Empire in Crisis (17 page)

DeChastelaine smiled. “Very good, Commander. Let’s wait
until we know what happened at TE33. While we’re waiting, I want you to make
sure that Admiral Logan will have all the information he needs on the
capabilities of the reinforcement squadron leaders so that he can take
advantage of the best qualified officers when we send him a reply. I also want
him to have the option of calling up those strike fleet squadrons from TE21
without having to ask permission first. Since Admiral Bishop still doesn’t have
a replacement staff to handle these details, I’ll leave the diversion of the
strike fleet squadrons to TE21, plus Logan’s new authority, plus the alert to
all Rift border fleets, in your capable hands. In the meantime, let’s get
Capital Fleet’s squadron leaders vetted as fast as possible. Both of you know
what you have to do, so I’ll let you get to it. This meeting is adjourned.”

The three of them met 28 hours later when another message
arrived from the 107th. DeChastelaine felt the tension since the last meeting
melt away. Logan had done it! The enemy fleet was stopped dead in its tracks,
and Logan was asking for instructions.

“I’m going to record a personal message of congratulations
that I want added to the message packet that you, Commander, can now send.
Having said that, I’d like to hear both your thoughts on what this new
development means, starting with Admiral Bishop.”

“Thank you, My Emperor. Admiral Logan has done a tremendous
job with the 107th. The enemy has just lost 144 ships that are either
destroyed, crippled or captured. That has to rock them back on their heels. If
Admiral Logan can get an effective strike fleet organized quickly, he may be
able to take this war back out into the Rift where it belongs. And if the
Empire can take the initiative and keep it, we’ll gain the time we need to
reshuffle the command structure of our fleets. Getting at least one strike
fleet up and running is, unfortunately, not just a matter of incorporating
squadrons into the 107th. As long as the 107th was operating within the
boundaries of the Empire, logistical support was easy to arrange. But if we
want Admiral Logan to take a strike fleet into the Rift, we’re going to have to
organize and deploy enough support squadrons so that he can stay in the Rift
for months at a time if necessary. I can already see that the combat record of
the 107th so far has used up warp missiles far faster than was anticipated in
our pre-war doctrine. I’d like to see Commander Hood’s Working Group take a
close look at whether the Empire has enough resupply capacity in case our
neighboring races decide to test us.”

“Hmm. Would I be correct in thinking that your group is
already stretched to the max with your current workload, Commander?” asked
DeChastelaine.

“That’s correct, My Emperor. However, the Working Group can
take on more tasks if it can add personnel. I’ve already identified several
candidates for just this kind of contingency. All of them are either on Earth
or in Capital Fleet.”

“Fine. Let Admiral Bishop know who you want, and she’ll
make them available to you. What else can you add to this discussion?”

“I agree that Admiral Logan should take the initiative as
soon as possible. As My Emperor may remember, Logan pointed out the advantages
of identifying and holding choke points in the Rift. I would recommend that as
soon as he has the heavy cruiser squadron resources to do so, he send them out
to try to map out where those choke points are.”

“I do remember that discussion, and I agree. Admiral Logan
is going to receive a very large message packet. Let’s review what we’ve
decided to send him to make sure we include everything. I’ll record a personal
message, plus expanded authorization, plus…”

                                                                   
* * * *

Santini waited until he was back in his quarters before
reading the latest message from his cousin.

[Hiakawa to Santini. Something is definitely going on back
on Earth. We were scheduled to receive a personnel transport with new crew
additions, but the transport is late. No explanation from HQ. I’ve sent a query
but have not received any answer yet. I’ve been in contact with Escadril. She
tells me that she hasn’t received any messages of any kind from HQ for the past
week. I’ve floated the idea of either you or I taking our fleet to Sol to force
the issue. She’s cool to the idea, but damn it, something’s going on there. I
know that my father decided I should take over Capital Fleet, but let’s be
honest here. You’re clearly the better tactician. If you decide to take the
787th to Sol, I’ll back you. End of message.]

Santini put the tablet down and leaned back. He wished his
cousin hadn’t broached the idea of a military coup to Escadril. She was too
damned devious and ambitious to be trusted with that kind of information. And
now that she knew the idea was floating around, if he or his cousin were going
to move at all, it should be now. He had spent the past four years carefully
filling key positions in the 787th with people who could be counted on to obey
his orders if there was a showdown with the Emperor. Given the finely-honed
instrument he now had at his command, he was inclined to think that it was use
it or lose it time. On the other hand, his uncle had made it very clear that
the worst thing he or his cousin could do was to act prematurely. But if his
uncle was still in command, then why no message from him? He had this nagging
suspicion that his uncle was no longer in command, and if that was the case,
then it was only a matter of time before that moron of an emperor tried to
relieve him of command of the 787th. The fact that he hadn’t tried that yet
strongly suggested that he was still consolidating his power on Earth and
wasn’t yet ready to roll the dice. Santini nodded and activated the tablet to
record a message.

“Santini to Hiakawa. I knew I could count on you, cousin. I
think we need to act sooner rather than later. I’m going to move the 787th
closer to Sol. Let’s rendezvous at alpha alpha zero two in three days. End of
message.” After instructing the tablet to encrypt the message, he transferred
it to the ship’s Communications Section with instructions to transmit it to the
987th immediately.

The technician who acknowledged the Admiral’s order, made a
copy of the encrypted message, had the original transmitted, then decrypted the
copy and sent the decrypted version to the attention of Admiral Escadril at the
377th.

