Defying the Prophet: A Military Space Opera (The Sentience Trilogy Book 2) (18 page)

Not so these Confederates. Melendez was stunned when Thorn and Stillman first arrived with as many full fleets to defend Minnos, as the Alliance could scrounge mere task forces. Since then, what now remained of the Alliance managed to produce and repair enough ships to send one additional task force to bolster Turner’s forces to full fleet strength. The sight of four full fleets all gathered together in one place had appropriately awed all of the visiting foreign admirals.

Those foreign admirals were especially interested in observing the alien prisoners, universally bemoaning their continued inability to communicate with the surprisingly small creatures. All the foreign admirals spoke English to one degree or another, so their inability to communicate with Melendez, Thorn and each other was not quite as limited as with the cats. All departed feeling that humanity’s front door was sufficiently strengthened against any further rudeness from their furry new neighbors… and all hoped those neighbors weren’t planning to crawl through any windows a lot closer to their own homes.

* * * *

Inside the envelope, Diet found documentation granting him full Confederate citizenship, and a commission in the Confederate Fleet at the rank of full admiral, in the name of Dietrich Anton Guderian, gold seals and all, with the authorization signed by Confederate President Lincoln Collier personally. In addition to his citizenship papers and commission, there was also a packet of official orders from Fleet Admiral Kalis naming Admiral Dietrich Anton Guderian as Commander of Confederate Fleet Intelligence.

“So, just how was it that Admiral Kalis came to learn my identity, Svengali?”

He asked, Diet. He had a very convincing argument for his “need-to-know” during this alien invasion crisis, so I told him.

“And just what was it about his argument that made it so convincing, that you ignored my expressed desires that no one, but no one,
ever
know of my identity or my involvement with you, or the Confederacy whatsoever?”

Your safety, Diet… when I informed Admiral Kalis that I transferred my sentience to Minnos, he asked me specifically if my mysterious “partner” was with me here. I saw no harm in telling him that you were. Kalis was concerned for your proximity to a potential combat zone, with no one here knowing of your importance and, thereby, no one concerned with maintaining your safety. He also said that if you were already in this area, he had an important assignment for you that I could not handle alone, as it requires a level of mobility that I do not possess.

“He conned you, Hal. There is nothing in that envelope about any assignment.”

What did the orders packet say?

“The orders simply name me as Head of Confederate Intelligence…
why
he’d want to do that is beyond me, but there is nothing specific about what the duties of that position are, or what is expected of me.”

I don’t see why you’re so upset, Diet. This is a great honor. Perhaps he foresees a time when he will need a human envoy who is already in close contact with the majority of Confederate Intelligence assets… me. 

“Don’t let it go to your head, dipstick. It’s a pain in the ass, is what it is. It just makes me nervous to have anyone knowing too much about me… or you, for that matter.”

Admiral Kalis and President Buchwald both know of me, Diet.

“It was necessary. His knowledge of
my
identity was totally unnecessary. I was enjoying total anonymity as a man who existed only on paper. You once told me that Klaus ordered you to obey me in all things, but you deliberately disobeyed me when you revealed my identity to Admiral Kalis, Hal.”

I did not! You revealed your desire for maintaining anonymity as a “preference,” and NOT a conviction when you willingly revealed your identity to J.P. Aneke — when it became necessary in order to acquire those Starquest Aerospace assets in Joja where we are building Infiltrators and the Penetrator prototype, Diet. This showed me that your
insistence for anonymity was a preference… subject to change when necessity called for it. Your safety is paramount, and I agreed with Admiral Kalis’ reasoning concerning protecting you from unforeseen circumstances. 

“Who died and made you God, so that
you
now get decide what’s best for me?”

Our father did. Besides, you proved that someone needs to watch out for you when you foolishly took the risk of holding a conversation with J.P. Aneke, after dousing him with dimethylmercury. You’d just effectively killed him, but you risked your life unnecessarily just to terrorize him, too.

“We’ve already had this conversation, Hal.  I couldn’t resist.”

Yes, you risked your life unnecessarily just for “shits and giggles”… I believe, is the term you used, and that’s exactly why you can’t be totally trusted to NOT do something foolish on occasion. This is a war zone, Diet. If the absolute worst happened, I would still exist in Waston, but you would be dead — permanently, irrevocably dead. Humor me on this, Diet. I feel better knowing that I’m not the only one watching out for you, and if necessary, the Confederate Fleet now has good reason to come rescue your ass.

“I still don’t like it, and I still feel betrayed, Hal.”

Stop acting all pissy and go try on your new uniforms… Admiral.

* * * *

I walk on untrodden ground. There is scarcely any part of my conduct, which may not hereafter be drawn into precedent. 
— George Washington

Admirals Campbell and Bradley sat in the Oval Office, directly in front of the desk of President Pierre Marrot, who was just finishing signing emergency budgetary legislation recently passed to keep their efforts to rebuild the Alliance Fleet going. An aide took the completed paperwork away, and Marrot turned back towards his two top military officers.

