Tipping Point in the Alliance War
Read Tipping Point in the Alliance War Online
Authors: Terry Lefler
Tipping Point
in
the
Alliance War
by
Terry
Lefler
***
Contents
***
There
is a fire in the engine room, and the starboard thruster is blowing smoke and
ion gas - in between spurts of fire. Hull breaches are numerous.
The Command Bridge is in disarray, and the surviving Senior Officers are
sharing the 3 working Command Consoles. Walking wounded, throughout the
ship,
are
still manning their Battle Stations.
The Courageous is 4 minutes away from the edge of the system’s gravity well,
when there will be an opportunity to escape into warp-space.
“Aft
shields down to 14 percent,” reports the Tactical Officer.
Captain
Niles is one of the walking wounded, with a long vertical gash across his left
eye socket and down his exposed cheek bone. He can still see out of the
eye, when he isn’t blinded by the blood, so he considers it to be a minor
problem. The medic, who is attending to the wounded on the Bridge, still
can’t get permission from the Captain to treat his wound.
“Helm
shut off that starboard thruster,” the Captain orders. “Turn our stern to
the enemy and fire the remaining thrusters ‘full’ for 30 seconds.
Tactical, when the enemy is in your rear screen, lock onto their bow sensor
arrays and continuously fire plasma canons straight into them. While the
canons are still firing, launch 10 missiles, in 1 second intervals, straight
down their throat.”
“Navigation
get
those warp-space coordinates ready. Get us
out with a quick ‘hop’.”
“Helm,
when the Ready light goes green you hit the Warp button. Don’t wait for a
command.”
“Aye,
sir”,
chorus
the Tactical, Navigation and Helm
officers.
The
Courageous has one thruster out, so when the Helm Officer pushes the remaining
thrusters to ‘full’, the ship begins to spiral like a corkscrew. That
adds even more to the disorientation of the Courageous’ crew, which is already
reeling from a missile strike, rail gun perforations, and multiple energy
wounds.
The
tactic does what it is supposed to do, though. The trailing enemy ship is
confused about the Alliance vessel’s plans and pauses in its attack, as it
waits for the Courageous to straighten out. That hesitation provides an
opportunity for the Tactical Officer, on the Courageous, to pour continuous
plasma canon fire onto the enemy ship’s bow sensor arrays. Shields, on
the enemy vessel, keep the plasma-energy from damaging the sensors, but the
sensor array is temporarily blinded by the light. The performance of the
enemy’s Automatic Projectile Defense System is subsequently impaired, allowing
2 of the 10 nuclear missiles fired ‘down their throat’ to hit the ship.
The
destruction takes some time to work its way from the bow to the engine room,
near the stern. Explosions occur along the way as munitions ignite, but
the ‘big bang’ happens when the explosions reach the warp-drive. The ship
ceases to exist at that instant, and space briefly has another star.
“Let’s
get to some place a little quieter and decide on our next vacation
destination,” says the Captain.
Other
enemy ships are following them, but they are dropping farther behind and seem
to have lost their appetite for battle. Helm Officer
Ung
presses the Warp Space button as soon as the Ready light goes green, and the
wounded and bleeding Alliance warship goes to another place. The ship
fades into warp-space, where ships travel at velocities orders of magnitude
faster than the speed of light.
Warp-space
is a relatively safe place to be. Misfortune can happen there - ships
have been known to explode out of warp-space, leaving nothing large enough to
identify. But there is no battle action in warp-space, because ships seem
to be completely alone there. While in warp-space, it feels like the ship
is encased in a bubble that is floating in a liquid.
…………
……… ……..The Helm Officer announces “45 seconds to real-space.”
And
then, in due time, he says, “We’re in real-space at the programmed
coordinates.”
***
Chapter
1
“Here are your orders, Captain Niles,” the
hologram says. “As soon as your ship is Battle Ready, proceed to the
Capernic
battle-space, in order to:
- do a reconnaissance of the planet
Egdffe - to ascertain the outcome of the recent battle;
- to search for any survivors;
- to locate any functional black boxes, and;
- to
collect data that will be helpful in identifying the
new technologies, currently being used by the Confederation Fleet.”
“Aye
sir,” replies the Captain’s holo, in Admiral Wall’s office. I will review
the Mission Statement, and begin planning immediately. We will leave at
the earliest possible date.”
“Good,”
the Admiral’s holo says. “But use caution. The Courageous is our
most advanced warship, and has our very latest warp drive. We need this
forensic information, but we can ill afford to lose you and the Courageous.”
“Aye
sir,” responds Captain Niles. “Your concern is noted. We will
proceed with extreme caution and perform due-diligence, while in the
battle-space sector.”
“I
am certain that you will, Captain,” nods the Admiral. “Let me know if
there are any bureaucratic delays, which require my attention.
Walls, out.”
***
Fleet
Admiral Gregory Walls and Captain Roger Niles both know that there won’t be any
survivors at the battle-space, but they need to search anyway. The
Confederation Navy has policies of:
o
take no
prisoners,
o
leave no
survivors, and
o
destroy
everything, completely.
The
space battle, which had been fought some weeks ago, pitted 75 Alliance warships
against 300 Confederation warships. That much is known, because an
information probe had been sent to Alliance Navy Headquarters, as the battle
commenced. The faster-than-light probe had taken 17 days to reach
Alliance Navy Headquarters.
After receiving no further communications,
Fleet Admiral Walls assumes that all Alliance ships and crews were destroyed in
the battle. A fleet of 75 warships, with almost 32,000 crew members, is
just ‘gone’. It is a bitter pill to swallow. And sending another
warship to investigate the crime scene is also risky. The Confederation
Navy has a history of hiding some ships near a battle-space, in order to ambush
any reconnoitering cadre.
