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Chapter 10
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Part 3
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3 AIF (After Imperial Founding)/
15.08.2552 UNSC Military Calendar/
Copenhagen Station, Moncton-class OWP
high orbit above Earth
Sol System
Milky Way Galaxy
Stanforth didn't imagine returning to Earth ever being this way, or at least that was the case until a few hours ago. Now? He wasn't particularly surprised. It was still tedious to endure. The Pelican that brought him on board the station found itself surrounded by marines as soon as the atmosphere returned to the small dock. They escorted him to a medical bay, where doctors pocket and prodded him to determine if he was himself. An AI, likely an ONI, kept asking irritating questions and judging everything he did and his body's involuntary reactions.
After what felt like hours, the ordeal hopefully ended. A marine escort brought the Vice Admiral to a small briefing room and left him inside. Screens came to life, showing Hood, Paragosky, and Strauss.
"Are you convinced I am not compromised yet?" Stanforth asked.
"Space magic, as you put it, very scientific," Hood shot back, keeping his poker face. "We still can't decide if you are just crazy, compromised, a traitor, or a combination of those. Yet, we have questions."
"That figures," Stanforth snorted. "Shoot."
"Why are you here now, Admiral?" Paragosky demanded. Her voice was calm, almost friendly sounding, for her anyway.
"Many reasons, really. The primary one is that our decision loops are too damn slow, and we all know it. If I had continued to follow protocol, we would have wasted at least a week with messages back and forth between Sol and Epsilon Eridiani. That's time the Covenant are using to digest their defeats at Reach and, more recently, Cygnus. They will be deciding how to respond best so they can kill us all. While we," He waved a hand, "would have waited for courier ships to carry messages back and forth, losing precious time," Stanforth waited to see if anyone would interrupt with questions or demands. Instead, Hood waved him to continue.
"Contact with the Federated Empire and the Covenant's strategic blunder in attacking them unprovoked is the kind of Latchkey Event we've all been praying for. This can change the course of the war, but only if we have enough time to take advantage of it," Stanforth smiled grimly. "Besides, the Imperials compromised Cole Protocol for the Inner Colonies mere hours ago by dispatching FTL probes to all systems in the vicinity of Epsilon Eridiani. Before deciding to ask for a ride to Earth, I saw real-time sensor data from Sol. As we speak, there is one of their probes in this system. The same is true for many, if not all, other Inner Colonies already. The time before launch and arrival was no more than an hour, no matter the distance from Epsilon Eridiani or slipspace topography. However, the latter is a moot point for the Imperials, considering they aren't using our method of FTL travel."
"If true, that's the only reason why you are likely to avoid treason charges and a mandatory court-martial, Henry," Paragosky pointed out.
"It's Harold, and you know it, witch!" Stanforth grumbled.
"That has always been a bit pretentious, and I'm saying it as someone who people keep calling 'Lord Hood' behind my back." The Fleet Admiral chuckled. "A few dare do it to my face too."
"More food for the AIs' judging my reactions?" Stanforth asked bluntly.
"One can't be too careful these days. Not with the future of humanity, or at least our part of it at stake," Strauss finally spoke.
That was another thing Stanforth wasn't trying too hard to think about, especially the implications of it. The most straightforward and logical explanation was that those old conspiracy theories that got a resurgence after the war began about ancient astronauts and such were true. Frankly, he didn't like the implications of humans being part of the FE, yet he was more than ready to reap the benefits.
"Marines aren't bursting through the door to drag me into a cell or for more medical examination," Stanforth ignored those distracting thoughts and focused on the task at hand.
"You've had more time to think about our new reality and consider the implications. We are still digesting the information you sent," Hood led him on.
Stanforth knew they hadn't had time to get anything but a summary after AI went over the data.
"Diplomatically, we are in an interesting position. We can't afford to appear too weak. Then the Imperials might write us off as a lost cause and focus on fortifying Reach and the portal. At the same time, we can't afford to look too strong, if at all possible, considering the demonstrated reach and ability of the Imperials to gather intelligence on nearby star systems…." That was still a sore point. It was the trivial way that Imperial commander spoke of dispatching FTL capable probes to thousands upon thousands of star systems with merely a few days of warning… The majority, if not all, of those, would have to come from ready reserves. The fact the Empire could afford to have such assets lying around for a rainy day said a lot about their capabilities. Yet, it also raised more and more questions about the scope of the Empire, the number of worlds it controlled, and the resources and industry it had access to. All Stanforth and his colleagues could do about that was speculate.
"But I digress. If we appear too strong or handle the war effort too well, that can convince the Imperials that we don't need too much aid to survive and be an asset in the war at large," Stanforth looked at the Security Council members. "We all know that would be a lie. Until the Imperials appeared, our only realistic shot at surviving the war was Red Flag. We are all aware of how much of a long shot it is even if it worked as planned and our Spartans manage to get their hands on a high-ranked Covenant leader. They might declare our captive a martyr and continue the war as if nothing has happened."
