Trial by Fire - eARC (51 page)

“Of course. Urzueth Ragh, you have leave to explain.”

First Fist closed half the distance to Caine in a single bound, the calar talons of his hands raised. “Tell him nothing!”

Hu’urs Khraam shifted to look directly at First Fist. He did not speak. First Fist did not move, but nor did he come closer.

First Voice waved a dismissive claw. First Fist paced backward, never showing his back to Hu’urs Khraam or to Caine.

Urzueth Ragh approached cautiously. “Speaker Riordan, as you no doubt gather, the yellow markers denote our ships and drones throughout cislunar space. As you may have also gathered, the red markers are, apparently, human vessels.”

“Human?”

“Yes, Speaker.”

“Where did they come from, and when?”

“They shifted in-system seven minutes ago, arriving en masse only three light-seconds out from Earth. This is much closer than your ships would normally hazard, is it not?”

“Surely your information on our interstellar capabilities is so extensive that my confirmation of it is unnecessary.”

Urzueth Ragh bobbed once. “So it is as we thought. The lead elements of this formation will arrive here in several hours. In order to engage them in free space, and at sufficient range to intercept them before any of their drones can reach our orbital supremacy assets, our capital ships have had to commence slingshot exits from orbit.”

Telling me your secrets? Well, why not? Who can I tell them to?
Caine looked at the yellow dots that were hobbling slowly out of cislunar space, some playing crack the whip as they came out of Earth orbit in a gravity slingshot, others maneuvering to a rendezvous point halfway to the Moon. Collectively, it looked like a few drops of honey heading for what looked like a hailstorm of blood. Granted, Arat Kur technology was superior, but was it superior enough to make up for the tremendous imbalance in numbers? Or had their easy successes to date made them overconfident? Caine had a sudden impression of that shrewd smile that Nolan wore when he was about to close a trap, and resisted the urge to let it project itself onto his own features.

Urzueth Ragh continued without pause. “Much of the supposed ‘human fleet’ is making a high-speed approach. It is our conjecture that this is to minimize exposure to our weapons. The fleets will pass each other at such high speed that they will only be in effective range of each other for less than a quarter of an hour. This includes the time increase that will result when we retroboost just prior to attaining engagement range.”

Caine nodded. “So you intend to reverse vector and give chase in the event that our ships continue to accelerate away as quickly as possible from the spinal weapons on your shift-carriers and -cruisers.”

“Precisely. We have also determined that these lead drones”—Urzueth Ragh wobbled his claw at a fine-grained bow wave of smaller red dots—“are at least three times the volume and mass of your standard models. They are also emitting unusual thrust signatures.”

“How so?”

“Their exhausts are consistent with antique solid-rocket boosters. Can you speculate why this might be?”

“I can, but would be a traitor to do so.”

Hu’urs Khraam interrupted. “Caine Riordan, did you not return to be a liaison between our peoples?”

“I came to serve the purpose of peace for both our peoples. I did not come to betray mine, nor become an ally to yours.”

Hu’urs Khraam’s polyps writhed. “This is a disappointment, but well-spoken—if there are any with ears to hear.” The rather hoary Arat Kur’s brow-ridge shifted in the general direction of the Hkh’Rkh: Graagkhruud was oblivious. First Voice seemed to be affecting unawareness, but his crest had shifted slightly.

The only one to speak was Yaargraukh. “With your permission, Hu’urs Khraam, I believe I understand the human strategy in this. Their technology is slightly more advanced than our own, but still quite comparable. I suspect we would solve similar problems in similar ways.”

Hu’urs Khraam bobbed; Urzueth Ragh stood aside. Yaargraukh approached the holotank, stood next to Caine. Was he clearing his throat or was that an almost imperceptible—and absolutely deniable—nod of acknowledgment, of greeting? Again, Caine suppressed a smile.

