Koban 4: Shattered Worlds (64 page)

Despite her relegation to a smaller role in the planning of this mission, she saw potential in the unconventional force she was asked to find a means of using effectively.

“Captain Mirikami, I think there is a way for us to use your small force, but I need to know more of what your ships and people can do. Like how you managed to conduct your scouting mission right on the surface of K1.”

“We will be happy to demonstrate this for you. However, in keeping with our distinctly non-navy traditions, my volunteers and I prefer more informality that you are accustomed to using. Please call me Tet, which as I’m sure you know is short for Tetsuo. When we gather in your conference room shortly, after the introductions I ask that you at least attempt to use the first names of the officers you will meet. We seldom salute, or stand at attention. Nevertheless, I doubt you will find a more disciplined or deadly a group in a fight.”

“Tet, I accept your suggestion, and in exchange please call me Golda. If any of my people on the Lancer appear to be scandalized by this informality, I’ll have a word with them.” She grinned at that inevitability.

The giant Lancer, one of the last battleships ever built, had come alone to the rendezvous star, the system given the code name of Rimfire, to meet the hundred and ten “Rimmer” crewed clanships. This was a massive, heavily armed and armored ship, intended to awe the newcomers to space warfare, flying their far smaller stolen clanships. This attitude prevailed despite the fact that the navy had never captured a single Krall operational clanship intact, not in twenty-three years of war. They couldn’t even repair and fly the wrecks they had recovered.

Just as the personal informality requested by Mirikami had suggested was the case, the number of ships that arrived with him had unexpectedly increased by another three from the promised hundred ten. The explanation was that the roundabout and disbursed route to this system had allowed two of the ships to pass a target world of opportunity, and they had stolen three more ships parked next to a small Krall clan dome (which they had destroyed). Mauss wondered how useful the new ships could be in this exercise, considering they must have untrained new captains and personnel as prize crews.

Mirikami acknowledged that he knew of these additions even before they had arrived in the system, because all of his captains had the new embedded Comtap chips. He told Mauss not to worry about the capability of the three new ships and their crews, that they could match the performance of any of the other crews.

He also explained that because his people were physically stronger than the Krall, their stolen clanships had modifications, taught to them by the former alien slaves, which removed some built-in performance restrictions the Krall had. He said the new ships and their operators were as ready to fight as his other ships.

As Mirikami predicted, the three new craft and crews were easily integrated into the flotilla. Mind Taps are a wonderful thing.

Apparently,
Mauss thought,
there are spare trained people he brought along to replace expected losses.

A week later, Mauss had a plan devised with Mirikami to use his ships as a separate small strike force, and she wished the navy had a thousand more of these “ragtag” crews and ships to fight alongside the fleet. Any tactic she proposed they try, the first time through the coordination wasn’t perfect but was extremely well done, and the second pass was always better than the first, because the crews modified and improved on her initial advice.

They displayed an astounding ability to learn quickly, and to apply even bizarre ideas that a navy ship and crew could never have pulled off, such as rapid micro Jumps without a computer to help. She didn’t realize part of that was due to the brilliant simplified navigation system the Olt’kitapi had devised for their near-barbarian Krall helpers.

Not only would a navy crew be unable to absorb the training in so short a time, they physically couldn’t have survived what Mauss observed these ships do. She was looking forward to seeing their collaboration put into practice. The Krall were not going to like it one bit.

Sarge scratched his head in pretend confusion. “Maggi, why’d you call it four stalls? Is that some old timey outhouse reference of yours? Appropriate I suppose, since we’d be in the crapper if things went wrong.”

“The name is Forestall, you lunk-headed semi-literate hick.” She jabbed back, without seeing his wink to Dillon.

Dillon chimed in, “It sure sounds like four of something. Shower stalls?”

She looked up from the screen of text, which she’d been reading, with a dangerous sweet smile. “It means the stalls where they’ll keep you four jackasses penned up, so your asinine braying can’t warn the Krall who we are when we arrive.” She had included Carson and Ethan as two of the jackasses, because she could see their big grins when she looked around the Bridge.

Just reaching the Bridge of the Avenger, and hearing only the last comment, Noreen innocently asked, “What kind of stalls?”

The four men laughed at Maggi’s pained expression.

“Never mind them dear. These four equally adolescent turds are pestering me over the lame name the navy gave to the K1 mission. It’s to prevent another invasion, so it’s being called Operation Forestall.”

“Oh… That’s not very valiant sounding is it?”

“Hardly. They tried names like Deep Lance and New Lance for the last attacks on K1, with mixed results afterwards. I just hope Forbearance isn’t the name of their next action when the Krall respond after this attack.” That erased the grins of the four men.

In a more serious vein, Sarge reminded them. “We know from Kartok’s Mind Taps that the Krall will react violently to a raid like this. Telour is probably the new Tor Gatrol, and he’s pushing for a planetary destruction even without a raid on K1. If the PU government simply sits back and licks their wounds this time, they may never scale up for a fight to the death. The Krall will continue to take us down one planet at a time until we
can’t
marshal enough force to resist them. A lot of people on Hub worlds, like that Clayborn woman, think humans have lost the ability to fight after the Collapse.”