***
As the
Admiral’s hologram fades away, Roger Niles relaxes his posture and allows
himself to contemplate the ramifications of the assignment that he has just
received. He also takes some quiet time, to grieve over the personal loss
that he feels, from learning that so many of his friends and acquaintances are
now dead. The fortunes of war are not favoring the Alliance, these days.
After
a time of contemplation, he puts those emotions behind him and begins to plan
and organize. When he walks out of this room, there will be no more time
for emotions – that isn’t what his crew needs to see. They need to see a
competent and professional military commander who understands the situation,
and has a good plan - a plan which will lead to a good outcome.
Captain
Niles studies the details of the Mission Statement, which the Admiral has sent
to his Personal Information Device (PID). Then he spends the remainder of
the day making plans. His method of leadership is to make good plans, and
then to delegate the implementation of those plans to competent
staff.
***
“Captain
on the bridge,” Lieutenant
Mutreno
announces, as the
Captain enters the Command Deck.
One look is enough for the Senior
Officers to know that Captain Niles is ‘on a mission’, and that the crew is
going to be very busy, in a few minutes time. The Captain surveys the
Bridge Crew, to insure that all senior officers are present, and then begins to
issue orders.
“At
ease,” Captain Niles says. “The ‘Courageous’ has been ordered to depart
ASAP, on a secret mission to the
Capernic
system,
which could involve hostile action. We will depart as soon as repairs are
completed, and the ship is Battle Ready. In preparation for our
departure:
o
Lieutenant
Strass
, notify all crew members that all leaves are
cancelled, and that all crew members are to return to the ship at the earliest
possible moment. The Order to Assemble is to be stamped as “Urgent” and
“Secret”. When the crew conforms to the ship’s Battle Ready Requirements,
notify the First Officer and then mark this task as ‘complete’. We will
depart, when the repairs and replenishing are finished, with or without the
remainder of the crew.
Also,
prepare the ship to receive a detachment of 200 Alliance Armored Space Marines,
along with their associated complement of weaponry and provisions. Major
Dawkins, of the 98
th
Marine Assault Brigade, will coordinate the
Marine load-in, and will command the Marine forces while they are on
board.
In
addition, coordinate with Dockside Logistics in order to procure the additional
weapons and supplies, which are on the Mission Requisition List. That
list has been sent to your Logistics Workstation, along with PID numbers for
Major Dawkins and her Second in Command.
o
Lieutenant
Gnu, take the lead in ship repairs, preventative maintenance, and systems
modifications. Your task is to ramrod this mission through the Space
Station. We are Priority One in scheduling. Make things happen and
solve problems. Be aggressive, even to the point of being rude. Get
the job done, get it done right, and get it done now.
o
Lieutenant
Basisht
, as our Chief Scientist, your job is to get
your hands on any new technology, which is still in testing but has working
prototypes. Find and acquire as much new weaponry as possible. And
check on the Shields Research Program. Look for improvements, which we
can make to our defensive systems.
o
Lieutenant
Mullah, we have been ordered to visit the
Capernic
System and to perform a number of tasks. First, we will launch a
reconnaissance probe to the planet
Egdffe
, which we will
recover at a later date. After that, we will reconnoiter a battle-space,
where 75 Alliance warships were apparently destroyed, by a fleet of 300
Confederation warships.
I have
sent coordinates for our mission objective to your Navigation Work Station.
However, don’t plot a course directly to the destination coordinates.
Plot our warp exit to a point 500,000 klicks on the far side of the objective
point. We will launch the reconnaissance probe to
Egdffe
at that time. And then, after we are certain that the area is safe, we
will travel in real-space to the final objective.
o
First
Officer
Znnu
, you are to oversee the ship’s
preparation and report to me, as tasks are accomplished or as complications
arise.
Any
questions?
…… …..…. No? Ask question,
if you are in doubt. Don’t forget to coordinate with each
other. Communicate results or problems with the First
Officer.
That
is it people. Let’s give this our undivided attention. After we
depart the space station, we will have seven days of in-system travel before we
engage the warp drive. You can take care of personal affairs during that
time.
Dismissed.
“Lieutenants
Mutreno
and
Znnu
, join me
in the Command Conference Room, right now.”
***
“Aye
aye sir,” the officers respond in unison, as they follow the Captain into the
adjoining Command Conference Room. Captain Niles takes a seat, which
infers that the other officers should do likewise. The Captain begins
speaking:
“First
Officer
Znnu
, our recent experiences in the
Gomolus
Empire brought home the point that change happens
quickly in battle. Replacement personnel must be ready to step in at any
time. Therefore, it is my intention to include you in as many briefings
and tactical discussions as possible, so that you will be ready to assume
command if the need should arise. In turn, your responsibility is to keep
the rest of the Bridge and Engineering crews, on all shifts,
apprised
of the current situation so that everyone is ‘on the same page’.
Also,
begin to cross-train the Bridge Officers, so that they can work multiple Bridge
Stations. There is not enough time to call for replacements in the middle
of a battle. Our most recent altercation highlighted our weakness in that
area.
“Aye
sir,” responds Officer
Znnu
.
“Lieutenant
Mutreno
,”
the Captain continues, “you are our Chief Tactical Officer and I want to
hear some new ideas about how we can fight this improved enemy. I don’t
know what tactics will work against the Confederation, but I do know that the
ones we are currently using have not been successful. Brainstorm with
other Tactical Officers, while aboard the space station, and come up with a
list of proposed improvements.”
“Aye
sir,” the Lieutenant answers.
Captain
Niles rises to leave, and says, “Dismissed”.
***