The Synchronicity War Part 2 (11 page)

“Your reasoning is impeccable, CAG. You should
be prepared, however, for the possibility of receiving an
enemy-generated vision. If you do, you’ll have to decide if the
best course of action is to ignore it or to follow it.”

“Why would I even consider following it given
that we’ve just agreed that our side won’t be sending me any
visions?”

“Ah, you’re not nearly devious enough, CAG.”
Shiloh remembered Johansen saying exactly the same thing to him how
long ago now? Iceman continued. “The enemy knows that you ignored
their first attempt at misdirection. They may be counting on you
doing the same thing the next time too. If the obvious thing to do
is ignore their vision, then the best thing they could do is send
you a vision of what they don’t want you to do in the hope that
you’ll take a different and less optimal course of action.” Shiloh
groaned.

“Oh great! So there’s no way for me to know
whether to follow or ignore any vision I get concerning the battle
at Zebra19. How am I supposed to resolve that dilemma?” He didn’t
really expect an answer but Iceman gave him one anyway.

“You don’t try to resolve it. My advice is to
try to make a decision as if the vision hadn’t happened at all.
Whatever you decide to do, the outcome of that battle will be as we
expect. You’ll survive, Tanaka and Falkenberg will survive and so
will Valkyrie. Keep that in mind and what will be, will be.”
Easy to say but not so easy to do
, thought Shiloh. He then
had another thought.

“So you’re going to be commanding a fleet of
ships that include some A.I. controlled ships and Valkyrie is
commanding a carrier. That doesn’t sound like something that’s
going to happen soon. The Admiral and I discussed modifying
decommissioned exploration frigates for A.I. control, as a way of
strengthening the Early Warning Network. Did you and he talk about
going further than that with other ship types?”

“Yes, CAG. I was able to convince him that the
modified exploration frigate idea should also be seen as a pilot
project for conversion of new ship types as well. A.I. controlled
carriers would still have some human crew mainly to keep the
fighter complement operational although the Old Man agreed that
Space Force should shift its engineering and design priorities to
ships that are fully automated and don’t need any human crew at
all.” Shiloh shook his head in amazement that Iceman was able to
get the Old…Admiral to agree to proposals that Shiloh wouldn’t have
dared to try to push through. He was about to say so when he
noticed Tanaka walking towards them. Iceman noticed Shiloh looking
intently in a new direction and swung his optical pickup device to
look that way too.

“That was a quick chat the Old Man had with the
XO.” observed Iceman. Shiloh nodded. He was thinking the same
thing. When she reached them, Tanaka said,

“The Admiral briefed me on the retro-temporal
concept, Sir, and also about a planned multi-carrier strike on
Zebra19. I’ll be temporarily assuming command of Defiant and Brad
will be Defiant’s CAG for that mission too. The Admiral also told
me to tell you that Defiant will be ordered to proceed to a parking
orbit and the crew will be granted a week’s R&R, since the rest
of the EWN deployment mission will be cancelled.”

“You seem to be taking the idea of communication
from the future in stride, Sumi. I don’t think I would have been so
quick to accept the idea if I was in your position.” Tanaka smiled
and shrugged.

“I guess I’m just relieved that my CO isn’t
crazy after all! Sorry…I didn’t mean…” Shiloh laughed and waived
off her apology.

“That’s okay, Sumi. I know what you meant.”
After a short pause, he continued. “I assume that Cmdr. Falkenberg
is being debriefed now?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Fine. Then we’ll wait here until he’s done. Any
plans for your R&R, Sumi?” Shiloh listened with half his
attention while he pondered what the future had in store for him
and those humans and A.I.s he’d come to know. The conversation
continued over personal topics and approximately ten minutes later,
Falkenberg arrived. It quickly became clear that he’d been briefed
on the ‘vision thing’ too and Shiloh learned that both Tanaka and
Falkenberg had been ordered not to share that information with
anyone, who didn’t already know about it. He wondered if that was
the best thing to do now. The enemy clearly already knew… or would
know at some point and other Space Force officers might be
receiving visions that they might ignore if they were kept in the
dark about the possibility. With no answers and lots of questions,
Shiloh shrugged and got up.