Paragosky had the grace to grimace for once. Red Flag came into being with a lot of ONI input, yet no one until now dared say aloud what the biggest flaw of the operation was. After all, it was their only realistic hope to end the war on their terms.
"We are still pursuing it," Margaret noted.
"Of course we are. It's the cheapest way to end the conflict if it works," Stanforth agreed. "Now we just have an alternative to fighting to the death to cover Project Ark if it fails."
Realistically, when completed, no matter how powerful, the Infinity would be only one ship. It couldn't turn the tide of the war by itself. What it could do was act as a heavily armed ark to ensure humanity survived the inevitable fall of the UNSC and Covenant victory.
In that regard, even if not fully operational, the Infinity should be ready shortly to do its primary purpose if it came down to it.
"I have to agree," Strauss grumbled reluctantly.
The General knew it better than most. The Army could win tactical and strategic victories on the ground. However, it didn't matter in the long run after the Covenant inevitably won in space. If anyone understood deep within how a victory couldn't last due to events outside their control, it was Strauss.
=RF=
Part 4
=RF=
3 AIF (After Imperial Founding)/
15.08.2552 UNSC Military Calendar/
Copenhagen Station, Moncton-class OWP
high orbit above Earth
Sol System
Milky Way Galaxy
Now and then, the Security Council members glanced away from the conversation. Stanforth believed he could safely assume they were looking at relevant data highlighted by a Smart AI extracted from the data packages he sent them. Soon, he got a confirmation on that point.
"Their 'request' about strategic data is one of the reasons you decided to break protocol to get here fast, wasn't it?" Paragosky eventually asked.
"Arguably, that's data the Imperials need to know what they are dealing with, what we can offer as allies, and what support we would need to survive more than a few years on our own," Stanforth nodded. "Revealing most of that relevant data without clearance would be outright treason."
"I am sure formal negotiations can take weeks and perhaps even months," Hood hummed and looked at Paragosky, then Strauss. "That's not something we can afford when the Covenant could find Earth any day now. Between Epsilon Eridiani and Cygnus, it's only a matter of time before they scout the nearby systems for our presence."
"Agreed," Strauss grimaced. The Witch simply nodded.
"Can you get us in contact with the Imperial Commander? We will have a decision on what to reveal to them shortly."
The monitors in the room flickered, now showing the UNSC crest. Less than a minute later, a marine Sergeant entered the room and saluted.
"Vice Admiral! We're at your disposal, sir!"
"We need a communication device that's on board the Pelican I arrived on. The pilots have it. It's the size of a small disk that can fit in the palm of your hand," Stanforth explained. "Now, what a man needs to do here to get a cup of water, or better, proper coffee?"
"We'll see to it, sir!" The Sergeant left the room, barking orders.
The coffee arrived first. It was actual coffee, not the synthetic crap most of the UNSC military had to make do with because of shortages caused by the war. The appearance was the first giveaway – the synthetic version preferred by the navy as of late had a cream-like consistency. If you had working tastebuds left, you simply had to drown them with sweeteners further to make them drinkable. The only saving grace that thing had was that it kicked like a mule and could keep you awake much better than organic caffeine.
Being stationed at Sol was a luxury, and not just because, until recently, the odds of the Covenant finding the place were reasonably remote.
The communicator arrived next, and Stanforth activated it. He got to talk with the Captain of the ship that brought him to Sol, a dark-skinned alien who was near human in appearance. Considering the availability of cosmetic mods, there were places across UNSC space where the alien would fit right in without anyone giving him a second look.
"Vice Admiral?" A moment after Captain Repos spoke, an obviously synthetic voice translated his words.
"Captain, the UNSC Security Council would like to speak with General Veil shortly," Stanforth informed the alien officer.
"I'll patch have him patched through as soon as he is available."
Veil's holographic form appeared above the table beside Stanforth's coffee cup before the Council was ready to talk with him.
"Vice Admiral Stanforth," Veil nodded at him while listening to a woman speaking in an alien language.
"General Veil, the UNSC Security Council will be ready to speak with you soon," Stanforth hoped that they wouldn't be foolish enough to play power games with the Imperial Warlord and make him wait. Or at least make it look that way by underestimating how long it would take to have Veil ready to speak with them.
"My condolescence, Admiral. I understand that our probes have found multiple glassed worlds. We are painfully aware of how it feels to lose worlds to a genocidal enemy," Veil's eyes glowed briefly before returning to what might be normal for him.
It was a good thing, Stanforth considered, that the Covenant lacked specific capabilities the Imperials didn't think twice about. Otherwise, this war would have ended decades ago.
"My flagship can transport tens of thousands of evacuees safely. However, we do need a safe place to put them down. From conversations with your commanders here, I understand they would prefer to get most surviving civilians out of the system, leaving only those critical for the operation of the remaining industry in place."
"Earth has the space to absorb some more refugees. First, we will need permission to get them and your ship anywhere near Earth's defense perimeter," Stanforth pointed out. If nothing else, bringing back thousands of people saved from the Covenant would ensure the Federated Empire makes an even better first impression to the average citizen than keeping Reach would.
