The Children of Ishtar

The Story Continues After 'Rendezvous'

The Children of Ishtar

After Rendezvous the conflict with the Imperium heats up

Map of the Combat Zone
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Part 1- Power Play

Beyond the last orbit in the Xi Pegasi A system, Shasta and Denali drift along absorbing immense amounts of data about the system and its inhabitants. Contacts Sierra-6014 and Sierra-6015 and their fighters have apparently satisfied themselves that the deception offered by the 107^th was a genuine departure from the system and entered orbit around (e). Although that keeps them in the general area, the range to Shasta and Denali continues to open as they drift and now stands at 35 million kilometers. As the second day of the mission concludes, the officers of the 107^th start enforcing off duty hours. The excitement of the activity and glimpse of the enemy has caused many of the crew to remain on duty for 24 hours or more. As empty coffee bulbs accumulate on bulkheads and any open surface, Linden knows that it will soon be counterproductive as fatigue induced mistakes get made. Better to head that off before it happens. Linden needs everyone sharp for tomorrow as a test of a new procedure to extend battery life is tested.

As the afternoon watch bell sounds the next day, Denali is ready to try a potentially tricky new procedure to recharge some of its battery capacity from its remotes. Denali is down to 60 hours remaining on her batteries before she would be forced to power up her plant and make herself visible to detection. Linden queries, "Thomas, range to nearest enemy vessel?" PO1 Thomas responds, "Sierra-6014 and Sierra-6015 are in orbit over (e) and their fighters appear to be stowed, range is 45 million kilometers, 10 hours 25 minutes at best observed speed." PO3 Serra has launched remotes 3 and 4 and guided them to replace remotes 1 and 2, and maneuvers remotes 1 and 2 close to Denali. Yamato and two of the engineers are suited up for EVA and are standing by the airlock on the quarterdeck. Kuznetsov and Shasta are closely monitoring the operation in case emergency intervention is required, however unlikely that may be. Linden hits the intercom to engineering, "Chief Braun, are you ready?" CPO Braun responds, "Yes, Sir. Ready and standing by for transfer." Linden acknowledges, "Very well, Chief." On the intercom to the quarterdeck, "Senior Chief, ready?" Yamato confirms, "Yes, Sir. Waiting on the word." Linden looks over to Serra, who gives a thumbs up, "Senior Chief, you are go." Yamato acknowledges, "On our way Sir." The EVA team proceeds into the airlock and begins the cycle. Once clear, they slide open the outer hatch and attach safety lines before moving along the hull towards engineering.

When they arrive at the port umbilical service hatch, they engage the manual override, and the hatch slides open revealing a very thick cable approximately 50 meters in length as well as numerous other ports and sockets. They begin to unwind the cable, but not all the way. To avoid using radio, however low powered, that might be detected Yamato plugs his suit auxiliary comm line into one of the comm ports in the umbilical hatch area and contacts the bridge via the intercom system. Yamato updates, "Sir, we are in position," and eyeballing remote 1, "Serra, bring remote 1 forward 35 meters." Serra responds, "Copy Senior Chief, remote 1 35 meters ahead." Maneuver thrusters fire a very short burst, and the remote begins drifting forward and when in position, a short burst from the braking thruster halts its progress. Yamato confirms, "Good forward, bring it in 20 meters." Serra confirms, "Copy Senior Chief, remote 1 20 meters in." After the maneuver is completed, "Well done, Serra," and Yamato dispatches the engineers with a wave. The tethered engineers gently engage their thrust packs to close the distance to remote 1 bringing the cable with them. When they arrive, they open the service panel and blink their work lights. Yamato waves his acknowledgement, "Chief Braun, we are ready for the connection."

Braun responds, "All set here Senior Chief, proceed with the connection." Yamato acknowledges, "Copy, Chief. Connecting." Yamato blinks his suit lights, and the engineers wave their acknowledgements and plug the cable into the socket on remote 1. They tap in a series of keystrokes on the keyboard next to the power port and a green light indicates power is flowing. They have instructed the remote to dump 90% of its battery power into the batteries on Denali. Within 15 minutes, the limit is reached, and the green light goes out. The engineers blink their suit lights and Yamato waves, and the engineers break the connections and close the service panel and thrust back towards Denali. Yamato reports the progress, "CO, remote 1 transfer is complete. Serra, maneuver remote 1 back on station and bring in remote 2. Chief Braun, stand by for second remote." The procedure is repeated for remote 2 and after completion the power cable is stowed, Yamato disconnects his intercom connection, and the team returns to the airlock and re-boards Denali. On the bridge, Linden checks the available battery power on Denali, and it is up to 72 hours. They have gained a whole twelve hours. He queries Serra, "How long before the remotes recharge their batteries?" Serra replies, "Given the intensity of Xi Pegasi A, they will fully recharge in 18 hours even this far out. Closer to the star it could be as little as 12 hours. For a small dim star, even closer in, it could be 10 days." Linden absorbs the information, "Very well, Serra. Shasta, do you copy?"

Kuznetsov replies, "We copy. This can keep us on station almost indefinitely, especially if we have all of our remotes out. We are launching ours now. Launch your remotes 5 and 6 as well. We will run our recharge procedure immediately." Linden signals Serra to proceed with the launch as Yamato enter the bridge. Linden turns, "Great work Senior Chief. It worked as planned. With all of the remotes out that gives us an extra 36 hours every 18 hours. Do you think the engineers are up to doing that every couple of days?" Yamato nods, "Yes, Sir. I doubt you could stop them without welding the airlock shut." Linden chuckles, "Very well, Senior Chief. Carry on." Linden gives thought to what everyone is probably thinking, that adding solar panels to the ship itself would reduce the dependency on the remotes for keeping the batteries charged or at least slowing the rate of consumption. Notes for the next mission.

Linden and Appleton in Denali Wardroom Enlarge	Senior Chief Yoshiro Yamato Enlarge	Chief Petty Officer Heinz Braun Enlarge

Part 2- News from Charlie

As preparations for Operation Tempest Green get underway, Naval Station Vincent - Ross 271 is a hive of activity. The organizational changes anticipated by Admiral Mendez are beginning to materialize. Ground forces will be organized into the newly formed 41^st Frontier Corps, including Army and Marine units. Two new Naval fleets have been created, the 9^th Frontier Fleet and the 10^th Frontier Fleet, although no assets have been assigned to the 10^th. As yet, the only complete ground unit that has arrived at Ross 271 is the 2^nd Marine Infantry Battalion. There are plenty of briefings and training to keep the Marines busy until deployment to 51 Pegasi is ordered. Some ships attached to the 9^th Fleet have begun to arrive in ones and twos, summoned from their usual patrol assignments. As July passes, more assets arrive, specifically the newly formed 113^th Reconnaissance Squadron made up of Sheldrake class patrol gunboats arrives as a unit. These are very small vessels about one third of the size of Denali with a crew of 11 in very cramped quarters and negligibly armed as befits their usual role of customs enforcement. Heavier units are expected before August, including the 24^th Destroyer Squadron, the 208^th Destroyer Squadron, and the 14^th Cruiser Squadron. Two additional destroyer squadrons are expected before September, and it is hoped that a heavy cruiser squadron will be made available.

Operational planning is underway around the clock. Supplies and all of the logistics required for offensive operations have begun arriving and are being repackaged for efficient deployment to support the planned operations at 51 Pegasi. The rough plan is to jump into the system with a strong task force and clear the orbital space around (c) to allow ground forces to land and get a foothold. Ground forces will establish a base in the northern boreal zone of (c) where it is believed the invaders do not have a presence yet and combat engineers will construct several forward airbases to allow for atmospheric craft to provide support for future operations. Supplies will be stockpiled on the surface in case the orbital space cannot be held indefinitely. Operations in the known enemy occupied areas can then commence. The attacking force will stage at LP 463-23 which is only a week's jump from 51 Pegasi, so reconnaissance and intelligence information will be much more current than if they were to remain at Ross 271, which is 3 weeks distant. Almost unnoticed amidst all of the activity in the system, a small, sleek 2-crew vessel emerges from jump space and makes its way to the orbital dock around Ross 271 (b1).

On the evening of July 22^nd, Jason Moore is working late in his office when he gets the notification that the agent codenamed 'Roscoe' has returned from his mission. He immediately begins reviewing the mission dump while waiting for Roscoe to report in person. He is surprised by some of the news and impressed at the quality of the intelligence that Fred and the two surviving drones have gathered. He immediately wakes up his staff to begin in depth analysis, but the immediate takeaways are stunning. We are not dealing with a one or two system entity, but clearly a large and established interstellar power. This rates an immediate briefing for the Naval brass who are planning the offensive at 51 Pegasi. He forwards a copy of the raw data to a courier vessel to take it further up the chain in TIS. He then picks up his desk communicator and gets the duty officer on the line and requests an immediate meeting with Admiral Mendez. The duty officer briefly places him on hold while contacting the Admiral. When the line picks up again, the Admiral speaks, "Mr. Moore. I take it you have some news?" Moore replies, "Yes, Admiral. Very interesting news." As the Admiral responds, "Very well. My conference room in 15 minutes," Roscoe enters Moore's office. Moore confirms the meeting, "Yes, Sir. 15 minutes," and disconnects. Moore welcomes Roscoe, "Welcome back. This is good stuff; the Admiral wants to hear all about it in 15 minutes. Are you up for a briefing?" Roscoe nods, "Sure thing. I've had 3 weeks to review it. Will there be coffee?"

Ten minutes later, Moore and Roscoe arrive at the Admiral's office and there is already a gathering of Navy, Marine, and Army officers, and representatives from the Colonial Administration as well. Casual greetings are exchanged until the yeoman opens the conference room doors, and the crowd files in and takes seats at the conference table. Roscoe helps himself to a cup of coffee and sits next to Moore. Shortly afterwards, Admiral Mendez and his adjutant Captain Stepanov enter and take their seats, and silence descends over the room. Mendez starts, "Good evening. Thank you all for being here. Mr. Moore of the Terran Intelligence Service has just received fresh information from 51 Pegasi and will brief us on the situation. Mr. Moore." Moore begins, "Thank you, Admiral. Good evening everyone. I will turn the briefing over to someone who I will only identify as Roscoe to present his findings. I will provide copies of the raw intelligence to any interested parties subject to need to know, please pass requests to my office. In the meantime, Roscoe?" Roscoe finishes his sip of coffee, "Good evening. I have just returned from the 51 Pegasi system fifteen minutes ago and I will share the highlights with you now. We have a much clearer picture of the Enemy; it is referred to as the Imperium, or an Imperial style of government of unknown size and resources." There is a ripple of conversation around the table. The Admiral lets it run.

Roscoe sips his coffee, "The forces identified on 51 Pegasi (c) are from at least six organizations, four are military branches, one paramilitary, and one probably civilian. The Imperial Army, the Imperial Navy, the Imperial Marines, the Imperial Scout Service comprise the military services present; the Imperial Security Directorate appears to be related to law enforcement but seems to have broader powers, possibly espionage and counterespionage as well; and the Imperial Bureaucratic Corps appears to be a civilian agency tasked with ensuring the wheels of government turn. I will briefly introduce what is known about each organization, my more detailed preliminary analysis is included with the intelligence package." Roscoe sips his coffee, "You have all seen an example of the Imperial Army. It was the first image that was captured, and here are a few more," displays images of soldiers on holodisplay, "As you can see, they are typically equipped with combat armor and assault rifle type weapons. You will note that there are some variations in uniform and armament, some wear helmets, most do not; it almost appears to be a personal choice but may have other significance. There appears to be a wide diversity in shoulder insignia and markings on the armor, even within the same unit. It is unclear why this is the case, although projecting our Terran experience with feudal societies, it is possible these troops are contributed by lower nobles under levy as a condition of their fiefdom to a superior noble and the markings may be coats of arms or the like. Again, that last part is conjecture. One interesting thing is the blue hair seen on some of these soldiers. It appears that these particular individuals may be officers of some sufficiently high rank, and it does appear to be dyed. This phenomenon has been noted across all branches. Army personnel behave quite correctly and politely towards the civilians, respecting private property, personal space, and always paying for goods."

Roscoe again sips his coffee, displaying Navy personnel, "These are examples of Naval personnel. So far, they have confined their groundside activities to the port, and only two naval vessels have been seen touching down at the port. Interactions between our sources and the Naval personnel were rare, their main destinations on the port were the snack bar and the Security Directorate offices in that order. We may be able to deduce something about chow on Imperial Navy vessels from that. On the way out of the system, we counted 15 ships in the vicinity of (c) all probably combat vessels. Details are in the package."

Roscoe takes a breath and then displays images of Scouts, "The Imperial Scouts are a military branch focused on exploration and technical matters. Although there is a rank structure, the observed overall demeanor of the Scouts is relaxed, almost academic. Scout personnel are quite friendly towards civilians, are polite and correct, and generally make an effort to understand the civilians, both linguistically and culturally. As with the Army, there are variation in the uniforms and insignia, probably for the same reasons."

Roscoe changes the display to Marines, "These images of Imperial Marines have been taken from a distance during a ceremonial function that I will touch on later. You will note the bright red or crimson heavy combat armor, again with variations. This is the only time Marines have been seen, so our assets have not had much opportunity to collect intelligence."

Roscoe sips his coffee, "This brings us to the Security Directorate. Accounts from our source portray this branch as a secret police type entity, and the other branches appear to try to distance themselves from them, as if not wanting their attention. It has been observed that all of the other branches respect the ranks of the other branches, but it seems that the Security Directorate does not. The Security Directorate arrived a few weeks after the Army took control of the surface, and began security enhancements, including the construction of a perimeter fence around the port and access gates at the road entrance. They have implemented a permanent checkpoint on the road from Town to the port. They have also conducted cursory interrogations of several civilians and placed at least one civilian under surveillance. Access to the port and other facilities is controlled by means of access cards, which have been issued to a few civilians, and new ID cards as well for the civilians that hold Imperial rank."

Loud discussion breaks out around the table, Mendez is forced to speak up, "Settle down. I'm sure Agent Roscoe will elaborate." Roscoe nods, "Thank you, Admiral. As of 1 July, three of our civilians had been given rank in Imperial services. Andrea Marino and Ron Smith of the Colonial Administration have been made Facility Leader, or Kiishik, and Bureaucrat 2^nd Class, Diimubeg Aapa, in the Bureaucratic Corps, respectively. To the best of our understanding, Facility Leader is roughly equivalent to a junior officer in military branches. This seems to align with Ms. Marino's status as the de facto Commissioner for the CA on 51 Pegasi (c). Bureaucrat 2^nd Class might correspond with a senior NCO in military terms. These are not perfect analogies as it is a civilian organization, and we're quite frankly unsure of what the equivalent military ranks might be in any case." Roberta De Luca indicates she has a question, "Yes, Ms. De Luca?" De Luca inquires, "You mentioned Andrea Marino is Commissioner, why not Anvi Chaudhary?" Roscoe looks apologetic, "I apologize, I thought you might have heard. Mr. Chaudhary was killed in the fighting at the CA building on 25 March. I don't know the circumstances." De Luca looks saddened and nods her understanding, "Thank you. Please continue."

Roscoe sips his coffee and continues, "The third person holding rank is Fred Doyle, the CA Communications Supervisor. He holds a rank in the Scout Service of Technician 1^st Class, or Nakdur Aga. It should be understood that these ranks do not mean they actively participate in these services. However, the Army, Scouts, and Bureaucrats salute them as appropriate and treat them as if they are members of those services. It would seem that the Imperials are treating our civilians as if they are already part of the family."

Roscoe continues, "To that last point, I mentioned a ceremony earlier. We have footage of the arrival of the new lady of the manor," the footage Fred took at the sunrise ceremony appears on the display, "Apparently, 51 Pegasi (c) or possibly the entire system, or Kugarder as it is known to the Imperials, has been granted to the Baroness Marsaka Farlorim of Egardu, Kugarder, scion of House Marsaka. This is an impressive piece of theatrics; I am guessing that it is a standard formula and probably gets used a lot when possessions transfer. She takes the stage and apparently takes formal possession of the planet or system, unclear which, from her parents Their Graces Archduke Marsaka Abrashan and Archduchess Marsaka Tarlavik of Shurkasi Sector, Amurdas, Shekkhari, and Dapirka, Holders of Imperial Favor, Heads of House Marsaka. Note the reference to a male, the first time we have come across one; one more mystery to unravel. The details of the ceremony are not strictly relevant to your upcoming mission, but I have included them in the briefing to illustrate the mindset that drove the invasion in the first place. It also illustrates how much we have yet to learn about the Enemy and their motivations."

There is silence around the table as the ceremony footage loops to the beginning. Mendez breaks the silence, "Agent Roscoe, this is an incredible insight into our adversary. The amount of data gathered will keep our various analytical sections busy for some time," and to the table, "in addition to the mindset of the Enemy, there is a great volume of actionable intelligence regarding military operations, so let's make the most of this. Mr. Moore, do you have anything to add?" Moore responds, "Arrangements have been made for more pickups from 51 Pegasi (c), and we expect more data in a few weeks. Detailed analysis of the physiology of the Enemy is underway at a classified location, and we are hoping for preliminary results soon." Mendez nods, "Again, forward requests for the raw intel package through Mr. Moore's office. I'm sure it will also include Agent Roscoe's preliminary analysis as well." Moore nods. Mendez continues, "Very well. This concludes the briefing."

Admiral Alberto Mendez Enlarge	Captain Preston Stepanov Enlarge	Jason Moore Enlarge

Part 3- Skirmish

The 107^th reconnaissance Squadron is approaching 30 days on station in the Xi Pegasi A system. So far, they seem to have been undetected by enemy forces and have not even had patrol vessels in their immediate vicinity. Their data gathering efforts have yielded a phenomenal amount of data regarding the activity in the system, including highly detailed and long-term observations of suspected combat vessels, as well as a variety of civilian merchant traffic as well. Recordings across the broadcast spectrum from (d) will provide a huge amount of insight into the daily workings of Enemy society. The daily officer's conference is underway, with Linden and Appleton in Denali's wardroom. Linden is updating the group on Denali's status, "Consumables are at 50%, we could manage another 28 days on station and get back to Ross 271 with crumbs to spare. But the real issue, and Shasta's as well, is data storage. We were expecting to shadow a few dozen ships and collect astrometric data, not eavesdrop on a planet with maybe a billion inhabitants and a busy port. Even with our increased capacity, our computer section estimates we have less than two days before we start having to pick and choose what we want to keep, and that is not really our call." Kuznetsov concurs, "Correct, deciding what is valuable is not our call. Add to that the data we have already gathered is starting to get stale. It doesn't do anyone any good floating around Xi Pegasi A. So, here's what we do. During forenoon watch tomorrow, we head for the barn. Make preparations accordingly. We will use the standard procedure to bring the plants online. If conditions are questionable, we may postpone. If there is nothing else for the group?" Head shakes around the virtual table. Kuznetsov closes out the meeting, "Very well. We will reconvene at 0700 tomorrow for a final go-no-go decision." The conference link drops.

Linden is on the bridge at 0600 to confirm crew readiness for the impending jump. All stations are ready, the jump solution is computed and standing by, and importantly, there are no vessels within 150 million kilometers. He joins Appleton in the wardroom at 0655 and pours himself a coffee, "Ready to head home?" Appleton nods, "I am. I can't wait to see the looks on the faces back at Ross 271 when we dump out this heap of data on them." Linden smiles, "No doubt, this will be one for the books." The conference link activates at 0700 and Kuznetsov starts the meeting, "Good morning. Is Denali ready for the return leg?" Linden responds, "All departments and systems are ready. No nearby traffic has been sighted." Kuznetsov continues, "Very well. Shasta is also at full readiness. We are Go for our jump to G 28-46 at 0815. Begin your power up procedure at 0710. Same procedure as last return trip, 6-hour max wait, leave a secure beacon if no contact before next jump. If there is nothing else? Shasta out." The conference link drops. Linden contacts engineering, "Chief Braun, begin standard power up procedure at 0710 and make ready for jump at 0815." Braun acknowledges, "Yes, Sir. Beginning in 5 minutes."

Linden heads for the bridge to monitor preparations. He keys the 1MC, "Attention all hands, morning watch will remain on duty until 0820, prepare for jump at 0815." PO1 Thomas pipes up, "CO, Sierra-6014 and Sierra-6015 appear to have detected our power up. They are breaking orbit around (e) and have launched Foxtrot-1050 and Foxtrot-1051. Range is 167.5 million kilometers, estimated time to intercept at best observed speed is 38 hours 47 minutes." Linden acknowledges, "Very well. Keep an eye on them, but I'm more worried about ones that we don't know about yet." Both Shasta and Denali are at full power at 0810. Kuznetsov checks in, "Shasta has green boards, what is Denali's status?" Linden replies, "Denali has green boards as well." Kuznetsov replies, "Copy Denali. Start the clock at 5 minutes. See you at G 28-46. Godspeed." Linden on the 1MC, "Attention all hands, clock is running, 5 minutes to jump."