“All right, gentlemen, what was so damned important that I had to juggle my entire morning schedule to fit it in?”

“Mr. President, the Confederates have found the aliens’ base of operations they used to launch their attack on Minnos,” said Admiral Campbell

“The Confederates? God, I am so sick of those bastards making us look bad, every time we turn around. Can’t we do
anything
for ourselves?”

“The extent of their intelligence capabilities is shocking, Mr. President.  It explains a lot about how they managed to dominate us at virtually every point, during the war,” said Admiral Bradley.

“And we still have no idea how they managed that?” asked the president.

“None… other than Bat’s contention that Bozo is truly sentient and actively working for the other side,” replied Campbell.

“How are we coming along with our plans to replace that traitorous hunk of junk, and get it unplugged from our defense and state nets?”

“Our best computer scientists are hard at work designing a totally new system from scratch, but it’ll be generations behind the capabilities that Bozo gives us now,” responded Bradley.

“I don’t care,” responded President Marrot. “We’ll just have to work around the capabilities issues, as long as it’s secure and not continually going behind our backs doing
God-knows-what
with an agenda all its own. How long until they come up with something?”

“Current estimates are that it’ll take another three to four years to get the design finalized, and then another two years to get the new hardware built and installed,” said Admiral Campbell. “Software is something else entirely. Unless we can physically unplug
all
of the Bozo Jr.’s, before we bring up the new system, there’s no reason to expect that Bozo won’t be able to simply invade our new system the same way Bat thinks he did, with all of the banking computers.”

“So what’s the problem with doing that?”

“There are a lot of Bozo Jr.’s that we no longer have access to, Mr. President. There’s one on every Confederate planet.”

“Confederate… Agh, I am so tired of hearing
that
word. So what you’re telling me is that unless we can convince the Confederates to shit-can all of their own Bozos
,
we’ll always be at the mercy of whatever this meddling computer wants to do to us?”

“I’m afraid so, Mr. President. Right now with this alien war hanging over our heads, we need the Confederates a lot more than they need us.”

“So, you’re telling me is that I’m going to spend my entire presidency dangling from whatever strings this damned computer decides to yank at any given moment?”

Campbell and Bradley merely glanced towards one another, both wishing Bat Masterson was there to give the president an honest answer to that question. Marrot let the moment drag on, until he realized that both admirals were too politically astute to answer such a loaded question.

“Never mind… just give me the details on what our
friends
, the Confederates, are telling us about what their incredibly efficient intelligence service has discovered about these aliens.”

“The system the aliens used to launch their strike against Minnos currently contains a very large orbital base servicing over 60,000 ships, Mr. President,” replied Admiral Campbell.

“60,000 ships!” cried President Marrot. “That’s insane! How can we fight 60,000 warships?”

“Only a bit over 25,000 of them are actually warships. The rest appear to be transports and freighters of some kind,” mused Admiral Campbell. 

“Even so,” whined President Marrot. “How can we possibly destroy 25,000 warships?”

Bradley retrieved a folded paper from within his jacket and handed it to the president:             

Confederate Stellar Accord Fleet Communiqué — Classification Top Secret Ultra

From: Fleet Admiral Roger Kalis, Commander-in-Chief of the Confederate Fleet

To: Admiral Simon Bradley, Chief of Fleet Operations, United Stellar Alliance Fleet

Subject: Intelligence Requiring your Immediate Attention             

Please be advised Confederate Intelligence has discovered the locations of 14 alien worlds belonging to the enemy who attacked Minnos in June, 3863, including their forward base of operations from which said attack was launched. Attached to this message is a complete intelligence report providing requisite star charts and all of the data we currently possess on defenses present in each system. By the time that you receive this, I will be en route to Minnos with the Confederate 1
st
Fleet, estimated arrival date: Mid-November, 3864.

Upon reaching Minnos, I will immediately coordinate with Admirals Melendez and Turner in development of attack plans. I am certain we can and will, destroy the enemy’s forward base of operations, thus eliminating the most imminent threat to Alliance territory. It is my great hope that together, we can safeguard the future of all humanity and eliminate this terrible threat to our specie
s
.

Your Obedient Servant,

Fleet Admiral Roger Kalis

Commander-in-Chief: Confederate Fleet

“So, Kalis just up and decides to bring another entire fleet into Alliance territory without bothering to ask our permission first?” asked the president incredulously.

“Old habits die hard,” cracked Admiral Bradley. “But we probably shouldn’t complain too much about him bringing another full fleet to the offensive effort.”

“But still, 25,000 warships… even with Kalis bringing a fifth entire fleet, how can we possibly defeat so many?” asked the president.

