Entry #29
Graham IV, Low Orbit
Terran Hegemony
15:00 3 March 2767
"We have," Brandt announces, "Some options to consider."
The officers council has no binding authority over her but it's a useful way for her to get feedback. We aren't meeting in person. That would be imprudent, but most of III and V Corps are in the Hegemony and their HQs are set up Graham IV so we can holo-conference.
I think the refugee situation down there may be stabilising but if I say that to anyone then I'm sure Murphy will interfere so…
The Rimjobs didn't nuke any more cities before McEvedy and Wayne managed to convincingly report that the planet was liberated but some of the towns are in a bad way for one reason or another and as far as I can tell from captured records there are a few hundred hold-outs somewhere.
I, like every other senior officer in the conference, get a side-feed with a strategic map of the Hegemony, each system decorated with a variety of icons displaying the defenses, industries and other salient data as best our intelligence could display.
"We control at this time, two planets of the Terran Hegemony. There are other contested worlds – the DCMS has mobilised to occupy worlds that were previously jointly administered and all signs are that the other Member States will follow suite, with the Lyrans likely to be next. Nonetheless, we are a long, long way from having put down the Usurpation."
"Between General Badler and General Lyons we have enough forces to expand our little corridor. There are, of course, a variety of choices." Coloured lights appear upon the map, distinctly marking out each. "Firstly, we could reasonably secure Bordon and Connaught. There is the possibility that Amaris would withdraw the garrisons rather than engage in an extended battle for worlds that would be less easily reinforced than others deeper into the Hegemony."
"As an alternative, there are four worlds between New Dallas and our current position. Taking them would ease communications. Pollux and Tyrfing's SDS drones have been confirmed as inactive – and largely compromised by Praetorian already. Castor and Devil's Rock don't even have Castles Brian to protect them."
I dislike these options. Liberating any world from Amaris is a positive change of course, but not all worlds are equal. It will be another three months before the rest of Brandt's Army Group can assemble. These worlds will leave us spread thin to protect from counter-attacks and will not increase the pressure upon Amaris.
"There is also Carver V." A planet about as close to Terra as we are now, and halfway to Brandt's homeworld of Outreach. "We have reports that the CAAN facility there is still holding out. Relieving them would provide additional resources and it would be an excellent staging area for further operations to liberate worlds rimwards of Terra. Nearby is Keid - even a raiding campaign upon the shipyards there could significantly impair Amaris' efforts to build up his navy."
"Alternatively there is the possibility of moving corewards. New Earth is a viable target and liberating the headquarters of the SLDF would be a significant moral victory. Taking Denebola and Alula Australis could provide a substantial reserve of Caspar drones to secure liberated worlds but that would of course be dependent upon control systems that we don't have yet – apparently it could be a year or more to build new control stations here, much less anywhere else."
She pauses and I am morally certain that everyone's eyes are fixed on the target she has not mentioned.
"Your opinions, ladies and gentlemen?"
McEvedy, born and raised in Minnesota, asks the obvious question. "We have nine divisions and the HAF can hold New Dallas and Graham until the next units arrive. Why not strike at Terra before Amaris can reinforce it further?"
"I do not recommend that course of action," I say with some regret. "While we could very likely secure the system from Terra's high orbitals outward, to attempt landings – much less a ground campaign – would be a marginal prospect with the forces at hand."
"What do you know,y- Praetorian?"
"I have – and have shared – a detailed breakdown of Terra's emplaced defenses, updated with my own observations during the Coup. Absent Amaris withdrawing from the bulk of the Hegemony and focusing upon its defense, landing a liberation force on Terra before the end of the year is possible. However, we must anticipate heavy fighting and concurrently heavy losses. This is the most industrialised, urbanised, fortified and heavily populated planet in the Star League."
"Nine divisions – less casualties during the landing – could possibly create a foothold but we do not currently have the naval strength to blockade Terra so Amaris can reinforce and grind your troops down by attrition before our own reinforcements can arrive. It's also certain that it will be the highest priority for restoring SDS control. If we are facing a fully active drone flotilla then our chances of even a landing shrink dramatically."
"Thank you, Praetorian," Brandt resumes control of the meeting as if it was scripted. "We will return to Terra and the sooner the better but we will not half-ass this. Two Corps are not sufficient for this, but by the summer we will have thirteen SLDF Corps and a full HAF Corps over and above our garrisons, with First and Second Fleets rebuilt out of ships drawn from garrison postings."
"That, however, is months away. In the meantime we should not let Amaris rest upon his laurels."
General Lyons' face nods on the screen. "I don't recommend striking back towards the border then. That won't ratchet up the pressure on Amaris."
"Same for Castor and Devil's Rock. They'd be easy, but there's not the impact," McEvedy chimes. He seems to have adjusted very quickly to being shot down.
"A valid point," agrees Brandt. Then she looks away from the holo-camera. "What's that?" The words in the Admiral's command centre were too quiet for most to make out but I was under no such limitations. Damn. This isn't going to help at all.
Brandt doesn't try to mask the news from anyone else though. "Ladies and gentlemen, I've just been advised that the 34th Royal BattleMech Division and their escorts have mutinied against the orders from the Commanding General and is expected to enter the Hegemony any day now."
"Are they traitors?" asks Lyons sharply.
"Not as such." The Admiral faces us squarely. "According to their last transmissions they're apparently intent on liberating their traditional homeworld, Epsilon Indi, from Amaris."
"According to information gathered from McTiernan's efforts, Epsilon Indi has a fully active SDS grid under Republican control," I remind the group harshly. "The 34th don't stand a chance."
Entry #30
Graham IV, Lagrange Jump Point
Terran Hegemony
16:00 4 March 2767
"Epsilon Indi is three jumps away," Corvus reminds me by radio from the shuttle bringing her out to join me.
