Probe Predators (26 page)

“I’m sure he’s aware of that and is working on something that would not place them in too much danger. If it doesn’t work, they will at least be learning how to work together. He won’t send them in if it is too dangerous.”

Drey nodded, “Are we ready?”

“As much as we can be; the objective is to destroy the Thresher planet and leave enough trackers to find the extent of their domain.”

Drey nodded and watched the fleets going through maneuvers, “We won’t have long to do this.” Kragon shrugged. “Alright, we have four days until we jump. Will you check in on the M87 fleets and make sure they know their responsibility?”

“I’ll let you know this evening.”

“Thanks, Kragon.”

Drey continued to watch the maneuvers and knew that it was going to fall to the Zombies to open a path to the planet to launch two heavy penetrators. He sighed and shook his head; they may be getting their death wishes granted. He hoped it didn’t come to that. At least not before M87 lost enough ships.

• • •

Katy watched her fleet and was proud of their skill. She knew what her objective was and she felt the Zombies could make it happen…but…they were going in blind. She shook her head and said, “I hope you’re listening; Moe?”

“Yes, Admiral Kemper.”

“Boy, you really are everywhere.”

“Flattery will get you a long way with me, Admiral.”

“Moe, I need to see the planet we’re going after. We can’t just jump in and start looking for a place to penetrate the defenses. Are we planning to launch a probe before we go in?”

“The Senior Staff believes the risk is too great to send one.”

“Surely one of the advanced probes could get a look from the outer planets?”

“We just don’t know what defenses they have in that system.”

“I think that is something we really need before we go knocking on their door.”

“Admirals Montgomery and Kragon are not available to be asked, Admiral. They have ordered no one to interrupt them before the attack.”

Katy thought for a moment and said, “Can you get Admiral Tollervar to order a probe?”

Katy waited a moment and heard, “Moe tells me you have an issue.”

Katy took a breath and said, “Admiral, we’re going in blind. I need to see how the Thresher Warships are distributed around the planet to determine the best path to the planet. I need that information before we launch or we might fail to break through.”

“Have you asked the Senior Admirals?”

“They have ordered that they not be disturbed before the launch.”

“This is really their call, Admiral.”

“Will you contact them and see if they’ll allow it?”

“Hold on.” Katy waited and took some quick breaths. After a moment Jinx said, “I’m not getting through.”

“Jinx, I don’t want to throw away my pilots.”

Jinx jerked when she used his name and sighed, “Moe, what do we have that could take a quick look without being seen?”

“I could send an advanced probe over the top of the location and take a quick look. However, it might be seen.”

“Katy, how much time would you need to make a decision on your approach?”

“About five minutes.”

“Moe, I’m authorizing you to launch the probe.”

“You might be risking your career doing that.”

“I’ll take the heat for this; launch the probe ten minutes before our fleets jump. Send the results to Admirals Montgomery and Kragon. Get them to Admiral Kemper first.”

“Hang on just a moment.”

Katy said, “Thank you so much for doing this.”

“It’s the right thing to do. Just stay safe and get back.” Katy was stunned by Jinx’s comment.

Moe said, “I interrupted the Admirals and they agree with your decision. However, they say we should do it now so there’s time to plan.”

Katy said, “How did you pull this off, Moe?”

“I simply pointed out that they may be jumping into eight million Thresher Warships and that would be a good thing to know before they arrived.”

Katy looked at her panel and saw Jinx was no longer on the channel. She wondered what he meant.

• • •

Drey was looking at the scans on his display, when Kragon walked in. “What are those?”

“I sent a probe to take a look at our planned attack coordinate.”

“I thought we said that was too dangerous?”

“We did but Moe said something that made me reconsider.”

“What was that?”

“That only stupid or dead people ever enter hostile territory without knowing what was awaiting them.”

“He makes a good point. Was it seen?”

“Nothing moved toward it; I think it wasn’t detected.”

Kragon looked up at the huge display and whistled, “Wow!” The Thresher planet was eighty percent oceans and small land masses. The entire planet was surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Thresher Warships.

