Against All Odds (32 page)

"Attacked?" Minister Ambello Neddowo said, jumping up from his seat. "Attacked by whom? Who would attack a seven-hundred-sixteen ship armada?"

"I can think of only one answer to that— Space Command."

"How many ships did we destroy?"

"According to the report from Admiral Krakosso, the enemy ships appeared suddenly, attacked in a lightning raid, and then disappeared within minutes of their arrival."

"Did we destroy any?"

"No, none. The damage was apparently all one-sided."

"Damage? Did we lose ships?"

"Yes."

"In a lightning raid?"

"Admiral Krakosso reports five-hundred-ten ships were damaged too badly to continue on schedule. They will attempt to make repairs and catch up."

"What?" Minister Neddowo said, sagging back into his chair in shock. "Five-hundred-ten ships damaged too badly to continue immediately?"

"Yes, that's the number given by Admiral Krakosso."

Sitting up straighter again, Neddowo said, "That's impossible. Either he was drunk when he said it or you were drunk when you listened to his message."

"I've had the clerk prepare it for playback, if you'd care to listen for yourself."

"I certainly would."

Barguado nodded to the clerk and the image of Admiral Krakosso appeared on the large monitor. "Sir, it's my sad duty to report we have been attacked most viciously. Twenty small ships appeared from nowhere, without warning, fired weapons of incredible power, and then disappeared again. It happened too quickly for us to respond while they were about us and we cannot pursue them because we don't know where they went. Two-hundred-six ships will continue on to the objective and, while most of us have sustained damage to some degree, all are space-worthy. The five-hundred-ten we leave behind have varying degrees of damage, but many are beyond repair. Our engineers will attempt to return as many as possible to service using the destroyed ships for replacement parts. We estimate no more than one-hundred-fifty can be restored to service before we engage the enemy. They will try to catch up or else join us at our new base at Quesann.

"Admiral Krakosso. End of transmission."

Minister Neddowo sat silently in his chair, staring at the table in front of him with glassy eyes. His mouth was working but nothing could be heard by those around him.

"What is your pleasure, Gentlemen?" Barguado asked. "Shall I recall the fleet while we still have at least two-hundred-six space-worthy ships marginally capable of defending our borders?"

"No!" Neddowo suddenly screamed. Jumping up he screamed, "No, no, no! Not when we're so close!"

"Close to what?" Barguado asked. "Annihilation of our fleet?"

"If Carver had a quarter of her fleet patrolling five-hundred light-years from Quesann, then it reasons other parts of her fleet are patrolling other areas. When our fleet arrives at Quesann, we'll be virtually unopposed. We'll destroy her base and cut off their links with Region One. They'll be too far away from their supply line and they'll have to leave the Region."

"We've lost six-hundred-seventy ships to Carver," Minister Ulalahu Valhallo said. "We can't afford to lose any more."

"We don't know we lost those first ships to Carver. Barguado said we've only lost contact with them."

"After this latest defeat, I think we can safely assume we lost them to Carver," Barguado said.

"We must continue. We have two hundred more ships in various phases of construction, so we can easily replace the lost ships. Many of the ones we sent were older ships anyway."

"Older or not, they represented a substantial investment," Valhallo said.

"This initiative will work."

"And if it doesn't?"

"If it doesn't, I'll personally reimburse the treasury. That's how sure I am of its success."

"Very well, Ambello," Valhallo said. "We'll continue on your personal assurance this venture will be profitable,
or
you'll reimburse the treasury for all losses."

* * *

"My King, I've received another message from Admiral Carver," Hudeerac Minister Vertap Aloyandro said after entering the King's sumptuous office and walking to where His Majesty was relaxing in his favorite chair with a good book.

Closing the tome and looking up, King Jamolendre sat up and said, "What does she have to say, Vertap?"

"She thanks us for the information we sent regarding the location of the Uthlaro fleet. She states her twenty-ship task force was able to engage the Uthlaro there and that she successfully destroyed five-hundred-ten of their warships, most of which were destroyers. Two-hundred-six damaged vessels managed to get away, but she's confident they'll locate them again."

The king's shock was reflected on his face. "She destroyed five-hundred-ten Uthlaro warships in one engagement with just twenty ships?" the king asked.

"That's what she claims, my King."

The king slumped against the back of his chair. "Space Command must be far more powerful than I ever could have imagined." Shaking his head, the king said, "How could we have ever have allowed ourselves to become associated with the Uthlaro?"

"The damage has been largely undone, my King. Admiral Carver says she will notify the Admiralty Board of her decision to return the ceded territory to us. She'll make the official announcement at a suitable time after the Uthlaro have been dealt with, but she won't interfere with any of our ships traveling through the territory. We're free to continue our trade with any planets located there and defend the territory as before."

"Wonderful. Thank you, Vertap. The kingdom owes you a huge debt of gratitude."

"I'm happy to have been of service, my King. Uh, Admiral Carver has also requested any information we have on the Uthlaro warship production facilities."

"She wants to know the location of their shipyards?"

"Yes, my King."

"She means to destroy them I suppose, as she did with the Milori shipyards."

"That would be a reasonable assumption."

"Send her anything we have, Vertap. We want to stay in the good graces of Admiral Carver and the Galactic Alliance. And if she does destroy the Uthlaro ability to produce warships, we'll have one less powerful neighbor on our borders to worry about."

"Yes, your majesty."

* * *

"I apologize for the short notice," Uthlaro Prime Minster Taomolu Barguado said to the Council of Ministers, "but we've received a message from Admiral Carver and I felt you should see it immediately." Nodding to the clerk, Barguado took his seat.

