Synchronicity War Part 1, The (24 page)

“The CFPs have broken off communications, which means the
enemy has jumped into their vicinity, Sir.”

Korolev’s reply was immediate. “Understood, Commander. I’m
ordering the tankers to swing around to the far side of the GG, and the
reinforcement force Commander will launch message drones back up the supply
chain to let HQ know what’s happening now that the enemy fleet’s no longer in
the way.”

Shiloh said nothing. There wasn’t anything else to say.
Iceman and his team would be accelerating at maximum to get to the optimum
firing range, which only they knew. So there was nothing to do now but wait
some more.

It was half an hour later that the passive detection gear on
the Base picked up the action. Thirty-three radar sources suddenly started to
scan in all directions. They were approximately five million kilometers inside
the gravity zone. At that distance, any radar energy reflected off any of
Iceman’s fighters would be too weak for the Base’s detection gear to pick up.
The Tactical display only showed the enemy fleet which was moving towards the
Base and now maneuvering in what appeared to be an attempt to evade. Shiloh
held his breath. Suddenly there were multiple and simultaneous detonations of
what had to be the attack drones’ nuclear warheads. At this distance, the
Base’s optics couldn’t tell how many individual explosions. The combined EM
pulse of those explosions drowned out the radar emissions so there was no way
to tell how many enemy ships were still scanning.

The tsunami of EM and other radiation quickly died down.
Shiloh refrained from attempting to communicate with his fighters because of
his previous order to Iceman to maintain communications silence until the
battle was over. So until he heard from Iceman or one of the other fighters,
the battle was still going on. Finally, about 20 minutes later, optical sensors
picked up two momentary flashes followed seconds later by the re-establishment
of the com channel with Iceman.

“CAG, this is Iceman.”

CAG here. Go ahead, Iceman.”

“Thirty-three enemy ships were destroyed. Thirty-one by
attack drone warheads. Two were rammed by Bulldog and Firefox. Five fighters
confirmed destroyed by enemy laser fire. Three fighters are adrift and do not
respond to communications. They appear to have suffered damage. Extent of
damage unknown. Request that SAR shuttles be dispatched. What should we do now,
CAG?” Shiloh had a lot to think about but he needed more information first.

“How’s the fuel situation, Iceman?”

“The five of us that are left have sufficient fuel to stay
on patrol for another 36 hours, CAG.”

“Okay. Well done, Iceman. Pass that on to the rest of your
team, too. I need to confer with the Base Commander. Maintain your present
vector for the time being.”

Shiloh was about to end the conversation so that he could
discuss strategy and options with Korolev when he had a thought. “Iceman,
what’s your evaluation of the situation now?”

“While the destruction of 33 enemy ships is a tactical
victory, this battle has to be considered a strategic defeat, CAG. Relayed
radar data from the opposite side of the GG showed 34 enemy ships. Only 33
microjumped to this side. That means one ship went somewhere else, beyond our
detection range. My calculations reveal an 89% probability that the missing
ship returned to its nearest base. Therefore reinforcements may be on their way
here. In addition to that, the fact that the enemy knew where to ambush the
supply convoy, as well as that they knew enough about this star system to wait
for a favorable configuration of sun, gas giant and the ambush star system, indicates
that they have detailed astrogational information on star systems they haven’t
surveyed themselves. The only way they could have that information is if
they’ve captured at least one of our ships intact and extracted its navigation
data. That being the case, we have to assume that they know where all our bases
are and where Earth is. We therefore can’t expect to stop their advance here.
They’ve already demonstrated their ability to go around Bradley Base.”

My God, he’s right
, thought Shiloh.
Why didn’t I
see that myself? If they know where Earth is and all the explored systems
between Earth and their territory, they could launch a massive attack on Earth
by using uninhabited star systems that contain gas giants to refuel. There are
dozens … hundreds of those kinds of systems that we couldn’t possibly fortify
or even monitor effectively! This information has to get back to HQ ASAP
!