“You’ve missed one thing.”

Kragon looked at Drey, “What is that?”

“None of them have their force fields up.”

Kragon jerked his head back to the display and started smiling.

• • •

The Conference room was full and Dee saw a difference in the demeanor of the attendees. Last time they had all been assembled, they were newly promoted and excited about the prospect of commanding a fleet of union warships. Now, they had been bloodied and knew what lay ahead of them. She looked at Katy Kemper and saw she was transformed into something…different. The other Admiral’s deferred to her; they recognized how deadly her fleet had become under her leadership. Dee smiled and wondered if the deference was done out of respect or fear. She saw Drey and Kragon enter the room and everyone rose to attention. Now the interesting part would begin.

“At ease; take a seat.” Drey looked at the assembled Admirals with an expression that worried them. He looked like he was in another place. “Gentlemen, I’ve sent you the data we collected on our target. This is either going to be the shortest battle ever fought, or the bloodiest. Your fleets will determine which one it’s going to be. “We have the probe sending us a live feed of the disposition of the enemy’s warships. Each of your fleets will be given an area that you will be tasked with hitting every ship within the first two seconds of your arrival. Their force fields aren’t active and it will take four seconds for them to reach full power. You will assign every one of the Thresher Warships in your area to one of two of your ships. Every ship we have will all jump in at the same time and attack their target.” Drey looked at the Admirals for a moment and then said, “I will not tolerate incompetence in this mission. Do I make myself clear!”

“Yes Sir.”

“We will be jumping out in twenty four hours. Make sure your pilots have their assignments.”

The group was silent and saw the Dark Officer was back. No one spoke. Drey started to turn away and everyone heard, “Sir, you might want to delay a day.”

Drey whipped around and saw Katy standing at attention. Drey walked up to her and Jinx saw the menace in Drey’s expression, “And just why would I do that…Admiral?”

“I’m going to assume that the planet we’re going to attack is the only coordinate we have on their locations. If that’s the case, I think it would be wise to launch tracker probes prior to our attack and designate a number of the Thresher Ships to not be hit so they can escape and lead us to other Thresher Planets…Sir.”

Drey stared at Katy and after a moment shook his head. He turned around and looked at Kragon, who was also shaking his head, “I guess we missed this.”

Kragon nodded, “Indeed we did.”

Drey looked at Katy, “That is an excellent suggestion, Admiral.” He turned and looked at Jinx, “How do we go about doing this?”

“I’d select an area and not attack it; all the ships in that area would be sent elsewhere after we leave. I really don’t think they’ll attempt to escape while the planet is under attack. I would also leave trackers outside the ranks of the ships around the planet to go after any ships sent in after the attack begins.”

Kragon shook his head, “The ships coming in will have their force fields up; a tracker won’t be able to attach to them.”

“Once the attack is over, those ships will go to assist any survivors. To do that, they’ll have to lower their fields. If a tracker has selected it outside the ranks of the defenders, it will follow it and attach the moment it lowers its field.”

“Then why do we need to launch trackers before we attack?”

“We’re assuming reinforcements will be sent. I agree that they probably will, but I don’t like uncertainties. This way, at least some of the warships will have a tracker on them no matter what happens.”

“How long will this take to set up?”

“At least two days. I’ll need the location of the ships we won’t be hitting and those coordinates will have to be downloaded to the trackers. We also have to program the other trackers to only lock on ships that arrive after they’re launched. It will also require a new data feed on the ships around the planet; they may change over the next two days while this is being set up.”

Drey looked at Kyle, “Have you set up the areas each fleet will attack?”

“I have, Your Highness.”

“I want a small sector on all four sides that will be avoided; how long will it take you to make that change?”

Kyle thought for a moment, “I can have it done in thirty six hours.”

Drey’s expression changed, he looked at the Admirals, and smiled, “I like the way you think; keep up the good work.” He turned and exited the room and every one breathed a sigh of relief. Jinx looked at Katy, “Have you selected the route you’re going to clear?”

“I have.”