He was referring to a story that had been making the rounds in the press in Human Space recently, proposed by a noted woman psychologist Janet Clayborn, whom also had a medical degree, and most significantly had a new book out she wanted to promote. It was titled, The Decline of Men.

Clayborn gained press notice only because she was from a prominent Earth family, and had successfully treated some of the rich and famous women of Hub society, who shared her resentment of the newly resurgent male ego, as more men received military training. Soldiers no longer accepted the subservient status granted to males over the last three hundred years of society’s recovery.

One of her arguments was that when the Krall increased their pressure on human worlds, despite the great effort the PU had put forth thus far, that the men doing the fighting had not been able to stop the enemy. She speculated that after the loss of so many men in the Gene War, that those that survived to procreate the race had replaced the original genes of the Y chromosome with a weaker version. Claiming that the men who survived the synthetic disease were only the inherently unaggressive representatives. Her point was that the less combative and less virulent males alive today were being forced to shoulder the responsibility of fighting a war, something they were less competent at than their warlike male predecessors would be.

Maggi pounced. “Not even you could be so addled brained to think that was true.”

Sarge shook his head. “Of course not. However, if enough people on Hub worlds accept that idea, they may not push for building more and larger armies, largely filled with males. If we don’t beat the Krall on the ground, we can’t hold onto any of our worlds. If we lose a planet or two to some Krall super weapon, I don't know if the PU politicians will have the guts to rally the soft Hub worlds to make the deep sacrifices needed to hold them back until we have enough Kobani to win the war. We will need many decades to achieve the number of Kobani to resist the inevitable Krall population explosion if we start to push them back. Our own side is opposed to our gene mods just on principle.”

Maggi was conciliatory to him, in her own unique manner, naturally. “I’m glad to see you came to the right conclusion. Surprising to me, as addled brained as you are.”

Noreen deflected the banter by bringing up the assignments Mirikami had just delegated to his people.

“I was in Comtap link with Tet before I came up here. At least a half link, since he could send to his squadron commanders while we all are in Normal Space. Naturally, each of us would have to enter a Jump Hole to set up a full two-way conversation. I hope Professor Born’s group finishes their miniaturization of the circuit Tet has in that little case soon.

“He and Mauss have studied the reports they have of over a thousand clanship arrivals at K1, via a Comtap report from Captain Lebeau of the Pride of Gaul. He was sitting stealthed in the system, and entered a Jump Hole to communicate before the last of the arrivals did their White Out. This tells us that the Krall are preparing to load them with equipment stored around the various domes. Lebeau returned to observe the domes where they land, and will relay that.

“Another of our ships, the Dagger, under Bob Danker, is in the New Dublin system. He just reported that another thousand twenty-four clanships just Jumped out of that system in the last hour. The navy there, using the tachyon wave gadget the Krall used on our fleet movements at K1, says the direction of departure was dead on for K1. That gives them almost nine days before White Out at K1. They either don’t think we learned how to sense that wave front, or don’t care enough to conceal where they went.

“Danker told Tet that there are another thousand clanships still at New Dublin, but about half of them have suddenly taken on a more passive role, not participating in supporting ground actions against the eleventh Army. He thinks they are simply passing time until they can Jump for K1, eager to join the next big invasion. The Krall are learning about traffic jams and seem to be trying to spread out their fleet movements, to avoid the collision risks they ran into during the mass launches off of Poldark.”

Dillon asked, “If a thousand of them have just arrived at K1, and roughly another fifteen hundred will come from New Dublin, how many total does Tet figure will be at K1? There were ships at every clan dome I’m certain.”

“Lebeau counted over thirteen hundred additional clanships, most on the ground, but a couple of hundred ships are constantly in orbit, which the navy says has doubled in the last two weeks. The five surviving old Malveran designed orbital weapons platforms each have a clanship or two docked there, so they are apparently being staffed by warriors during the invasion preparation, possibly to improve their slow targeting response time the navy saw from them previously, when they were remotely controlled. Each platform has multiple other clanships nearby to protect the big slow moving tubs with their giant plasma cannons. No doubt, there are more of those single ships aboard them with event horizon projectors placed in their noses. The Krall have taken precautions in advance of their fleet’s arrival, but they don’t behave as if they expect an attack. They are simply protecting their defensive assets better than before.”

Dillon did the math. “Roughly three thousand eight hundred fifty clanships against about eleven hundred sixty of our combined forces, if I count the Shadows. They’ll have better than a three to one advantage. I suppose that gives us a target rich environment.”

“Tet says Chatsworth will let the first wave of clanships land and load up without taking any offensive action. They’ll be slower to maneuver even if they do lift off, and she told Mauss that she’s gambling they would stay in orbit at K1 anyway. A multistep liftoff is likely, when a tarmac at domes with the largest stores of equipment becomes over crowded with clanships. They surely want the entire fleet gathered to hit their new target all together, as they have done previously. Doing it that way, the PU couldn’t start moving forces to counter staggered arrivals. They like to be established on the ground well before the army and navy can react in force.”