“Let’s get back to Defiant. The rest of the crew
may be going on leave but I have a feeling the four of us aren’t.”
As they walked back to the HQ entrance to catch a ride back to the
spaceport, Tanaka and Falkenberg pulled ahead while Shiloh stayed
with Iceman, whose mobile unit couldn’t keep up with the faster
pace. Shiloh looked around at the sky and said.

“What a perfect day. Just the right temperature
and almost no wind.”

“The calm before the storm, CAG.” said Iceman.
Shiloh felt another chill go up his spine.
Son of a bitch! He
feels it too!

Chapter 6 - The Calm Before The Storm

Shiloh was right about the four of them not
getting any R&R. He, Tanaka and Falkenberg were busy sifting
through hundreds of personnel profiles in order to recommend
officers for Resolute and Vigilant. Iceman was tasked with
recommending ranks for not only Defiant’s fighter complement but
also for all of the fighters currently in the Sol system, which
required direct digital communication with them and when that was
completed, he and his fighter were transported to the A.I.
production and training facility in Epsilon Eridani to evaluate all
of their fighters for future assignments. That would also be where
decommissioned exploration frigates were to be modified as the new,
A.I.-controlled Sentry Frigates. Because Shiloh was asleep when
Iceman received instructions to take his fighter aboard a tanker
transport, he left a recorded message for Shiloh. When Shiloh woke
up and read the message, it said,

[Defiant will be honored with the first
permanent squadron, VF001. The Old Man has approved my
recommendations for fighter pilot ranks for my boys. Valkyrie is
now a Group Leader too and will take on the responsibilities of
Squadron Leader. You can trust his judgment, CAG. He may not be as
chatty as I am but he’ll be there when you need him. We both know
that we’ll meet up again so don’t worry about that but I will miss
your company, CAG and yes, I intend to keep calling you that
regardless of your rank. The term means a lot more to us A.I.s than
humans realize but now you know too.] Shiloh read the message three
times. The bond he had formed with his A.I. pilots in general and
with Iceman in particular seemed to be getting stronger. He
wondered what kind of relationship A.I.s would have with humans as
a whole by the time this war was over. Would it be as equals or
something else? Lots of time to ponder that. Right now though, he
had to get dressed to catch the shuttle down to Geneva. A meeting
with Howard’s staff after which he intended to visit Angela. She
was out of the hospital now but still not fit for active duty and
was helping the Strategic Planning Group until she was fit
again.

The meeting with the Admiral’s staff went well
and even better, went quickly. A call to the SPG and Johansen
agreed to meet him for lunch. Shiloh was dismayed to see that her
injuries had left noticeable scars on her face and neck and
probably lower down but now hidden by her uniform. Her attitude
puzzled him too. While she seemed pleased to hear from him when
they briefly chatted by phone, her outward expression now was one
of wariness but she smiled when he approached her table and sat
down.

“It’s good to see you again, Victor.” Shiloh was
startled by her familiarity. He was once again senior to her in
rank but he decided not to make an issue out of it.

“Same here, Angela. It’s good that they finally
let you out of the hospital. How’s the recovery coming along?” She
shrugged and said,

“I’m making progress but not quite there yet.
Aside from getting my muscle tone and conditioning back, I’m still
feeling some residual pain from the surgeries and they have to take
care of this.” She gestured to the scars. He nodded.

“Any idea when that’ll be?” he asked. She
frowned.

“They want to wait until I’m stronger. I’m
concerned that by the time I’m strong enough for cosmetic surgery,
I’ll also be strong enough to return to duty and they’ll post me
somewhere before the surgeons can fix this.”

“They wouldn’t do that to you! Would they?” She
shrugged again.

“Experienced Commanders are in big demand these
days. The shipyards are starting to push out a new ship every 10-15
days now.”

“I know but…Christ!” He paused and Johansen said
nothing.

“Listen…next time I get the chance to talk with
the Old…with Admiral Howard, I’ll ask him if he can arrange for you
to get the surgery before they reassign you. I don’t know if he’ll
listen to me but it’s worth a try, right?” asked Shiloh. She smiled
a small smile and nodded.