"One of those jumps will be via Carver V. We can at least scout the situation." I'm distracted watching the team from Ulsop finish up fixing a new Howdah in place. I'll need to be at full capacity for this. Another dozen Howdahs are down on the surface of Graham IV, being converted into a mobile command base for the Caspars left in the system. In theory it's enough that I'm not needed here.
Other crews are improvising patches across my worst damage. It's not as good as a full repair yard could do, by any stretch of the imagination, but it's what a damage control team could rig up if I'd had any.
I am not going to write off an SLDF Division if there is any reasonable chance I can keep them alive. Corvus feels more or less the same way and between us we've talked Brandt into it. I'm about halfway convinced that if we hadn't the Admiral would have ordered us anyway, her objections had a pro forma ring to them.
"What if we arrive too late?"
"Then we cry, swear or whatever coping measure is necessary, accept that we did all we could and take it out on the next RimJobs we encounter."
"Okay, I can live with that." Corvus knows exactly what I can do. I've made no secret of it. I know, although I've never discussed it with her, that she visited the bombardment zones outside of Dekirk City after I smashed the RWA units there. Even if she hadn't she'd had an excellent view of what I did outside Geneva. "And if we do arrive in time? I don't have authority over General Collins and even if I did, he's technically in a state of mutiny."
"General Collins and his command have been subjected to court martial in absentia." Subject to the approval of Kerensky but we could cross that bridge later and Brandt seemed confident that her lawyers had crossed the Ts and dotted the Is. "The verdict is a dishonourable discharge and transfer of their custody to the Hegemony Armed Forces."
"Meaning you?"
"Meaning me. They can, if we can link up with them, retake Epsilon Indi although with only one Division it'll be worse than Graham IV. And they're no longer welcome in the SLDF. Between those two points, it's felt they will have expiated the sin of mutiny."
"You make it sound religious."
"Isn't it?"
Amaris on the throne of the Star League, a mutiny in the ranks of the SLDF – what a nightmare. Still, Kerensky is probably adequately braced what with a couple of Divisions having defected to the Periphery rebels over the last couple of years.
I busy myself checking the datalinks to the Caspars going with me. With the new tactical computer in place I should be able to take a full set with me. A centuria one engineer, apparently an aficionado of classical history, had dubbed me. Eighty subordinates, organised into ten groups of eight. Very Roman Legion.
Everything seems to be working although the final integration requires me to go through a partial reset.
I don't want to do that. Not again. But there are two things I want even less: to let the 34th down by not taking enough force to get them to their destination; and to explain why I don't like the idea of resetting those systems.
Maybe it won't be so bad this time?
"Let's get this over with," I tell the technicans and flip the 'switch'.
Nothing out of the ordinary seems to happen. Maybe it was just a glitch. I guess I'll find out when everything switches back on.
We're over Terra, myself and my century of Caspars at the spearhead of an SLDF fleet that numbers over a thousand.
Corvus keeps talking – I get the impression she's bored on the shuttle – until I suggest she takes a nap. Once we jump to Carver V we may wind up getting shot at, which isn't conducive to sleep.
The Republican fleet, outnumbered ten to one, aren't even trying to hold us back. As we sweep down upon the planet they scatter, spreading out. If we disperse to catch them, a few ships might get lucky and fight on something approaching even terms – or escape – but the fact is, we're not here for them. We're here for Terra.
Brandt had insisted that besides regularising me as an officer in the Hegemony Armed Forces (with a commission, signed by Titus Clay, now framed next to my medal and declaring me to be Vice Admiral Thomas Praetorian) that I should also have a crew, even if it amounted to a truncated staff of Corvus to advise me and four NCOs whose major job was keeping my limited habitation spaces in better condition than I had previously bothered to.
The same face as before, super-imposed upon the globe. He mouths two words: Scorched Earth.
In addition, formal permanent crews were assigned to the Caspars under my command although they were still expected to get off the ships as soon as the jumps were complete. There may not be much practical difference between the crew aboard a Caspar blown apart by the enemy and the crew aboard a Caspar used as a missile, but I'm conscious of the moral difference.
I know what it means. I Know What It Means. I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS.
So that's the Epsilon Indi Expedition: nearly a thousand people under my command.
I just can't say it. I can't act. I'm frozen in mid-deceleration as the ships spread out, as orbital weapon platforms that didn't exist during the Coup turn around and as missiles begin to rise from the surface, not towards orbit but in ballistic arcs.
It's easier to be responsible for the abstract of the Star League than for the reality of people I know as individuals.
I hear the screams and I can't do anything. I can't stop it. I watch and I listen…
The technicans give me the all clear to re-activate everything, but I pause a moment to brace myself in case… just in case.
…as Terra burns.
I dearly want to murder my subconscious, I realise as all systems come back online.
Entry #31
Pirate Point, Carver VII
Terran Hegemony
03:00 5 March 2767
I've picked a very obscure point to jump in at, taking advantage of the very complex movements of the moons around the gas giant that happens to be within six months or so of its closest pass to the inhabited Carver V, which isn't very close.
As a result, it's not very well secured and there's a decent chance of no one noticing the jump signatures of eighty or so ships arrive. I'd say the odds are… oh, at least twelve percent that no one will notice us.
And if they do? Well, eighty Caspars and me. I think we can handle it.
As far as I can tell, no one has noticed, which might be because pretty much every dropship in the system is heading towards the Nadir or Zenith jump points, escorted or chivvied along by a pair of Republican warships – one going each way. I could probably take them out but it'd delay reaching Epsilon Indi so it's probably not worth it.