“Please give that to Admiral Kyle Montgomery so that area won’t be in the sectors he selects to avoid. He should also keep the other fleets away from that area.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Kyle said, “I’ll get with you after the meeting, Admiral Kemper.”

“That would be good.”

Kragon stood up, “We’ll be giving each of you your assigned sectors in thirty six hours. Stay tuned to the Probe’s feed so your pilots can keep track of their assigned targets in real time; any questions?”

“Sir, just to be clear; what will end this mission?”

“What do you mean?”

“Normally, we would stay and kill every ship before we jump out. What will be the end point of this mission?”

“When the Zombies destroy the planet, the mission is over.” Kragon looked at Katy, “I trust you understand the importance of your task.”

“I do, Sir.”

“Don’t take too long, Admiral; I expect a lot of uninvited guests to show up rather quickly.”

“Sir, I hope everyone understands that we will have to get the battleships through the Thresher formations above the planet. We’re not going to be able to vaporize their ships and the penetrators won’t perform their function if they hit a Thresher Warship going in. They have to launch at the planet’s outer atmosphere. I expect the debris field to be extensive.”

Kragon stared at Katy and after a moment said, “Have we given this task to the wrong unit?”

Katy’s expression turned grim, “Sir, you don’t have a unit better than mine! I would hope we’ve proven that by now.”

Jinx was surprised at Katy’s anger being shown to one of the Supreme Leaders. He was forced to respect her pride in her sailors and her willingness to defend them. She had changed in a remarkable way since he first met her.

Kragon smiled, “It’s good to see you know it, Admiral. Make it happen quickly; millions of ships will be in jeopardy waiting on you.”

Katy’s expression changed, “Yes Sir, we won’t let you, or them, down.”

Jinx stood and the Room came to attention. Kragon looked at the assembled Admirals and left the room. Jinx said, “You are dismissed. Get you units ready.”

“Yes Sir.”

Jinx walked over to Katy who was gathering her notes and said, “Are you planning to lead the attack?”

Katy looked up at him, “Yes Sir.”

“The Union is not willing to risk losing you in this initial attack. You may go with your fleet but you are ordered to stay out of the attack.” Katy’s eyes narrowed and Jinx saw her immediate anger. He said, “Admiral, who, other than you, can control your Zombies?” Katy started to tell Jinx what he could do with his orders but his question gave her pause. “I’ve watched you create a jewel and it works because of you. What would happen to your fleet if you were killed? You owe it to them to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Jim Logan was there to assist Katy and he said, “He’s right, Sir. Our unit would fall apart if you weren’t there and I know you know it. Your time will come; but this isn’t it.”

Katy sighed and looked at Jinx, “Is this the Senior Staff’s order…or yours?”

Jinx stared Katy in the eyes and said, “I’m part of the Senior Staff. The order comes from both.” Jinx turned and walked away.

Jim watched him go and looked at Katy. He saw what was going on between them and knew why Katy had no love of life. He remained silent and gathered up the rest of the material while Katy composed herself. The pain in her eyes was obvious and he wasn’t going to embarrass her by witnessing it. Katy finally blew out a breath and looked at Jim with a forced smile, “I need you to let me know how we’re going to do this.”

“Yes Sir.”

Katy thought for a moment, “Should we go in at two different sites?”

“What do you mean?”

“We have enough ships to assign two or three ships to each Thresher Warship. What if the site we’ve chosen is supported and we’re delayed getting the M87 battleships through.”

Jim thought for a moment, “If we get there and hit them with their force fields down, it is going to just be a matter of getting the large battleships through the debris. I think I would rather use the surplus to form a barrier around them. I expect any future attacks will require different points of attack.”

Katy nodded, “I guess I was looking ahead and thought practicing this under combat conditions might be good.”

Jim smiled, “You’re right, Sir. I didn’t think about that.”

“Inform Kyle Montgomery that we’re going in with two groups. Choose the best places to make that happen and get the Zombies ready.”

“Yes Sir.” Jim picked up the briefcase and followed her out.