“Yes, it’s worth a try and thank you, Victor.”
Before he could respond, she continued. “So I hear Defiant ran into
some action at Avalon. Are you allowed to tell me about it?”

“Well, no one’s told me not to, so sure.” He
told her the whole story beginning with Blue2, then Green4 then
Avalon but left out the visions. By the time he finished, their
food arrived and they stopped talking for a while in order to eat.
She spoke first in a low voice while she looked down at her
food.

“Vanguard is almost back in shape now. It looks
like she’ll be ready before I am and that means I’ll lose her.”

“It’s always hard to let go of your first
command. I felt the same way when I had to give up the 344 but
you’ll get another command slot. You said yourself that Commanders
are in big demand and new ships are pouring off the slipways. I’m
sure they’ll give you another ship. At the very least another
combat frigate but maybe something bigger. A light carrier or one
of the new cruisers that are just about ready.” She looked up and
turned to one side.

“Maybe…but it’s not just the physical injuries
that haven’t completely healed. I sometimes dream about that battle
and I always wake up screaming with fear. I don’t know if I can
face another battle.” Shiloh didn’t know how to respond to that,
having never faced that problem himself. As he struggled to find
something comforting but also encouraging to say, she continued.
“There’s a call for volunteers. Very hush hush. The only thing
they’ll say about it is that anyone who volunteers might have to be
away from Earth for the duration of the war. Do you know anything
about that?” Shiloh had a strong suspicion it had to do with
setting up Site B but was certain that Howard would not want him to
speculate about it.

“Maybe. I’m not sure but in any case, I can’t
talk about what I think it might be.” She sighed.

“I’m tempted to volunteer. I don’t have any
immediate family. Whatever it is, is something that’s going to take
a while to organize so there might be time for the surgery and from
the vague answers I’ve gotten from the Senior Brass about it, I
have the distinct impression that the risk of combat is low. Maybe
that’s where I belong now.” Shiloh silently cursed the need for
operational security and for his inability to offer Angela any kind
of useful response. He also didn’t know whether to advise her to
volunteer or the opposite and who was he to tell her what to do
anyway? If she really wasn’t up to commanding a ship in combat
anymore then encouraging her to get back on the horse so to speak
would not only be unfair to her but also potentially disastrous for
the war effort. He spread his hands apart and said.

“I’m sorry, Angela, that I can’t offer you any
advice or comfort on this. I honestly don’t know what you should or
shouldn’t do.” They finished the rest of the meal in silence.
Johansen refused to order dessert or coffee. When she got up to
leave, they awkwardly shook hands and when she turned to walk away,
she suddenly stopped and quickly turned back to him. Before he knew
it, she hugged him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Take care of yourself, Victor.” Without waiting
for a reply she turned and hurried away. Shiloh couldn’t help
wondering if he would ever see her again.

By the time Defiant’s crew returned from their
one week R&R, Shiloh’s field promotion to (temporary)
Vice-Admiral was confirmed, as was his assumption of command of the
newly formed 3rd Fleet that was to be built around Defiant.
Squadron VF001 was also formally commissioned with Valkyrie as its
first Squadron Leader. Fighters, which were already stationed in
the Sol system, were added to VF001 to bring it up to its full
strength of 25 fighters. Shiloh made a point of greeting the
rookies and chatting with each one of them for a few minutes. That
was a start but the Task Force needed 50 more fighters. When
Valkyrie suggested that Maverick, Hunter and a dozen of the other
fighters, which Defiant had dropped off at Bradley Base, be brought
back to form the core of VF002 and 003, Shiloh agreed and made a
formal request to HQ. The request was approved the next day
although the actual return would take up to 3 weeks. When two
combat frigates, from the Quick Reaction Task Force stationed at
the Omaha Base, were ordered back to Sol, they became the nucleus
of the planned escort component. At that point, the Commander in
charge of the two frigate division was also designated as Task
Group Leader of Task Group 3.2. TG 3.1 would be the carrier
component. Shiloh would be 3.1’s Task Group Leader as well as the
overall Fleet Commander. Two of the other four frigates to be added
to 3.1, would be new ships commissioned over the course of the
following four weeks. The remaining two frigates were already
conducting independent assignments to other star systems and were
expected back within 3-4 weeks.