So why is everyone – looks like a division or so of Rim Worlds Army units in dropships, damn, maybe I should break cover and take them out – leaving Carver V? Why? Has Amaris decided to consolidate? McTiernan hasn't reported anything like this but it could be a new development.
I start scanning through radio channels, trying to pick up RWA chatter, signals from the CAAN holdouts on Quantico or even civilian broadcasts to explain what's going on.
There's not a lot.
In fact there's barely anything, which is odd. Carver V has a population of almost one hundred and twenty million people, mostly on the shores of the larger islands where they populate the famous resorts and the arguably more important fisheries industry. I ought to be getting a lot more traffic than this.
There's quite a lot you can do telescopically by pointing a set of sensors across a sizeable area all towards the same target. I had eighty Caspars, now spread across several thousand kilometers. Since there wasn't any immediate threat, I can spread them out further and… that's a lot of cloud cover on Carver V. Not impossible for it to be natural but…
Okay, even at this distance, I should be able to make out the artifical lights of some of the cities. Either there's a lot of cloud or they're blacked out or…
Ah, something on radio at last. Not strong enough to make out what but there is some traffic on the emergency bands. Well that becomes clearer. Some sort of disaster. I'm not going to use the word natural here because I'm not convinced that it's accurate.
It takes about an hour to painstakingly shift ships around to build up an array that can get some sense out of the emergency traffic and then Carver V's turned enough that I can get a firsthand look at the cause of the problem: a massive thermal signature across most of what used to be the island of Quantico, home to the CAAN training facility and associated fortifications.
About half of the island isn't there anymore. The rest of it is on fire.
And there's one word that's I've managed to decipher repeatedly out of the weak signals.
Tsunami.
I don't know how, but "This has to be Amaris' fault."
"What has to be?" asks Corvus.
"Carver V… there's not enough radio traffic. I think… I think something terrible has happened."
"Is there anything we can do?"
I bring up a map of Quantico and overlay the damage. "I'm not sure what could have done this. It would take a phenomenal amount of nukes. Maybe a…" Something about the pattern of damage catches my eye. "Oh."
"Oh?"
"I think I do know what happened." On the screen I display the aftermath of my improvised kinetic bombardment of the Graham IV SDS command centre. "I get the distinct impression that I inspired them to extreme measures to neutralise the CAAN hold-outs."
"But what would that do to the rest of the planet? There are settlements all aro- oh. When they hit the base…"
"Thousands – tens of thousands - of tons of debris would have been flung into the sea, creating a tidal wave. Carver V's got so little land that there's not much to stop it from sweeping around the planet. Chances are that most of the coastal settlements got hit and that's ninety percent of the population right there."
"There will be survivors, surely?"
"Oh I expect so." My voice is bitter. "Half, maybe?" It's a guess, nothing more. "Of course, with the infrastructure gone the injured survivors won't be in the best of places. I'd expect… a quarter again dead in the week afterwards – the shipping should be fairly safe and they would have some precautions. So only fifty or sixty million people dead."
Corvus groans and buries her head in her hands. "How can anyone do that? It's monstrous!"
"Thanks."
"Not you. You shot at a military base."
"So did they. Let's be honest – do you think I haven't killed civilians so far? I fired into the heart of a major city on Terra and I'm pretty sure I killed a fair number of innocent bystanders on Zebebelgenubi and Graham IV."
"Yes, but not deliberately. They had to know what would happen."
"Would that make it better, or worse?"
The Colonel shook her head. "What do you mean?"
"Is it worse if they did this knowing it would mean killing millions… or if someone who didn't realise that ordered it and the local commander, who would have known, did it anyway?"
"That just makes my head hurt. Is there something we can do?"
"Without screwing up our mission? Just watch… and remember."
Entry #32
Outer System, Epsilon Indi
Lockdale Province, Terran Hegemony
14:00 19 March 2767
Jumping into the outer system, about as far out as the standard jump points, is generally pretty safe. The chances of anyone being close enough to pose a problem when you jump into an otherwise unremarkable point in space are about on par with winning the lottery. Actually, worse.
While the odds of arriving just as the 34th Royal BattleMech Division do are much better, they're still hundreds of thousands to one against and in both cases probability plays out without any long shots.
"Well either they got here already and were destroyed –"
"Don't even joke about it!" Corvus snapped. She paused. "Is Epsilon Indi…"
I check. "I'm getting signal traffic on civilian bands. Looks mostly normal."
"That's a relief."
"Let me get a count of the M-5 drones in-system and if they're all around then probably the 34th haven't arrived yet. Unless, playing devil's advocate, they're a couple of light days away and the light of their arrival hasn't reached this part of the system yet."
She nods her understanding.
We've talked on the way about our options once we get here. It's a more desirable topic of conversation than Carver V. The main problem, of course, is that we have no co-ordination with the 34th Royal BattleMech Division. Without knowing where they'll arrive it's hard to open up a route for them in advance. And that's not mentioning the very real risk of friendly fire. They've no particular reason not to believe that any Caspars they encounter are under Amaris' control, assuming that they actually heard of me at all.
I'm sure my reputation is spreading, but they must have set a fast pace if they rushed all the way from the Outworlds Alliance to the Terran Hegemony in a couple of months so they've probably not stopped to get the news. As far as our own intelligence goes, their only escort is a transport flotilla they picked up in the Combine. Rear Admiral Braso has an excellent record, but only eight warships.
"Okay, interesting. I'm picking up the eighteen Caspars that should be at the Zenith point… looks like they're not active. But the fifty-six that were over the planet aren't there. Most of them are burning away from the Nadir point and I don't see the M-5 drones that should be covering that."
"Do you think the 34th came in there then? If they hit the drones at that point and then got overwhelmed by the survivors…?"