“I think you’re analysis is correct, Iceman. Standby while I
confer with the Task Force Leader.”

After the normal delay, he heard Iceman say, “Ah, roger
that, CAG. We’ll be here.”

Shiloh switched his com channel to Korolev.

“Sir, this is Shiloh. I’ve just spoken with my CFPs. Here’s
the situation. Of the 34 bogeys detected by Johansen’s force, 33 microjumped,
as expected, to the opposite side. The 34th has apparently jumped back to its
nearest base because there’s no sign of it in this system. Drone warheads
destroyed thirty-one bogeys. Two had to be rammed by CFPs. Additional CFP
losses include five destroyed and three disabled by enemy laser fire. Our SAR
teams should recover those last three because their AIs are worth saving due to
their experience. As important as that summary is, Sir, what I really need to
share with you is my assessment that this whole battle, including the convoy
ambush, couldn’t have been set up the way it was unless the enemy had precise
astrogational and operational data. And they could only have gotten that by
capturing one of our ships. That means they almost certainly know where Earth
is and how to get there. We have to warn HQ that Earth or any other colony star
system could be subject to enemy attack. The one that got away may trigger
another wave of ships.”

Shiloh heard Korolev groan, then curse in a low voice. “Wait
a minute, Shiloh! I need to understand the reasoning behind your conclusions
better. Why would they need captured data in order to set up this ambush?”

Shiloh forced himself to remain calm as he spoke. “They had
to know about the precise positions of this gas giant and our moon in order to
be able to hide in the gas giant’s shadow and still be in firing range of
Johansen’s relief force on its way to investigate the convoy ambush. That meant
that the course her ships would take to eventually jump to the ambush system
had to be exactly parallel to the shadow cast by the GG. Since we have no
indications at all that any enemy ship has surveyed this system, the only way
they would know about that precise alignment AND the fact that our supply
convoys refuel in that particular star system, is if they got the data from one
of our ships. The mere fact that they knew where to ambush the convoy is pretty
damning evidence of captured data all by itself, wouldn’t you say?”

Korolev took his time answering. “Well, when you put it that
way, I’m forced to agree. There’s no way that they would send 34 ships to one
star system unless they had a pretty good idea of what they’d find there. Damn!
We have to get this back to HQ fast! I’ll send several message drones to Omaha
Base just to make sure that at least one of them gets through. Is it your
assessment that there is no longer any enemy presence in this system right
now?”

“Yes, Sir. It is.”

“Then I’m inclined to split the reinforcement force into
their separate squadrons and send one to render assistance to Johansen’s
survivors, another to investigate the convoy ambush situation, and keep the
third squadron back here. I’d be interested in your thoughts on that plan,
Shiloh.”

Shiloh paused to think that over. The bogey that got away
left before the fighters destroyed the other 33 ships, and therefore wouldn’t
know the results of the battle. They wouldn’t suspect a negative outcome of the
battle until their 33 ships were overdue in reporting back. That meant the
Space Force had some time.

“The enemy Command Structure won’t know about the outcome of
the battle for some time, so I agree that we can safely split up our remaining
forces. Johansen’s survivors and their rescue squadron will probably be back
here within 24 hours. I’d expect that the squadron investigating the convoy
ambush will find nothing, and it’ll be back here within 36-48 hours, too. I’d
like to get my CFPs back to the Hangar Bay to reload, and I’d also like to
recall the five units escorting the reinforcement squadrons for jump detection
patrol, Sir.”

Korolev nodded. “Yes, go ahead and do that. Okay, I’ll
redeploy the three frigate squadrons, bring the tankers back and send out the
warning drones. Now what was it you said about SAR teams recovering the
disabled CFP A.I.s? Is that really necessary, Shiloh? Even if the A.I.s are
still intact, we won’t have any CFPs for them to pilot. Why not just write them
off?”

Because they’re intelligent beings you stupid ass
!
thought Shiloh. He took a second to get his voice under control.