A head-and-shoulders image of Jenetta Carver appeared on the council chamber's huge monitor as ministers reached for translation headphones.

"I am Admiral Jenetta Carver of the Galactic Alliance Space Command. You have violated our borders and perpetrated unprovoked attacks on our space stations, planets, and citizenry. Since all of these acts occurred without a declaration of war, the Galactic Alliance Council has branded you a rogue nation and Space Command has treated your acts as piracy.

"To date, we have destroyed six-hundred-fifty Uthlaro warships and their crews in Galactic Alliance space. I inform you now that the five-hundred-ten vessels left behind at your staging area will not be continuing their mission after making repairs. We returned to the location and concluded our business there.

Since these incredible losses appear not to have convinced you to halt your attacks, I've formulated a new plan of action. The Galactic Alliance Council requires that a declared state of war exists before Space Command military forces enter the territory of another government with intent to do damage. Therefore, as of today and with the approval of the Galactic Alliance Council, I am formally notifying you that in response to your border incursions, attacks, and known objectives, an official state of war exists between the Galactic Alliance and the Uthlaro Dominion.

"Jenetta Carver, Admiral, Commander of the Second Fleet and Military Governor of Region Two, aboard the Colorado. Message complete."

"What did she say?" Minister Ellwano Murcuro asked aloud. "Does she mean she's coming here?"

"It sure sounded that way," the minister on his left said.

"Ridiculous," Minister Neddowo said. "It's all a ploy to have us recall the two-hundred-six ships headed to Quesann. She realizes their sneak attack on our fleet failed and she's desperate for us to cancel their mission."

"I would hardly call her attack a failure. In mere seconds she stopped five-hundred-ten ships. We've been unable to contact any of them since the ships with working envelope generators departed. We have to assume she did as she said and they are lost to us."

"Well, she can't stop our fleet while it's traveling faster than light, so this is an attempt to get
us
to stop them."

"That doesn't make sense," Minister Valhallo said. "If all she wants is for them to stop, she can wait until they reach Quesann. They'll have to drop from light speed to commence their attack."

"She doesn't just want to stop them where they are, she wants to stop them from reaching Quesann on schedule. If she can delay them, she'll have more time to marshal her forces around the base."

"It sounded to me like she intends to come here," Prime Minster Taomolu Barguado said. "How are we going to stop her if she does? Except for a handful of old home-guard warships, our reserve ships were all sent to join the fleet."

"Relax," Minister Neddowo said. "If she was part of the force that struck our fleet recently, she can't be here for another four annuals. By then we will have launched two hundred more warships— all faster, stronger, and more heavily armed than all previous classes."

"And if she wasn't part of that attack?" Minister Valhallo asked.

"She said she can't cross our border until she had declared war. That means she's at least three annuals away. We'll simply speed up production and have those two hundred warships waiting for her when she arrives."

"Will two hundred be enough?"

"She won't catch our people napping again. When she approaches our planet, she'll be picked up on long range sensors and they'll be waiting for her ships to arrive."

* * *

We've received a message from Admiral Carver," Admiral Moore said to the other members of the Admiralty Board." Turning to his clerk, he said, "Play the message."

The silence in the room was pervasive for some thirty seconds after the message and the attached bridge logs had played. It was finally broken by Admiral Hillaire, who said, "Five-hundred-ten ships! Amazing! She virtually wiped out their armada in one quick attack. I'm glad Admiral Carver is on our side. I sure wouldn't want to have to oppose her in battle."

"She's reckless," Admiral Hubera said. "She took too big a risk by leaving Quesann to search out the enemy fleet. She trusted the word of an intelligence officer who had recently been aligned with the Uthlaro. It could have been a trick to get the DS ships away from the base so the Uthlaro could attack."

"It was a gamble," Admiral Moore said, "but it paid off with major results. Now she only has to face two-hundred-six instead of seven-hundred-sixteen."

"I say it was a reckless act," Admiral Hubera said. "She's far too impulsive and bold."

"You feel she should have ignored the intelligence data from her contact in the Hudeerac Order?" Admiral Hillaire asked. "The same one who provided information about the Milori— information that proved so invaluable? You feel the wiser course would have been to wait until the seven-hundred-sixteen ships arrived at Quesann and surrounded the ninety-nine ships of the Second Fleet?"

"It would have been the prudent course."

"Admiral Carver weighed the options available to her," Admiral Moore said, "discussed the matter with her Intelligence Director, and made a decision that turned out to be correct. She took a calculated risk based on the information available. It was neither impulsive nor reckless. It's why Admiral Carver is out there doing the job instead of you, Donald. You've been a valuable member of this Board, but in matters concerning battle strategy, I will continue to defer to Admiral Carver."

"What about her decision to invade the Uthlaro Dominion instead of returning to defend Quesann."

"We know where the Uthlaro fleet is," Admiral Bradlee said, "and how fast they can travel. Therefore, we know exactly how long it will take it to reach Quesann. Admiral Carver can enter the Uthlaro Dominion, complete her mission, and still be back at Quesann months before the Uthlaro fleet arrives. The intel from the Hudeerac Order, which has so far been proven accurate, indicates she shouldn't expect to encounter any Uthlaro battle groups during the mission. Most of them were destroyed at the staging area."

"I don't think there's any question that Admiral Carver made the right choice about attacking the Uthlaro fleet in the staging area," Admiral Platt said. "The results speak for themselves. I also don't think there's any question on the subject of carrying the fight into Uthlaro space. If all the fighting were done on our side of the border, there'd be less incentive for them to cease hostilities. I stand firmly behind Admiral's Carver decision to take the fight to the enemy."