"It's… possible. Although why they'd hang around there long enough for M-5s to get there I have no idea." I calculated. "If they were there already, maybe. The transports would have been jumping right into an ambush. But would the Republicans risk uncovering Epsilon Indi without ironclad evidence that this was the only attack they could escape?"
Corvus groaned. "Amaris must have pretty good intel to pull of the Coup. It's not impossible he did get information about the 34th."
"I suppose, although if even Kerensky didn't know where they were going to jump in, the information can't have been widespread."
"Who else could they have been fighting."
I think for a minute. "I suppose McTiernan could have raided them, but again, why move more than fifty M-5s out that far? They'd have to know that there was someone there to fight."
"What if…"
"What if what?" I ask.
Corvus shrugs. "Well you've made quite a mess out of the Republicans by taking over drones. What if they decided to eliminate every drone they didn't already control?"
I whistle. "That'd be quite a job. They'd defend themselves you know?"
"Yeah, well according to our intel there should be eighteen M-5 drones at both jump points. What if the ships moving away from the Nadir point are what's left of the planetary fleet after taking them out and they're heading for the Zenith point to pick them off too?"
It takes a minute or so for me to run some simulations. Eighteen drones defending automatically against fifty-six being run on remote direction from Epsilon Indi... "The numbers aren't inconsistent with that theory. It's a big job he's taken on though."
"It's really going to make it difficult to replace your losses," warns Corvus.
"True, but if that's really his policy… wow. There're a couple of thousand drones out there and if he's committed himself to destroy more than half of them then Amaris just tied his navy up for a couple of months. That's a lot of time for our reinforcements to arrive. And we do know that the three squadrons over at the Zenith jump point are still available…"
"What are you thinking?"
I sent orders out to the Caspar Centuria. "Get ready for company. I'm recalling the crews from the other ships and then we'll make a low emissions run to intercept our friends over there before they reach the Zenith point. I'm pretty sure they've not spotted us now so a short, high gravity burn to build up some speed has a good chance of not being noticed until we're close enough for it to be hard for them to evade."
"I doubt that they'll try to avoid action," observes Corvus. "You're their number one target, they'd almost have to try to destroy you. And we won't be near enough to pot-shot their command centre this time."
"Well I could try. I wasn't exactly shooting from the hip last time, but I'd rather keep strikes like that to a minimum in the future. I'd have to hit the primary and secondary command centres to be sure, so that's double the damage."
"Are you sure that you can afford not to destroy them?"
"I'm not doing this to prove that I'm better at killing people than Amaris is," I point out. "I could be, easily. I've got enough firepower under my command to destroy every settlement on Epsilon Indi. But that doesn't appeal to me and not just because it would probably convince Brandt to rethink keeping me around. There are some lines you don't cross and the sites aren't as isolated as Fort Baxter was."
Entry #33
Zenith Jump Point, Epsilon Indi
Lockdale Province, Terran Hegemony
06:00 25 March 2767
The drones pick us up well before we were in weapons range and break off from their measured approach to the Zenith squadrons since it's fairly obvious that if they keep doing that we'll be able to make a slashing attack across their rears.
Instead they turn to cut across our course, which turns into something of a guessing game. Their objective is to cross our T so that they can focus their broadsides against the aft of my little fleet as we slow to engagement range - preferably across my rear if they can manage it.
How cute, they think they're hunting me.
Eighty-one transmitters strike out in unison: "There's a message written in the glory, It was there before time began."
They're about to learn that they're very much wrong about that. May as well warn them about the oncoming Bad Days.
We thread the needle right through their formation because I don't need to slow down. Well, we mostly thread the needle as the tightly twisting pattern of my Caspar's courses isn't just to mask me from their fire. Seven of them don't make it through the formation but they crash headlong into M-5C drones, breaking up squadron links and wherever possible sending the resultant wreckage crashing into the formation.
"There's a secret hidden in the story, Final link between God and Man."
Forty-six of them scream out of the merge, taking fire from a fleet that outnumbers them three to two. As we twist around, both sides slowing and turning towards the next round I shepherd my more damaged escorts aside and fill the slots with all eighteen of the fresh Caspars waiting at the Zenith point.
I truly believe I can hear the swearing coming from Epsilon Indi. They're making the classic mistake: over-controlling by remote instead of letting the drones have their head. There's a limit to what they can do at a range of light minutes but there's an even tighter limit on what they should do and they're not respecting it.
Against someone who can think faster than they can already…
"Wheels are turning, Souls are burning."
"I think I'm getting motion sickness," Corvus complains as I take several more months off the life-expectancy of my spinal structural members with a twisting maneuver that brings my less damaged broadside to bear upon a pair of enemy M-5s that are right at the extreme edge of my range. With targeting data from Caspars much closer I burn the spine right out of one and punch out the primary sensor array on the other.
"Feel free to get out and walk." She'd brought her 'Mech too, for some reason. Not that I particularly begrudge her those seventy tons of cargo space, but what use she thought it'd be…
Radio shockwaves announced nuclear weapons were in play – my guess is that they'd been holding back during the first pass due to limited onboard stocks. Mostly likely they used some on the Nadir squadrons. One of my Caspars is a million scattered pieces and five others are carrying scars that make me glad I'm better armoured than they are.
I twist the path away and check the timing. Double check it.
Yeah. That works.
I stop singing and cut in the guitar solo opening for Meatloaf's Out of the Frying Pan. Not just for effect either. Twenty Voidseekers I launched earlier are cutting a ballistic course that takes them right behind the enemy formation and each of them is packing a pair of missiles tipped with Mk II nuclear warheads.
Their engines flare up in brutal four gravity burns to correct for the little details I couldn't calculate for earlier and then just over half the surviving enemy M-5s get backlit for an instant. Some of them tank the hits – warship armour is tough but some of them don't. I can see aft-ends disintegrate, ships falling out of formation without engines and fires raging forwards as fuel lines burn.