“Well, first of all, CFP A.I.s are especially good at
learning, and they can transfer their ‘wisdom’, for lack of a better word, to
other A.I.s. So recovering them will only make our future CFP force more
capable by adding to its experience pool. Secondly, even though the tech
weenies swear up and down that the A.I.s aren’t sentient, they certainly ACT
that way and that includes behavior that seems to be motivated by pride in
being part of the Space Force Brotherhood. If we expect them to continue to be willing
to sacrifice themselves as necessary to protect us, then we need to demonstrate
to them that their survival matters, too.”

He heard Korolev take a deep breath. “I’m not sure I accept
your second point, but the first one makes sense. I’ll arrange for Search and
Rescue teams to recover those A.I.s if they’re still intact. Anything else,
Shiloh?”

Shiloh was about to say no when a new thought popped into
his head.

“Well, Sir, something’s just occurred to me. Sending message
drones back down the chain will mean that HQ won’t get our warning for… six
days at the earliest. I’d have to check if this is feasible, but I wonder if
one of my CFPs can accelerate to a high enough speed to launch a message drone
that could jump directly to Sol without any intermediate stops. If the drone
doesn’t have to use any of its own fuel to accelerate to jump speed, it might
be able to make it all the way.”

“Now that is worth looking into. If you think it’ll work, go
ahead and do it. I’ll still send other drones back the normal way just to be
sure and also to let our other bases know to be on alert. Anything else?”

“No, Sir. Nothing else.”

“Very good, CAG. Carry on.”

Shiloh immediately switched back to Iceman’s channel.

“Iceman, this is CAG. I’ve spoken with TF Leader. Your team
is to return to the Hangar Bay asap to rearm and refuel. Contact Hunter and
advise him that his fighters are to return to Base orbit and establish a jump
detection patrol. SAR teams will be dispatched shortly to recover the disabled
fighter A.I.s. I also have a mission that you can evaluate for me. Can a
fighter reach sufficient speed to enable a launched message drone to make it
back to the Sol system in one jump? If the answer is yes, then determine which
of the remaining operational fighters, including Hunter’s group, has the
necessary fuel reserves to launch the message drone and still be able to return
to Base. Transmit that data to me as soon as you have the answers. Any
questions, Iceman?”

Shiloh wasn’t really expecting an answer quickly but he got
one.

“Glad to hear about the SAR teams, CAG. We were beginning to
wonder if we were considered worth the effort. A single jump by message drone
from here to Sol is theoretically possible but not certain. In order not to
miss the Sol system altogether, the message drone has to be launched on a
trajectory with a higher degree of accuracy than is usually required. There is
an additional complication. A fighter can accelerate to the required speed, but
a normal fuel load would be insufficient to enable the fighter to return to
Base. One option would be to rendezvous with a fuel shuttle either on the
outward or inward leg, or both. None of the operational fighters in this system
currently has enough fuel to reach launch velocity and return to base.”

Iceman’s comment about being considered worth the effort to
recover sent a chill down Shiloh's spine.
If we break faith with these boys,
we’ll have a hard time winning it back
, he thought.
I have to be honest
with them
.

“Iceman, it pains me to admit this, but not everyone here
understands that you and your fellow fighter pilots are sentient beings who
should be treated with the same respect and loyalty as any human member of
Space Force. It’ll take time to change their minds. Sejanus and I are working
on that. Continuing to perform reliably is the best thing that all of you can
do to speed up that process.”

This time there definitely WAS a longer pause than just the
light speed lag.

“Thanks for being straight with us, CAG. We know we can
always count on you to watch our backs. One more thing regarding the
single-jump-to-Sol problem. Bradley base has one of the new Mark 4 fuel
shuttles, which has the capability to be piloted by one of us instead of a
human crew. Any of us that are successfully recovered from the cripples can
pilot the shuttle, which will therefore have a higher acceleration profile, and
that will make it easier to refuel the fighter.”