Koban 4: Shattered Worlds (65 page)

“Tanga will have to select which of the small clan’s warriors will fill the heavy transport compartments in crowded conditions, which will not please those that are forced to travel there. Because access to toilet facilities on lower decks will be blocked by the heavy equipment, the smell in those ships will greatly enhance the experience. And they will grow hungry and resentful if Tanga does not bring them the rations I will have stored on other clanships, located well away from them.”

Fradot snorted his humor, and joined in the spirit of irritating Tanga clan. “The fresh Raspani field rations that normally fill the transports can go to the clanships of the smaller clans that provided the warriors you send to Tanga. Many of their warriors can also fit inside Tanga clanships loaded with mini tanks and plasma cannons. Send all of the field rations, small arms and power packs to the small clans to carry. This is a defensible change in loading Tanga ships, which you can claim was needed because Droktor did not follow your more efficient distribution of clanships.”

Sharing that snort of humor, Telour was relishing the vision of the crowded conditions he was about to create for Droktor, who would have to explain his decisions to the small clans. Those clans always believed that Great or Major clans treated them badly, and Tanga would find future votes from some small clans in the council going elsewhere. Unless, of course, they were a finger clan of Tanga, and owed their parent clan for their start. Telour would have his aides make certain that none of the small clans sent to fill Tanga clanships were their own offshoots, who would be unlikely to complain.

It was good to be the Tor,
he reflected.

****

Mirikami was holding a briefing session with many of his captains. He started by using the briefcase size circuitry of the next generation Comtap chip, to transmit a message for them to enter a Jump hole, if able, at a specified time for a conference. They could receive that message even if they were in Normal Space. The ships he was placing under overall control of Admiral Mauss had completed their shakedown runs on simulated K1 missions to a dead planet in this uninhabited star system. It was time to pull them together.

At the appointed time, using his currently standard Comtap, he thought of the group link address he’d created for the other hundred twelve captains, and his Mind Tap senses felt that most of them were waiting for him. Some may have been unable to Jump at the time specified, which was why he’d ask a ship to linger in a Jump Hole to relay his information to them. The new Comtap chip for long-range reach in Normal Space use couldn’t come soon enough for him. Odd how amazing new technology, like the first Comtap chips, so quickly proved to be less than what you really wanted.

“Captains, I won’t acknowledge each of you now, but if you have questions after this briefing, I’ve asked Noreen to stay in her Jump Hole for passing this briefing on to late arrivals, and she can relay any of your questions to me afterwards. I’ll contact you individually when I can.” They were still working out the details of this method of group communication.

“Ten of you will be receiving the new type of navy missile, the Novas which Admiral Mauss told us about, having Jump capability and a simple AI system for control. They just arrived on a navy carrier, the Ambrose, and you’ll receive them here in our training system. These are each large enough devices that one will nearly fill your main hold, so you get one apiece. I’ll specify who will receive them after you all form up around the Mark, and I’ll designate the specific five targets at K1.

“Fifty ships will become mini space plane carriers, with Shadow fighters parked in your holds. They also arrived on the Ambrose, with our pilots fresh from the Poldark action. They’re going all the way down to K1 with some of you. If deployed on an atmospheric mission, they’ll be expected to use their stealth when finished, and sneak back into space on Normal Space drive. There they’ll be retrieved by us from high orbit.

“You all will follow the plan Mauss laid out to us, minimizing our risk of friendly fire when the navy arrives and the mass shooting starts. We will be inside the richest target density areas of any of the fleet elements, due to close proximity with the enemy. However, our
poppers
should have a significant impact at four of our domes, creating considerable confusion and chaos.”

He was using the term popper, which Thad had named the Raspani built surprises they’d left behind on their previous scouting mission to K1. Smaller than a hand, they had a destructive potential that went well beyond their small size, provided the usual Krall energy wastefulness continued. They’d know soon.