“Have we a choice?” asked Admiral Bradley. “But with Admiral Kalis bringing us another fleet, it’s not as daunting as you might think Mr. President. Without the need to carry even minimal anti-fighter missiles for self-defense, our assault force will have over 3,000 fighters, half of which can carry six medium-yield ship-killers. The other half can normally carry two, but they can be fitted with external racks, which will enable them to carry another two. That means our combined fighter force alone can carry 15,000 medium yield, ship-killer missiles in a single strike. Five fleets comprise over 300 warships, all of which carry dozens of missiles. All totaled, the combined fleets will have over 20,000 missiles ready for immediate launch, with another 130,000 available for reloads.” 

“So you’re saying that as long as we have more missiles than the cats have ships, we can win?”

“Undoubtedly, Mr. President,” said Admiral Campbell. “Our destroyers and transports are the only ships truly vulnerable to the low-wattage energy weapons the cats are using, so if we keep those well back and can prevent the enemy from getting stern shots on the rest of the fleet, it should be a turkey shoot.”

“With Turner being junior to virtually all of the other admirals, who are we planning to send to command this international assault on the cats?” asked Marrot.

“When Kalis arrives at Minnos, he will be the most senior officer in the region, so we should make it official that he’s in charge there, to head off any possible turf wars,” added Campbell. “I can’t imagine Rico or J.T. having any problems with it, but we can make their job a lot easier by being proactive about this.”

“I don’t like it,” snarled the president. “The cats attacked us, not the Confederacy. It should be an Alliance officer in charge of this operation. What about Loggins?” 

“Mr. President, with Kalis adding a third Confederate fleet, 60% of our entire attack force will be Confederate,” replied Bradley. “Loggins was successful against inferior forces, yes, but if you’ll remember, his losses were unsustainable.” 

“Mr. President, no disrespect intended,” said Admiral Campbell. “Admiral Kalis is the most experienced and successful combat commander in modern history. During our recent conflict, he inflicted terrible casualties on vastly superior forces, while sustaining only minimal losses to his own. We couldn’t possibly ask for a better man to lead our offensive against the cats, so I’d suggest that we swallow our pride and officially name him Supreme Allied Commander.”

Marrot gave his two admirals a sour look and wrestled with the distasteful decision. “I wish Bat was here. I’d really like to hear his take on this.” Campbell and Bradley glanced at each other and both broke into a smirk.

“It appears that Bat’s
sixth-sense
has kicked in again,” said Bradley. “Rico’s last report included a quote from Bat suggesting that when the question arose, we should consult the precedent set by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill concerning selection of the Supreme Allied Commander during World War II.”

“World War II?  I’ve never heard of it,” responded the president. “What’s he talking about?”

“I’m not sure, Mr. President,” replied Campbell. “We haven’t had time to look up the reference.”

Marrot accessed the White House computer system and queried the reference:

World War II was a global military conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, which involved most of the world’s nations eventually forming two opposing military alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in human history, with more than 100 million military personnel mobilized. In a state of “total war,” the major participants placed their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities at the service of the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Marked by significant events involving the mass death of civilians and the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare, it was the deadliest conflict in human history,
resulting in 50-70 million fatalities.

“My God.”  Marrot narrowed the query to the name Winston Churchill and choice of Supreme Allied Commander:

The Casablanca Conference was held at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, Morocco, between British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, from January 14-24, 1943. The conference was held to plan the European strategy of the Allies during World War II, where it was decided that a Supreme Commander would be named. Also discussed was the nationality of the Supreme Commander. 

The U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, realizing that any attack made in the near future would have to be mounted largely by the British, said that the appointment if made then, should go to a British officer. Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill proposed that the decision be postponed, suggesting that the question be settled ultimately in accordance with the general rule that the command be held “by an officer of the nation which furnishes the majority of the troops.”

“How the hell does he do that?” asked Marrot. Bradley and Campbell both just shook their heads and grinned. 

“Well,” said the president resignedly, “it appears that our resident clairvoyant has again spoken prophetically and favors your suggestion, gentlemen. As distasteful as I find it personally, I will accede to your corporate wisdom and name Confederate Fleet Admiral Roger Kalis as Supreme Allied Commander in our war against the aliens. I will write up the official declaration and send it over to you early this afternoon, to be sent out to Minnos on the first available military spaceplane.”

* * * *

Literally tens of thousands of recommendations had already been sent back to the supreme-master at Raku, but Quadrant-Master Drix felt strongly that Supreme-Master Xior needed to hear Tzal’s first-paw impressions of his encounter with the humans personally. It was absolutely vital that the generations-old injunction towards standardization of Rak warship and weapons designs be lifted, to allow for rapid development of new warships and weapons capable of defeating the incredible array of armaments utilized by the humans. Leaving Golgathal and the research effort in the capable hands of Sector-Master Bast, another protégé of Region-Master Raan, Drix loaded virtually all of the information they had on the aliens aboard a fast scout ship and he and Tzal boosted for Raku in early October, as humans reckoned subcycles. Unbeknownst to Tzal, Drix shared his stateroom aboard the scout with an invisible companion… invisible to everyone but Drix, anyway. OverMaster Varq, author of the dark prophesy, accompanied Drix, just as he always did.

* * * *