“So the navy wants the Krall fleet nearly all gathered at K1, and most of them heavy loaded before they strike. Good.” Sarge grunted his trained ambusher’s approval. Yet he was incapable of fully approving anything planned by the navy.

“However, that’s only telling us what the navy plans to do. What about our motley unwashed group, which they have so far kept separate and away from their highly organized fleet, with its spit polished boots, and well-washed butts. When the hell do we get into the act?”

Noreen beat Maggi to the quip. “Good question, from one of the motely unwashed butts.”

Reynolds joined in the laughter at his expense, in appreciation of her fast comeback remark. “Are we hitting Krall elements on our own?”

“The qualified answer to that is yes, sometimes, and maybe. We might even be firing the first shots if we get caught sneaking into their party.”

“There you go,” he responded with enthusiasm. “Tell us about the sneaky part. That’s always my favorite method with those bastards. They can be such suckers. Are we going in stealthed again?”

Noreen winked. “You heard of a wolf in sheep’s clothing? Well something more like that.”

“Wait,” Dillon butted in. “Who’s the sheep?”

“We’re Kobani, knuckle head.” Maggi reminded him. “We’re the new wolves in this galaxy.”

****

“He is an insect brained meat animal.” Telour snarled. “The Joint Council approved the clanship distribution plan that I proposed. There would be more efficient loading than we had at Poldark if my plan is followed. Droktor has ordered Tanga clanships to land only at their four domes for loading, disregarding how I had assigned two hundred fifty six of their clanships to land at other domes, and assigned different clans to some of Tanga’s tarmacs. Now the congestion on their tarmacs will slow the loading and launch. They will have too many ships devoted to the task for the initial loading. It would be better divided into the waves I proposed.”

The personal insult, spoken in a small mixed assembly of sub leaders in a side chamber, at least wasn’t uttered in the more crowded central great hall. It might have prompted instant death challenges if heard by any Tanga clan sub leader. A Tor Gatrol could honorably refuse such a challenge, but doing so multiple times would cause some to question his leadership. Even a sub leader from a different clan, resentful of Telour’s ascension to Tor Gatrol, still might carry the words to the Tanga clan leader.

The comment wasn’t as reckless as it first seemed, however, because Telour knew that all of Tanga clan’s council representatives had left the great dome. They had traveled to their home four dome cluster, to participate in the massive loading project of vital equipment, where that Great clan had used its influence for over an orbit to gather the mass of equipment on their tarmacs. However, Telour’s staff would find themselves busy today, offering expanded invasion responsibilities to other clans to keep them quiet and pacified.

The leader of Telour’s own Graka clan was of course present, and quietly offered a word of advice to his furious and intemperate clan mate. “You indirectly caused this insolence, Telour. Gatlek Bendor, who you named to lead this invasion force, has made Dorbo clan our ally once again, after Kanpardi angered them in the past. However, Droktor wanted to lead this invasion himself.”

Telour gave his reasons for that selection. “Clan Leader, would choosing him have made Tanga clan our ally now, after we took the honor of starting this war from them many orbits ago?”

“No. However, another slight of their honor should have been expected to produce such a response. Most of the clanships under Tanga control could have been left for the second or third wave sent from New Dublin, with other clans filling their tarmacs and loading their stores of equipment before they even arrived. They would have had no choice but to better distribute their ships when their tarmacs were nearly empty.”

Because he was speaking in private with Fradot, the leader of his home clan, Telour could make an admission. “I allowed Gatlek Pendor to select the clanships to send back first. I expected him to choose in a manner that benefitted me, because I selected him to lead that invasion. He may have been bribed by Tanga clan to send all of their craft first. I did not anticipate his action.”

“In your new position, many clans will have reasons to make agreements that benefit them at an expense to your new high status and to diminish the status your promotion grants to our clan. Perhaps even your own second in command could do this, for a hoped for advancement.”

This drew a sharp look from Telour.
Is Fradot suggesting I beware the ambitions of my own staff? As Kanpardi should have been wary of me, of course.

Fradot suspected Telour had a role in Kanpardi’s death, but didn’t know for sure. There was no way that Pendor could survive an admission he had conspired with Telour to kill Kanpardi, nor could Telour survive that revelation either. However, such interclan intrigue was no stranger to any clan leader.

Telour paused several seconds in thought. Reflecting deep introspection for a Krall’s normal fast decision-making processes. “The nearly eight hundred Tanga ships in the first wave will have room left in many of them, even after loading the bulkier equipment such as the heavy transports. Instead of filling the transports with food and ammunition supplies as usual, I will instead send many of the warriors we are taking to New Glasgow. Some will fill the empty ships, but I will send others to ride within the detached transport segments, which now will not be packed with pallets of food and arms.” He liked this for more than one reason.