After the jump commences, forenoon watch relieves the morning watch and life aboard settles into the routine existence of life in jump space. Twenty-nine days at zero-g have taken their toll on the cleanliness of the ship with all of the detritus of shipboard existence that normally gets swept up on a daily basis instead just floats around and it precipitated out of the air when gravity was restored. Yamato is a man on a mission and woe betide anyone who could be cleaning but isn't. Within 3 days, the ship has returned to its normal standard of cleanliness, with every surface mopped, wiped, or vacuumed at least twice. Various departments have begun preliminary analysis on the massive quantities of data gathered, firming up initial impressions, categorizing and tagging data to assist end users with finding items of interest. The nearly six-day transit to G 28-46 seems to fly by. At the 30-minute mark, the ship is at Condition Yellow in anticipation of emergence at the stellar jump point. Although not strictly required to complete their return leg to Ross 271, they plan to refuel from Walker on arrival. At the five-minute mark, the ship goes to Condition Red, and all stations are standing by. CPO Clark calls the timing, "CO, we're early by 2 minutes, emergence in 30 seconds." Linden acknowledges, "Very well," on the 1MC, "Attention all hands, emergence in 25 seconds."

Denali returns to normal space, and as Clark begins to orient the ship, Thomas calls out, "CO, probable hostile vessels in system. Designating Sierra-8926, Sierra-8927, Foxtrot 1052, and Foxtrot 1053. Starting tracks. 8926 and 8927 appear to be the same type as 6014." Linden inquires, "Do you have Shasta or Walker?" Thomas replies, "Negative on Shasta. Walker is maneuvering, climbing out of the well probably after filling her transfer tanks at (b). Our range to Walker is 5.6 million Kilometers, 1 hour 57 minutes. Walker is also 5.6 million kilometers from clear jump, 2 hours 33 minutes best speed. Sierra-8926 and 8927 are 8.7 million kilometers from Walker, 2 hours to intercept and 9.2 million kilometers from Denali, estimated time to intercept Denali 2 hours 7 minutes." Linden quickly reviews the ugly triangle shaping up on the tactical plot, "Thomas, what about the Foxtrots?" Thomas responds, "CO, the Foxtrots have changed course to intercept us, range 9.1 million kilometers, estimated time to intercept 1 hours 48 minutes." Appleton pipes up over the intercom, "CO, Garza is working up a solution for the next jump. We are in contact with Commander Choi on Walker. They are plenty worried, but glad to see us. They are standing by for updates." Linden replies, "Very well, XO. The plan of action is unclear at this point but will advise soonest."

Linden studies the plot again. Shasta is over five minutes late at this point, normally not even worth mentioning, but with the situation unfolding every minute is starting to seem significant. And there is the matter of where she will emerge. Although they try to emerge in close proximity, they rarely do. In theory, Shasta could emerge anywhere along the edge of the star's DTEZ, much further away from the action, or more worryingly, much closer. Linden faces a tough decision, especially given fate of Everest and Erebus at 51 Pegasi. Does he tie Denali to the old, slow Walker or preserve the intelligence they carry and jump away. The loss of Walker's crew would be a bitter loss, as would the loss of a tanker to possible upcoming fleet actions. The horrible calculus of war intrudes; the value of intelligence carried far outweighs the loss of a single vessel and the 71 lives she carries. But the equation doesn't balance in Linden's mind. Although the ship's names are different these are shipmates, always there when we needed them, doing a thankless job in backwaters at the edge of Human space.

Linden issues orders, "Clark, get us to Walker at best possible speed. Thomas, assuming the Foxtrots change course with us, what is their time to intercept? Mgembe, bring up visuals of the Foxtrots, let's see what they're packing. XO, advise Walker that we will meet them and escort them to clear jump. Have them ready to jump to BD+08 4887 with us." The crew jumps into action. Thomas updates the plot, "CO, our intercept point with Walker is 3.2 million kilometers from clear jump, estimated rendezvous time is 1 hour 6 minutes. The Foxtrots appear to be changing course to intercept us on the way back to clear jump with Walker, intercept time projected as 1 hour 14 minutes after we rendezvous with Walker. Our time to clear jump will be 1 hour 29 minutes." The images of the Foxtrots appears on his console, and Mgembe pipes up, "CO, images are on your console. They do not appear to be armed with the large type missiles but, assuming a symmetrical load, two medium sized missiles each." Linden replies, "Very well."

Over twenty minutes have passed since Denali emerged from jump, and Shasta finally arrives. Shasta has emerged within 10 million kilometers of Sierra-8926 and 8927, about 2 hours and 19 minutes distant from them. The command circuit lights up, "Denali, what is the situation?" Linden briefly outlines the situation for Kuznetsov. Thomas updates the tactical plot, "CO, 8926 and 8927 have turned their attention to Shasta, 2 hours 15 minutes to intercept." Kuznetsov acknowledges, "We see that as well. Shasta will take a course further out into the clear, that will increase the time to intercept to a little over 4 and a half hours." Linden concurs, "Very well. Our drive resets will be completed in 90 minutes, and we will jump with Walker as soon as we're out of the well." Kuznetsov confirms, "That's the plan then. At least we get some more intel to pass along." Linden replies, "Roger that."

Denali has met Walker, and they are both now heading for clear jump at best possible speed. The fighters will intercept them about 15 minutes before they can jump. Denali has positioned herself between Walker and the fighters, and they are anxiously watching the plot as the clock slowly ticks down and so does the range to the fighters. With about 20 minutes until jump, the fighters launch missiles. Thomas pipes up, "CO, the fighters have launched, four missiles total, we appear to be the target. No radiological signatures, they appear to be conventional. Estimate 3 minutes to impact." Linden responds, "Very well. Serra, active sensors are authorized, weapons are free." Serra slots her fire control key and acknowledges, "Copy, active sensors are authorized, and weapons are free. Point defense mounts are active; target solutions are being computed. Expect to engage in 30 seconds." Linden responds, "Very well," and on the command circuit, "Shasta, we are engaging inbound missiles, going active." Kuzetnsov acknowledges, "Copy Denali. We see active radars from Denali and the missiles."

At this time, the point defense targeting computer has focused on the first missile and using feeds from tactical and sensors has arrived at a high confidence solution and a calculated an elongated cone pattern solution to compensate for the high speed of the target. Serra pipes up, "Engaging." As the target enters firing range, the two pulse laser mounts lay down a pattern of 785 shots within a second hitting the missile with at least 30 pulses. The fire control computer efficiently moves through the remaining three targets and Mgembe adds, "CO, visual confirmation of hits on all four inbound." Thomas advises, "CO, the Foxtrots are continuing to close." Linden acknowledges, "Very well. Clark, sound collision. Keep us between the Foxtrots and Walker." As the collision alarm sounds, Serra pipes up, "CO, computing solutions on the Foxtrots, preparing to engage." The fire solution computer identifies one of the targets as Foxtrot-1053 and begins calculating a pattern of fire. It notes that the target is larger and slower than the previous set, but it is employing a countermeasure of some kind thus making the radar data feed a lower confidence source of data. The target also appears to be engaging in evasive maneuvers. After a few milliseconds the computer has arrived at a solution and as the target enters range it engages. A fraction of a second before the point defense laser engage, the fighters fire a burst of their own, hitting Denali amidships with burst of energy beams. The Denali's lasers engage and land 20 or so impacts on Foxtrot-1053 disabling it, possibly fatally. Denali rocks under the impacts of the fighter's weapons. The lights flicker momentarily but remain on. Yamato exits the bridge, "CO, checking damage." Linden acknowledges, "Roger that, Senior Chief."

The targeting computer looks at Foxtrot-1052 which has the same characteristics and countermeasures as 1053, so a template pattern is selected accordingly. Foxtrot-1052 appears to have broken off a direct assault on Denali and appears to try to bypass for a run at Walker. The point defense turrets begin to turn in anticipation of the target's course. A new factor to consider is that Denali is engaging in a drastic maneuver. The targeting computer arrives at a medium-confidence estimation that Denali is trying to shield Walker. It takes a few extra milliseconds to work out the effect of the new variables and arrives at a high confidence solution and engages the target. Serra pipes up, "CO, engaging Foxtrot-1052. Multiple hits. Mgembe, Thomas, can you confirm?" Mgembe answers, "Visual shows 1052 out of control and leaking gases or fluids." Thomas picks up the thread, "Foxtrot-1052 power plant is offline. Confirmed kill. Foxtrot-1053 power plant is continuing to fail, effectively out of action, probable kill." Garcia on comms adds, "Picking up probable distress beacons from 1052 and 1053, though they are coming off as automated." Linden acknowledges, "Very well," on the 1MC, "All compartments report damage. The XO and Senior Chief Yamato will be coordinating." Briefly glancing at his status board, he does see some hull damage to the main section on the port side, some atmospheric leakage, but nothing that will immediately endanger the ship. Linden checks in, "Shasta, did you copy all of that?" Kuznetsov replies, "We did. It looks like you're in the clear." Linden responds, "Checking damage now, will advise prior to jump." Kuznetsov concurs, "Very well. Standing by for updates."

Yamato contacts the bridge, "CO, we've got hull damage around port side frame 34. The damage control party is welding in patches; we should be sealed up in 15 minutes." Linden acknowledges, "Very well, Senior Chief. Advise when completed." All other compartments report no damage, and Linden advises Walker, "Commander Choi, this is Linden on Denali. We got scuffed up a bit and we will delay the jump until repairs are completed, in approximately 15 minutes. We will advise when we are ready. Is Walker ready?" Choi responds, "Roger Denali. Walker is ready and we will wait on your mark to start the clock."

Denali and Walker have reached clear jump and both ships are preparing for jump. The jump board on Walker is green, and Denali's is waiting on final repairs. The jump solution is locked in and awaiting the final word from Yamato. Shasta is now ready to jump, and Kuznetsov is watching with the progress great interest. Denali's board turns green as Yamato calls the bridge, "CO, repairs are complete. All compartments are ready." Linden acknowledges, "Very well, Senior Chief. Shasta, Denali and Walker have green boards." Kuznetsov replies, "Copy green boards. Denali, Walker, jump in 5 minutes, start the clock." Both Denali and Walker confirm. Five minutes later the 107^th Reconnaissance Squadron and their newfound charge leave G 28-46.

Chief Petty Officer Sarah Clark Enlarge	Commander Rober Choi Enlarge

Part 4- New Assignment

The remaining transit to Ross 271 is uneventful, and on arrival at Ross 271 the system has changed considerably. There is now a heavy TMF Navy presence in the system, with two destroyer squadrons and a cruiser squadron detected. They are immediately challenged on emergence and respond accordingly. Walker follows 4 minutes later, and Shasta 10 minutes after that. Once they have identified themselves, they are ordered to proceed to Naval Station - Ross 271 about 4 hours away at Walker's speed. Both Shasta and Denali have begun to dump their massive hoard of raw data from their mission, and even at ultra high-speed transmission rates are not finished by the time they dock and indeed will carry on for another 2 hours afterward. Denali has requested repairs and is directed to the now familiar repair bay area. Admiral Mendez has requested the officers from all three vessels to meet him in his office immediately after docking. Shasta and Walker dock first in the general docking area, and their officers proceed to the repair bay docking area to wait for Denali to finish tying down. Once the station umbilical is connected and the airlock is secured, Linden and Appleton disembark. Kuznetsov, Watanabe, and Choi and Riley from Walker are staring out of the viewing area window at the impressive looking damage on Denali's hull. Linden and Appleton join them and take in the sight of a large, scorched area on Denali's hull complete with jagged, melted metal. After a few seconds in silence, Kuznetsov speaks up, "Admiral Mendez is waiting for us." The spell broken, the officers depart towards the Admirals office.

A few minutes later, the group arrives at Mendez's office. The yeoman at the desk welcomes them and shows them into the conference room. As they officers help themselves to coffee while waiting for the Admiral. After a minute Mendez and Stepanov enter the conference room, and the officers snap to attention as the yeoman closes the door on his way out. The Admiral begins, "As you were. Please be seated." The Admiral takes his seat at the head of the table, with Stepanov at his immediate left. The other officers sit, grouping by ship. The Admiral starts, "Welcome back. I see you've brought some guests." Kuznetsov replies, "Yes, Sir. May I introduce Commander Choi and Lieutenant Junior Grade Riley of TMF Walker. We had occasion to have Walker temporarily join the 107^th Reconnaissance Squadron." The Admiral nods, "A pleasure, gentlemen. Welcome to Naval Station Vincent - Ross 271. Although I seem to recall you've been here before." Choi responds, "Yes, Sir. Walker was here five years ago for heavy maintenance." Mendez nods again, "So, Lieutenant Kuznetsov, please brief us on the highlights of your mission."

Kuznetsov begins, "The mission went smoothly all things considered. We arrived on station on schedule and immediately realized that Xi Pegasi was not what we thought it might be. We emerged at the (e) orbit and briefly attracted some interest from patrol vessels, but the deception plan worked well and we were able to avoid any further attention for 29 days on station, recharging our batteries from the remotes to avoid powering up and giving away our presence." Mendez inquires, "You say Xi Pegasi was not what we expected. Please elaborate." Kuznetsov continues, "Yes, Sir. As you will recall, the working assumption was that we would encounter some sort of forward operating base for hostile fleet elements. What we found was a highly populated system with a large amount of civilian traffic as well as some military traffic. Our initial tactical plot recorded 2183 active vessels." Mendez, surprised, interrupts, "How many? 2183?" Kuznetsov confirms, "Yes, Sir. 2183 active vessels in the initial plot. Visual observation of the (d) orbit identified 332 orbital facilities, with 478 vessels docked or in a low power state in orbit, as well as 1082 shuttle type craft, both passenger and cargo. That was just the initial plot, as on average 204 vessels left or entered the system daily. In total we ran tracks on 4991 probable civilian vessels and 150 probable naval or other combat vessels. We focused on the probable military vessels for more detailed investigation, including our old friend Sierra-1087. For clarity we changed the class designation from Sierra to Charlie for the probable civilian vessels." Mendez is nonplussed and glances over at the coffee urn, and Stepanov is furiously making notes.

Appleton as junior officer present stands, "Sir, would you like some coffee? Captain?" Mendez and Stepanov both speak up, "Black please." As Appleton pours two cups and sets them in from of Mendez and Stepanov, Kuznetsov continues, "In addition to the vessel surveillance data, we were also able to firm up our astrometric and navigational data. We have a much more detailed picture of the system. Xi Pegasi A (d) radiated an immense amount of radio energy, mostly in the clear, which was recorded for analysis. Although we provisioned for another 28 days on station, we decided to return because we were at the point of exhausting our data storage capacity. It is still downloading and will be for another hour and a half at least."

Mendez slowly shakes his head, sips his coffee, and prompts, "At what point did you pick up Walker?" Kuznetsov replies, "After we jumped from Xi Pegasi to G 28-46, Denali arrived first and was immediately confronted with Walker being pursued by two combat vessels and two fighters. Walker was still in the well after topping off her tanks at (b), about two and a half hours from clear jump. It was immediately clear that Walker was going to be intercepted approximately 15 minutes before jumping. Denali was closest to Walker, and given the narrow margin, Denali moved to intervene and cover Walker against the fighters, which had been determined to be carrying four missiles smaller than the ones fired at Denali at 51 Pegasi. The four missiles were fired and handily intercepted, and the fighters pressed their attack with energy weapons of a currently unidentified type, resulting in minor damage to Denali. Both fighters were hit, resulting in one confirmed kill and one probable kill. During this time, Shasta was pursued by two medium-sized combat vessels, initial impressions are that these correspond to destroyer class ships with unknown capabilities with the exception that their best observed speed is approximately 50% greater than Mountain class RSSVs. They were unable to close the range before all of the friendly vessels were ready to jump." The jump to BD+08 4887 was routine, as were conditions at BD+08 4887. After routine drive resets, we jumped to Ross 271 and that brings us to now. Denali is docked in the repair bay, Shasta and Walker are tied down at general docking."

The Admiral takes a sip of coffee, and ponders, "This is quite a bit of news that you've brought," to Stepanov, "Better get our analytical sections started immediately. Also get Mr. Moore access," to Choi and Riley, "Commander, Lieutenant, thank you for being here, I believe we have everything we need. Get Walker ready for action, you will be receiving orders shortly." Choi and Riley stand and with a nod to the officers of the 107^th exit the conference room.

Mendez resumes, "I'll bring you up to speed on developments while you've been away. Better still, Captain please play the StKM 1-2065 and Agent Roscoe briefings while I make some calls." The Admiral stands and exits the conference room. Stepanov replays the briefings delivered by the Marines and Roscoe. As the Admiral re-enters the room and sits down, the briefing replays are just concluding. The officers of the 107^th are silent and have thoughtful looks. Linden speaks up, "Sir, this is enormous news. Besides the new insights into the adversary, one troubling thing stands out. We're not sure the 15 ships at 51 Pegasi are the same ones involved in the initial assault. Do we have further information on which ships are at 51 Pegasi?" Mendez nods, "We have analyzed Roscoe's information, and the worrying answer is only two were tracked by the 107^th, Sierra-1104 and Sierra-1105. With Sierra-1087 at Xi Pegasi, that leaves 29 ships of the initial assault force unaccounted for." Kuznetsov inquires, "What is the plan regarding retaking 51 Pegasi?" Mendez answers, "Before we get to that, Lieutenant, there is additional information that you all need to be aware of. The document I am about to share is very sensitive and I know you'll act accordingly. Captain, please display Strategic Order 74." Stepanov displays the document. After allowing several minutes for reading, Stepanov closes the document. Mendez continues, "Clearly a lot has changed. Two new fleets have been created, the 9^th and 10^th Frontier Fleets. The 107^th Reconnaissance Squadron has been attached to the 9^th Frontier Fleet, as have the 113^th Reconnaissance Squadron, the 24^th and 208^th Destroyer Squadrons and the 14^th Cruiser Squadron."

The Admiral continues, "The plan, in very broad strokes, is to stage our counterattack forces at LP 463-23, and await final reconnaissance before jumping to 51 Pegasi, clearing and holding orbit, and landing ground forces. However, probing forces such as you encountered at G 28-46 may require us to spread our forces wider than we intended, and there is the matter of the 29 unaccounted for ships from 51 Pegasi. Granted, 11 of them were likely transport or logistic type ships, but it is still a formidable force that may have been reinforced in the intervening 3 months. The problem with LP 463-23 is that, assuming their jump drive tech is similar to ours, it is the first stop on a push forwards which given their probe now seems likely. It is also a key navigational point with 15 systems within jump range. We could wind up colliding with an enemy fleet there and fighting an impromptu battle there instead of a planned assault at 51 Pegasi."

Mendez sips his coffee and continues, "As of now, our assault task force consists of 20 destroyers and 10 cruisers, one light carrier with a full complement, and one fighter wing that will deploy from the destroyers and cruisers, plus troop transports and logistic vessels to keep the whole thing moving. This makes the Fleet Command planners, and quite frankly me, somewhat nervous. This is not an overwhelming advantage against ships that move considerably faster than ours, and pack some heavy weapons, at least those we've seen." Mendez sips his coffee, "And another worrying factor, is Ross 271 itself. If the 9^th is out in force, that leaves Ross 271 reliant on base defenses, which are formidable, but ultimately won't fend off a task force of destroyer and cruiser sized attackers."

Kuznetsov pipes up, "Sir, what can the 107^th do to assist?" Mendez nods, "Regrettably, it looks like it will play out like it did after 51 Pegasi. Fortunately, the data will do most of the talking this time, although Fleet Command will want a repeat of the briefing of 18 April as well as a detailed briefing of the Xi Pegasi mission tomorrow at 0900, so prepare accordingly. Hopefully the follow-on briefings won't last more than a week. Then there is the matter of the 113^th Reconnaissance Squadron." The officers of the 107^th look expectantly at the Admiral. Mendez elaborates, "They are a new unit, consisting of 10 Sheldrake class patrol gunboats. They have been gathered from several customs units and shipped here. They have not worked together previously and have been trying to work on their unit tactics for a few weeks but are not making good progress. Their entire careers have consisted of hanging around at jump points and intercepting merchants for customs inspections. Quite frankly, they are not up to the job we need them to do and not helped by the fact that Sheldrake class vessels are far less capable than the Mountain class RSSVs. To answer your question Lieutenant, what we need is for the 107^th to get the 113^th into shape for actual recon missions."

Kuznetsov stifles a groan, "Very well, Sir. We'll do what we can in between briefings. If there is nothing else, we need to prepare for tomorrow's briefing." Mendez nods, "No, nothing else. Carry on." The officers of the 107^th stand and file out of the conference room. On the walk back to their ships, Kuznetsov speaks, "Well, not what we were hoping for, but we'll make it count. Jake, Haruto, Tina, the three of you start reviewing service records of the 113^th and see what we have to work with. Also check the specs of the Sheldrake class patrol gunboats. I'll prepare for the briefing tomorrow. Be ready to jump in if I give you the nod, otherwise I'll do all of the talking. Let's get at it." Kuznetsov breaks off and boards Shasta, the others continue to Denali. They huddle up in the wardroom with coffee and lunch and start sifting through the 110 service records of the 113^th recon. Each ship has a crew of 11, consisting of a commanding officer, a petty officer, and nine ratings. The ships themselves are small and cramped and are generally employed as customs enforcement. The only thing that makes these conditions tolerable is they are employed close to ports on a rotating basis for one week on patrol and one week in port. Linden calls in Yamato to bring a senior NCO's perspective to the crew capabilities. The group works through the afternoon and doesn't find any glaring trouble spots, but there are quite a few of the crew that will need training and practice. One major concern is that these crews are used to the week-on-week-off rotation and getting them used to being on station for possibly 30 days plus transit time is going to be tough.

