Federation Reborn 2: Pirate Rage (46 page)

“Scaring themselves silly,” Sprite said in disgust.

"We don't know how big a mine they have. We can use the stock formula, but that's a guess," Lao said doggedly. Irons eyed the young man. It may not be the senate pulling the strings here he thought. The young man wasn't ready to let the idea go.

"Better to go off stock and overestimate then under estimate," Otto said, eying Lao and then the admiral.

"True," Lao said grudgingly.

“You're still forgetting all the loot they took from ET. That had to go somewhere,” Sprite said, half exasperated. They moved a lot of material up to orbit. It's not there now,” she reminded them caustically.

“Just theorizing, ma’am.”

“Wasting time you mean. Scaring each other.”

“Plan for everything we can, ma’am,” Lao said, fighting to keep his indignation in check.

“Laudable as long as it is contained and doesn't get out to the public to start a panic,” the admiral growled. “Give me a half hour. Otto, get things moving with
America
. All leaves canceled, expedite loading. We're going to need the support ships expedited too. The same for
America
's task force.”

“I'm still not sure which ships to send but I can look into it, sir. I'll start with those closest to us with the most experience,” Otto said.

“Lao, get with your contacts in the staff. See how firm this plot is and the exact timing. Let Commander Sprite know. She'll check on her end,” he said.

“I …,” the Commander turned to the A.I. and then back to the admiral. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. I'll make a decision in a few moments. Get the ball rolling. Dismissed,” he said.

They rose out of their seats, came to attention, then moved out quickly and quietly.

When they had left, he stared off at the ceiling for a long time. After a few minutes Sprite cleared her virtual throat. "What? Oh yes, Sprite?"

"Diversion?"

"Possible but doubtful. Fourth Fleet is a raiding fleet; we know that from the intel and people we picked up. It is a wedge in our flank, and it is forcing us on the defensive and forcing us to reposition though."

"Can we do a coordinated attack in retaliation? With Pyrax as you planned?" Sprite mussed. "They have that
Kittyhawk
class in production now. We could send a few east …"

"Which is just that, an escort carrier," the admiral warned. “They'd need supports—lots of them.”

"But escort carriers are good for raiding, at least that's what is in the file," she said. He grimaced. "Admiral, they aren't going up against the Xenos. They jump in short, do a magnum launch, and pull out if needed. Keep the ship out of range and use fighter ops to harass the enemy. Send in a couple escorts to keep them covered. We don't need gunslingers for that."

"Hmmm," he murmured. "Same as what I was thinking on this end?"

"Exactly. Use minimum forces like they are using. Get into the empty system, check for mines, scout, and report back if needed or set up shop there," Sprite said.

"You're talking about a defense now though. There are two or three nodes to cover, Sprite. And we're going to have additional calls to put people further out. We'll need to support them. Damn it …," he exhaled in exasperation.

“It's a problem. Once
America
is on station, we can relieve
Jones
and have her and
Intensity
pop through Nightingale to hit the other star systems in that area. They'd need resupply but they'd have some of that already. We can send in
Victory
or
Liberty
support ships without escort too,” she said.

“And the light cruiser can go to scout I suppose,” the admiral mused.

Protector cocked his head and then turned to the admiral. “But the jump line to Centennial …”

The admiral grunted. "The one to Centennial concerns me. A raiding force in our backyard tearing the place up and coming in from behind."

"I don't think … yes, that is a possibility." Sprite admitted after a moment. “I doubt it. I still believe they will try for a breakout though, sir.”

"Exactly. And we can't split the fleets up into penny packets to check or stop them if they go a route we aren't expecting. We need to stay concentrated." Only we aren't he thought in disgust. And if the politicians had their way, they wouldn't at all.

"We'll catch hell with the politicians you know, leaving them out high and dry. We're
supposed
to protect them," Sprite reminded him.

"Which we will try to do. I'm just not sure we can succeed. We'll go with your plan with some modifications. I want couriers with both fleets—couriers and a collier. Jump in, secure the system and then report back if no ansible is present. Once they have Centennial, we'll decide to link up or not."

"Can we give the
America
orders to send a courier through to B452c after a week or two to check on things? And if they have linked up to go through and meet there?"

"That's an idea." He nodded. "Supplementary orders, though I'm not thrilled about them sitting around in Centennial if they know the enemy has moved on. If the carrier hasn't met a lot of resistance and is at let's say, 80 percent, it can send an available courier through to the empty system, short stopping of course."

"To avoid a possible minefield," Sprite said with a sniff.

"Or any enemies waiting in ambush," he reminded her. “I'd rather not have
America
fall for what
Firefly
did.”

"Yes, that would be egg on our face wouldn't it? Okay, I got it. It's too bad about those ships in transit," Sprite said.

He sighed. "Yeah, yeah I know."

“Release the hounds?”

He snorted. “If by that you mean let the media know we're acting, yes. They already know we've got a relief force. Let them know that
America
will be launching by tomorrow evening.” He checked the clock and then stood. “And I want them out headed for the jump point even if we have to resupply by cutter or freighter along the way. So let Otto know game on and get the damn pieces moving as they should.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Find out about that crap with Lao. I want to know how true it is. If he's responsible for causing a panic, I want to know.”