"That would be another thing to speak with you, Security Council, about then," Veil nodded. "Please inform me when they're finally available."
The Imperial General left the channel open, though he stepped away from the camera range. The hologram flickered, showing hazy empty space, though Stanforth could hear distant speech over the comm.
A few minutes later, the screens in the briefing room came alive with the images of the Council members. It was a slight enough delay to chalk it off to how unexpectedly swift Imperial communications were, or so Stanforth hoped.
Soon Veil returned, holding a data pad in one hand and a metal mug with a steaming beverage in the other. As it turned out, the communicator didn't have the camera range and angle to show Veil the Council members properly; however, its microphones were good enough to pick up what they were saying. A short exchange of introductions later, they could begin speaking in earnest.
"First, I must congratulate you for keeping your state from imploding after being on the losing side of a total war for three decades. As of the last report I received,' Veil tapped the data pad in his left hand with his index finger, "you've lost over thirty systems with the populated worlds partially or completely glassed. Such tenacity is impressive," Veil offered them a brief look of respect. "Considering what our scouts have discovered so far, I hope you won't waste our time posturing about the strength and dedication of the UNSC and its military. Please explain the facts of your strategic situation and what you will need to survive as a useful military power for the foreseeable future."
At those words, the Witch froze while Hood grimaced. Strauss' face remained mostly impassive; however, the corners of his eyes tightened. They shared glances, communicating silently.
"Our strategic situation is critical and deteriorating with every world the Covenant finds. Once that happens, it's only a matter of when we lose the system, all industry, and most of the population." Lord Hood bit the bullet.
Stanforth knew that this right here would give Hood's enemies a lot of ammunition to use against him, yet it might just save the UNSC in the long run. Or doom it if the Empire decided it was too late to save them.
"They have found systems on two sides of your homeworld. It's now only a question of time before the Covenant finds it. Can you prosecute the war if you lose it?" Veil demanded.
So much for not admitting how bad the situation was exactly. For a moment, Stanforth was sure Hood was about to lie when Paragosky spoke.
"No. We have too much critical industry and infrastructure concentrated within Sol and Epsilon Eridiani. Losing reach or Earth, well, which means the industry within those systems as well, is not something we can survive in the long term."
Four pairs of eyes stared at the Witch, most wondering what game she was playing.
"Space magic, as Vice Admiral Stanforth put it," Margaret chuckled bitterly. "I'm not about to risk whatever relationship our nations might have by being caught lying red-handed."
"This is a wiser stance than that many people who should know better take as a matter of course," There was no mistaking the amusement in Veil's voice.
Could the man tell if people lied to him thanks to this Force he was using?! That wasn't something Stanforth seriously considered. But that would be something ONI would think of. It really shouldn't have been surprising that Paragosky went there.
"In that case, neither your Sol system nor Epsilon Eridiani should fall," Veil concluded. It sounded more like a statement and hopefully a promise than acknowledging a fact. That was what Stanforth hoped for anyway, and he was afraid he was hearing what he wanted to. "Confirm for me your primary deficiencies in space compared to the Covenant, so we can begin planning on how to address them."
"Durability due to their shields. Strategic speed and faster-than-light communications. Despite the superior firepower of Covenant vessels, we can practically kill them once their shields are down. Their ability to move orders of magnitude faster, combined with durability and firepower, means that often by the time we learn one of our systems is under attack, it's already too late to dispatch reinforcements. The Covenant would often destroy everything of value before we heard of the attack, much less in time for us to get reinforcements in place. The advantage of faster than light communications without the need of using courier ships should be self-explanatory."
"Deflectors, hyperdrives, subspace transceivers," Veil listed. "We will need our translation databases to properly incorporate technical jargon before giving the problem of incorporating deflectors to your ships. That should be possible without major refits. The same is true for the subspace transceivers – they are standalone, and the current standard model used by capital ships has a hundred light years range. They can also be distributed within systems to create subspace communication networks. While those have much less range than the holonet and hyper comms, they are significantly less expensive. Hyperdrives, on the other hand…." Veil trailed off. "You generally need it produced for a specific type or subtype of ship. They don't exactly plug and use. You either need the ship built to use a specific model of hyperdrive or a hyperdrive designed and built for the type of ship you want to use."
"Are you willing to trade such technologies? Both they know how to build them and the theory behind them?" Hood asked.
"They aren't exactly uncommon or secret. As Mandalore the Restorer, I can offer deals for these technologies without consulting the Federal government. However, supplying sufficient individual devices to refit your navy would be unfeasible. The Freehold's industrial capacity is currently tapped to nearly 100%. You will need aid from the Federal government for that. On the other hand, supplying infantry-scale equipment should not be an issue pending Federal approval. If the observed performance of your standard infantry gear is anything to go by, we can help a lot there. We have warehouses full of now obsolete weapons and armor designated for gifting to planetary defense forces of poor member worlds or outright scrapping. Unfortunately, better-equipped infantry doesn't help much when the enemy holds the orbitals."