They turn their attention to the Sheldrake class patrol gunboats. They are capable of supporting missions of the envisioned duration but have never been employed in that capacity. They are about one third of the size of Denali and do not have much cargo capacity so the cannot carry jump pods, they do not carry remotes, and they are not equipped with quantum communications gear and cannot be upgraded at Ross 271 due to lack of spares. They are armed with a single point defense mount, but it is a lighter pulse laser, and the fire control system is an older model. The only real deployment strategy is going to be jumping in system and gathering data for as long as possible before jumping back out. One possibility might be to use the limited cargo space to deliver stay-behind remotes or other automated collection equipment.

Part 5- Spreading the News

The officers of the 107^th arrive outside of the base main briefing auditorium at 0855. There is already a crowd of officers, many familiar faces from the base, but there are a lot of new faces that have arrived from Fleet Command or the various units that have arrived in system. After some coffee, small talk, and introductions, Admiral Mendez approaches with a cluster of brass from Fleet Command. Among them is Rear Admiral Fabien Fournier commander of the newly formed 9^th Frontier Fleet. The assemblage comes to attention and Fournier puts them at ease, "As you were. I'm pleased to see everyone here," as he leads the group into the auditorium, "Let's take our places for this morning's briefings." The crowd files in and takes their seats. The auditorium resembles a university lecture hall, with the presenter at a desk and podium combination at the front center and seats arranged in elevated arcs so everyone has a good view. The entire wall behind the podium is a large display and there are several holoprojectors. Mendez signals Jason Moore and the 107^th to take seats in the front row so they can quickly take the podium. Fournier takes the podium as the last of the officers take their seats. The doors are closed, and the status indicator over the door turns red. Fournier begins, "Good morning," looking out over the assembled officers, "some of you I know, others I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting. We will get to know each other quite well in the coming days. As you are aware, we have been given a difficult mission, one that will see us transition from a peacetime force into a wartime force. This was not our choice but one that was made for us. So be it. It is a challenge that we will rise to and stand triumphant at the end. For the benefit of the new arrivals to this station, the briefings that you are about to hear contain highly sensitive information and do contain some highly surprising revelations. I now turn the podium over to Lieutenant Veronika Kuznetsov of TMF Shasta. Lieutenant." Kuznetsov stands and approaches the podium as Fournier moves aside and sits at the desk.

Kuznetsov scans the audience and then begins, "I know some of you have heard this briefing previously, but for the benefit of the new arrivals, I will repeat the briefing of 18 April." Kuznetsov presents her briefing again, this time adding emphasis in places to highlight certain points. There are outbreaks of murmurs among the new arrivals at certain points requiring Fournier to clear his throat which silences them immediately. As she concludes her briefing, Fournier stands, "Thank you Lieutenant. I will call on you later for your latest briefing," Kuznetsov takes her seat, "I now turn the podium over to Lieutenant Arthur Jackson, 1^st Platoon, 166^th Reconnaissance Company, 2^nd Marine Infantry Battalion. Lieutenant." Jackson takes the podium, "Good morning. This briefing was first given 2 June, and the second part of the briefing will be presented by Corporal Kabir Malhotra of Colonial Security." Jackson recounts the mission of first platoon on 51 Pegasi (c) and stands to the side and turns the podium over to Malhotra. Malhotra retraces the events of 25 March through 11 May. Fournier is obliged to raise his voice at several points during Malhotra's briefing, but Malhotra is able to deliver a polished report despite the interruptions. At the end of the briefing, Malhotra yields the podium to Fournier who continues, "Thank you Lieutenant, Corporal," Jackson and Malhotra return to their seats, "The next briefing is presented by Captain Victor Braxton, CO of 166^th Reconnaissance Company, 2^nd Marine Infantry Battalion for Lieutenant Carstairs who is unable to join us today. Captain." Braxton takes the podium, "Thank you Admiral. I am presenting the briefing originally given by Lieutenant Carstairs on 8 June." Braxton presents the briefing and somewhat unsuccessfully attempts to blunt the magnitude of the failure. As Braxton completes his briefing, Fournier moves on, "Thank you Captain. We will now take a 15-minute break, there are sandwiches and coffee outside, please refrain from discussing this information until you return to the auditorium."

Most of the assembled officers head outside for the restrooms and refreshments, others huddle up and discuss the briefings. During the break, Fournier approaches the officers of the 107^th who stand as he approaches. Fournier addresses Kuznetsov and extends a handshake, "Lieutenant, excellent briefing." Kuznetsov shakes his hand and responds, "Thank you, Sir. May I present my XO, Lieutenant JG Watanabe," Fournier shakes Watanabe's hand, "and Lieutenant Linden, CO of Denali," another handshake, "and his XO Ensign Appleton," and a last handshake. Fournier resumes, "It is a pleasure to meet you all. The 107^th has thus far represented our front line in this conflict, and this outstanding contribution is made even more remarkable that your unit is at 20% strength. I believe Admiral Mendez has told you about your next assignment, and I'm sure you were hoping for something more active, but I assure you of two things: although not terribly exciting, it is vital to bring all of our forces up to a standard that matches the 107^th, and secondly, I can guarantee that there will be plenty of more active missions in your future." Kuznetsov smiles despite herself, "Thank you, Sir. The 107^th is ready for any mission that it is called upon to do." Fournier nods, "Excellent. Carry on," and moves to speak with Jackson and Malhotra.

As the break period ends, Fournier resumes the podium and pauses while the stragglers enter with coffee and sandwiches in hand. In a moment everyone is settled, and Fournier continues, "To continue, Mr. Jason Moore of the Terran Intelligence Service will present his briefing. Mr. Moore." Moore takes the podium and begins, "Thank you Admiral. The briefing I am about to give was first presented on 22 July." Moore presents the briefing again, complete with imagery, forcing Fournier to quiet the room at several points during the presentation. Fournier reclaims the podium, "Thank you Mr. Moore. This next briefing will be from Lieutenant Kuznetsov and covers their most recent mission. Lieutenant." Kuznetsov takes the podium and recounts the events of their mission to Xi Pegasi with additional detail and presents imagery of the system and suspected combat vessels and samples of intercepted broadcast signals. She also covers the skirmish at G 28-46 along with imagery of the action. Unlike earlier presentations, this presentation is met with absolute silence, as if the magnitude of the situation has finally sunk in. Fournier resumes the podium, "Thank you, Lieutenant." Fournier looks out over the audience, "There you have it. The situation as reported from the front lines of this developing conflict. There are difficult challenges ahead, but I am confident that we will rise to meet and overcome them. Although the adversary appears to have overwhelming capabilities and plenty of experience with offensive military operations, those factors work in our favor; it leads to arrogance, overconfidence, and rigid thinking. We may be new at this, but we are fast learners and have a determination born not from family pride, but from the actual lives of our families. At the critical moments, when it counts the most, we will be able to dig deep because we fight for so much more than adding a coat of arms to our flag. We will fight as if we can and must win. Thank you all for being here this morning."

In the lobby, the 107^th waits for the senior officer of the 113^th, Lieutenant JG Aidvaith Patil, to exit the auditorium. Having spotted him, Kuznetsov moves to intercept, "Lieutenant Patil, I am Lieutenant Kuznetsov. We will be working together for a short while to get the 113^th ready for front line assignments." Patil responds, "Pleased to meet you. I look forward to working together." Kuznetsov nods, "Excellent. Please have your officers and NCOs report to the repair bay at 1500." Patil acknowledges, "Very well. Will there be anything else?" Kuznetsov replies, "No, carry on," and Patil departs. On the walk back to their ships, Kuznetsov outlines the plan, "We'll start them off with a touch of drama, then we'll take the officers aside and get to know them, and Yamato and Petersen will get to know the NCOs."

At 1500, the officers and NCOs of the 107^th are waiting in the observation area of the repair bay. The leadership component of the 113^th approach on time and after introductions Kuznetsov begins, "Good afternoon," motioning to Denali undergoing repairs, "To start off, please direct your attention to Denali." Workmen and repair bots are cutting and welding on the port-side hull of Denali, with lots of sparks and welding arcs. Kuznetsov continues, "As you can see, this damage is from our last mission when we bumped into an enemy probe in G 28-46. This is a mere scratch, compared to other damage sustained by the 107^th. Lieutenant?" Linden has moved over to the wall opposite the observation windows where there is a large display showing Denali after her return from 51 Pegasi, "This damage occurred during the invasion of 51 Pegasi," the 113^th complement turns to face the display, "As you can see, the entire starboard atmospheric stabilizer was destroyed by a single missile strike. It was only due to quick work by the crew that Denali avoided complete destruction. This next footage is of Everest," the footage of the direct hit on Everest plays, showing the ship tumbling out of control with a gaping hole in the engineering sections, "Everest was not so fortunate." Silence falls over the 113^th and Linden continues, "This footage is of Erebus," the footage shows the hit on Erebus and her determined effort to continue if only for a few seconds, "She was also not so fortunate." The silence continues, "I would like to show you the fate of Hammersmith, Matterhorn, and Olympus Mons, but we don't know what happened to those three ships." Glancing at the display, Linden continues, "But we have a fair idea. Lieutenant." As the 113^th complement turns to face her, Kuznetsov resumes, "I hope this has made an impression. Your transition from your usual customs inspection duties to combat zone reconnaissance will need to be complete. It my fervent hope that you will never be standing here showing new arrivals the loss of 228 of your shipmates." Kuznetsov looks over the faces of the 113^th and sees that the dramatic approach seems to have found its mark. Kuznetsov begins, "Senior Chief Yamato, Chief Petersen, take charge of the NCOs. Officers will join the 107^th on board Shasta." The assembly breaks up, and Yamato herds the NCOs aboard Denali, and the officers follow Kuznetsov aboard Shasta.

Over the next few weeks, there is plenty of training and simulator work with the 113^th, as well as in-system exercises. They are able to recruit Walker to train for refueling, an activity that the ships of the 113^th did not engage in at all in the course of the more usual duties. Practice drills also include bringing the ships' power plants to standby and restarting, a skill which will definitely be needed on missions. Unfortunately, the Sheldrake class only has 24 hours of battery capacity and that cannot be readily upgraded. In consultation with the yard engineers, the have test-fitted solar panels to Jasper, the newest ship in the 113^th. A good deal of time is spent testing both the hardware and usage of the panel charging system, and after 2 weeks, it is found that with sufficient stellar intensity, such as close in to Ross 271 or even the outer system of Xi Pegasi A, it can extend the battery life indefinitely, though in the dim outer system of Ross 271 they are only able to extend mission time by 8 hours which is promising enough to proceed with fitting panels to all of the gunboats, plus Shasta and Denali.

The Sheldrake class patrol gunboat does not carry remotes and does not have the cargo capacity to launch any directly from the cargo bay either, causing a slight reduction in gathering ability. In any case, the lack of quantum communications gear would mean communications with the remotes would involve standard radio communications which would be detectable or jammable by hostile forces. The Sheldrakes are armed with a lightweight point defense mount, sufficient to engage an incoming missile or fighter, but the fire control system itself is an older model. The software has been upgraded, but it is still limited and would not have been sufficient to hold off the attack at G 28-46, at least not individually. In brainstorming with the officers and crews of the 113^th, they decide to try a new tack. It appears to be possible to mount two ASM426b missiles on the hull of the gunboats. The ASM426b is a high-speed conventional warhead missile that can inflict a respectable amount of damage on a medium sized ship and is agile enough to have a fair chance of engaging a fighter. Working with practice dummy missiles is not the favorite activity of the 113^th, because it requires the firing ship to retrieve the missile at the end of the exercise, somewhat like retrieving lost golf balls. After 2 weeks, the 113^th has graduated to exercises with other units in the system, particularly the destroyer squadrons. The inter-unit exercises are a key step in the training process, getting the 113^th used to the feeling of being hunted by an adversary many times their size and capabilities. Though still a bit green, the 113^th is showing real progress.

Admiral Fabien Fournier Enlarge	1st Lieutenant Arthur Jackson Enlarge	Corporal Kabir Malhotra Enlarge

Part 6- Cousins

During the ongoing training and preparations at Ross 271, a small, stealthy ship emerges from jump space and quietly makes its way to the restricted TIS docking area of the station. A lone figure disembarks and hurriedly walks to Moore's office. Moore is already reviewing the data download and scratching his chin in contemplation. There is a knock at his office door, and Moore answers, "Come in," as the TIS agent enters and approaches the desk. Moore welcomes the agent, "Tom, have a seat. I've just been checking out the report from Boreas. This is incredible stuff. Hang on a second while I let the brass know and then I'll bring you up to speed on current events here." Moore picks up his desk handset and connects to the duty officer, "This is Moore, we have new information. Please connect me with Admiral Mendez," Moore waits for a few moments, "Admiral? This is Moore. The preliminary report has arrived from Boreas." Mendez replies, "I take it this is as revealing as previous news?" Moore confirms, "Yes, Sir. This plus our early analysis from the Xi Pegasi data paint a rather interesting picture." Mendez responds, "Be ready to brief at 1800 at the main auditorium, I'll alert everyone who needs to attend." Moore acknowledges, "Yes, Sir. 1800 at the auditorium," and disconnects. Moore then spends 30 minutes briefing Tom as to the current situation and bringing him up to speed on the preliminary analysis of the trove of data gathered by the 107^th and the remaining 2 hours getting the briefing together.

Captain Stepanov contacts the 107^th and informs the officers of the impending briefing, "A TIS courier has arrived, and Mr. Moore will also share some of their preliminary analysis of the data you collected. The briefing will be at 1800 at the main auditorium." Kuznetsov replies, "Thank you, Sir. We'll be there." Stepanov drops the connection, and Kuznetsov looks around the wardroom at the other officers of the 107^th, "It's weird. Does anyone else have that 51 Pegasi spooky feeling?" Linden laughs, "I think that'll wind up being the unit motto for the 107^th. But, yes, just the Captain's tone of voice kind of put a chill down my spine." Watanabe and Appleton just nod. Kuznetsov gets them back on task, "Ok, let's see if we can finish these evals before 1745."

The 107^th arrives at the auditorium at 1750, and there is already a small crowd gathered in the outer lobby. There are sandwiches and coffee, which are going quickly as it is evening chow time for most of the attendees. There is a buzz of excitement and anticipation, but somewhat unfocused as nobody is sure what might be coming. Fournier and Mendez enter the outer lobby and the assembled officers snap to attention. Fournier acknowledges, "As you were. Everyone bring your coffee and sandwiches and please take your seats," and continues into the auditorium and takes the podium. As the doors close and the status light turns red the last of the attendees take their seats. Fournier begins, "Good evening. The results of the preliminary analysis of the remains of an enemy soldier have just arrived from the classified laboratory where the remains are undergoing intense study. In addition to those results, there have been preliminary findings from the analysis of the vast amount of data collected at Xi Pegasi. Jason Moore of the Terran Intelligence Service will now brief us on these findings. Mr. Moore."

Moore takes the podium and scans over the audience, "Good evening. As Admiral Fournier has said, we have the results of the preliminary analysis of the remains of an enemy soldier killed in action at StKM 1-2065," displays an image of the soldier from the shoulders upwards, "One of the most obvious questions about the solder is: was she human or just happened to look human. That question was answered almost immediately but raised some very troubling questions in doing so. Yes, by DNA analysis she is human." A ripple goes through the audience. Moore continues, "Furthermore, detailed analysis of her genome pinpoints her ancestral origin to the Tigris, Euphrates, or Indus river valleys, probably 15,000 years ago." Another ripple through the audience. Moore gives it a second to die down, "Some additional information was discovered during the analysis of her genome. Her genome shows indications that it was artificially modified probably about the same time as her ancestors were removed from Earth. I am personally unsure of the exact meaning of this discovery, but the modification appears to be a partial parallel strand of DNA has been somehow attached to her genome in such a way that it is and yet is not part of her DNA. Apparently, this parallel strand acts as a modifier to the underlying DNA without technically being part of it. It is fused to her DNA by a technique unknown to our science. This genetic modifier sequence is derived from another terrestrial species, Panthera Leo, or more commonly known as the lion."

There is an outburst of chatter from the audience forcing Fournier to intervene to restore order. After silence is restored Moore continues, "This genetic modifier does not affect physical appearance or capabilities of the body, there are no claws or fangs, the structure of the organs and brain appear to be entirely human as well. To date there is only one apparent effect of this genetic modifier; based on analysis, the population would be 90 to 91 percent female." Another ripple. Moore continues, "This would certainly account for the complete presence of females among those we have encountered in the field. At this time, the researchers have found no explanation of the blue pigmentation of the skin, and although there are variations in shading, based on our observations it appears to be universal."

Moore takes a breath. "As Admiral Fournier mentioned, I will also be presenting some of the preliminary findings and analyses of the absolute trove of data brought back by the 107^th from Xi Pegasi, or Ulikar as it is known locally. I won't go into excruciating detail but imagine if you were to capture every news and entertainment broadcast from Earth or Prometheus for a month. In addition to the reconnaissance and surveillance of hostile shipping, that is the amount and type of data that we received. The vast majority of the information was in the clear or lightly encrypted, thus allowing us to begin to piece together the languages and cultural details of life on Ulikar," Moore activates the display screen behind him and various video feeds recorded at Xi Pegasi display, "Our job was made quite a bit easier because the languages we were trying to decipher were merely foreign to us, not, in fact, alien. Once we were able to start to break down linguistic structures and basic words from context, our progress accelerated. We have reached a point where we have been able to identify a name for our adversaries. Ishtaari. The Children of Ishtar." Appleton sits bolt upright on hearing the name. Moore sees her and a couple of others recognize the name. The display behind Moore goes to a split screen, with one side appearing to be an image of a clay or stone tablet with an image of a goddess with a female lion at her side. The other side of the image is a much more realistic image of a blue-skinned goddess with a female lion at her side. Moore dives in, "The image on the left is Ishtar from the antiquities collection of the Cultural History Museum in Ankara, Turkey, Terra, and the image on the right is Ishtar from a religious themed broadcast from Ulikar. This is not a coincidence. The enemy are our distant cousins, bear this in mind. They will tend to think in similar ways to us, have similar motivations, have similar ambitions and fears. At the same time, Ishtaari are a caste-based society, which makes them somewhat rigid and restricted in their choices of action which, as we discern what these are, will be of enormous help to our planning efforts." Moore takes a sip from a bottle of water nobody remembers seeing, "Now on to some geopolitical information. From the general information that was collected, mainly from educational and news programming, we have established a very rough idea of the size of the Imperium. It stretches generally coreward and spinward along the Orion Arm of the Milky Way, spanning to the Sagittarian Rift and towards the junction of the Orion Arm and Sagittarian Arm covering approximately 2100 light years."

Silence falls over the auditorium, as the enormity of the enemy presence sinks in. Moore nods, "There have been references to the number of populated systems contained in the Imperium. Note that is information is likely out of date as it must take quite a while for news to travel across 2100 light years, however the estimate is between 800,000 and 875,000 systems with a population of a million or more, many in the billions, and an unknown number of less populated systems." Dead silence greets the news. Again, Moore nods, "The Imperium is divided into an unknown number of overarching domains called Sectors, each held in fief by major family house and beholden to the Imperial House. Each Sector appears to be subdivided into smaller fiefs beholden to the Sector nobility, and so on down to the planetary level or below. We believe that we are entangled with a Sector called Shurkasi held by House Marsaka, who were referenced in my briefing of 13 days ago. They appear to ultimately control approximately 550 major planets with populations of 1 million or more, many in the billions, as well as an unknown number of lesser planets." More silence as Moore sips his water, "From news programming, we believe the incursions into 51 Pegasi and StKM 1-2065 were undertaken to add weight to the dowry of Baroness Marsaka Farlorim, daughter of the Archduke and Archduchess of the Shurkasi Sector." The silence is now born of disbelief. All of this for a dowry. Moore continues, "Ishtaari know power politics like no Terran ever did. There is probably armed rivalry between the major or even minor ruling families, this is perhaps something we may be able to exploit at some point. I believe the good news is that we are not fighting the entirety of the Imperium, just a single noble family looking for more wealth." Moore wraps up, "For anyone interested in more in-depth insights into the information gathered, copies of our analysis can be obtained through my office, but please remember this is highly classified information at this point. Admiral." Fournier resumes the podium, "Thank you Mr. Moore. You have given us a lot to process. Naval analysis teams are scrutinizing information related to enemy combat vessels and will brief this information as soon as it is available. This concludes the briefing."