Yaargraukh swung an appendage at the gap between the red fleet and Earth. “The humans are uncertain of the outcome of this surprise attack. This is unavoidable. Shifting in so close to their target, they had no opportunity to conduct any reconnaissance or gather any tactical intelligence. Thus, they needed a strategy that was flexible in regard to a wide specrtum of probable outcomes. I conjecture that these larger drones with unusual thrust signatures are among their best models, retrofitted with simple, but reliable, solid rockets. With these rockets, the drones can quickly accelerate ahead of the human fleet, becoming a far-flung buffer in front of their capital ships and regular drones, and reducing the time we have to intercept their lead elements. For if we fail to intercept this advance wave in time, they could penetrate deep enough into cislunar space to take our orbital assets under fire. This could significantly attritt our orbital surveillance and interdiction capabilities.

“However, since the humans could not be sure that they will prevail, there is a second advantage to these solid-rocket boosters. I predict drones will be fitted with not one, but two boosters each. The first will accelerate the drones into the engagement area. However, the employment of the second booster will vary according to the evolving outcome of that engagement. If the human forces are losing, the second booster will be used to push the drones through the area of engagement at the highest possible speed, thereby minimizing their exposure to our fire. However, if the humans are either winning or stalemating us, the second stages will
retro
boost the drones, either slowing them down to make orbit and to continue engaging us, or—if they have already shot past—to return to cislunar space for the same purpose. This provides the humans with the type of operational flexibility that has increasingly become the hallmark of their operations since they first industrialized. And, given the vector and intercept values of the rest of their fleet, I project they intend to arrive in two or three separate waves. The later echelons not only provide a reserve that can add its weight to the general fleet engagement, but also have an increased ability to bypass our counterattacking forces and then retroboost into orbit. The consequences to our current orbital supremacy assets are once again, I presume, obvious.”

Urzueth Ragh looked at the tank as if seeing it for the first time. “This strategy, if Yaargraukh discerns it correctly, would also make it prudent to leave a defensive force here in orbit. Just in case any of the human craft survive long enough to make it through.”

Yaargraukh turned, his eyes bulging out momentarily. “You ignore the possibility that they might ultimately wrest control of the high ground from us. In which case, it is their ground forces which would enjoy orbital fire support.”

Urzueth Ragh waved a dismissive claw. “How could they fare so well against our fleet? These human ships”—he waved a claw at the red horde—“can only be reserve or converted commercial craft. What else do the humans have left?”

Yaargraukh considered for a moment, then walked over to Caine and looked him directly in the eyes. “Yes, what else
do
they have left?”

Caine considered. If his guess about this recently arrived fleet was right—that it was part of an immense snare that the late Nolan Corcoran had set for extraterrestrial invaders—then Downing might actually want the Arat Kur to have a better understanding of the next piece of the puzzle-trap before it was sprung on them. Nolan thought like Sun Tzu: the best generals won wars by showing their adversaries the futility of fighting. On the other hand, it was dangerous to make any presumptions that might provide the enemy with data they shouldn’t have. However, come to think of it, there was a way to concretely determine if Downing wanted Earth’s invaders to know just what they were facing now—

Caine straightened up. “Have you pinged the incoming ships for their transponder codes?”

Urzueth Ragh sounded quizzical. “I beg your pardon, but why would they run transponder signals and identify themselves? That is folly.”

“Usually, it would be. But I don’t think that will be the case today. Ping them.”

The sensor operator looked at Hu’urs Khraam, who bobbed. The operator turned to his board, sent the ping. They would have the answer in a little less than twenty seconds.

Halfway through the wait, Graagkhruud grew too impatient to remain silent. His black worm-tongue flickered around the sarcastic words. “So, tell us: how much of the proud human fleet remains to fight us?”

The Arat Kur sensor operator was silent for a moment, then turned around. “Almost all of it, if these scans are correct.”

Urzueth Ragh started forward. “I do not understand. What new fleet is this?”

“It is not a new fleet, Senior Administrator,” explained the sensor operator. “It is the fleet we destroyed at Barnard’s Star.”

“What? How could that be?”

Yaargraukh merely looked at Caine, nodded, walked past him as the sensor operator continued his report. “I am reading transponders from the Commonweath fleet carriers
Enterprise
,
Intrepid
,
Courageous
, and Federation fleet carriers
Moscow
,
St. Petersburg
, and
Kiev
. All are deploying their full complements of the latest generation of human high-gee capital ships—the
Lincoln
,
Trafalgar
, and
Kursk
classes—and the lighter,
Bolton-
class attack cruisers.”