The Voidseekers careen out of the engagement – even at their acceleration it'll take a while to overcome their velocity, I was doing well to fire both missiles before they were outside the effective range.
What's more important is that multiple nuclear weapons don't just cause physical damage to the enemy drones, the radio pulses also wreak havoc upon their electronic counter-measures. It takes time for them to re-orientate from that – a brief window but one that I knew was coming.
I can't hack their destruct systems or mess with the arming switches for the nuclear warheads still aboard them, those were too well protected. I could crash through some firewalls however and the virus I was inserting only changed one thing: it told the gunnery computers that the autocannon that made up the M-5s primary broadside armament were loaded and ready to fire.
It takes just under two minutes for the onboard computers to deduce what I've done and correct the problem. In the meantime the guns cycle and cycle uselessly while my Centuria take ruthless advantage of the reduced fire to concentrate smashing salvos into ship after ship.
What was once fifty-one M-5s is reduced to fourteen battered hulks by the time they get their guns working again. Even without recalling the damaged Caspars, I've got a four-to-one numerical advantage.
That's when they finally clue in and try ramming tactics.
Here's a hint: when your ships are so battered that I can out-accelerate you, ramming won't work out. Two of them get close enough to try only to get caught amidship by a Caspar each, which settles the matter decisively.
Battle over, we won and once I re-integrate the damaged Caspars I'd detached earlier my Centuria is almost back to full strength.
So, checklist of things to do: recover the Voidseekers; damage control aboard the Caspars; clean-up my interior where some of my passengers didn't reach sick-bags in time; secure orbitals of Epsilon Indi; wait for the 34th Royal BattleMech Division to arrive and convince them to accept my authority.
Why is it that the talking to people is almost always the hardest part of my plans?
"Tommy, don't ever fly like that again – at least not when I'm aboard!" demands Corvus.
"Right right." I look at my schematics, where one of the few shots that did hit me had left a cargo-bay open to space. "Uh, you might want to check on your 'Mech but you'll need a pressure suit first."
"…my 'Mech!?"
Entry #34
High Orbit, Epsilon Indi
Lockdale Province, Terran Hegemony
09:30 31 March 2767
I was so sceptical of what my sensors reported that I poll every ship in the Centuria before I report to Corvus. "Taylor… I think the 34th just arrived."
"Are you sure?"
"Well… they're here, they have SLDF IFFs and a death wish. Who else could it be?"
She frowns. "How do you mean 'death wish'?"
"They hit both jump points with four warships and ten jumpships."
Corvus slaps her face. "The standard jump points? If the Caspars there were under Republican control…"
"Butchered," I confirm. "I mean, I wrote the book on reckless behaviour and even I think that's a bit… optimistic."
It'll take several hours for a signal to reach them so I may as well send it now. It's not a complicated message, I'm essentially relaying Kerensky's message that he's very disappointed in them and is handing them over to me.
I give them a fair chance to absorb that, taking the time to squeeze a tightbeam transmission in the direction of the pirate point where one of McTiernan's spyships should be lurking, and then send them my own message.
"General Collins, Admiral Braso. Under the circumstances it'd be inappropriate to offer you a warm welcome, so I'll cut to the chase. I'm Vice Admiral Thomas Praetorian of the Hegemony Armed Forces and I'm the appointed commander of operations to liberate Epsilon Indi from Amaris. Report your status and readiness to participate in these operations."
It takes several hours for the message to reach them and for a reply to return. In the meantime I amuse them by transmitting simulations of them attacking Epsilon Indi, varying the opposition forces each time. One simulation data package per hour.
Between Simulation Twenty-Seven (all Caspars out of action, SDS batteries on the surface kill half the Division during the Drop) and Simulation Twenty-Eight (the Caspars at both jump points are under Republican control but play dead until the invasion forces have left so that they can polish off the jumpships uninterrupted and then hunt the dropships down) I get a response.
General Ling Pao Collins – the name suggested mixed Chinese-Irish ancestry but he appeared ethnically Chinese to me – was evidently fuming. "I'm not aware of any Admirals by the name you claim and the HAF was dissolved almost two hundred years ago."
"'That which is not dead may not eternal lie', General Collins. And that which man disbands, man can reform if he so chooses. The people of the Terran Hegemony, not without some justice, feel rather abandoned by the SLDF in their hour of need and therefore the Hegemony Armed Forces have been reborn to defend them once more. So are the forces with you going to be an honoured part of those forces, the Epsilon Indi Division in truth, or shall I assume that you're a bunch of mutineers turned pirate… or worse, traitors in service to the Usurper? By the time you get this message it will be April Fool's Day, don't be the fool."
Long before they've even received my message, I get another one.
"What sort of sick game are you playing, sending us those simulations?"
I don't reply directly, but my next message, exactly on the hour, is a reconstruction of the battle I'd fought against the drones defending Epsilon Indi.
If they're too stupid to understand that message then they're too stupid to be left in command.
The time it would take for them to receive my answer and reply arrives… and passes unheralded.
I count out the time it will take for a reply to the last simulation to arrive.
Thirty long minutes after that deadline I receive another signal from them. I say them because this time Collins was alongside Admiral Braso, who opened communications: "Admiral Praetorian, we grasp your rather heavy-handed point and will rendezvous with your fleet over Epsilon Indi." She gave Collins the nod.
With visible effort the man managed to keep his tone professional. "As you have valid codes, I provisionally accept your authority over my Division. I will be lodging a formal protest with the SLDF high command over your behaviour."
…yeah. I'm pretty sure he's not a keeper.