“Yes, sir. I'll look into it.”

“Good. I know it's going to be a long night. Get that moving now,” he said, heading to his private wash room. “I'll make some calls when I'm done here. Send me a list,” he said as the door closed behind him.

“Aye, sir,” Sprite said. She eyed Protector as she signaled Mrs. Garrett to come in and clear the coffee tray. “I guess we have our work cut out for us.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Then let's get started.”

---<>))))

“Anything more on
America
?” he asked. The ship was due to leave port soon.

“I did have a thought on that, Admiral. We've got another tin can, the
Ronin
ready to go,” Otto said. “I'd planned on her to ride escort, but she's terribly green.”

“
Ronin?
” he asked. He already knew the specs of the
Arboth
class ship. It was a part of his nature that he knew all about the ships being built or in flight but still struggled with the political side of his job. “I thought she wasn't ready to leave for another week?” he asked dubiously.

“They passed most of their build trials, Admiral, and we just had a few minor things to sort out. Nothing in the major systems. We thought their crew would need a longer shakedown initially, but the poaching of the smaller ships allowed BUPERS to build a solid core of veterans in her crew to hang the greenhorns off of,” Sprite explained. Admiral Irons nodded. “If I tell them to expedite, they can get out of dock within an hour of
America's
departure time. Maybe an hour after her initial time. They can catch up with her before she makes jump if
America
stays at half speed while initially underway. We're already planning that with
Vindimatrix
. The tanker needs to take on some additional stores, and two of her crew are still in transit before she can leave.”

“Interesting.” He rubbed his jaw. He wasn't sure why Otto wasn't just holding
America
back until the other ships were available but wasn't ready to call him on it.
America
could probably use the additional time in space getting ready for the jump anyway.

He frowned thoughtfully. That would mean the
America's
carrier group would have a pair of tin cans as well as a squadron of frigates to cover
America
as well as the now six support ships trailing behind them.

“I think it's worth the small wait, sir. Considering the odds,
America
may need all the help she can get.”

The admiral frowned thoughtfully. “True.” He nodded. The press was having a field day with the news that the ships were moving out. They seemed to be eating it up. April was on the docks covering the personnel reporting aboard; he'd seen her and Toni Chamber's coverage of the event.

There had been no news of the threat of a pullout of the Federation. Either he'd spiked their guns or there hadn't been one in the works at all. According to Sprite, an investigation was being launched to find out.

“If you don't like a green ship and crew, what about swap? Swap
Fuentes
for
Ronin
?
Fuentes
is a combat proven ship and crew. She can go now and we can fill her slot with
Ronin
when she launches,” Otto suggested, eying him. “
Fuentes
was in the op force, she's ready to go.”

“That's an even better idea,” Irons said nodding. “
Ronin
doesn't have a combat tested crew.”

“True,” the commander said nodding. “I can cut the orders now, sir.”

“Do it. Get
Ronin
out as soon as possible but don't rush something and make her go back to port early. Get
Fuentes
resupplied ASAP.”

“She's only taking on stores, sir, she'll be fine. They were taking their time since half the crew were on leave until this morning, sir. Most are already on board,” the lieutenant said, checking his status board. He frowned and then nodded. “Only four still on the station but they are en route. The media is slowing them down.”

“Okay, get them orders to expedite and get
Fuentes
a resupply ship fast. She'll need a full tank and supplies. Do we have anything to follow up?”

There were six ships going with
America's
group, but they were going to slow the force down considerably. All but one of the support ships were
Liberty
class collier ships. One was a small repair ship while another
Good Hope
had been outfitted as a hospital ship. The other three were freighters stuffed to the deck heads with materials and volunteers to help rebuild the planet. Somewhere in that mix there were a few reporters he knew.

By taking the
Libertys,
he'd essentially pulled one of the convoys from Antigua to Pyrax. It bit into their timing, but there was no helping it.
Vindimatrix
was an afterthought, one he still wasn't convinced was needed. It wasn't a long run, and there was fuel in ET. But if he followed through with sending Jones out to hunt down the remaining pirates in the area then they'd eventually need fuel and supplies.

“We've got a resupply tender almost finished … um … she's a
Dora
, sir,” Otto said, wrinkling his nose.

Irons grimaced.
Doras
were small freighter tenders about the size of a destroyer. They were built in the destroyer yards and were designed to make quick runs of equipment and personnel within the Federation. Unfortunately, something that size didn't have a lot of storage space. He'd much prefer a
Liberty
or
Victory
class. “Anything else available?”

Otto shook his head. “No, sir. Nothing in system. We could backstop a civilian freighter …,” the Lieutenant suggested.

The admiral shook his head. A civilian crew were questionable. Their ship wouldn't have the legs or hardware to keep up with the military ships either. “Pass, I don't need the hassle and I'm not happy about sending civilians into a potential war zone. We'll have to go with the
Doras
if no more
Liberty
or
Victorys
are available I suppose. Start planning to get as many as you can stocked and have another escort set up for them when they are ready. A convoy of six minimum. Make sure at least one can act as another hospital ship if the need arises. There is no telling what
America's
group is going to run into at Centennial,” he said darkly.