Graagkhruud’s crest had flattened; his long shoe-box of a mouth hung open. “This is not possible. Four of those shift-carriers were destroyed at Barnard’s Star.”

Caine smiled. “Evidently not.”

Darzhee Kut’s “What?’ was not quite drowned out by Graagkhruud’s “Liar!”

Caine only acknowledged Darzhee Kut. “I’m just going on a hunch, now, but let’s check something else. Do you have a record of the transponder signs of the individual capital ships you destroyed at Barnard’s Star?”

Darzhee Kut bobbed. “Yes.”

Caine turned to the sensor operator. “Check those tail numbers against the ones you’re reading now.”

The Arat Kur did, turned to face Hu’urs Khraam. “Esteemed First Delegate, the ships we destroyed are leading the van of the inbound fleet.”

Urzueth Ragh burbled and wheezed. An Arat Kur snort. “Nonsense. We
did
destroy these ships. I was there and saw it at Barnard’s Star.”

Caine shook his head. “No. These are ships that you were
led to believe
you had destroyed.”

“Preposterous. This phantom fleet is the deception, not the events at Barnard’s Star. This is a human plot to make us believe ourselves in greater danger than we are, being carried out by small ships equipped with sophisticated image makers.”

Caine shrugged. “Believe what you like, but any minute now, I expect that your sensor operator is going to inform you that the exhaust signatures and mass scans are a match for what the transponders are telling you. You’ll only be sure when the ladar starts showing you silhouettes, but by then it will be too late to change your course of action.”

“But it makes no sense,” insisted Urzueth. “If these are the real ships, then what did we destroy at Barnard’s Star, and why did you let us?”

“I’m just continuing with guesswork,” admitted Caine, “but, at Barnard’s Star, I believe you destroyed specially constructed decoys: ships which had the shape of these craft, and their signatures, but were otherwise only moderately armed and probably uncrewed. Had you examined the wreckage—what little there was—I suspect you would have eventually discovered evidence that you had destroyed unfinished hulls fitted with only those basics necessary to fool your sensors.” Caine remembered all the strange and secretive activities he had heard whispers about in the weeks before Convocation. “Those decoys were probably built secretly. Out in the Belt, I’d guess, and with their fusion drives rigged for triggerable containment failures. That way, you wouldn’t have much wreckage left to study.” And suddenly Caine realized why the quarantine on DeePeeThree had not been lifted after he had discovered primitive exosapients there. “What you thought were shift-carriers were just frames, superstructures, and fusion engines, turned into finished decoys out at Delta Pavonis Three or beyond, where, due to quarantines, there wasn’t enough deep space traffic to stumble across them.”

“But why? What was the purpose of all this—waste?”

“To make you believe that you’d destroyed all these ships at Barnard’s Star. Because that, in turn, made you believe you’d achieved far more than you had, made you believe you were safer than you were.”

Yaargraukh nodded from the other side of the holotank. “Of course. The humans predicted that after our victory at Barnard’s Star, we would want to move quickly, that we did not wish to lose the initiative. Which was, after all, a prudent strategy. So when we scanned the wreckage, we trusted our long-range sensor data, which matched what we expected. And, reassured, we did not wait to conduct a more detailed post-action analysis.”

Urzueth Ragh waved an impatient claw. “Which would have shown us that we had not destroyed the ships we thought we had. So. I accept this. But this waste of resources to build decoy hulls. To what
specific
end did the humans do it?

Caine ran his gaze across the entirety of the strategic plotting holotank. “Right now, it looks to me as though you only brought about sixty percent of the forces that hit Barnard’s Star.”

“This is correct.”

“And that sixty percent is further split into three parts. The largest part, with all your interface and landing craft, is here in cislunar space. Almost as large, and containing an equal number of your capital ships, is the flotilla guarding the Solar System’s only remaining supply of antimatter: the refinery that we ‘failed’ to destroy in the Belt. And you left a small holding force at Jupiter, which is your best, but not your only, source of deuterium for your fusion plants and engines. Is that about right?”