The audience files out, somewhat overwhelmed by the scope of what has been learned in such a short time. Appleton breaks away from the group and intercepts Moore before he exits the auditorium, "Mr. Moore, a question." Moore stops, "Of course, Ensign. Ask away." Appleton asks, "Is there any indication that the Ishtar revelation may be connected to the ruins?" Moore ponders, "Possibly. Given their apparent age, and the age of those on 82 Eridani (e), they may be related." Appleton cannot stifle a look of surprise, "On 82 Eridani (e)?" Moore answers, "Yes, that is not common knowledge either, but there are at least three sites there, reportedly with similar features. They don't appear to be as extensive as those at 51 Pegasi, but they also have depictions of human-like figures. I don't think the invasion has anything to do with the ruins, however. Based on information from our source, the Imperial Scouts seemed just as surprised by the ruins on 51 Pegasi (c) as we were. In our estimation, 51 Pegasi was just a valuable property next door that made a nice addition to their portfolio." Appleton ponders, "I would have thought an eligible daughter of a major family or house wouldn't need too much of a dowry." Moore chuckles, "Not on Earth, that's for sure. But when maybe only 10% of your population is male, that gives somebody with a son a lot of leverage. I would imagine any house that puts forth a suitor is holding out for the best deal possible, and the addition of a nice sunny planet like Charlie sweetens the deal quite a bit. But maybe not enough, I don't figure they're done just yet." Appleton nods, "I wouldn't think so either, given that there a few more nice sunny planets in the neighborhood. One more thing, how did we not see the radio output from, er, Ulikar?" Moore, smiles, "A very good question. I believe it is a two-part answer. The first part is we weren't really looking much after the jump drive became a viable technology, we focused on what was in front of us, not off in the distance. But as of now, the distance is right in front of us and I can tell you in confidence that listening posts are being deployed all over. The second part is an accident of stellar cartography. Almost in a direct line from Earth and Prometheus to Xi Pegasi, about 750 or so light years further out is a black hole with a massive radio and x-ray output. It simply overwhelmed Xi Pegasi's output, sort of like trying to spot a flashlight with the sun right behind it. Of course, there is the possibility that there is some sort of screen or masking technology at work, but I seriously doubt it. The expenditure of resources would be massive and there would be no motive because as far as we can tell Ulikar was settled years before the Wright Brothers made their first flight. Nobody lived anywhere nearby." Appleton absorbs the information and nods to herself. "That makes sense. Thank you Mr. Moore." Moore responds, "Anytime Ensign. Keep asking those questions." Appleton walks quickly to catch up to the 107^th. Linden asks, "Anything interesting, XO?" Appleton nods, "Interesting, spooky even, but not consequential."

Training with the 113^th continues for a few more days and has progressed sufficiently well that Kuznetsov is contemplating a field exercise. A quick check of the local charts offers a promising location, Iota Pegasi. It is a short hop, a mere 84 hours in jump, and importantly is directionally away from the potential combat zone. She stops by Captain Stepanov's office to make arrangements for a training run to Iota Pegasi. Admiral Mendez ducks into Stepanov's office and listens to the plan. Mendez nods thoughtfully, "Lieutenant, I believe this is an excellent idea, and a good location for a field exercise, not only for the reasons you indicated, but it also has the additional benefit of contributing actual intelligence as a result of the mission. Technically, you and the 113^th work for Admiral Fournier, but I hereby create Task Force 101-Alpha and assign the 107^th and 113^th to 101-Alpha for the purposes of a training reconnaissance mission to Iota Pegasi. I'll fix it with Admiral Fournier, be on the lookout for official orders shortly."

Kuznetsov briefs the officers of the 107^th on the impending exercise. Everyone is in agreement that this will be an important, and close to final, step in the training program. Shortly afterwards, official orders arrive from 9^th Fleet Command creating Task Force 101-Aplha and assigning the 107^th and 113^th to it. The orders specify the mission as a reconnaissance to Iota Pegasi to embark in 8 hours. Surprised by the short fuse and no mention of training, the 107^th jumps into action. Kuznetsov immediately briefs the 113^th on their new assignment, and they begin loading supplies, spares, and mounting live ASM426b missiles to their hulls. The 107^th is also preparing for the mission, ensuring all required supplies are aboard and all of the latest intel databases are downloaded. With two hours remaining before departure, final checks are underway. All of the power plants have been brought online, and clearances have been obtained from the yard controller. At one hour before departure, a final briefing conference is held with the commanders of all vessels. The jump target of Iota Pegasi AB (d) is confirmed as a direct planetary target in the outer system. During the conference, the bridge watch on the task force vessels begin interrupting with updates about ships emerging in the vicinity of the naval station. They are quickly identified as belonging to the 281^st Destroyer Squadron, which has been expected. With that distraction behind them, the briefing completes, and the task force begins their departure procedure. On schedule the task force pushes away from the station and climbs towards a clear jump. When all ships have reached a clear jump, Kuznetsov starts the clock at a leisurely 15 minutes, and compartment by compartment, ship by ship, the status boards turn green. As the clock counts down, the traditional exchange and key presentation is repeated across twelve ships, and Task Force 101-Alpha departs for Iota Pegasi.

As Task Force 101-Alpha departs Ross 271, the arrival of the 281^st Destroyer Squadron prompts a high-level meeting within 9^th Fleet Command. With a new force now available to help cover Ross 271, plans for retaking 51 Pegasi can now move forward. Warning orders are issued to all sections to begin preparations for departure in 3 days. Ships from various units begin moving towards the naval station and forming up to receive fuel, supplies, spares, and munitions. An additional heavy transport is added to the plan, containing approximately a year's worth of supplies for the civilian population of Charlie. The formation, now designated Task Force 101-Bravo, is now consumed with preparations for the upcoming offensive.

Part 7- A Visit

In orbit around Kugarder the flagship of the Imperial 114^th Fleet is hosting a meeting of the fleet's senior officers in the system. Fleet Commander Adikhir Malrikim reviews the operational plot with particular attention to Khemkalii (G 28-46). The destroyer reconnaissance to Khemkalii encountered a lone fleet tanker and then was surprised by a pair of scout vessels resulting in the loss of two fighters with three crew killed and one rescued but sufficiently injured that she had to be evacuated to a rear-echelon medical facility. There is no clear consensus among the assembled officers as to the meaning, if any, of the appearance of the tanker and scouts. The scouts alone might not be significant, but the presence of the tanker has raised concerns. Was it pre-positioned to support a strike into Lamerki (LP 463-23) a key junction system in this operational exercise? It would allow the Terrans access to a number of systems that are key to the strategic push to follow. One officer was foolish enough to point out that it is also a single jump from Ulikar but was browbeaten into silence by her more senior colleagues. After allowing some debate, Adikhir decides it is a precursor to a move on Lamerki, intended to cut off forward elements of the 114^th and possibly threaten Her Ladyship's new possession. She issues orders to immediately station a substantial force at Lamerki, and to send additional reinforcements to other forward elements throughout the operational area. She takes it upon herself to inform Her Ladyship of the situation and orders her shuttle to be made ready for landing planetside.

As the fleet makes preparations for their new deployment, Adikhir boards her shuttle for her trip to the surface. As befits her rank, her shuttle is accompanied by two space and atmosphere capable fighters which peel away as she sets down at the port. Coincidentally, Fred Doyle is just leaving the commercial warehouse after checking on the supply levels. They are down to a worrying level, but some staple items have been unloaded from merchant vessels, so there is hope that the supply situation may be resolved before hardship sets in. Fred has a sneaking suspicion that the Baroness is fairly new at integrating a captured planet into the Imperial grid, her other planet was probably already Imperial, that or they starved. Fred sees the shuttle touch down and notes the navy markings. Taking a moment to watch, he sees an impressively dressed naval officer stride down the boarding ramp and across the concrete towards the Baroness' liner which has served as her official residence for two months. She is flanked by an assistant and a bodyguard of Imperial Marines, quite impressive in their own right with their crimson heavy combat armor. Having captured the imagery and not wanting to appear overly interested, Fred heads for the terminal building to do some routine maintenance on the civilian communication circuits.

Adikhir's party is met at the liner's boarding ramp by the Baroness' secretary and an honor guard of household troops. In a well-rehearsed exchange, the Marines step aside in unison and stand to attention. The secretary greets Adikhir with a bow and motions Adikhir aboard as the household guard snaps to attention and pivots in place to follow the guests. Once on board, Adikhir is shown to a luxurious conference room and offered refreshments while awaiting Her Ladyship. Adikhir politely declines and remains standing as the secretary departs. After half an hour, the secretary returns and announces, "I present Baroness Marsaka Farlorim of Egardu, Kugarder, scion of House Marsaka." Adikhir and her adjutant bow appropriately and Adikhir intones a formalized greeting, "Baroness, I am honored that you have taken the time to hear my humble words." The Baroness waves a dismissal towards the secretary, who departs with a bow and closes the doors on her way out. Adikhir motions to her adjutant, "Ladyship, may I have the honor to present my adjutant Gakhan Valkar Olnaaviik." The Baroness nods to Valkar, "A pleasure," and to Adikhir, "Adikhir Malrikim, how long have we known each other? What's with the formality all of the sudden?" Adikhir smiles, "Well Marsaka Farlorim, I figured I should get used to it now that you have two planets." The Baroness laughs, and Valkar seems quite uncomfortable with the familiarity being displayed. Seeing her discomfort, the Baroness moves to put her at ease, "Valkar Olnaaviik, Adikhir Malrikim has known me since I was a child when she commanded the House, then the Sector fleets. Her elevation to the Imperial navy is well deserved but has sadly made our meetings much less frequent. And I miss the tales of epic battles that she always told." Valkar relaxes a bit but is savvy enough to realize that even though she has been invited to the party, she has definitely not been invited to join the club.

As they sit at the table, Adikhir nods, "It is sadly true. It is also true that I have a tale of a minor skirmish that may not bode well. There was an encounter with Terran naval forces at Khemkalii, merely a fleet tanker and two scout vessels. We regrettably came off worse in the encounter, but it is the tanker that has me concerned. It is my feeling that it was there to support a move on Lamerki, which as you know is a key system in our campaign. I have ordered a strong force to Lamerki to counter this possibility, but in doing so it will weaken the fleet presence here. My concern is that should any Terran forces make it here your household could be in jeopardy." The Baroness looks a bit surprised, "Adikhir Malrikim, you seem to be unusually cautious. I do hope my presence here is not unduly influencing your thinking." Adikhir slowly shakes her head, "No, not 'unduly' Marsaka Farlorim. Your safety is paramount. Territory can be given and retaken if temporarily lost, but you cannot. If I may be so bold, it may be time to check on Egardu or spend some pleasant days on Ulikar." The Baroness smiles and nods, "Adikhir Malrikim, your concern is touching. If it will set your mind at ease, I will depart tomorrow for Egardu." Adikhir nods, "Thank you Marsaka Farlorim. It gives me great comfort to know that you will be safely out of the combat area." The conversation then turns to gossip about House Marsaka, much to the discomfort of Valkar, who firmly believes that she does not have the need, or the want, to know any of the secrets of a major house.

After Fred does the communications maintenance at the terminal building he swings by the snack bar. It is packed with mainly Imperial navy personnel, but he spots Bob Tyler munching on some fries and wanders over to say hello, "Hey Bob. What's happening?" Bob wipes some ketchup off his mouth, "Hey Fred. I'm trying to get my fry quota in before this crew eats them all. I'm guessing fried foods aren't a regular feature on the menu aboard. And the Cajun seasoning is a huge hit as well, not to mention ketchup of all things," glancing over at a senior enlisted crew person, or Runash-shi, snagging a handful of ketchup packets off the condiment counter. Fred chuckles, "I guess you never know what the exotic cross-cultural hits will be. I just hope we can convince the Bureaucratic Corps, or more likely the Security Directorate, to somehow get shipments from our territory," glancing at another crew person pocketing a few ketchup packets, "Otherwise the Days of Fries and Ketchup will be done." Fred makes a mental note to check on the botanical surveys to see if tomatoes, potatoes, and hot peppers can be grown here, or if not what we would need to do to get a greenhouse or hydroponic set up going. Thinking out loud, "I wonder if they know about chocolate and ice cream." Bob nods, "They do now. The sweet stuff was gone in no time. They had to get the new Inspector 2^nd from Security Directorate over here to put the fear of some deity in them. It was the only time I've ever seen any disorderly conduct from these folks." Subversive thoughts manifest in Fred's head, "Is that right?" Fred takes his leave and heads back home, his tasks done for the day. As usual since Roscoe's visit, Fred has left a vid in the player every day in case there is further contact. Today his diligence has been rewarded with a contact message. Someone named Sheila will contact him at Cappy's Lounge between 1900 and 2000 using the same procedure as before.

At 1924 Fred walks into Cappy's Lounge and surveys the crowd on the walk to the bar. He pulls up a stool and orders a beer. Shortly afterwards an unfamiliar woman in typical prospector clothing sits next to him. Fred starts off, "Sheila! Good to see you again. Beer?" Sheila answers, "Yes, please." Fred motions to the bartender who moves off to fetch the beverage. Fred follows on, "I'd better get this one, I'm not sure you have any of the coin of the realm," and places an Imperial coin on the bar. The bartender returns with the beer and Fred acknowledges, "Thanks Suzy," to Sheila, "Let's find a booth and get caught up." Fred and Sheila sit in a booth towards the end of the row and settle in. After some simulated catching up, Sheila taps her watch, "Looks like we're clear. They still have you under surveillance, but it doesn't look like they are all hot and bothered about it. The same bugs are in place in your house, nothing in your car, no tracking on your car either." Fred sips his beer, "That's good. So, what brings you to town? Anything specific?" Sheila sips her beer and shakes her head, "Checking in and gathering up things that might have happened since Roscoe went back to prospecting. I had a chat with our little friends in the trees; they are quite observant." Fred nods, realizing she is talking about the two surviving drones, "Good. I left you some of my collection of vids, did you get a chance to watch them?" Sheila nods, "I got them but haven't watched them yet." Fred responds, "I made custom commentary tracks for most of them. It really adds some insight into the director's intentions. It looks like something might be happening in today's episode." Sheila shakes her head, "Darn. I missed today's episode." After subtly checking the area, Fred removes his pin and slides it across the table to Sheila, "It looks like there is a special guest star in today's episode. It features a visit to the mobile palace by the guest star. It also seems the regular cast are trying to clean out the snack bar, maybe they won't be seeing it for a while. That reminds me, would it be possible to get some prospecting supplies shipped in?"

Sheila is a little surprised, "Fred, your gifts are in the noticing end of things. Let's not get you into trouble by going out prospecting." Fred sips his beer and shakes his head, "Nothing like that. I noticed that French fries are an enormous hit at the terminal snack bar. Ketchup and Cajun spice are hits as well. Chocolate just about caused a riot, apparently the new Security Directorate chief of station Kudash Aapa, Inspector 2^nd, Jaandor Seloriim had to turn up personally to put the fear of some deity or other into the Navy when the chocolate ran out." Sheila ponders, "I'm not sure we could do anything about potatoes, spices, or ketchup, but chocolate may have some possibilities. Nothing momentous, but just a subtle influence. And it would be relatively easy to drop a crate of chocolates now and again." Fred notices Andrea Marino enter the bar and gives a subtle hand sign to Sheila who instantly switches verbal tracks, "So there I was, thinking I struck gold," and stops as Andrea approaches. Andrea interjects, "Hi Fred. Apologies for breaking in, I've been notified that Her Ladyship will be departing tomorrow morning, and our presences are requested at the port at 0730. The Navy shuttle left a couple hours ago, not sure if that had anything to do with it." Fred acknowledges, "Thanks Andrea. The port at 0730. Thanks for letting me know." Andrea nods, and leaves. Fred comments, "It looks like today's episode isn't done yet." Sheila nods, "I guess not. I'd better get going, I don't want to keep you out too late and have you sleep through the ceremonies tomorrow. Keep up the good work Fred. It is really valuable to get an up-close view of our new friends."

Fred arrives at the port at 0715 and parks by the terminal building. He sees Andrea's car is already here and decides to head over to the snack bar for a cup of breakfast drink or, ideally, coffee if they have it. Andrea and Ron are already there drinking coffee and motion Fred over. Andrea motions to a third cup, "Morning, Fred. I figured you'd be along and got you a cup. Fred sits down, "Thanks. It looks empty this morning, I guess everyone is busy getting ready for the going away party." Andrea shakes her head, "I think they all shipped out or something. Army too. It looks like a new unit is taking over for our original visitors. Something is definitely up." Fred nods, "Could be. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, though. Any idea who the impressive looking visitor was?" Ron answers, "From what I was able to pick up around the office, it was some sort of Admiral. No idea what was up though, I can still only pick out names, some ranks, and a few words," glancing at his watch, "It's time, we'd better head over."

As they walk over to the terminal entrance, they finish drinking their coffee out of to-go cups. Jaandor and Torin meet them there and motion towards their assigned place in the gathering formation. It is a similar setup to the arrival, but lower key. The podium is set up near the liner and as the light hits the podium Her Ladyship gives a brief speech which has the tone of someone telling their dog that they are not leaving forever but are coming back after work. The formation snaps to attention as the Baroness leaves the podium and boards the liner. Once she is on board, the formation breaks up, and the participants head back to whatever they were doing. As they walk away, Andrea says, "Well, that was a waste of a morning." Fred nods, "Not as impressive as the arrival ceremony. I think I'll just take the day and catch up on some stuff around the house." Andrea nods, "All right Fred. See you tomorrow."

Marsaka Farlorim and Adikhir Malrikim Enlarge	Supervisor Fred Doyle Enlarge	Bob Tyler Enlarge

Part 8- Exercise Gone Awry

With 30 minutes remaining before scheduled emergence at Iota Pegasi AB (d) Denali goes to Condition Yellow. The crew prepares for the training mission with the 113^th, the first real mission for the 113^th as a unit. They have performed well during the training at Ross 271, and expectations are high for this training mission. Iota Pegasi is binary system, with both stars in close proximity and rotating around each other approximately every eleven days. This is usually noted as Iota Pegasi AB as all of the system's planets rotate around the common center of mass, or barycenter. They are both bright stars, one is younger and hotter than Sol, and its companion is similar to Sol in age and intensity. The combined output of these stars will give the new solar panels a good test. In addition, the system has a number of interesting features that will allow for some good training opportunities. The (a) orbit is a hellishly hot captive rogue planet that orbits almost perpendicular to the ecliptic plane. The (b) and (c) orbits are gas giants with an array of tiny rocky moons, and since the fuel processor is still mounted in Shasta they offer a source of fuel if required. The (d) orbit is far enough from the stellar barycenter to be a direct jump target, which the task force has selected for arrival, and features a relatively earth-like planet with a ring that can be used for concealment, plus there is a colony there that may offer the opportunity for a brief shore leave if all goes well. In the far outer system, there are two asteroid belts that will allow for concealment, cover, and evasion practice.

At the 5-minute mark, Denali goes to Condition Red. All stations are ready, and CPO Clark calls the countdown from the pilot station. At the 15 second mark, Clark calls out, "CO, on time arrival. Ten seconds." Ten seconds later Denali emerges into the brilliant light of Iota Pegasi A and B. Clark begins to orient the ship, and tactical and sensors are immediately scanning the area. Linden inquires, "Thomas, any sign of the rest of the task force?" PO1 Thomas replies, "CO, negative contact with task force. Contact with Sierra-1088, Sierra-1090, Sierra-1093, Sierra-1094, Sierra-1095, plus 6 new vessels of the same type. Starting tracks on all hostiles, assigning Sierra-7500 through Sierra-7505 to new contacts. Their position is currently Local Ecliptic minus 0.04, Local Radial 308.771, Range 1,475,650 kilometers. They are in close orbit around (d), deep in the well. No apparent change in power plant output, no evidence of maneuver." PO1 Garcia on comms pipes up, "CO, I'm picking up radio chatter from the Sierras. It is encrypted, no idea of the content." Linden acknowledges, "Very well." Thomas pipes up, "CO, multiple emerging jumps, 7 in total, centered around Local Ecliptic minus 1.65, Local Radial 196.811, Range 241,922 kilometers. Identify as Shasta, Jasper, Sheldrake, Sarpedon, Defender, Vixen, and Antelope." Garcia informs, "Command network carrier is active, available for general use in ten seconds." After a few seconds, Kuznetsov calls on the command network, "Denali, what is our status?" Linden responds, "Denali on station, Condition Red. We appear to have surprised eleven hostile transports, five are known from 51 Pegasi. They are in low orbit, and do not appear to have reacted to our presence. It is not clear why, perhaps they are expecting company and think we are it, or they know help is already here and they are waiting for it to announce itself. It seems unlikely that they have failed to notice us at all." Garcia pipes up, "CO, I am also picking up radio traffic from the surface, both Imperial military frequencies as well as civilian and TMF frequencies as well. I think we caught an invasion in progress."

Kuznetsov opens the conventional radio command network and orders the first 6 gunboats to form up on Shasta. Kuznetsov orders, "Denali, deploy two remotes to the outer system as stay-behind observation platforms," and on the quantum link, "Can we intervene?" Serra looks to Linden, who nods, and remotes 1 and 2 are released and set on a course out the first asteroid belt about a billion kilometers further out, where in about 2 weeks they will blend into the planetary debris and listen and watch, and thanks to the intensity of the stellar radiation will be able to run indefinitely. Linden ponders the question and replies on quantum, "We can, and as it looks now Denali can be in a position outside the well and directly above their orbit in 9 minutes, Shasta and the 113^th can be there in 12 minutes. The question is should we. If these are unarmed transports, we definitely should. We've got 115 minutes before we can jump out." Kuznetsov takes a second and announces on the conventional radio network, "All ships, we will proceed to engage the eleven transports currently in orbit. It appears there is a landing underway, and we will do what we can to complicate it for the Imperials. Jasper, Sheldrake, Sarpedon, Defender, Vixen, and Antelope, stay in formation with Shasta." Clark pushes Denali ahead towards their destination high above the transport fleet. Over the next five minutes, the remaining four gunboats emerge nearby. Kuznetsov instructs, "Bellona, Kilber, Ganet, Watchful, form up on Denali. We are engaging hostiles in low orbit. All ships, signal readiness when jump resets are complete."