Escadril woke to the urgent sound of a priority one message
waiting to be read. She turned off the buzzer and checked to see if her bedmate
was still asleep. She was, and Escadril carefully got up, put on a robe and
walked quietly to her work area where she accepted the incoming message and
read it. So Hiakawa had convinced his cousin to roll the dice and take both
fleets to Earth. No doubt Santini had decided that his uncle was no longer in
charge and wasn’t going to wait for DeChastelaine to relieve him. She couldn’t
fault his logic, but that didn’t mean she was willing to throw in with those
two. She wasn’t part of the family, and the elder Hiakawa was just resentful
enough to give her the proverbial slap in the face instead of a pat on the
back. Throwing the 377th into this clusterfuck wasn’t a good idea. The Kravell
would notice if the 377th left this star system, and she was certain they would
take advantage of that. But if she couldn’t move her fleet, that left her with only
one option.

“Record message to Emperor DeChastelaine,” said Escadril in
a low voice

“Ready to record,” said the electronic voice.

“Escadril to Emperor DeChastelaine. I have reliable intel
that Admiral Santini and Admiral Hiakawa are in the process of moving their
fleets to Sol in order to place the elder Hiakawa on the Throne. Santini has
requested that the 787th rendezvous with the 987th at AA02 in three days. The
377th will remain on station to discourage the Kravell from taking advantage of
the situation. End of message.”

Logan cursed as the insistent buzzer woke him from a deep
sleep.

“Logan here. What the hell is it?”

“Priority One message from Earth, Admiral. It has the
Imperial prefix and it’s encrypted.”

That got Logan’s attention. This was the first time that
the Emperor had sent him an encrypted message, and that meant it was important.

“Okay. Send it to my work station.” Logan had the message
decrypted within seconds and was shocked by its contents.

[DeChastelaine to Logan. Admiral Escadril of the 377th has
warned of an attempted coup in progress by the 787th and 987th fleets. She
believes they will rendezvous at AA02 in three days. Capital Fleet is not
strong enough to fight them both off. You are ordered to get to TE21 as fast as
humanly possible and assume command of all battlecruiser and heavy cruiser
squadrons that may be there. Only bring ships with you that will not slow you
down. After reaching TE21, you are ordered to intercept the 787th at AA03.
Prevent the rendezvous at all costs. Relieve Admiral Santini of command of the
787th. I’m giving you a field promotion to Fleet Group Admiral. That, plus your
expanded Imperial Warrant, should be enough to force Santini to stand down, but
you are authorized to use deadly force if necessary to stop him. Capital Fleet
will take care of the 987th. Commander Hood sends her regards. End of message.]

My God, they’re actually trying to start a
civil war! Those stupid bastards!
Even as he had those thoughts, he opened
the attached files that confirmed his field promotion and the expanded
authority of his Imperial Warrant. The latter contained material that he had to
read twice just to be sure he was actually reading it correctly. He was now
authorized to pronounce summary judgement on any officer who committed armed
rebellion against the Emperor’s authority. That was the definition of treason
which carried a mandatory sentence of death. The language in the codicil to the
warrant was quite clear. If Santini refused to relinquish command of the 787th,
Logan had the authority to declare him guilty of treason and order his
immediate execution, but at least he had some flexibility in whether or not to
make that determination. Regardless of what Santini did, Logan still had the
option to have him arrested and brought back to Earth for trial. The outcome
would very likely be the same, but at least someone else would pronounce the
sentence. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Santini’s fate had to wait
for another time. Right now he had to get moving.

“FC to Flag Com.”

“Communications here, Admiral. What can we do for you,
sir?”

“I’m issuing a fleet-wide alert. All COs and SLs are to
stand by for an announcement. I’ll be on the Flag Bridge shortly.”

“We’re sending that alert out right now, Admiral.”

With that taken care of, Logan got dressed and ran to the
Flag Bridge. By the time he got there, he knew what  he had to do. Everyone
manning their stations on the Flag Bridge looked at him with nervous expressions
wondering what was in that message to cause this kind of reaction.

“I want to make a fleet-wide announcement now,” said Logan.

The Comm. Tech activated his console and pointed at Logan.

“This is the Fleet Commander. I’ve just received a Priority
One message from our Emperor that the 787th and 987th fleets are moving toward
Earth on their own initiative in what appears to be an attempted coup. I’ve
been ordered to intercept the 787th. Because speed is of the essence, I’ll only
be taking ships that are capable of warp 4.4. The rest of the Fleet will remain
here as Task Force 107.1 under the command of Senior Commander McKeon. I expect
to pick up substantial reinforcements at TE21 before moving to intercept the
787th. Once we get moving, we’ll be moving fast, so make sure your squadrons
and ships are able to keep up. Any ship that does not have warp drive
efficiency at 100% will remain here. I want this Fleet ready to move in less
than five minutes. Fleet Commander clear.” Before Logan had a chance to request
a video channel to Undaunted’s CO, McKeon was calling him.

“Let me guess. You have concerns about taking command of
the Task Force,” Logan said.

“Ah, yessir. There are other officers who are senior to me
in the Task Force.”

“I know, but I don’t know them as well as I know you, and I
have confidence in your judgement. This is an Ad Hoc appointment but real
nevertheless. If anyone is less than completely co-operative, you let me know
when I get back, and they’ll be dealt with. Your orders are simple. Hold this
system unless you’re facing overwhelming odds. I hope we can put down this
rebellion quickly and then get back to the main task of winning this war. If
something happens and you’re not sure what to do, ask the Emperor for
instructions. The 107th may or may not be near a starbase, so if you try to get
a message to me, I may not get it in a timely manner. Any other questions?”