I have had to make a number of editing changes to recent chapters, resulting in an increase in the amount of published material while the number of chapters remained the same. I would ask that readers check the last couple of chapters to see if there is any material they hadn't read yet.
Please enjoy today's offering.
Blue Steel 2199. Chapter 25: Prelude to Battle.
Gamilon Base: Plat
Brigadier Schulz studied the data from Zupist yet again as he tried to get a measure of capabilities and intentions of the new Terron fleet and the singular Terron vessel which was now known to be named 'Yamato'.
"I don't know which is worse Ganz. The manner in which our carrier force was destroyed by the Terron defense fleet, or what happened at Zupist. I cannot even conceive how any single vessel could possess such firepower and yet the evidence is plain for us to see." Schulz frowned in thought as he considered how to deal with this matter.
"Yamato set down on the eighth satellite of Zedan, but not where our scout ship reported the wreckage of a crashed Terron ship. "Are there any other facilities or installations on that world?"
Ganz checked his padd quickly. "There appears to have been an abandoned mining base. Cosmonite mining we believe."
"A substance utilized in energy transmission units," Schulz noted. "Have there been any reports regarding the movements of the rest of this new Terron fleet?"
"No sightings of any other Terron units beyond the asteroid ring and those reported in that region were older vessels."
"So this vessel is still a prototype." Schulz theorized. "And as of yet, we still have not even a theory as to what its mission is. We have no knowledge of who might be aiding the Terrons. We have a puzzle with far too many pieces missing Ganz."
"But what can we do sir? As you said, if we report the loss of the strike force then General Goer is as likely to order your arrest as to simply ignore the matter."
"We need more ships. We have been lax here and we may be about to pay a heavy toll for our complacency." Brigadier Schulz replied. "We obviously need to report that the Terrons have acquired a Geschtam jump capability." He said pointedly not addressing the matter of the strike force. "If we can destroy Yamato, then we might be able to contain the Terrons until a sufficient fleet arrives to finish them.
"And that brings me to another matter," Schulz told his chief subordinate. "Our operations here on Plat are on borrowed time from this moment onward. Even without Geschtam jump, it will only be a matter of time before the new Terron fleet reaches us. I have no desire to have our remaining fleet pinned here attempting to defend a known and fixed target. We will retain one squadron here but the rest of our forces will withdraw to our base just beyond the Kuiper Cliff. It will be inconvenient but will allow us to keep the Terrons penned in until we can get some help out here.
"Assuming we can destroy Yamato first," Schulz added quietly.
"But sir?" Ganz protested. "How can we do that if we withdraw the fleet from Plat?"
"We'll bait them in Ganz. The Terrons won't attack without at least believing they have a valid objective and at least some chance of success. We cannot have the fleet sitting at the ready, waiting for the Terrons to come along at any rate, so our resources are mostly limited to our fixed assets anyway. Either we will destroy Yamato or they will destroy this base. Unlike our last battle, we will not have the luxury of picking the time and site of the battle. therefore, the location of the fleet will have no impact on the outcome."
"But can we defeat them with our fixed defenses alone?" Ganz asked doubtfully.
"Yes," Schulz answered. "I believe we can..."
Aboard Fleet of Fog Battleship Kongo: Flagship, First Strike Fleet, several hours later...
In the crowded briefing room, the various Captains and Mental Models of the fleet rose to attention as Kongo entered. In the past, such a gathering would be unnecessary for the Fog with all of any fleet's ships directly linked through the tactical net, but this new fleet was a mix of Fog and human forces and so their Fleet Commander had found it necessary to adopt a 'human' approach to command.
"Be seated." She instructed them all and surveyed the room with piercing eyes.
"We have received a coded message from Admiral Okita aboard Space Battleship Yamato" She announced.
"As of 0600 hours universal time, Operation K-2 has commenced..."
After this announcement, Kongo thought a silent prayer.
All success and glory, my Captain.
The next chapter will not cover the destruction of the Gamilon base on Pluto. I simply do not see the changes in that event being enough to warrant redoing the splendid action we saw. Instead, Haruna will present Commander Kluth with a perspective check.