“Our ships go in first and if detected early, then you might have to start the shooting yourselves, and then I’ll use that Comtap case I called you with earlier, and notify the navy units sitting in Normal Space to Jump in-system immediately, to initiate their attack.”

“The ten ships receiving the Jump capable Novas will be briefed on their operation. Five of you will launch them just before the navy makes their first White Out at K1. No sooner than that, not even if our ships are in a firefight down below. When those vital primary target orbital platforms are destroyed, the second five ships will have latitude to select targets of opportunity. However, don’t risk hitting any target close to a friendly. These Novas make a hell of an explosion.

“As discussed in our practice landing sessions over the last two days, all of you will Jump into the K1 system from the local Oort cloud, initially waiting at a safe one thousand Astronomical Unit position where Admiral Mauss recommended. Coming from the direction of New Dublin, your White Outs at K1 will appear to be part of the second influx of a thousand or so clanships coming from there.

“The ten ships with the Novas will enter the system at the same time with the rest of you, but they will be stealthed and will remain that way in a thousand mile orbit until instructed to launch their missiles. We think that in the flurry of arrivals, those ten ships that aren’t seen will go unnoticed by the Krall. They won’t activate the new IFF systems until just before the navy ships arrive, and will have made the first five missile launches by then anyway. It’s probable the Krall will detect the IFF signals and know where you are if you activate too soon. If you start shooting, they’ll know anyway and so will the navy, so turn IFF on so the good guys won’t target you.

“The rest of you don’t need to activate IFF until you have to lift off, either for atmospheric flight, or for reaching orbit. The Navy knows where we intend to land and won’t shoot there.”

He paused only a few seconds. Letting their wolfbat memories perfectly absorb every word he’d said.

“Our one hundred landers will stagger their entry into the K1 system in a ragged exit pattern, similar to what we saw happen with the first thousand clanship arrivals. You will come out unstealthed, sending the landing code for the four domes we have selected for our part of the attack, and fly right to them, wherever they happen to be as the planet rotates. Remember, we are mimicking the Krall flying techniques so you should blend right in with the milling crowd. Divide into the four sets of twenty-five ships we planned and land at your designated dome. Assuming you aren’t noticed be ready to shoot when I give the word the navy is on the verge of a White Out. That should follow within minutes after you’re down.

“When our watchdog ship sees the Krall clanship arrivals starting, you all will be told to Jump inbound to K1. That should be spread out over about sixty seconds of arrivals, right about in the middle of when a burst of clanships should normally get there. The Mark of Koban will be that watchdog, and I’ll be there at least two hours before the best estimate of the earliest Krall arrivals from New Dublin. Your safe landings are the key for me to tell the navy to initiate their Jumps into K1 for their five fleet elements. Task Forces 1 through 5 will be stationed at five thousand AU’s.

“I’ll send that information from my orbital location via the Comtap in-a-box, telling our people on the navy ships, to flag the AI’s to coordinate their simultaneous group Jumps. Unlike us, they won’t use that scattered seat-of-the-pants Krall flying crap, and they’ll all White Out in formation right over their target domes, shooting as they exit.”

They already knew they would be Jumping to the K1 Oort cloud tomorrow, with a three-day travel time. The five navy task forces, two hundred ships each, were also leaving tomorrow. The large numbers of White Out gamma rays would eventually be seen at K1, coming from the Oort cloud, but not until the attack was long over. The time of travel for the gamma rays from a thousand AUs was roughly five and three quarter days for the Kobani ships, and the navy would be even farther out than that.

“Unless there are questions I didn’t answer for you, I won’t speak with most of you until we Jump to K1’s Oort cloud. I’ll talk with you again while we’re enroute in Tachyon Space.”

****

Fleet Admiral Chatsworth was incredulous. “Golda, you really aren’t transferring to Mirikami’s ship are you? When he Jumps early, close in by K1, you’ll be leaving Lancers’ armor and firepower for what is, after all, only a clanship. You’ll be out of contact with your AI.”

