasolar sensor network will be our ‘canary in the coal mine.’
“We’ve also developed a schedule to send cloaked TR-3B patrols into the neighboring star systems to scan for enemy activity. The days of sitting back and waiting to receive are over.”
Wilkes glanced over at Reynolds, then to Maddox.
“We’ll continue to increase the defensive capabilities of this base, but Solar Warden must expand beyond its current borders if we hope to keep the enemy from succeeding with their invasion plan.”
“With respect, I think we need to re-enforce our solar system instead of spreading out beyond it,” one of the captains said.
“I agree with my Skipper,” his CAG added. “We have limited resources. We have less than 200 TR-3Bs, and none of our carriers are up to full squadron strength. The snakeheads destroy our birds almost as fast as we can roll them off the assembly line.”
“My CAG is right,” the captain continued. “We only have eleven carriers to defend a solar system which is 122 AU in diameter. Even though we’ve inflicted heavy losses on the enemy, they still enter our space with impunity. Their wolf packs crisscross the solar system, and they still manage to penetrate Earth’s defense satellite network, something we have yet to deploy over Earth’s moon or Mars.
“We’re short two carriers–one has been destroyed and the other is still undergoing repairs and won’t be back on the line for almost another month. We can barely patrol the solar system as it is. Admiral, we need to pull back and consolidate our resources on our home turf. How are we supposed to patrol neighboring star systems, not to mention interstellar space?”
“We do it or we die,” Scarecrow replied, his voice somber. “Our situation is like the Israelis. We either make it happen, or we capitulate. They’re a tiny little country of eight and a half million Jews, surrounded by eight hundred million Arabs, all sworn to their destruction. Yet they manage to not only survive, but thrive. We have to assume we’re facing similar odds, and then figure out a way to do the same.”
“I wish you were wrong, Commander, but I’m forced to agree with you,” Command Staff Vice Admiral Gibson said. “We have to find a way to make this work, or lose everything we hold dear to an enemy that quite literally has no soul.”
“Your concerns are duly noted, Captain,” Admiral Maddox said. “However, this plan has already been approved. It’s true that we’ll be spread thin, but as Commander Richardson reminded us, if we’re to survive, we must make this strategy work.
“We’ll start by implementing our plans to increase this base’s defenses. General Patrick is organizing troop transfers from Lunar Operations Command and the deep space platforms. Captains–we’ll keep the Marine companies stationed on your ships as reserves and only deploy them if needed.”
“I’ve assigned the Marine Company aboard Nautilus to be primary,” General Patrick said as he turned and stared at Scarecrow. “They’ll be the only company stationed aboard the fleet to be deployed, and will lead the defense of the Mars Base. I’ll re-assign several platoons to replace them aboard Nautilus while they’re on Mars.”
“Alright, General,” Maddox replied. He continued. “We’re making plans to augment the artillery and armor here, and I’ve ordered Lunar Operations Command to provide a TR-3B squadron to augment the Mars air wing. I want additional shield generators and another power plant to support them installed as soon as possible. I’ll speak with our production facilities back on Earth and see if they can speed up the completion schedule of their current projects.”
“We’re going to need pilots to fly any new birds that roll off the assembly line, Admiral,” Hutch said. “Is there any way to get the current crop to finish their training ahead of time?”
“It’s already proposed, CAG. Commander Wilkes, send the schedule for patrolling beyond our star system to the other Battle Group Commanders. Work with them to have the extrasolar sensor-buoy network deployed as soon as possible. Captain Jenkins, is there any way to speed up the repairs on Avarice?”
“Manpower is the only way, Sir,” Jenkins replied. “We have every space crab on Platform Five at work on repairs, but if we can pull enough personnel off of some of the other deep space platforms, we can probably cut the repair schedule in half.”
“Make it happen. I’ll give you whatever authorization you need. I want Avarice back on the line as soon as possible.”
Admiral Maddox scanned the room, looking at each face, all of which were stern and somber.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we need to make this happen. How we perform in the next few weeks will determine the future of Earth. As Commander Richardson has so eloquently reminded us, we either make this work, or we lose everything. The fate of our home and its almost eight billion inhabitants hangs in the balance. May the Almighty give us wisdom, and strengthen our hand.”