Okay. Admiral Braso seems willing to play ball, at least to an extent. General Collins may be out of touch with reality but he's at least minimally co-operative. I can work with that, for now.
"You know, you could have been more diplomatic about this," Corvus chided me.
"I could have promised them sugar-buns and bubbly – or that the Republicans would turn and run like dogs at the sight of them. Both would be lies, Taylor."
"There are still better ways to say things."
"Perhaps. But let's be honest: I'm going to grind them down. It'll be weeks before the New Dallas and Graham Divisions arrive and the defenders here have had time to dig in. This is going to be a longer and much harder campaign and fighting in its vanguard is the 34th's penance in Kerensky's eyes."
"It's more than that. They're an example."
I miss having a chin I can scratch. "I don't follow."
"Think about it. You know how many of my regiment decided to defect to the Hegemony Armed Forces - and rumour has it that a lot of the Royal Divisions arriving are wavering. Those are the General's best-equipped units and - in theory - the most loyal. He almost has to put a stop to it. In fact, there's no almost about it. Royal Command defecting en masse…" She shudders.
"If he just handed the 34th over to you, that could trigger a rush by other units. It's unacceptable. But sending them to you to throw into a meatgrinder sends the opposite message. And I suggest we watch the supply lines too: I doubt that the HAF will be allowed to draw on SLDF stockpiles if he can avoid it."
"So we're fighting two wars," I say, hoping she'll correct me. "An open one against Amaris and another one – a bureaucratic one – against our allies." To my dismay she nods sharply. "Well shit. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised." Then I have my avatar grin. "Of course, you did say 'we'…"
Entry #35
High Orbit, Epsilon Indi
Lockdale Province, Terran Hegemony
11:00 8 April 2767
Amanda Braso and Ling Pao Collins look suitably confused as they exit their shuttle and see Corvus standing waiting for them with an honour guard a dozen strong drawn from the Caspar crews.
"Permission to come aboard?" Braso asks, saluting me – the ship, rather. I don't think she's grasped what I am yet.
Collins matches her salute in a perfunctory fashion and doesn't wait for Corvus to return it before lowering his hand. He, I'm quite sure, has no idea at all.
"Welcome aboard THS Praetorian," Corvus says with her own salute. "I'm Admiral Praetorian's chief of staff, Taylor Corvus."
"Was the ship named for him or is it just a coincidence?" asks Braso curiously. "She's obviously not a standard Texas-class."
Corvus opens her mouth to answer but is cut off by Collins: "Who cares. Let's just meet him and get this straightened out."
A Major General outranks a Rear Admiral and a Colonel so however rude that was, he'd usually get his way. Not this time.
"You'll treat my people with respect, Collins." My 'face' appears on the monitor overlooking the shuttlebay. "I can use your division. The jury is still out on whether or not you are worth retaining." I pause until he's gathered his wits and is about to reply and then speak right over him. "Admiral Braso, your flotilla is being broken up and I'm afraid you're losing your flagship. Advise Commodore Mitchell that he's to take every ship except your four destroyers to rendezvous with the new Second Fleet at Graham IV."
Her face falls. I'd be more sympathetic if she hadn't gone along with this crazy scheme. "Once you've got your effects sorted out, we'll discuss your role in the fleet. You're dismissed."
Collins's face is an interesting puce as Corvus gestures for him to follow her towards the lounge. I wait until the doors close before I add to Braso: "I'm going to want full report on why you used a standard jump point, much less both."
"It's standard doctrine to seize the jump points so that you can control the shipping lanes," she protests.
"Standard doctrine assumes the SLDF is deploying overwhelming force, Admiral. I'm going to expect better from you in the future. I'm going to be entrusting you with the protection of the fleet's jump-crews, after all."
In the lounge Collins looks around impatiently. "I thought you were taking me to Admiral Praetorian," he demands of Corvus.
"I thought I told you to treat my people with respect just a few minutes ago," I remind him activating the screen so that he has a face to address. "I'll talk to General Collins privately, Corvus."
She left obediently and I locked the door behind her – not to keep her out but to keep Collins in.
"I thought we were going to talk face to face," he asserts.
"This is as good as it gets, General. I see it's not been made clear to you yet so let me clarify this for you: I am the machine intelligence that controls this ship and by extension all of the drones around it. I'm also, by decree of the Interim Director-General, a Vice-Admiral."
"You're a machine!?"
"A machine you're inside of. Think about that for a minute. And while you're at it, what were you thinking, rushing back here on your own? A single division isn't much to deploy to liberate an entire world." At least in this day and age.
He puts his hands on his hips. "How could you possibly understand? This is our home!"
"I also have a home. A home I have had to withdraw from to preserve forces that can – eventually – retake it. Forces that have then been redirected to save your Division from committing highly expensive suicide in the form of bringing urban warfare to the heart of your pleasant, mostly pastoral world instead of, for example, preparing to liberate my home. Aren't you glad I'm a machine? Otherwise I might be a little bitter."
His eyes are a little wide.
"Am I getting through to you, General? If you, as the man on the spot, had information that Kerensky and I did not then by all means explain it to me. If there is a good reason that Epsilon Indi must be liberated, no matter the cost to the overall strategy of defeating Amaris… then I'm all ears."
"But if you, selfishly, arrogantly, put your personal concerns for your homeworld over your duty then Kerensky was right to get rid of you. And if you keep doing this, then I'll leave you here on your homeworld because the duty of the SLDF is to the entire Star League first, and only then to individual states and worlds. Epsilon Indi is a hard target and while it's economically important, it is not a strategic position. If we lose more than a division liberating it… then it's a net loss for the campaign and we should have just let you die."
"Well that's the heartless machine I was expecting to hear from. All about the numbers."