Thomas, Mgembe, and Garcia coordinate with their counterparts from the 113^th to ensure the conventional radio network is properly configured and all of the inputs and outputs are readily usable by every ship. Serra is working with Denali's advanced fire control system to be able to take over from the older systems on the four gunboats in close company and operate their point defense mounts in a coordinated fashion if required. Shasta is also doing the same for her six companions. Linden inquires, "Mgembe, do we have visuals on the hostiles?" Mgembe replies, "CO, we do. On your console. They do appear to have point defense mounts, but no other weapons are visible." Linden acknowledges, "Very well. Serra, weapons are free and active sensors are authorized." Serra acknowledges, "CO, I understand weapons are free and active sensor are authorized," and slots her fire control key. On the quantum command circuit, Linden informs, "Shasta, be advised. Denali is weapons free and active authorized. The transports appear to have point defense type weapons, but no others in evidence." Kuznetsov acknowledges, "Copy Denali. You are cleared to engage. Shasta group will engage when in range." Linden switches to the radio network, "Denali to Bellona, Kilber, Ganet, Watchful, target point defense mounts on the transports with your point defense mounts, keep your missiles ready but in reserve." The gunboats acknowledge and Denali and her group are now in range. Thomas pipes up, "CO, Sierra-7500, -7501, and -7502 appear to be launching shuttles and moving to break orbit."

Linden changes the plan, "Denali group, engage shuttles with your point defense mounts, Denali will engage transports." The gunboats acknowledge and open fire on the shuttles with their lighter point defense mounts, scoring many hits and dooming eight badly hit shuttles to plummet into the atmosphere. Another four escape the first salvo with minor damage but are not as lucky in the second volley. Denali's fire control computer evaluates the scene painted by the various sensors and inputs that feed into it. It understands that the priority targets are the weapons systems and evaluates the imagery feed to identify the weapons mounts and maps out a pattern of fire accordingly. Having a very high confidence solution, it engages Denali's point defense mounts. Within a second, fourteen suspected mounts are seriously damaged or destroyed. As fire control begins to calculate the next batch of coordinates and angles, the undamaged transports return fire. Kilber, Ganet, Watchful, and Denali rock under the hits from incoming energy weapons. Fire control takes into account the impacts and factors in some medium confidence projections regarding probable evasive maneuvers, and after a delay of several milliseconds, engages the remaining hostile weapons with good results.

Linden orders, "Clark, evade. XO, Senior Chief, take charge of damage control for Denali group and report. Thomas, how far are the three runners from clear jump?" Thomas replies, "CO, at current speed they are approximately 34 minutes from jump. They are coming right at us, if they change course it will increase their time to jump depending on their course." Linden acknowledges, "Very well," to Kuznetsov, "Be advised, we hit most of their point defense mounts and took some energy hits in the process. Standing by for damage reports. Sierra-7500, -7501, and -7502 have broken orbit and are attempting to reach clear jump, we are engaging now." Kuznetsov responds, "Very well. I show 100 minutes to jump reset. We will press the attack until there are no hostiles left, or the situation becomes untenable." Linden acknowledges, "Copy Shasta," to Serra, "Serra, engage Sierra-7500, -7501, and -7502 in concentrated fire mode, maybe we can burn through their hulls," to Garcia, "Garcia, see if you can raise any TMF units on the surface. Get a sitrep if you can." Active radar paints Sierra-7500 setting up a high confidence solution which results in a concentrated round of hits on 7500. Although not a crippling blow, the lightly armored transport does suffer damage, with hull penetration in several places and a cloud of debris trailing behind. Sierra-7500 engages in a violent evasive maneuver to no avail. Denali's fire control system is more than equal to the task at hand and lands a concentrated volley into what it believes is 7500's engineering spaces with devastating results. Thomas pipes up, "CO, Sierra-7500 has suffered a reactor breach and is venting plasma, confirmed kill. Sierra-7501 and -7502 are changing course but at best observed speed cannot get away from us." As Denali engages Sierra-7502, Linden acknowledges, "Very well." Appleton breaks in on intercom, "CO, Denali got a little chewed up, no hull penetrations, all systems are functional, no casualties reported. Bellona is unscathed, Kilber and Ganet have been hit, no hull penetration, all systems functional, no casualties. Watchful has a hull penetration, a compartment is sealed off, crew is trapped with condition unknown. Watchful cannot affect repairs by herself. I have advised them to maneuver close to Denali and I have the Senior Chief and our damage control team suiting up for EVA to repair."

Linden absorbs the news, "Very well, XO. Remind Watchful and our team that we are actively engaged, so keep clear from our lanes of fire." Linden relays the report to Kuznetsov on quantum and glances at the countdown clock; 92 minutes until the jump drive will be ready. Thomas pipes up, "CO, Sierra-7502 reactor is offline, multiple hull breaches, debris field, confirmed kill. All hostiles are now breaking orbit, appears to be different courses. Shasta group is engaged." Before Linden can acknowledge, fire control engages and rips a major gash in the hull of Sierra-7501, spilling her guts into space. Thomas confirms the outcome, "CO, Sierra-7501 reactor is failing, now offline, large debris field, confirmed kill." Linden acknowledges, "Very well," then, "Clark, Watchful is attempting to come alongside with damage, have them hold course and we'll go to them. Put our cargo hatch nearest." Clark answers, "Roger that, Sir." Clark is in communication with Watchful and coordinates the maneuver. With the immediate action calmed down, Linden pings Garcia, "Garcia, any surface contact?" Garcia replies, "Some, but the situation is unclear. There are hostile troops on the ground, and they are engaged with our forces, but our forces seem disorganized. I'll get what I can." Linden nods, "Very well, Garcia." Clark pipes up, "CO, Watchful is alongside and repairs are underway." Before Linden can acknowledge, Thomas pipes up, "CO, four large plants just came online, Local Ecliptic plus 12.02, Local Radial 88.413, Range 30 million kilometers, tracks started. Known contacts Sierra-1104 and Sierra-1105, new contacts Sierra-7506 and Sierra-7507. Eight Foxtrots launched, new contacts Foxtrot-1064 through -1071, tracking. Foxtrots time to intercept 5 hours 12 minutes, Sierras time to intercept 6 hours 56 minutes." Linden acknowledges, "Very well," to Kuznetsov on quantum, "Shasta, do you copy the new contacts?" Kuznetsov responds, "Affirmative, Denali. We should be well clear before they get close. It looks like they were laying low and just got their plants online." Linden concurs, "Makes sense. Otherwise, they would have been well on their way by now." Kuznetsov continues, "It seems they can see our plants the instant we start power-up, but we don't see theirs until they are fully online." Linden replies, "Interesting observation, that will be one for the analysts. Stand by," Linden patches in Appleton, "XO, what's the progress on Watchful look like?" Appleton updates, "The repair team has cut a new hull plate from our spares and fitted it on Watchful and are working on the heavy welding now. ETR is 60 minutes. Watchful confirms the trapped crew are alive and will get medical attention once the intervening compartment is re-pressurized, jump drive is functional, fire control and navigational systems are out, but we can feed a jump course from Denali. Watchful should be jump capable almost on schedule. I make it 55 minutes until reset is complete." Linden checks the clock, "Roger that, XO. Keep us posted." Appleton acknowledges, "Yes, Sir."

Linden checks the tactical plot on his console, and notes that there are no surviving transport ships. Ten are hulks that will eventually de-orbit, and one already has burned up halfway through the atmosphere. The repairs on Watchful continue as the drive reset clock continues to run down. Kuznetsov orders Watchful and 4 others to jettison their missiles, and Serra programs them to move a little way from orbit and stand by in autonomous mode for any target at close range that does not have a valid IFF. All preparations that can be made before the drive resets are completed are underway. The jump board statuses on each bridge are slowly turning from red to yellow. Kuznetsov looks over the task force master jump board, then the drive reset clock which is now down to 15 minutes. Appleton calls on the quantum circuit, "Lieutenant, Watchful has been able to repressurize the compartment, and the injured crew are in bad enough shape that we are transferring them to Denali for treatment and sending over Yamato and Parker to cover." Kuznetsov responds, "Thank you, Ensign. Will that slow down Denali's readiness for jump?" Appleton replies, "No, Sir, but it will help Watchful quite a bit with theirs." Kuznetsov thinks to herself I bet it will, then, "Very well, Ensign. Let's get everything shipshape soonest." Appleton acknowledges, "Yes, Sir. Appleton out."

As the clock ticks down, the task force maneuvers away from (d) further into clear space in preparation for departure. Ten minutes, and the master board is looking good, everything on every ship, except for Watchful, is green with the exception of the jump drive resets. Watchful is rapidly catching up, with most compartments signaling readiness. On Denali, Thomas is feeding an updated jump solution to Watchful when he gets a contact alert, "CO, emerging jump, Ecliptic plus 43.998, Radial 274.119, Range 102,598 kilometers. New contact, designating Sierra-7508, tracking. Same type as Sierra-1087. Maneuvering to intercept Denali group. Remotes launched, radiological signatures. Designating Romeo-7508.1 and -7508.2. ETA to probable detonation range is 15 seconds." With a quick glance towards the clock, now showing 4 minutes, Linden orders, "Serra engage the remotes now!" Denali's radar goes active and paints 7508 and her remotes giving fire control a vividly detailed picture of the selected targets, within a second both remotes are out of action and as Sierra-7508 is directly in line with the remotes she has caught all of the misses. However, Sierra-7508 is a combat vessel, and the laser hits have little if any effect.

On Shasta, Kuznetsov checks the board, all green except for drive resets. On the radio net, "All ships, start the jump clock at 4 minutes. All ships with remaining missiles, jettison missiles now and keep up with Shasta." All of the remaining ASM426b missiles are now free of their mounts, and Shasta's fire control system takes control of them, and with a firing solution computed for Sierra-7508 engages. The ten missiles streak towards Sierra-7508 whose point defense weapons engage and destroy 9 of the inbound. There is a solid hit amidships with the tenth, causing some damage but not slowing her down. Task Force 101-Alpha moves to escape Sierra-7508, but 7508 is quicker by half and pursues, closing range. Unfortunately for Sierra-7508, she does not have a valid IFF, and as she pursues she closes within range of the missiles that are lying in wait. The ten missiles fire at once, surprising Sierra-7508 and not leaving her fire control system time to engage before she is struck another ten times, doing considerable damage and causing her to break off pursuit. The task force continues to open the range as the last of the status boards turn green; the jump clock reaches zero and Task Force 101-Alpha heads home.

Petty Office 1st Pierre Thomas Enlarge	Specialist 4 Roger Mgembe Enlarge	Petty Officer 1st Isabelle Garcia Enlarge

Part 9- Bad Start

Troop Leader Kiron Aamrosim stares in disbelief at the fiery streak arcing across the sky, as shards of metal break away from the dying ship and burn away like brilliant high intensity flares. How in Ishtar's Name could this happen? She returns her attention to her data pad, trying to comprehend the magnitude of the disaster that has just befallen the operation. The entire 1^st and 3^rd Battalions, most of the 2^nd Battalion, and the bulk of the heavy equipment and supplies of the 1074^th Assault Regiment lost in mere minutes. Damn lucky we were in the first wave landed. Leave it to the 7^th Sector Fleet to screw this up. Things went absolutely smoothly at Kugarder, the 114^th Imperial Fleet had their act together, the troop landings went well, supplies were landed without incident. I liked Kugarder, it was nice, sunny, warm and green. Naanushugam (Iota Pegasi AB (d)) is hot, foggy, and all the plants are purple. I seriously hope they are edible because our supplies look limited at this point. Snapping out of her brief funk, "Falar Haalvinok, get the Section Leaders over here. We need to get a handle on this mess." Falar acknowledges, "On it," and heads off shouting at various NCOs and herding them over to Kiron. "Here's what we do. Our supply container is supposed to be," gesturing towards a light purple forest, "somewhere over there. Section 1, spread out along this line," gesturing a direction, "Section 2, along this line," another direction, "Section 3, along this line," another direction, "Section 4, Heavy Section with me. Shout out when you find it and all sections will converge and form a perimeter." Glancing up at the slowly dissipating smoke trail still marking the path of the stricken transport, "Let's not get caught by surprise. Move out." The Section Leaders jog off to round up their sections and spread out in the indicated directions. Section 4 and the Heavy Section jog up to Kiron who turns and heads towards the trees as the sections spread out behind her. Falar sticks close to Kiron and is attempting to raise any surviving higher-level unit for a sitrep or actual orders. After 15 minutes, Section 3 calls out, and the other Sections converge on the location of and set up a perimeter 100 meters out from the container.

As her Sections approach, Kiron can see the large container is intact and resting level on the ground. At least something went right. Kiron orders, "Section 4, open it up deploy the camouflage, Section 3 load up with all of the ammunition, rations, survival, and medical supplies that you can usefully carry and relieve Section 2 on the perimeter. Heavy Section, get your gear out and set up." Section 4 is busy spreading the camouflage covering that was packed at the front of the container, and Section 3 maxes out their supplies and heads off into the trees. The Heavy Section has retrieved 3 mortars and ammunition and is setting up their fire control computer and deploying their counterbattery radar on top of the container. Kiron's data pad dings in her earpiece, notifying her that the Navy comms unit packed in the container is active and she is connected. While Section 2 loads up on supplies, Kiron tries to raise 7^th Sector Fleet. She is able to contact the destroyer Miirgis and is patched through to Ship Leader Selvaar Zalvariim. "Laka Selvaar Zalvariim, this is Bakha Kiron Aamrosim, commanding 3^rd Company, 2^nd Battalion. I am requesting a status update." Selvaar replies, "Bakha Kiron Aamrosim, the news is bad. All transports have been destroyed, and the task force flagship has been heavily damaged. The two destroyers sent by the 114^th did little to help." Kiron rolls her eyes and chokes back an angry response; this is clearly not the time for this petty ass covering routine. Kiron responds, "Most unfortunate, Laka Selvaar Zalvariim. What is that status of the operation?" Selvaar continues, "It appears in addition to your Company, 1^st and 2^nd Companies landed with supplies in their designated zones. 5^th Company may have made it down, but we have no contact. There has been no contact with 2^nd Battalion headquarters, they may not have gotten clear of their transport before it was destroyed. As you have been the first to inquire, the command of the 2^nd Battalion falls to you. Congratulations, Bakha-shi Kiron Aamrosim. Carry on as best you can. Miirgis out." Just great. Senior Troop Leader and commander of a crippled battalion. The bitch just hangs up on us because we're an Imperial unit, that or she is just blatantly incompetent. Even money on that one. We're on our own until Imperial fleet units get here.

Kiron reviews her previous orders, take and hold the small industrial area to the east of our current position. The objective is still viable, "Bakhim Falar Haalvinok, establish comms with 1^st and 2^nd Companies. I have been promoted to Bakha-shi and given command of what remains of 2^nd Battalion, and we need to get this hellscape of a mess moving." Falar was about to offer congratulations on the promotion, but seeing the look on Kiron's face wisely decides against it. Falar acknowledges, "Immediately, Kiron Aamrosim," and retrieves the reserve battalion command set from the container and powers it up and attempts to raise 1^st, 2^nd, and 5^th Companies. Section 1 has rotated in from the perimeter and Section 4 is done with the camouflage covering and both Sections are loading up with supplies when Falar is able to connect to 1^st and 2^nd Companies, no contact with 5^th Company. Falar offers the handset to Kiron, who takes it and briefs the other Troop Leaders on the status and new command structure. The other companies have done the same as 3^rd Company, taken stock and loaded up on supplies.

Quickly reviewing the maps provided in the operational package, Kiron issues orders, "1^st Company, you will be the left flank, 2^nd Company the right. 3^rd Company will take the center. Proceed eastwards over a wide front, towards the industrial area. We will halt about 200 meters short of the open space before the industrial area, call it Phase Line One, and probe from there. Phase Line Two will be the tree line at the edge of the open space. Heavy Sections will stay back and be prepared to fire in support. Move out." Kiron gives the handset back to Falar who has strapped on the Battalion comms unit, and shouts orders, "Heavy Section, standby to give supporting fire, all other Sections, spread out and we will move eastward. Be aware 1^st Company is on our left and 2^nd Company is on our right. Move out." The Section Leaders arrange their troops, and the Company moves east quickly but alertly through the trees. A few minutes after entering the trees they are overflown by a low-flying armed drone. It appears to change course to match the line of spread-out troops and turns north as if the engage 1^st Company, but it never gets a chance. The explosive roar of a handheld surface to air missile arcing from the 1^st Company Heavy Section and the intense crack of a high explosive warhead detonation removes the threat. Kiron nods to herself and the advance continues.

On reaching Phase Line One, 3^rd Company halts their eastward progress and hunkers down to wait. Falar has the other Companies on the line, and Kiron takes the handset and checks on status. The other Companies are at Phase Line One and standing by. Kiron orders, "Each Company will send a team to Phase Line Two, and if no opposition is sighted, those teams will advance and recon the closest buildings. Once the recon details leave Phase Line Two, all Companies will advance to Phase Line Two and stand by to move." Kiron notices the handset cable has been removed, and glances at Falar who explains, "Not much chance of interference or jamming here. I put it in wireless mode." Kiron nods and hangs the handset on her armor, "Section 1, send a team forward to Phase Line Two and check out the buildings and advise. If no opposition spotted, they are to move out and recon the nearest buildings." The Section Leader picks a team, and they move out. Kiron notices for the first time that they seem to have picked up some camouflage, a light dusting of lavender colored dust from the trees, giving a frosted sheen to the black of the armor. Kiron shakes her head; my sinuses are going to murder me. She also comes up with a list of unpleasant duties that await the first soldier to use the word 'pretty.' In a few moments, the recon team reports, no activity spotted and moving forward. Kiron moves out the Company to Phase Line Two, and the other Companies are doing likewise.

As the units reach Phase Line Two, there is the sound of small arms fire from the industrial area ahead. The recon team reports, "We have encountered armed resistance, it appears to be private security forces guarding the factory. About twenty in number, armed with assault rifles, wearing light ballistic armor. No casualties." Kiron replies, "Just keep them busy, we are advancing now." The team confirms, and Kiron advises the other Companies, "We are advancing, advance if conditions permit, lay down concealment." Falar, anticipating the order for mortar support is already ordering Heavy Section to lay down smoke rounds at the near edge of the complex. On hearing reports from the mortars and the thumps of smoke rounds detonating ahead, Kiron moves out the Company, "Move out quickly but calmly. Get into those buildings. Go!" Almost as one, the hunkered down soldiers rise and trot purposefully across the open ground, protected from view by the wall of smoke ahead. On reaching the edge of the complex, the line breaks up, and squads enter buildings or cover the openings and alleys between the buildings. There is more firing ahead punctuated by a grenade blast. The advance team is reinforced, and resistance quickly crumbles. The rest of the Company is methodically clearing the complex, as are 1^st and 2^nd Companies.

Kiron heads to meet the advance team to assess the situation. It appears the resistance was centered around what was possibly the facility security office, and there is evidence of a brief firefight that was ended by a grenade. There are nine uniformed guards kneeling with their hands held behind their heads and five of their comrades in various stages of distress, and six obviously dead. The advance team leader snaps to attention, "Bakha-shi Kiron Aamrosim, the action is ended. We have taken fourteen prisoners, five of whom are wounded, six opposition killed. We have called for medics. No friendly casualties." Kiron nods, "Well done, Shukun Vooraan Mii." Medics arrive at a trot and begin tending to the wounded. Kiron continues, "Shukun Vooraan Mii, your team is relieved, find a quiet spot and debrief. There will be plenty to do later." Vooraan briefly snaps to attention and gives her team a signal to follow as they leave the immediate area. Kiron motions for the reinforcing soldiers to take over watching the prisoners. Kiron turns to the medics, "What are their conditions?" The senior medic answers as she bandages, "Bakha-shi Kiron Aamrosim, one is minor, three are major, one is serious and not likely to survive without advanced intervention which we cannot provide." Kiron slowly shakes her head. Civilians playing soldiers, I've seen this same scene at least two hundred times. At least. She briefly touches a tiny silver figurine on her dog tag chain and offers a short but fervent prayer; Ishtar deliver us from stupid. Kiron turns to the prisoners and motions the one with the most insignia to stand. With a worried look, he turns to the prisoner next to him, "What do you think she wants?" His companion replies, "Dunno Tim, but she seems serious. Better stand." Reluctantly, Tim stands and draws himself up to full height which is a good 10 centimeters shorter than Kiron. Trying to cover for his worried look, Tim goes with the classic response from the vids, "Maxwell, Timothy R., Sergeant of Loss Prevention, Employee Number 1491-6767." His companion comments, "What are you doing Tim?" Tim replies, "Sounded good, right? Not like she knows, but I'll bet she responds to the tone."