“Lela, one of Mirikami’s people is already on the Lancer as my com relay, and Mirikami can send messages to her with that prototype Comtap in-a-box to my XO, even while orbiting K1 in Normal Space. That transmission is undetectable, and the stealth we all use now, thanks to his alien allies, is invisible to Krall sensors at most frequencies. It’s as safe as you’ll be in the Sword, since you moved your flag from the Invincible. All I’d be doing on Lancer is sitting in my acceleration suit and directing the AI in strategy decisions. The Mark has some of our acceleration suits on a multi species deck, and one for me has been placed on his Bridge if we need to maneuver.

“Besides, a battleship like Lancer, isolated from the protection of his hundred ships on the ground would be a prime target if they solve the detection problem for our new stealth. Mirikami says individual K’Tals have figured it out previously, but they didn’t live to tell others. Besides, Lancer damn well can’t Jump in to K1 with the Mark unnoticed, because of its gigantic gamma ray burst. His spectrum will look like one of theirs, and won’t attract the same attention. If I’m focusing on helping him fight his ships in an unorthodox manner, and coordinating with your fleet elements, I want to be where I know what’s going on as soon as possible.”

Chatsworth was mildly put out by Mauss’ decision to turn down the offer of command of one of the two hundred ship task forces. “I hope you have the impact you expect from this handful of new captains, from a part-time newly formed small fleet.”

“Lela, I greatly respect and approve of you and your staff’s planning on this operation, but let me go out on a limb. I predict that the unorthodox ships Mirikami brings to the dance, combined with their previous scouting mission, will result in bringing down more clanships than any single task force of two hundred heavy cruisers.”

It would have sounded arrogant to say what she really expected. She believed Mirikami’s ships would double the damage done by any of the other commands, including TF 1, the element that would include the Fleet Admiral’s now flagless dreadnaught, and the Sword, her new flagship. Chatsworth was keeping the Sword in close formation with the Invincible, just in case she needed to move her flag back to the giant ship, with its tremendous firepower.

“I hope you’re right, Golda. Thanks for your review and support for the strategy and tactics we devised, and your suggestions. We both know how the Krall surprised us before with unexpected technology and tactics. Your innovative shoot and random move technique worked well the last time, and because of the Comtaps, we can use coordinated Jumps this time around. The displaced destroyer crews may not thank me so much, however. They loved those maneuverable but fragile tin cans.”

“True, but we all make sacrifices for the good of the service, and you found them new berths in the heavy cruisers. When I was forced to leave so many destroyers behind, facing Krall single ship boarders on our retreat at Deep Lance, it brought me to tears later. The destroyers, no matter what weapons upgrade they received, were never going to hold their own in any large-scale fight with the Krall. The AI controlled D-Rams we made of them will do better I think. Destroyers became our equivalent to the enemy single ships. Quickly lost, but with sixty times the crew. It was a very bad trade.”

“Yes it was. My younger brother was XO on one of those we lost at Deep Lance.”

Mauss was startled at that news. “Oh. I’m sorry Lela, I didn’t know. I would think I would have recognized the last name in the casualty lists. I’d have asked you about him.”

“He took our father’s last name, Wilson, when he turned eighteen, and I of course kept my mother’s name, as a traditionalist. He was a reverse example of the old feminist movements, an advocate of masculinist rights. I think he’d approve of the new closer to equal balance of genders in the military, and might have changed his branch of service. The Army favors men more, at least in the field, and the navy is still predominately controlled and populated by us Ladies.”

Mauss agreed, but added, “Now that you mention it, I realize that Mirikami’s people, his ship captains, Shadow pilots, and ground fighters alike, seem to be almost evenly split between the genders. The genetic changes have made either gender stronger, faster, and quicker thinking than any Krall warrior is. Just as the Krall are egalitarian within their own society, it appears when human males and females are effectively equal in physical capability, the perception that one gender needs protection more than the other goes out the window. We may be seeing the start of a truly equal opportunity human society.”