"Yes. It is about the numbers. It's about thousands dying every day in prisons across the Hegemony. It's about millions of people out of work and going broke because the core of the entire Star League's economy is cut off and being asset-stripped to cater to Amaris. It's about the billions of civilians in the line of fire because Amaris would rather burn a planet to the ground than surrender it."
"It is not about catering to one person's selfish demands." Although it probably looks a lot like catering to my demands, at least considering what I got up to in the first month or two of this year.
"I want to protect my family, and the families of my soldiers. There's nothing selfish about that!" protests Collins.
"What you were doing would, at best, have added your command to the death toll. Not that you'd be more than a blip. The civilian death toll of fighting Amaris is already over sixty million."
"Sixty million?"
"Carver V suffered about fifty percent losses to its total population when Amaris decided to cut his losses. The Republicans also, incidentally, had at least one city on Graham IV mined with a remote-detonated mine so that they could take out the leading elements of the liberation force. Do you want that to happen to your home town?"
For a moment the question hangs in the balance before Ling Pao Collins draws himself up and salutes. "No sir, I do not." He pauses. "The Epsilon Indi Division is reporting for duty. What are your orders?"
Interlude #5, Part 1
Caddo City, Trinity
New Dallas, Terran Hegemony
12:00 15 May 2767
At first Titus Clay was sitting alone at the table but then, at the stroke of twelve, holograms appeared around it. The head of the scratch team of Ministry of Communications workers that had arrived with elements of the Eighth Army had worked wonders getting New Dallas set up with not only a new HPG but a sufficiently stable one to operate a real-time connection to the other capitals of the Star League.
The other capitals… how very strange that New Dallas was counted as such a world now. It would pass, of course. Terra would reclaim the spot soon enough. But today New Dallas was the heart of the free Hegemony.
The white-haired Takiro Kurita sat beside Clay and beyond him was John Davion. To Clay's surprise a small girl was sitting in the First Prince's lap, a cookie in one hand and staring wide eyed at the holograms that must be appearing around the table in the room she and Davion were sitting in. For an instant, Clay wondered if it was one of Davion's children but then he realised the obvious:
Amanda Cameron was appearing before the Star League Council for the first time since Richard had shown her off after her birth.
Beyond Davion the unassuming features of Aleksandr Kerensky could be seen and then, arcing back towards Clay, Barbara Liao, the smirking Kenyon Marik and finally Robert Steiner. The Star League Council, rulers of all humanity… except for the rebelling Territorial States, the occupied worlds of the Hegemony and, of course, the Rim Worlds Republic itself.
"Ladies and gentlemen, our new First Lord," Davion announced, holding up Amanda. The little girl gave a big grin, fragments of cookie visible to them all.
"That remains to be seen," grumbled Kenyon Marik. "I think we've had enough of child heirs after her father."
"The Star League Accords leave us no choice," the First Prince replied coolly. "So long as there is a Cameron candidate, they have a right to the title. And we have no other Cameron to elect." He half-turned and handed Amanda off to someone not included in the field of the camera.
The Captain-General looked around for support but no one else seemed inclined to speak up. Perhaps it was Clay's imagination but he seemed to receive a longer look than the others. Did Marik think he'd make a play for the role himself? If so, he was sadly mistaken. The law of the League was all that was holding it together and Clay would not undermine it.
"Amanda Cameron has my support, of course," the Interim Director-General announced, "But there are some precedents that the Captain-General is right to suggest we do not follow. I think it's evident that placing the full burden of responsibility for the Star League and the young First Lord upon General Kerensky when he was already responsible for the SLDF – and then in a time of peace – it was simply too great a burden for even the greatest of men."
Kerensky looked uncomfortable, as did Kurita and Davion, who were the only sitting members of the Council who remained from that debate, seventeen years ago.
"Are you suggesting we accept his resignation?" asked Steiner slyly.
"Not in a time of war," growled Kurita. "Soldiers appreciate the demands of duty, Archon Steiner."
The gibe at the younger man, who had eschewed military service, hit with stinging force.
"A change of command at this point would be unwise." Clay bowed his head slightly towards the General. "However, it would be unwise to add to the great burden of waging this war… which is after all the largest ever waged by man."
Kerensky returned the nod with gratitude. "I feel that my service as Regent has proven that my service to the Star League is best confined to the role of soldier."
"You may not get out of it that easily," Clay noted with a smile. "I would like to suggest that when our Protector of the Star League retires that his unparalleled service be rewarded by a seat amongst us as the ruler of the Rim Worlds Republic."
Kerensky's face tightened. It wasn't entirely a surprise, the proposal was one that had been discussed hastily by secure communications over the last few weeks. But still, to have it out in the open took forward it an irrevocable step.
"That seems a little premature… we don't even control the Republic at this time," objected Steiner.
"We shall soon." It was Takiro who spoke up. "While my son Minoru reclaims the Combine worlds that were defiled by Amaris' soldiers, my nephew Vincent has been sent to assist General Kerensky in securing the Rim Worlds capital on Apollo. They will then serve as a garrison for the region as the SLDF secures the rest of the Republic."
"Now wait here!" Robert Steiner didn't need a military background to know that that would put DCMS troops not far from the Rim Worlds border with his own Lyran Commonwealth. "How do we know you'll not annex those worlds to the Combine?"
Takiro's smile was serene. "What if we do, Archon?"
Kerensky nodded his head slightly. "Whoever the Council decides to place as ruler over the Republic, it is my advice that they should not rule from Apollo. The politics of that world have shaped House Amaris, one factor among many that have brought us into this pass." He paused. "I see no reason that other Member States bordering the Rim Worlds Republic could not similarly send expeditionary forces with expectations of similar results."