Kiron rolls her eyes, "No, Maxwell Timothy, it sounded like an adventure vid. And you'd better hope I don't respond to the tone." All of the prisoners snap their heads around to look at Kiron with mouths agape. Tim manages, "I, er, um." Kiron continues, "I am Bakha-shi Kiron Aamrosim, Battalion commander. What I want, Maxwell Timothy, is to know if you or your companions have access to a large ground vehicle." Tim manages, "I, er, um." His fellow prisoner speaks up, "Ma'am, we have access to several. I am called Bryce Fellowes." Kiron nods, and motions to the prisoners, "Everyone stand and relax," to Fellowes, "Bryce Fellowes where are these vehicles?" As the prisoners stand, Fellowes motions and answers, "By the loading dock at the other end of the building." Kiron nods, "Good," motioning to the group, "We will escort you while your men help your wounded to a vehicle and depart in peace. I am hopeful that we will never meet again in battle. I have no desire to see any of you dead, even you Maxwell Timothy." Nonplused, the group hesitates, then moves over to the wounded and helps four of them to their feet and a cart is scrounged to act as a gurney for their seriously injured compatriot. The medics help them move the seriously wounded man onto the makeshift gurney. Fellowes motions towards the dead, "And them?" Kiron "Of course Bryce Fellowes, we do not wish to deprive them of their final rest." Kiron instructs a Team Leader, "Walk them down to the vehicle with your team, keep an eye on them." After a couple trips with the cart, the dead are loaded onto the truck, along with the wounded and the rest of the security staff. As the truck drives away, Kiron is back on the command circuit ensuring everything is smooth elsewhere, making arrangements for digging in and transferring supplies from their containers, and trying to establish contact with 5^th Company. During a break in the updates Falar observes, "So, Kiron Aamrosim, you really paid attention in those Terran language classes."

Kiron Aamrosim and Falar Haalvinok Enlarge	Iota Pegasi AB (d) Enlarge	Imperial Fire Team Advances Enlarge

Part 10- Field Trip

Fred is feeling a bit restless and decides to putter around in the yard for a while, tending to the shrubbery along front of his house. His focus on weeding is interrupted by a shout across the lawn, "Nakdur Aga Doyle Fred, hello!" Fred looks up from the shrubbery and turns to see two Imperial Scouts waving from the driveway. Standing and brushing the dirt off his hands, he walks towards the driveway. He recognizes them from the old original landing site but cannot immediately recall their names. He smiles while searching his memory, and seeing the rank memory kicks in, and thinking it somehow appropriate, attempts to snap to attention, "Bakha Talvar Valnoriim, Nakdur Aga Taviir Halivaash, hello. Welcome to my home." Talvar nods in acknowledgement, and Fred relaxes, although he suspects she probably can't tell the difference. Talvar smiles, and with a heavy accent begins, "Doyle Fred, we apologize? for intruding. We were, I believe it is said, in the neighborhood?" Fred smiles, "That is how it is said. Would you care to come inside?" Talvar looks around, "Perhaps we? should not? The Security Directorate is? watching you." Fred doesn't have to feign surprise; his surprise is genuine. He is not surprised about the revelation but is surprised that the Scouts just outed a sister service.

Fred manages, "Oh. I see." After a moment, Talvar continues, "But what I wanted? to ask if you? would be, how is it said, interested? In helping us?" Fred shifts his mental gears from processing the heads up to parsing the broken English, "How can I help?" Talvar explains, "We are needing? the help for analyzing? the ruins? You seemed? before to not like them, but you have been? to them, and it seems? also that you are a scholar," Talvar smiles, "And of course by rank? a technician so you know equipment?" Fred unscrambles the verbiage, "I am happy to assist. But there must be many Scouts here for this task?" Fred cringes inwardly at the awkward phrasing and extraneous question mark, it must be catching. Taviir steps in to answer, "Doyle Fred, of course there was a full complement of Scouts here on Kugarder. The 5614^th Reconnaissance Group was assigned to survey the planet, both physically and culturally after the Army did their job, so Her Ladyship has a complete inventory, is how they said it. But the campaign is moving elsewhere and so is our unit, but we asked to remain behind to study the ruins. There are only ten Scouts on Kugarder now. You would be our reinforcement." Fred ponders this, "I would very much like to help. When and where should I go?" Talvar and Taviir smile, and Talvar states, "Tomorrow morning? at the port, you will? see our work modules." Fred nods, "I will see you then. Thank you for thinking of me." The Scouts wave and depart, and Fred returns to his gardening activities and realizes he is still wearing his camera pin from this morning. Good thing, because that was quite an intel nugget. Later, he replays every spy vid that he's ever seen in his head and begins to wonder if the Scouts were instructed to tip him off to establish trust and get him to innocently reveal tidbits that will get passed to the Security Directorate. But possibly they are genuinely not fans of the Directorate, and it seems probable that the Scouts have a genuine scientific interest in the ruins which for them transcends mere mundane geopolitics. It certainly wouldn't be the first time in history that scientists ignored borders, ideology, or legality to pursue their quests. I'll have to watch my step and just record everything and let the TIS sort out what might be disinformation.

The next morning Fred stops by the CA building on his way to the port, to let Andrea and Ron know that he will be assisting the Scouts with their research. Andrea questions, "Does this seem a little odd?" Fred nods, "A bit. But apparently their unit shipped out, and they managed to get detached in order to study the ruins. They figure since I've seen them first-hand and am technical, I might be able to help. I'm glad to do it, it sounds like interesting stuff." Andrea's face shows some doubt, "As long as you're up for it, enjoy. Not too much going on around here anyway." Fred takes his leave, "Cool. I'm not sure if this an everyday thing or what, but I'll let you know." With that Fred drives out to the port and parks next to four modules similar to the ones he saw at the old original landing site. He pokes around and finds the lab module door open and ducks inside. Talvar, Taviir, and eight other Scouts are clustered around the conference table. He snaps to attention-ish and Talvar nods, and Fred assumes a relaxed stance. Talvar begins, "Nakdur Aga Doyle Fred, welcome. You know? of course Nakdur Aga Taviir Halivaash," and goes on to introduce the others, swamping him with names which he'll try to memorize as they go. Talvar adds, "There is no further? need for salutes and formality? because this is a working group?" Fred acknowledges, "I understand. Good morning everyone. Is there coffee?" Taviir points to a side table, "No, there is breakfast drink however." Fred nods, "That will work," and heads over to pour himself a cup. After taking a sip, he returns to the table and looks over the map displayed there. He notes that it appears to be an updated version of the one displayed previously and it now features the ruins that sheltered the CA team. Other images of the ruins are dotted around the table display. Unsure of everyone's language skills, Fred decides to just dive in, "Are these the images provided by Bakha Kiron? Have you been to the site since then?" Taviir answers, "These are those images. We have not had the chance to go ourselves until now." Fred nods, "Do you have transportation?" Taviir nods, "We were able to secure a personnel transport, I believe you call it a VTOL," pointing to one of the Scouts, "and we have a pilot." Fred grins, "I think a field trip is in order."

Half an hour later, they are airborne and approaching the ruins. The pilot, Taakar Chaarnashim, circles the ruin and decides that it is feasible to land at the ruin as opposed to the original landing site and hike over. She sets the transport down on the north side of the ruin and spins down the engines. Everyone bails out with their gear and Fred motions them around the west side of the structure and to the steps on the south side. Almost everyone has some sort of imager or mapper active, soaking up the details of the exterior and surrounding terrain. Fred heads up the familiar steps and heads into the multi-purpose room as Wilson called it. One of the Scouts sets up a light stand and illuminates the large room. It is more impressive than Fred remembers it, probably because he is seeing it as a whole for the first time. The Scouts are quietly recording the space with special focus on the carvings and reliefs which are much more impressive in good lighting. He notices some of the Scouts have put on silver necklaces with small silver figurines. Some are holding their figurines reverently and appear to be praying. Fred is intrigued by this apparent display of belief, something he has not seen to date. Leaving them to their thoughts, he heads for the side room that was his home for almost seven weeks. It looks much the same as when he left it, although there is evidence that it has been searched. Talvar joins him after a minute as Fred is getting some survey equipment pulled out of its crate. Fred says, "Valnoriim, I remembered that there was quite a bit of equipment here. I think it will be useful." Talvar moves over to inspect some of the equipment crates and nods, "It will be helpful indeed? although we have never used this design? before but you are here? so that is good?" Fred is sweeping a light layer of dust off of the table that was their main dining and workspace, "Yes, that is good. We just have to figure out how to get Imperial and Terran equipment to interchange data. But I can certainly help with that." Fred breaks out a ruggedized laptop computer that he had used during his stay. It still has a charge, but the cells in the room's power hub are almost flat. He scoops up some spare cells and motions Talvar to follow as he heads to the front steps.

When they reach the entrance, he points out a modular strip of charging receptacles along the wall for the power cells and plugs in a few into the open sockets. He points to the cable that runs out the front door and to the left along the wall and connects to a small solar panel array. Talvar nods, "Very clever? spotting? that on the way in." Fred grins, "All we have to do now is figure out how to power or charge Scout equipment, but that should not be hard." Talvar motions Fred back inside and rummages through the pile of gear the Scouts brought in. She finds a spare power cell and a redundant data pad charge cable that has a connector to fit the cell. She hands these to Fred, who by this time has removed a charging socket module from the end of the strip and a few of the cells that have been charging for the last 4 months. With a grin, he takes the cable and cell from Talvar and heads back into the supply room and sets up a workspace on the table. He plugs the fully charged cells into the power hub, fires up the work lights, and sets about testing the voltages and currents involved and working up some schematics on the laptop. He doesn't notice at first, but he has accumulated a few spectators who are apparently fascinated by the work in progress.

Fred looks up from his multi-meter after recording the specs for the Imperial charging cable, and realizes he is being watched, "Oh, hello." One Scout replies for the group, "Hello, Doyle Fred. I am Taakar Chaarnashim, the pilot. I see you are proceeding with caution on this power adapter." Fred nods, "Yes, it pays to be careful when dealing with possibly delicate electronic equipment, especially if there are no spares nearby." Taakar nods, "A wise precaution." Fred notices her English is nearly flawless, and risks a tricky question, "I notice your English is very good. Your studies must be quite a bit ahead of some of your colleagues." Taakar smiles, "Yes, I got an early start on Terran," indicating the two next to her, "and these two have yet to start. But I think you may be referring to Talvar Valnoriim." Fred looks a little sheepish, "I am." Taakar smiles again, "Don't feel badly, she sounds like that even when speaking Ishtaari. Ishtaari not her native language, she spoke only Indii-kri for most of her life until she joined the Scouts and learned Ishtaari. You can always tell a native Indii-kri speaker, because everything sounds like a question. But don't let the language fool you, she is quite intelligent, and that is what the Scouts need to do our work." Fred absorbs the cultural information but can't help but be reminded of his interview with the Security Directorate, "I always try to not let someone's mode of expression color my opinion, but I suppose that is a hazard of being human. But yes, Terra is very similar linguistically. The language that you call Terran is called English; it is one of the main languages spoken and is the common language among nations. But there are hundreds of languages and dialects spoken. Just like I would have said your language is Imperial, but you call it Ishtaari." Taakar seems a little surprised, "Do you not know?"

The other two observers have wandered off to rummage through various boxes and containers. Fred is intrigued, "Know what?" Taakar, lifts a small silver figurine on a silver chain around her neck. Fred has only seen jewelry on Security Directorate personnel until today; this is either a major slip-up by the Security Directorate undercover department, or something else altogether. Fred decides to dive in, "I was wondering about that. I've only seen Security Directorate personnel wear jewelry." Taakar looks genuinely impressed and lowers the figurine, "You are right Doyle Fred, our caste is not permitted to wear jewelry while on duty or on forward stations such as Kugarder. Security Directorate has been granted the privilege to do so." Fred absorbs this information, "There were once societies based on caste systems on Terra, but they have largely evolved beyond those distinctions. If I might ask, what is your caste?" Taakar pulls up a chair and sits next to Fred, "I am of the Middle Technical caste." She lifts the figurine again, "My native language is Ishtaari, it is the common language of the Imperium, it is our cultural basis even though, as you say on Terra, there are many thousands of languages spoken. It is also the name of our people, Ishtaari. It translates to Terran as 'The Children of Ishtar'." Fred begins rummaging through his memories from elective classes at university. With a bolt of surprise, he finds it, "Ishtar? There was an Ishtar that was worshipped for a time in parts of Terra thousands of years ago." Taakar seems shocked, "How is this possible? How can this be?" Fred lifts the silver figurine from Taakar's unresisting hand and studies it. It is a female human figure, perhaps three centimeters high, but very detailed. Detailed enough to convey a sense of majesty and dignity, to convey a sense of divinity. As Fred returns it to her hand, their fingers brush, and he is keenly aware of the intimacy of the moment. Easy Fred, fraternization is probably a serious no-no, probably get me and everyone here killed, or worse sent off for dissection at some hellish lab. Taakar, also sensing the moment, slightly backs up. Fred switches mental gears, "If I can get connected to the CA building, I can bring up data on Terran cultures and see what it has to say about Ishtar." Taakar nods, "I will let Valnoriim know," and stands and heads off to the main hall. Fred walks over to the communications gear that he had previously set up as an intercept station. He breaks it down and sets up a wireless connection interface for local Terran data signals, specifically his laptop, and connects it to the main comm set to link to the CA network at the port. From there he can access the entirety of the planetside data network. If he has the credentials to do so, which he does.

By the time he is ready to connect the laptop, Talvar and Taakar have returned and pull up chairs next to him as he connects into the CA data network. He realizes that the information has not been updated for 6 months, but that it is unlikely to impact any archaeological research. It also occurs to Fred that he might be exposing the network to Imperial scrutiny but also figures that the Security Directorate has probably scanned it multiple times, so what the hell. As he searches the historical, cultural, archaeological, and philosophical files for Ishtar, Talvar and Taakar are almost magnetically drawn into the screen. Images of clay and stone tablets featuring a goddess image, often with a female lion at her side appear. Talvar gasps at one image in particular and points. Fred freezes the display as Talvar scrolls on her data pad and displays an almost identical image, but in a realistic style as opposed to a stone carving. She holds it up next to the laptop screen for a side-by-side view, "Look? They are the same? This cannot? be an accident?" By now all of the Scouts are crowded around the laptop and are fascinated by the images of Ishtar. They spend a good hour just perusing through the available information, with translations provided by Taakar when required. They arrive at a point where everyone has gotten quiet with contemplation and slowly wandered off to absorb the implications of this revelation, and Fred sends a quick message to Andrea and Ron that he is OK and not to expecting him back for a while and shuts the laptop.

He checks the mini fridge left from his earlier stay, and fortunately there is nothing nasty inside, just water bottles. He fires it back up and puts the water back through the purifier and fetches newly charged cells from the charging station at the front door and rotates them into the power hub and racks up the depleted cells in the charging station. He sits back down and finishes building a charging adapter from the parts he had scrounged. The installs it next to the charging station at the front door and points it out to Talvar, "The voltage and current are correct for your power cells." Talvar replies, "Thank you? Doyle Fred. That will? be a great help." Fred can see by the sun angle it is only mid-afternoon, and he returns to the supply room and refreshes his memory as to the inventory of supplies and equipment. He grabs a ration from a carton and sits at the table and has a late lunch while contemplating the Ishtar revelation. The presence of a lion in the images, both Ishtaari and Terran makes him think the origin of Ishtar might be terrestrial, given that the lion is definitely a native species. This is definitely spooky stuff.

As the afternoon wears on, the Scouts continue to document, measure, sample, and otherwise record the ruin. They are methodical and professional and quite precise in their measurements, down to a fraction of a millimeter. A data model is being constructed on one of their laptops as measurements and data come in, and Fred watches it build and grow as the day progresses. The detail contained in the carvings and reliefs is phenomenal, much more detailed than he remembers. Of course, the CA team didn't exactly look that close before, we were just trying to stay out of the rain. From watching the Scout running the model, he figures out the basic controls of the holodisplay and after asking if he may zoom in and rotate the model is assured he won't interfere with the process. He zooms in on one of the reliefs and notices tiny markings that appear to be a caption for an image. At first he think of Egyptian hieroglyphics, but these are different, these are not pictograms. Then it hits him. He stands up knocking his chair back and dashes over and grabs his laptop and brings it back and quickly brings up images and examples of cuneiform writing. Having heard the commotion Talvar and Taakar wander over. Taakar inquires, "Fred, is everything alright?" Fred silently points to the symbols on the holodisplay and then at images of ancient clay tablets with cuneiform writing. Fred's mind is blown by the day's revelations, and he is sure the Scouts have been hit even harder. Everyone had begun to accept there was a close but unexplained connection between Terrans and Ishtaari, but potentially a deep connection, at such a fundamental level, really seems to be giving the Scouts that 51 Pegasi spooky feeling.

After a few minutes, Fred attempts a translation of the symbols, but without success. The symbols are very similar, and in some cases identical, but their meanings must be completely different, as if the Terran versions were copied by scribes at the beginning of the written word without knowing their original meaning. They were just used as is, because that was what they believed writing should look like and assigned new meanings as they went. And, like every language, evolved over time to add or remove symbols and structures. Fred shuts the laptop and feels the need to do something menial for a while, so he unpacks more of the camp furniture from their boxes and crates and starts setting up chairs, tables, and cots in the main hall. Some of the younger Scouts help him set up everything and make up the cots with sheets, blankets, and pillows. It is now dark, and the Scouts gather at the newly set up tables and unpack rations and begin the evening meal. Taakar waves Fred over, "Doyle Fred, please join us." Fred comes over and pulls up a chair. Taakar slides a ration pack over to him, and Fred digs in with caution. In between bites, Taakar observes, "We really made some discoveries today, didn't we." Fred gnaws on the spicy jerky, this time with sauce, "We did. As they say, we really shook the pillars of heaven."

Talvar Valnoriim Enlarge	The Ruin Enlarge	Taakar Chaarnashim Enlarge

Part 11- Return

In the early morning hours of September 1^st, Task Force 101-Alpha emerges at Ross 271 (b) and is immediately challenged by a pair of TMF destroyers from the 281^st Destroyer Squadron. After satisfying the patrol with their identity and purpose, Kuznetsov turns the bridge over to Watanabe and sets up in the wardroom with door closed. She requests medical to meet Denali when Task Force 101-Alpha arrives at Naval Station Vincent - Ross 271 in just over 3 hours. The two injured personnel from Watchful are alive but in serious condition. It is likely that the transfer to Denali kept them alive, as the gunboats only feature an advanced first aid kit as their medical facility. This is immediately followed by a request for four slots in the repair bay. She then notifies Admiral Fournier's office of their arrival and requests a briefing at the Admiral's earliest convenience. To her surprise, the Admiral himself returns her call on the base quantum net. Kuznetsov answers, "Sir, Kuznetsov here." Fournier begins, "Lieutenant, good morning. We weren't expecting you back so soon." Kuznetsov replies, "No, Sir, neither were we. It turned out to be a live fire exercise, and the 113^th gained plenty of experience. The mission data and logs are dumping now. In short, Sir, we interrupted a hostile landing at Iota Pegasi AB (d). Denali, Watchful, Kilber, and Ganet were damaged, two crew casualties, both in serious condition, medical is standing by at dock. We were able to leave a couple remotes in the outer system which should yield good data over time." Fournier pauses, "I look forward to a detailed briefing. Will you be situated by 0630?" Kuznetsov confirms, "Yes, Sir. We are due at dock at 0555, 0630 will be fine." Fournier signs off, "Very well. Carry on, Lieutenant."

Kuznetsov raises all ships in the task force and notifies the commanders of the briefing at 0630. They debrief amongst themselves, since this is the first opportunity that they have had. More will follow, but for now the discussion shifts to the content for presentation to the Admiral and other brass. As they arrive at dock, Denali and the other damaged ships tie down in the repair bay, and the wounded are transferred to the base hospital. The rest of the task force ties down at general docking, and Kuznetsov and Watanabe round up the commanders of the gunboats, and they head for the repair bay where Linden and Appleton have gathered the gunboat commanders and are inspecting the damage with Captain Stepanov. On approach, Kuznetsov salutes Stepanov, "Good morning, Sir." Stepanov returns the salute, "Good morning Lieutenant," glancing over at the damaged ships, "I see you've brought back the usual souvenirs." Kuznetsov nods, "Yes, Sir, but we brought them back." Stepanov nods, "Indeed you did Lieutenant. Well done," to the group, "Please follow me to the briefing." The group heads to Fournier's conference room where Fournier, Mendez, two other unfamiliar Admirals, and a handful of senior officers are gathered around the coffee urn. Fournier motions to the new arrivals, "Good morning, please help yourselves to coffee before we get started." Suddenly feeling the need, the officers of the task force help themselves coffee. They notice that three sides of the table are occupied by their audience, with Fournier at the head of the table and the other Admirals sitting nearby. Accordingly, they sit at the empty side of the table and sip their coffee while awaiting the word from Fournier, which follows soon after, "Good morning everyone. Task Force 101-Alpha has returned from their mission earlier than expected, but with some valuable intelligence to report. For those here who do not know her, Lieutenant Veronika Kuznetsov is commander of Shasta, the 107^th Reconnaissance Squadron, and the short-lived but fruitful Task Force 101-Alpha. Lieutenant, please begin your briefing."