Kenyon Marik and Robert Steiner squirmed. On the one hand, the opportunity to slice off chunks of the Rim Worlds Republic. On the other, in so doing they'd be helping Kerensky, the man of no noble lineage that had somehow risen to a position of power over them.
"I will consult my Generals," Steiner grumbled to save face and Marik nodded sharply.
"It isn't a decision to make in haste," agreed Clay.
"I second the Director-General's nomination of Aleksandr Kerensky to represent the Rim Worlds Republic upon the Star League Council," the First Prince announced. "And I call for an immediate vote."
Kenyon Marik looked appealingly at Barbara Liao. The Chancellor surely wouldn't back Davion on this – they'd been enemies for years and even fought a border war during Kerensky's regency – and that would deadlock the Council.
Liao shrugged slightly and then smiled at Kenyon. "I vote aye. Shall we make it unanimous?"
Interlude #5, Part 2
Caddo City, Trinity
New Dallas, Terran Hegemony
13:00 15 May 2767
After a brief clarification that Kerensky had no intention of retiring until Amaris was safely dead, the Council took a few moments to process the sudden changes.
"I think it's pretty obvious that we're being managed," Kenyon observed tersely. "So would the other Council Lords like to reveal whatever political agenda you're planning on steamrollering over us today?"
Clay looked at them and smiled. "The next item on the agenda is that even if General Kerensky is unavailable, we should appoint a Regent to fill the role of First Lord until Lady Amanda is of age. Does anyone wish to make a nomination?"
The Coordinator cleared his throat. "I feel that only a member of this council would have the necessary experience. And as we are electing a wartime leader, youth and vigor will be desirable." The old man turned his head to his left. "Can you think of anyone who is suitably qualified, Prince Davion?"
To Kenyon's surprise, the First Prince didn't take the effective nomination with his earlier good humour. "I do have someone in mind," he gritted out. "Thank you, Coordinator."
"I object," Steiner snapped. "The Director-General has already spoken of the importance of spreading the responsibilities left vacant by the death of Richard Cameron. For Davion to be Regent and the First Lord's guardian is hardly consistent with that."
Davion took a deep breath. "I agree. So I nominate Chancellor Liao as the Regent. I trust that no one will accuse the two of us of colluding to the detriment of our respective responsibilities."
"Wise words, Prince Davion," agreed Kurita with a certain amusement. "Do you accept the nomination, Chancellor?"
"But of course. Do you second it?"
The Coordinator nodded benevolently and Barbara Liao rose slightly from her seat to curtsey towards the elder statesman before resuming her seat.
"I move that the appointment of Barbara as Regent be by acclamation," said Clay. "Do I hear an objection?"
There was a sulky silence.
"Madame Regent." Kerensky stood and saluted her formally.
Barbara nodded regally. "General."
"If the Council will excuse me, I imagine that a full report on the war will be required."
"Indeed. But tomorrow, I think. Let us get the politics out of the way today and we can give you our full attention."
The General bowed. "Then if you will excuse me, I will make my escape from politics for today."
"For today, General. Not forever."
Kerensky's image winked out.
"He's going to be a terribly inflexible member of the Council," Liao warned the men still at the table.
"We've never been short of those, Chancellor," replied John Davion.
Kenyon leant forwards. "Wait a minute. You're talking about him as if he'll be our equal. The Rim Worlds Republic is only a Territorial State."
"Oh dear, Captain-General, is your hearing going?" Barbara asked with a wicked smile. "Kerensky was elected as a member of this Council without any restrictions. From the moment he retires there will be seven Member-States, not six."
"Are you out of your mind!?" exploded Robert Steiner. "Do you have any idea how much damage that will do?"
"I think the division between the Member-States and the Territorial States has done enough damage over the last two years. Or did you miss hearing about the Periphery Uprisings in the rush of the Tharkad social circuit, Robert? We've already lost three of them to all practical purposes - the SLDF can't liberate the Hegemony and reconquer the outer realms."
Clay leant forwards. "There is one loyal region out there – the spinward provinces of the Outworlds Alliance have remained faithful to the Star League and President Avellar has declined to send what's left of her military to reconquer them. With the Council's permission I'd like to open negotiations. Allyce Avellar seems open to reason."
He saw the Coordinator smiling knowingly and the First Prince covered his face. "Alright, what's the joke?"
"The Alliance's new President is a naïve little girl," Kurita explained. "My agents inform me that she believe in goodwill to all and simply refuses to believe that 'Mr Amaris' would hurt 'Mr Cameron' or that 'Mr Kerensky' would wage war over it."
"Please tell me he's joking."
Davion shook his head. "He's really not. She's a nightmare to deal with. Completely out of touch with reality."
Clay nodded. "Well, that sounds promising. I'm all in favour of goodwill if I can make it work for me."
"I trust you'll keep the Combine's interest in the area firmly in mind?" suggested Kurita.
"Well since neither you nor John wants the other to have any advantage there, I was thinking of annexing those provinces to the Hegemony if she'll sign off on it."
There was a spluttering sound from the direction of Marik but Clay waved his hand dismissively. "You're all getting the shared worlds back, so I need some sort of new frontier to offer the Hegemony. And with the Hegemony as a friendly neighbour, we may be able to win the Outworlds Alliance back for the League without firing a shot."
"Now who's out of touch with reality?" asked the Captain-General scornfully.
Further conversation was cut off as Kerensky's holograph appeared suddenly back in his seat, a verigraphed HPG message in one hand. "My apologies for the interruption, my Lords and Lady Regent Liao, however I have important news. Admiral Brandt has just informed me that she is launching Operation KAISER today: the liberation of Terra." The General gave Clay a suspicious look and then clarified: "In fact, by the schedule, First Fleet and Terran Hegemony Navy will already have jumped into the Sol System."