Kuznetsov begins, "Thank you, Sir. Task Force 101-Alpha was formed to continue the training of the 113^th Reconnaissance Squadron. The 113^th Reconnaissance Squadron has been conducting a series of maneuvers and drills around Ross 271 since 10 August and has shown remarkable progress in their transition from individual customs enforcement ships to a cohesive combat unit," the holodisplay on the table shows the ten ships of the 113^th. "Training had reached a point that an out of system field exercise was in order. Iota Pegasi was selected as an ideal training ground for a number of reasons," the holodisplay changes to a system view of Iota Pegasi, "It is a short jump from Ross 271, it has a diverse range of astrometric features, there is a colony with basic port facilities in case supplies or minor repairs are needed, and it was believed to be away from the current combat zone. You will note," the display changes to a navigational view of the area, "that Iota Pegasi appears to be only accessible from known Imperial systems through Ross 271." There is a rustle around the table, Kuznetsov gives it a second and then continues, "With those factors in mind, Task Force 101-Alpha, consisting of the 107^th Reconnaissance Squadron and the 113^th Reconnaissance Squadron, departed Ross 271 on 25 August and arrived 28 August. Conditions, however, were not as expected. Our jump target was Iota Pegasi AB (d), and Denali arrived about a minute in advance of Shasta, Jasper, Sheldrake, Sarpedon, Defender, Vixen, and Antelope, referred to as Shasta group for brevity. Eleven Imperial transports were identified, five were known from 51 Pegasi," the display changes to display the ships and known specs, "and six were new contacts." Kuznetsov sips her coffee to give the audience a moment to absorb the ship data, "The remainder of the 113^th, Bellona, Ganet, Kilber, and Watchful, arrived within minutes and formed up on Denali, referred to as Denali group." The display changes to a tactical plot of the engagement. Kuznetsov continues, "For reasons we do not understand, as you can see, the Imperial transports did not appear to react to our arrival until it was too late for them." Kuznetsov continues narrating the tactical plot and related events up until jump.

An unfamiliar Captain indicates he has a question, "Go ahead, Sir." The Captain asks, "Do you have any theories, and I understand this would almost be guesswork at this point, as to why the transport fleet did not react to your arrival and approach?" Kuznetsov responds, "We were only able to come up with three possibilities, the first being they were expecting reinforcements of some kind, and we were mistaken for those reinforcements. The second is that they believed they had assistance close by and expected us to be disposed of before we could engage them. The third, and probably unlikeliest, is they just didn't see us." The Captain nods, "I see. But I wonder how they could mistake unknown ships for theirs." Kuznetsov nods, "To us it seems unlikely, but per Mr. Moore's TIS briefing, we are fighting a rigid feudal society, and it is just possible that forces from different houses, factions, families, or similar, might be rivals at times and ship signatures and capabilities might be highly guarded, even from other Imperial units. Possibly." The Captain nods again, "I can see you've given this some thought. Thank you, Lieutenant." Mendez indicates he has a question. Kuznetsov recognizes him, "Sir, please go ahead." Mendez inquires, "Lieutenant, the navigational observation is troubling. Any thoughts?" Kuznetsov answers, "Yes, Sir. Given that Sierra-1104 and Sierra-1105 were observed at 51 Pegasi and again at Iota Pegasi approximately 5 weeks later, the only navigational route that we are aware of that fits that timeframe includes Ross 271. We know from experience that Imperial power plant signatures and jump emergences are readily detectable by our sensors, therefore it seems highly improbable that Imperial forces were able to transit Ross 271 without detection. That leaves us with the possibility that there is another route to Iota Pegasi but given the five-week window it cannot be too circuitous, and our astrometric data does not offer any possibilities. More troubling is the possibility that Imperial jump drive technology is sufficiently advanced to have a range longer than 11.2 light years, or alternatively, does not require a strong gravitational presence to reset their drives so they can target deep space between systems thus extending their range. We do at least know from readings that their drive engineering technology is very similar to ours, so we can at least draw conclusions from the data we have gathered." Mendez nods, "I see. Thank you, Lieutenant." As no other comments or questions appear to be forthcoming, Fournier concludes, "Thank you Lieutenant. I believe this concludes the briefing. As the mission data is analyzed it will be made available to all concerned parties. Officers of Task Force 101-Alpha, that was sharp work knocking off the supply transports. You saw an opening and took it, and in doing so created a serious headache for the enemy. The loss of ships, supplies, shuttles, and possibly ground troops could have a serious ripple effect on their plans. Thank you all for coming this morning." The assembly breaks up and files out of the conference room and the task force officers head to the medical center to check on the wounded.

Late afternoon on September 3^rd, Task Force 101-Bravo emerges at G 68-8, the first stop on their way to 51 Pegasi. The task force consists of two destroyer squadrons, a cruiser squadron, a light carrier, a second fighter wing carried by the destroyers and cruisers, four tankers, ten supply ships, troop carriers containing the 2^nd Marine Infantry Battalion and the Army's 352^nd Infantry and 1304^th Engineer Battalions, two large civilian freighters carrying supplies for 51 Pegasi (c), and a sleek two crew low observability infiltration vessel. A formidable force, assembled with the intent to regain and hold orbital control of 51 Pegasi (c) while troops land in the northern forested regions to establish a base for operations against Imperial forces. Two Imperial ships are spotted in the system but are over a billion kilometers away on the other side of the system. There is no point in spending days or even weeks trying to pin them down and engage them, and the Imperials can do no harm to the task force. The worst that can happen is they jump and warn the next system, a warning that for all practical purposes would arrive at the same time as the task force. Drive resets are done; fuel is topped off where needed, and the task force executes the next jump.

Lieutenant Veronika Kuznetsov
Enlarge  

Part 12- Dissent

In the early morning hours of September 10^th, an Imperial Navy courier vessel emerges from jump at Kugarder. A priority signal is made to 114^th Imperial Fleet flagship, the cruiser Akiimer. The Deck Watch Officer receives the decoded message and recognizes this message is bad news and motions for a junior officer to get a courier vessel ready to go. She picks up the intercom handset at the bridge communications station and buzzes the Fleet Commander's quarters. The call is answered immediately, "Fleet Commander's quarters, Senior Section Leader Riinar Baalvinim. How may I assist?" The DWO responds, "This is Senior Section Leader Riivak Thorne. Please inform the Fleet Commander that we have received a priority communication from Naanushugam. I have forwarded it to her inbox and have a courier vessel standing by." Riinar acknowledges, "Thank you Senior Section Leader Riivak Thorne. I will do so immediately," and disconnects. Riinar walks across the outer office to the door to the Fleet Commanders private quarters, and buzzes to announce herself. Adikhir answers, "Enter." Riinar enters and finds Adikhir putting on her tunic, "Fleet Commander Adikhir Malrikim, you have received a priority communication from Naanushugam. Gadag-shi Riivak has forwarded it to your inbox and has a courier standing by." Adikhir instantly shakes off any drowsiness thanks to a jolt of adrenaline. Riivak is not given to dramatics, this must be serious. Adikhir sits at her desk and brings up her inbound messages, skipping to the top. She has to read it twice to be sure she didn't misread the news. It doesn't change; this is a screw-up of colossal proportions. Damn those Sector idiots. That would never have happened when I was running the Sector fleets, never. Incompetence like that would have been weeded out long before they got near a warship. They begged for additional forces, and against my better judgement I loaned those idiots two destroyers, five transports, and the 1074^th Assault Regiment. She reads the details again, hoping against hope. The combat escort sat powered down 6 hours from the transports, what the hell were they thinking? And the flagship shows up late, just in time get herself seriously damaged. The 1074^th Assault Regiment has been gutted, with 4 companies out of 15 making it to the surface. This is an unqualified disaster.

Adikhir types up a brief summary and offers some rather uncharitable appraisals of the situation, advises Area Command some changes will need to be made, and attaches the communication from Naanushugam, tags it as priority, and sends it to the courier vessel with instructions to get it to Area Command on Ulikar. Take a breath, must not lose it in front of the troops, "Riinar Baalvinim, find me some breakfast drink. And start waking up the operations staff and have them meet me in the plot room, we have some work to do. Better have the galley get some breakfast drink delivered." Riinar briefly snaps to attention and moves out to begin making calls to the operations staff and prep the plot room for the emergency session.

Riinar heads to the plot room and finds Commander Valkar already prepping the room. Stewards from the galley have just delivered breakfast-themed drinks, as well as several trays of breakfast foods. Riinar snaps to attention, "Gakhan Valkar Olnaaviik, good morning." Valkar nods and acknowledges the Senior Section Leader, "Gadag-shi Riinar Baalvinim, good morning. I believe we have a situation, yes?" Riinar begins to ensure the stack of spare data pads are charged, "Indeed we do. Bad news from Naanushugam, apparently," and plugs up the weak ones and distributes the charged pads around the main table. Riinar moves on to the refreshments, ensuring the plates and utensils are in good order. Valkar is finalizing the table, ensuring that the seating plan positions accurately reflect rank, seniority, and caste and that the deputies are seated around the perimeter of the room directly behind their respective officers, and holographic name tags at each position are precisely correct. Officers and their deputies begin arriving, and they are greeted by Valkar and Riinar and invited to refreshments. The attendees mill around talking, sipping beverages, but totally ignoring the food. The privilege of their rank requires that the food be presented, but tradition requires that they do not touch or even acknowledge it. Nobody seems to know how this tradition arose, perhaps a naval historian or archivist somewhere knows. In any case the food will wind up in the crew's mess and will not go to waste. Valkar discretely notifies Adikhir that all of the attendees are present, and two Marines in full armor enter the room and stand at attention on either side of the door. The attendees find their seats and stand at attention and Fleet Commander Adikhir enters the room and stands at her seat, nods to the room, and sits. The officers sit, and then the deputies sit, and the Marines ceremoniously depart the plot room and the door closes. Adikhir inwardly shakes her head, just over an hour to start a meeting that could have started in two minutes.

Adikhir begins, "Good morning. I have called this meeting to address a situation that has developed around operations in Naanushugam. Given the seriousness of this news, I hereby suspend formality for the balance of this meeting." The dispatch is displayed for the operational staff, eliciting reactions from almost all of the officers. Flotilla Leader Selvai-kar Yalviirin speaks up, voicing the orthodox opinion, "Adikhir Malrikim, since formality is suspended, I will speak plainly. This is unfortunate, but not our failure. I don't see why our sleep should be disturbed by this news. Surely this meeting could have waited until after breakfast. We feel that since your elevation to the Imperial Navy you have not embraced the Navy way, the way we have always done things." Adikhir is dead calm, but the perceptive can see the ripple of a large predatory fish under the surface. Suddenly there is a lot less 'we' in the room. Adikhir calmly inquires, "Yes?" Selvai-kar suddenly sees a fin break the surface. Adikhir smiles, "Selvai-kar Yalviirin, you are correct, I do things as they need to be done. I will point out we are fighting an entirely new enemy, one that is unaware of how things have always been done. It would be just like them to strike at a critical point behind the front lines, a critical point such as Aria One. It would be prudent to secure it, so you will take your ship and protect it. Immediately." Selvai-kar hesitates. Valkar discretely summons the Marines from her data pad. Adikhir emphasizes, "As in now." The Marines enter the room and snap to attention. Adikhir addresses the Marines, "Marines, please escort Shalu Selvai-kar Yalviirin to her ship. She has a high priority mission to embark upon." Selvai-kar stands, briefly snaps to attention, and strides out of the room followed by the Marines. As the door closes, Adikhir turns her attention to the table, "Does anyone else have something to say? No? Good. Now, what do we do about this mess?"

Bad News Arrives on the Bridge
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Part 13- Unplanned Engagement

In the early evening of September 10^th, Task Force 101-Bravo emerges in LP 463-23. The task force is confronted with a fleet of Imperial vessels assembled at the DTEZ limit approximately 50 million kilometers away. This is a somewhat different situation than the two patrol vessels encountered at G 68-8. Although not in immediate striking range, the Imperial formation represents a substantial threat, either interfering with their return to Ross 271, or moving forward to Ross 271 as the task force proceeds to 51 Pegasi. As the task force fuels and organizes after the jump Admiral Luca Graziano commander of Task Force 101-Bravo calls a virtual conference with the senior officers of the task force. Graziano begins, "Good evening. I trust you have all seen the tactical plot. To sum up, the enemy fleet appears to consist of two cruisers and twelve destroyers and based on previous encounters will have ten to twenty fighters. They are moving in our direction, and it appears they intend to engage. The question is now, given the potential threat this formation represents, do we deal with it now or proceed to our objective. I have a plan in mind, and we'll see if any of you can talk me out of it."

To the officers that have not served with Graziano previously this sounds somewhat strange, but to the officers that have served with him they recognize this as a genuine attempt to elicit honest opinions and find potential flaws that have not been considered. Graziano continues, "My plan is this: we split the task force. Sufficient forces will be left here to deal with the Imperial fleet; the balance will proceed to 51 Pegasi and undertake the original objective." There is some murmuring, and a Captain speaks up, "Sir, depending on the definition of 'sufficient forces', this plan makes sense. The troops and logistical elements do no good here, and their presence only exposes them to needless risk." Another Captain speaks up, "Sir, as long as we keep our forces outside of the well that leaves us the option to escape if there are additional Imperial ships laying low in the system." A Commander pipes up, "If they decline to engage and jump, will our ships jump towards Ross 271 or 51 Pegasi?" Graziano nods, "A very good question Commander, will they assume our objective is 51 Pegasi and move to reinforce it or will they assume we are now weakened and press the attack? We have no way of knowing at this point. But my thoughts are that given the size of the Imperial fleet, if they choose Ross 271, the 281^st Destroyer Squadron and the base defenses will provide formidable opposition. Given that Ross 271 should be able to hold their own, then our forces would jump to 51 Pegasi." Another Captain speaks up, "Sir, I would suggest that if the plan is implemented that our forces detailed to the engagement be arranged at the leading edge of our formation, with all other task force elements close behind to appear as if they will participate in the action." Graziano asks, "To what end, Captain?" The Captain responds, "To sell the idea that the entire task force is staying in system. Otherwise, if a major portion of the task force jumps out before the engagement, they will quickly figure out we never intended to stay and jump out before we can inflict any damage. Once they are engaged and taking damage the elements headed for 51 Pegasi would proceed. We just need to keep them far enough back to avoid damage, but close enough to sell it. Worst case, if there are any surprises there is nothing to stop them from joining in or jumping early." Graziano nods, "That is what we will do. Are there any more thoughts from the group?" None being heard, "Very well. This is how we will deploy. Task Force 101-Charlie will consist of the 24^th Destroyer Squadron and the cruisers De Gaulle, Patton, Bradley, and Zhukov. The destroyers are carrying two fighters each, and the cruisers four, giving us 36 fighters against their possible 20. Navigational sections will work up the maneuver plan to put Task Force 101-Charlie 30 minutes ahead of Task Force 101-Bravo and all ships will maintain updated jump solutions for 51 Pegasi. Ships that are damaged beyond superficially will return to Ross 271 if possible. Are there any final thoughts?" Hearing none, Graziano closes out, "Godspeed to us all. Move out." The conference link drops and the task force goes about arranging itself for battle.

By the dim reddish light of LP 463-23, the TMF Navy begins its first real wartime engagement. The Imperial fleet continues to advance, and Task Forces 101-Charlie and Bravo move to meet them. The forces will meet in approximately six hours, and all is in readiness. The 24^th Destroyer Squadron is deployed forward in a screening formation, pinging away with active radar to ensure there are no hidden surprises such as mines or sleeper remotes. As the time to contact hits one hour, preparations are underway to launch the fighters from the destroyers and cruisers. Remotes have been deployed and are forming a screen even further out from the destroyers and assume the active sensor duties from the destroyers. The remotes comprise a roughly hemispherical formation six million kilometers ahead of Task Force 101-Charlie, providing a twenty second warning on light speed threats via quantum communication as well as extending the range of the task force's sensors. At 30 minutes until contact, the fighters are launched, and they form up in squadron order in advance of the destroyers. With 15 minutes until contact, the Imperial fleet launches their fighters and they close range rapidly.

On the flag bridge of De Gaulle, Captain Sorensen monitors the master tactical plot. Various controllers and tactical crew crowd around their stations and the plot display, staying in communication with the destroyers, cruisers, and fighters. The cruisers, destroyers, and their remotes are all equipped with quantum communications, making their communications secure and instantaneous. Sensors calls out, "Captain, radiological signatures detected. Enemy destroyers have launched twelve Type 97 missiles." The nuclear detonation remotes that destroyed Everest and Erebus and nearly hit Shasta with focused energy from a nuclear detonation have recently been assigned the designation Type 97 missiles by Naval Intelligence. Sorensen acknowledges, "Very well. Course?" Tactical responds, "Captain, course appears to be intercept of the cruisers." Sorensen nods, "Very well." The fighter controller vectors the TMF fighters to counter the incoming Imperials and the plot reflects the updated formations. Just prior to contact range with the Imperial fighters, tactical calls out, "Captain, enemy fighters have launched 40 heavy conventional missiles, appear to be Mirabel type, at the destroyers." Sorensen orders, "Destroyers, spread out, form into five groups of two. Execute." The destroyers break into five two ship formations, to spread out but still have anti-missile and anti-fighter support from their companion vessel.

The master plot now shows the fighters have engaged and are locked in dogfights with the Imperial fighters, which despite a numerical disadvantage are holding their own. Both sides have countermeasures active on their fighters which makes their plots look hazy. The fighter controller extracts six fighters from the melee and vectors them to intercept the incoming Type 97s. Tactical pipes up, "Captain, Mirabels have gone to terminal guidance, destroyers have engaged point defense," a brief pause, "all inbound destroyed." The fighter controller pipes up, "Captain, fighters are engaging the Type 97s." Sorensen acknowledges, "Very well," and looks at the plot and sees the fighters engaging with their light anti-fighter missiles and breaking off to rejoin the dogfight. Sensors confirms, "Captain, five Type 97 missiles destroyed seven remain inbound." Sorensen orders, "Destroyers, engage Type 97s as they bear." Captain Zhang-mi, commander of the 24^th acknowledges, "Captain, on it. Engaging now." Sorensen sees a massive radar spike from the destroyers as their radar paints the Type 97s, and glances at the optical feed display and sees the destroyers' main batteries opening up. Sensors pipes up, "Captain, all Type 97s destroyed." Sorensen breathes a quiet sigh of relief, "Very well," glancing at the range on the plot and noting they are within minutes of the being in main weapons range, "They've taken their opening shots, let's get after them. Destroyers close and engage enemy destroyers. Cruisers stand by to engage enemy cruisers when in range."

At this moment, the Navy's investment in quantum communications pays a huge dividend. One of the forward remotes records a massive beam of energy from one of the enemy cruisers aimed at Bradley. Using standard radio communications, any warning would arrive too late to be useful, but quantum communications delivers a warning 18 critical seconds before impact even though the attack is moving almost at the speed of light. Bradley engages in a sharp evasive maneuver and is clear of the path of the beam with seconds to spare. Sorensen inquires, "Sensors, what the hell was that?" The sensor operator replies, "Captain, unclear. A high-energy beam weapon of some kind, not a laser. It appears to be some sort of near-lightspeed particle weapon. In addition to straight energy damage, we can expect radiation damage as well." Sorensen nods, "Very well," then to Task Force 101-Charlie, "Sorensen to all ships, be advised, new weapon encountered be prepared to evade instantly on warning." The range between the fleets continues to close, and the opposing destroyers begin to engage using main batteries. The remotes are maneuvered closer to the enemy cruisers taking care to stay out of defensive range in order to provide the maximum amount of warning time.

The master plot is starting to show the effects of the battle. A number of fighters on both sides are showing as out of action with distress beacon markers indicated and destroyers Danube and Yangtze are showing damage. The cruiser Patton receives an incoming warning and evades violently, dodging an incoming energy beam. Sorensen raises Admiral Graziano who is monitoring on the flag bridge of Ishikawa, "Sir, we've got them hooked." Graziano replies, "So I see Captain. We'll be on our way, Godspeed to Task Force 101-Charlie." Sorensen replies on behalf of 101-Charlie, "Godspeed to Task Force 101-Bravo," and signs off. Minutes later, the ships of Task Force 101-Bravo jump out of system, bound for 51 Pegasi. Tactical pipes up, "Captain, enemy destroyers have launched a wave of twelve Type 97 missiles. Probable targets are our destroyers." Sorensen acknowledges, "Very well," but inwardly winces because at the short range there is less time for defensive fire. Unfortunately, his concern is justified as Sensors pipes up, "Captain, nuclear detonation, 40 kiloton range, second nuclear detonation, 40 kiloton range. Target is Zambezi, first strike is a near miss," pause, "second strike is a direct hit. All other Type 97s have been intercepted." Sorensen checks the optical feed and sees a powerful beam of energy slice cleanly through the aft section of Zambezi, gutting the engineering sections and likely killing the entire crew. Damn. Sorensen acknowledges the update, "Very well." The collision alarm sounds on De Gaulle, and the ship engages in emergency evasive maneuvers as two massive particle beams flash past harmlessly.

Sorensen orders, "Destroyers, continue to engage enemy destroyers, fire a full salvo of Mk26 missiles at the enemy cruisers." The order is acknowledged, and 36 heavy missiles streak towards the enemy cruisers. Sorensen continues, "Cruisers, nuclear weapons are authorized. Fire a full salvo of Mk28s at the enemy cruisers." Seconds later, twelve large nuclear anti-ship missiles arc towards the enemy cruisers. The enemy fighters, recognizing the danger to the cruisers try to break away from the TMF fighters to intercept, but in doing so expose themselves and the TMF fighters jump at the opportunity. The enemy fighters are now down to six in number, none are able to intercept the Mk28 missiles, and the enemy fighters appear to have had enough and make a run for the enemy cruisers with the TMF fighters in close pursuit. Sorensen watches the plot as the Mk26s fired by the destroyers go into terminal guidance and the cruisers' defensive fire takes its toll, but 5 missiles still manage to strike inflicting damage to both cruisers. The timing of the missile strikes pays off. While the enemy cruisers are still reeling from the first barrage the Mk28 nuclear missiles impact unleashing twelve 100 kiloton nuclear detonations reducing the cruisers to expanding clouds of glowing radioactive slag. The enemy destroyers realizing they are in an untenable position begin to jump out leaving two heavily damaged destroyers behind. With visions of much useful intelligence to be gained Sorensen orders, "Thames, close to the crippled enemy destroyers and board if possible." However, before Thames can approach, automated asset denial protocols engage on the two enemy destroyers and onboard tactical nuclear warheads detonate reducing them to glowing scrap. The last of the enemy fighters has been hunted down and destroyed, and the combat phase of the operation ends. Damage control and search and rescue begins, and the destroyers move to check on the conditions of the damaged fighters and Zambezi.

Sorensen reviews the final tally on the master plot, the destroyer Zambezi lost with all hands, destroyers Yangtze, Volga, and Humber seriously damaged, with 43 casualties, 17 of those are fatalities, fifteen fighters lost with three pilots killed and twelve pilots rescued, 5 of which were injured. The remaining six destroyers of the 24^th Destroyer Squadron have all been damaged with eleven wounded and no fatalities but are capable of continuing the mission; the wounded are transferred to Volga for return to Ross 271. The fighters and all but two remotes are returned to their host vessels, and the wreckage of the TMF fighters are taken aboard the damaged destroyers for transport back to Ross 271. One of the Imperial fighters is able to be recovered and is stored for transport and analysis. No Imperial pilots, wounded or dead, are recovered; it seems they ejected and there is no time to hunt through deep space for them. On the other side of the ledger, the Imperials have lost two cruisers with all hands, two destroyers with all hands, ten destroyers damaged to various degrees with unknown casualties, and twenty fighters with all crew presumably lost.

The wreckage of Zambezi is towed briefly towards the outer system, and once at a safe distance De Gaulle fires a Mk28 missile into her remains, the nuclear blast ensuring that there is no possibility of the capture of quantum communications technology. The two remotes left behind will head for the inner system and silently record activity in the system and being close enough to the dim star to maintain themselves with their solar panels indefinitely. After the three damaged destroyers jump for G 68-8 then onwards to Ross 271, the remainder of Task Force 101-Charlie prepares to jump. After an hour, all boards are green, and Task Force 101-Charlie is headed for 51 Pegasi approximately 4 hours behind Task Force 101-Bravo.

TMF Zambezi (DD-141) Enlarge	Imperial Cruiser "Camel" Class Enlarge	Imperial Destroyer "Dart" Class Enlarge

Part 14- Comings and Goings

After two weeks at the ruins, Fred and the Scouts have exhaustively investigated the building and surrounding area. The detail of the information recorded is impressive. Fred's revelations to the Scouts of the Terran view of Ishtar have been much discussed amongst the Scouts, and a lot of further reading and research has been done in the Terran cultural databases and literature. The Scouts have always been friendly to Fred, but it seems they have almost adopted him now. He is treated like a big brother among the research group, and Fred is starting to feel a little guilty for recording it all. He is also starting to view the research group as his little sisters and wonders if he can edit down his recordings to leave out the strictly personal information about the Scouts, leaving just the relevant bits. He is also concerned that if the Security Directorate gets ahold of these recordings, the Scouts might suffer. As the expedition winds down, Fred makes an executive decision. He stashes all of the recordings in a nook in the supply room and kicks some dirt over them to conceal them. The recordings made before departure are in the usual location in his house, available for any TIS visitors, and those recordings have all of the juicy bits anyway. He will relay the Ishtar connection in person to his contact. His mind at ease, Fred digs in and starts winding up things in the supply room. He was thinking of tearing down the CA data link setup, but a nagging feeling tells him it could come in handy again and just powers it down instead. He powers down the laptop and stashes it in a crate with other survey gear, powers down the water purifier and mini fridge, covers his cot with an extra blanket to keep any dust off the sheets, and shuts off the lights. He helps the Scouts lug their gear back to the VTOL, and when everyone and everything is aboard, Taakar fires up the engines and minutes later they are airborne headed back to the port.

As the VTOL sets down at the port and taxis to its assigned spot, several Security Directorate vehicles are waiting nearby. Fred is suddenly very glad he left his various recording pins hidden in the ruins and wonders if this is just possibly something routine or if they are loaded for bear. Taakar spins down the engines and finishes the shutdown checklist, and the Scouts give the Security Directorate vehicles a suspicious glance and double check their Ishtar necklaces are safely tucked away, and as they hop out of the side doors of the VTOL, the vehicle doors open and eight Security Directorate officers step out and approach. The Scouts and Fred begin to unload their gear, and as they try to ignore the approaching Security Directorate officers, Fred recognizes the head of station and her shadow. Inspector 2^nd Class Jaandor Seloriim calls out to Talvar who stops unloading and walks over to meet her and snaps to attention. Jaandor nods, Talvar relaxes, and they converse for a minute or so. Taakar hands Fred an equipment box from the VTOL passenger seating area and says in a quiet voice, "Fred, if Jaandor comes over here, you are the ranking member at the VTOL, so stand to attention. Let's hope she doesn't, nothing good can come of it." Fred nods and takes the box. As he turns to stack it, Jaandor has already moved over and is standing next to the pile of boxes. Fred snaps to attention-ish, and Jaandor nods and Fred assumes a relaxed stance. "Nakdur Aga Doyle Fred, helping the Scouts I see." Fred replies, "Kudash Aapa Jaandor Seloriim, indeed I am," quickly searching for something relevant, he continues, "this expedition has uncovered something that can only increase the value of Her Ladyship's holdings, and I am honored to be included in the expedition." Jaandor slightly tilts her head to the side, "Is that right? How exciting! Precious metals or gemstones perhaps?" Fred is starting to think he has dug himself a nice deep hole that Jaandor is fixing to start kicking dirt into, but pushes onwards, "Much more valuable, scientific knowledge." Jaandor smiles a disturbingly pleasant smile, "I see. Well, that will have to wait, the Security Directorate requires Bakha Talvar and her merry little campers for more urgent 'work' just now. Carry on." Fred takes his cue and briefly snaps to attention and Jaandor turns and walks away and motions Talvar to walk with her. Fred shudders as do the other Scouts at the VTOL. Taakar speaks up after a few seconds, "I really don't like her. She worries me." Fred nods, "Insult and intimidate at the same time. And not even in her native language. She's good."

After helping the Scouts get their gear squared away, Fred heads for the CA building to check in with Andrea and Ron. They are hanging out in Andrea's office taking a break from not much of anything. A malaise seems to have settled over the CA building and not just affecting his human compatriots but the whole building seems a little off. As Fred ducks his head into her office, Andrea welcomes him, "Fred! Welcome back! Pull up a chair." Freds plops down in one of Andrea's conference chairs, grabs a bottled water of off her small office conference table and leans back, "So what's been happening around here? The whole place seems to be subdued or something." Andrea nods, "Yeah, it's been weird around here the past couple of days. The Bureaucratic Corps seem to have gotten some sort of news, which really seems to have made them thoughtful and a little jumpy. Kind of like they're spooked or something. We've just kind of picked up the vibe from them but haven't been able to figure out what's up." Fred points to Andrea's desk handset and Ron indicates that it is not safe to talk and inquires, "So how was your expedition?" Knowing it will be overheard, he talks up the Scouts, "Actually very interesting. We checked out that ruin near the old original landing site. I tell you; these Scouts can survey the hell out of stuff. They are efficient and professional; the structure and 100 meters around measured to the fraction of a millimeter, every detail recorded." While talking Fred tears a sheet off of a pad on the conference table and scribbles a note, "Maybe it's the flu or something going around here. Anyway, I'd better get back home before my plants die. Again." As Fred leaves the office, Ron fetches the paper from the conference table, reads it, and hands it to Andrea, who reads it; Cappy's Lounge shortly after 2000. She then feeds it into her shredder.

In orbit above Charlie elements of the 114^th Fleet begins to move towards a clear jump. Fleet Commander Adikhir has received orders from Area Command at Ulikar that Naanushugam has become a high priority in the campaign. These updated orders were clearly issued before news of the disaster could have reached Area Command, so something must have changed some weeks ago. Her orders are clear; the bulk of the 114^th Fleet is to proceed to Naanushugam and ensure the invasion succeeds. While she privately resents the interference in her planning from Area Command and is somewhat concerned about leaving a reduced force behind, it does offer an opportunity to cut off any forward Terran fleet elements, as Naanushugam is just one short jump from a key system on their supply route from Terra. Just before jump, a courier with the updated plan and situation as well as all final traffic bound for home is dispatched to Area Command at Ulikar.

When Fred gets home, he waters his plants and then grabs a shower and cooks up some non-ration food. Feeling human again, whatever that might mean anymore, he flops down on his sofa and fires up the vid he left in player and there is a communication waiting for him. Roscoe is in town. The usual procedure, Cappy's Lounge between 1900 and 2000. As usual, Fred plays the message again to erase it and continues on with watching the vid. Checking his watch, Fred sets the alarm for 1845 and sacks out. After shaking off the sleep, he heads over to Cappy's Lounge at 1927. Spotting Roscoe at the bar, Freds heads over and pulls up a stool, "Roscoe, good to see you. How's the prospecting?" Roscoe motions to the bartender, "Spectacular. Found some promising leads." The bartender approaches, "Get Fred a beer, please," and places an Imperial coin on the bar. Fred responds, "Thanks. It must be going well." The bartender places a beer in front of Fred and scoops up the coin. Roscoe look around and spots an open booth, "Let's grab a booth and get caught up."

They move to the booth and sit, and Fred starts, "I went on a field trip with the Scouts and found some really interesting things at the ruins." Roscoe sips his beer, "Do tell. I saw the stuff you left, and that was plenty interesting." Fred nods, "This was not in my collection. The Scouts did a detailed survey of the ruins, and we realized there is a link between Terra and the Ishtaari. That's what they are called." Roscoe nods, "Really? The Children of Ishtar are finally catching on?" Fred almost chokes on his beer. After coughing for a few seconds, Fred manages, "How did you know that?" Roscoe smiles, "Sorry about that Fred, I think I stole your thunder. You said you found this out at the ruins, how so?" Fred carefully sips, "One of the Scouts was explaining about the language and my Archaeology 102 elective from university bubbled to the surface and I brought up information on Ishtar, or the Terran incarnation anyway, and it about melted their brains. They were all wearing silver Ishtar pendants and there was much contemplation and reflection on the meaning of Terra having knowledge of Ishtar. What really got them was the lion symbolism. Apparently they believe it is a mythical creature, but seeing lions on Terra really got them questioning things. That and the cuneiform writing in the ruins." Roscoe blinks, "Really. This thing gets spookier and spookier." Fred nods, "No doubt. Of course, I broke out what is known about cuneiform translations on Terra, but no go. The symbols are the same, but not even a guess about the language behind them." Roscoe sips his beer, surreptitiously checking the room, checks his watch to make sure they are still in the clear, "We came at it from another direction. We managed to crack the Ishtaari language and got quite a bit of insight into what goes on. One thing we do know, and not really a surprise to anyone, is that the Ishtaari are our distant cousins. What really blew everyone's mind is," Fred lowers his beer, and Roscoe continues, "they are Terrestrial in origin."

Fred is glad he didn't take the sip, and manages, "As in from Terra?" Roscoe nods, "As in. They were removed from Terra maybe 15,000 years ago and slightly genetically modified, but yes. Someone, somewhere in the Imperium has done a DNA comparison and realized that we are the same species, but what they don't have is the context of the DNA origin. Being the source, we can trace it to somewhere between the Tigris, Euphrates, or Indus river valleys. The modification results in something like a 10:1 female to male birth ratio, which explains a lot of things." Fred just nods and sips. Roscoe also sips and continues, "You said one of the Scouts was explaining something to you, have you learned any Ishtaari?" Fred shakes his head, "Just a couple words, names, and ranks. Hell, I didn't even know it was called Ishtaari until last week. No, quite a few of the Ishtaari have been learning English, or Terran as they call it. Some are quite good, and the Security Directorate Head of Station Inspector 2^nd Jaandor is almost native good. She and her mob were waiting for the VTOL when we landed this morning coming back from the ruins. She managed to insult and intimidate in the same sentence in English. She is just scary. But the Scouts are learning also, seems like intellectual curiosity on their part. A few of the Scouts already speak English at a fluent level. There are apparently thousands of languages spoken across the Imperium. For example, at first I thought the ranking Scout, Talvar Valnoriim, was struggling with English, but the other Scouts kind of chuckled because she speaks Ishtaari with the same weird accent and inflections. Apparently she grew up speaking Indii-kri. I'm told you can always tell a native Indii-kri speaker by the weird accent."

Roscoe absorbs the cultural information, "This is really good stuff, Fred. The more we know, the better off we are." Fred nods and noting the time on the clock over the bar, "I invited a couple colleagues, Andrea and Ron, to show up after 2000 before I knew you would be here. I was going to bring them up to speed on the Ishtar angle, but since you're here, maybe it's time to read them in." Roscoe thinks for a second, "Fred, you realize the more people that know, the greater the risk." Fred nods, "I know. I trust them, and they are tapped into the Bureaucratic Corps, so I'm sure there are lots of juicy tidbits floating around the office. But if you're not getting a good vibe after meeting them, we'll skip it." Roscoe nods, "Fair enough. And right on cue." Fred glances back towards the bar and sees that Andrea and Ron have just wandered in.

Fred motions to Andrea and Ron after they purchase their beverages. They wander over and Fred moves around to Roscoe's side of the booth to make room. Fred introduces, "Andrea, Ron, this is Roscoe. He's been prospecting on Charlie for a while and only gets into town every now and again." Andrea and Ron sit, and Fred continues, "Sorry to be mysterious earlier, but I found out some stuff at the ruin and wanted to bring you guys up to speed but didn't really want to share with our friend Jaandor. It just happens that I ran into Roscoe here as well and thought maybe you guys should meet." Andrea comments, "Fred, you're still being mysterious. Roscoe, I don't recall seeing you around. Do you have a CA ID?" Roscoe nods, and fishes out an ID, "I don't get to town often, but I've been around here for seven years," and hands his Colonial Administration ID to Andrea. Andrea gives it the once over and satisfied it is genuine hands it back, "So Fred, go ahead with your news."

Five minutes later, both Andrea and Ron manage, "As in from Terra?" Fred nods, "As in from Terra." Fred glances at Roscoe, and Roscoe nods, and adds, "I can shed more light on their connection to Terra," and outlines the genetic findings for Andrea and Ron. Ron speaks up, "Roscoe, I take it you prospect for more than minerals." Fred takes his cue, and slides his way out of the booth, "Who needs another round?" Everyone raises their hand and Fred heads over to the bar. Roscoe answers Ron, "Correct. I work for the TIS." Andrea shakes her head, "I'd have sworn the ID was real." Roscoe smiles and responds, "It is absolutely genuine. You issued it to me yourself seven years ago." Andrea is a bit taken aback, "I'm sorry, but I just don't remember you." Roscoe smiles again, "Being memorable is somewhat of a handicap in my line of work. But please don't look into my records, they do in fact exist, or any other prospectors because the search might put a spotlight on our activities. Fred thought it was time that you were 'officially' read in on the situation. I'll wait until Fred gets back to do my current events briefing, but I will say that you two have been witness to quite a bit of it, such as the invasion itself, Her Ladyship's comings and goings, and various Imperial activities. I've never seen so many brass hats so at a loss for words when they heard about the things you've seen." Glancing over at the bar, he sees Fred hasn't yet gotten all of the drinks yet, and adds, "You should know that Fred had a chance to evacuate from the planet in mid-May but volunteered to stay behind and gather information to pass along, to help build our picture of what was happening. Don't tell him I told you; I think it would make him uncomfortable. I just wanted to give you the whole picture."

Just then Fred approaches carefully balancing four drinks and sets them on the table and sits down. Roscoe continues, "Ok, now that everyone's here, here's the news. Some of this might be a repeat for you Fred, but I want to make sure Andrea and Ron are up to speed." Fred sips his beer and nods. Roscoe relates the current state of affairs as of 3 weeks ago, at least the things that won't damage certain operations if the group is compromised. Andrea and Ron take a moment to absorb the last 6 months of activity. From their perspective here it seemed that nothing had been done, but it turns out that there had been quite a bit of activity. The realization that most of the activity has been preparatory sinks in; there was no real infrastructure for concerted military operations in this, or any, region of Human space. One had to be created from minor outposts and patrol units. There was absolutely no idea who the adversary is or of their capabilities; now an alarmingly clear picture has been developed, allowing plans to be made and set in motion.

Roscoe continues, "Ok, let's change gears for a minute. Some practical matters regarding operations. Don't go actively digging for information unless you can completely justify it as part of a legitimate Imperial request. Just make a mental note of interesting bits of information and pass them to Fred in social situations like this. Fred has a method to pass everything to me or my fellow prospectors which for security purposes I won't get into. If you find yourselves in an interrogation by the Security Directorate try to hold out for as long as you can, but if it gets really serious as in death, injury, or damage to your wellbeing is involved, go ahead and talk. Anything you could possibly reveal would be damaging to a degree, but in no way catastrophic. This isn't the adventure vids; in this situation there is no such thing as noble sacrifice or taking it to your grave. Survive to fight another day." Roscoe sips his beer.

Andrea shakes off the deer in headlights look, and recounts, "I've got something interesting. For a couple of days our fellow Bureaucrats have been in a funk of some sort." Roscoe ponders this for a few seconds, "Interesting. This is the kind of thing I'm talking about, things that seem trivial but when put together with other information can lead to real insights." Fred adds, "Do you know if any of the Bureaucratic Corps are friends with the Scouts?" Ron nods, "Yeah, Karv Daarnalim, the Clerk 1^st that handles the message traffic to and from Ulikar, I've seen her hanging out with Scouts." Fred nods, "Any ones in particular, any of the ones that stayed behind?" Ron slowly shakes his head, "I'm not sure." Fred nods again, "No problem. I'm starting to get a nasty suspicion as to why SD was waiting for us at the port. One of the Scouts probably called to let her know when we were headed back into town, maybe spilled the beans about our findings, or tried to get a message on the next run to Ulikar. Or both. Of course, the SD was listening and probably wasn't thrilled to hear the news about the Ishtar connection." Andrea contributes, "That seems to add up. Guessing a little, but Karv tells her friends about the news and probably gets a call from Jaandor herself telling her to shut her mouth and forget all about it, or worse, that she's in deep kimchee with the Security Directorate. The news alone would make everyone a bit thoughtful, but add in SD interest, that would certainly put the BC crowd in a bit of a funk."

Roscoe nods, "This is exactly what I'm talking about. What seems like several innocuous pieces of information when put together can paint a picture. Of course we don't know for sure what went down, but it seems pretty likely that is what happened. But don't dig in or ask questions, because that would tip off anyone interested in the situation that we figured something out. Just let them think we are oblivious, just like they expect us to be, and keep your eyes and ears open. And if Karv looks nervous or is suddenly transferred or gets a visit from the SD, that will tend to confirm the theory." Roscoe sips his beer, "I'll be around for a few days. If I've got anything new, I'll notify Fred, and he'll notify you."

Andrea Marino Enlarge	Cappy's Lounge Enlarge	Ron Smith Enlarge

Part 15- Return to Charlie

On the morning of September 17^th, Task Force 101-Bravo emerges from jump at the stellar DTEZ, some 38.5 million kilometers from 51 Pegasi (c). The entire task force takes 30 minutes to arrive. As the task forces organizes into battle formation, the warships begin to receive updates via quantum from the planetside Rendezvous station, and a single remote deployed by Roscoe on his arrival ten days ago that has been drifting through the system silently recording. The destroyers deploy in a screen formation at the leading edge of the formation, and all remotes are deployed in a nearly spherical formation around the task force, providing advanced warning from any direction. Admiral Graziano on Ishikawa convenes a virtual commanders conference from the flag bridge. Graziano begins, "Good morning. It appears that the bulk of our opposition has jumped out of the system five days ago. That leaves a single cruiser and five destroyers in orbit, as well as an unknown number of fighters and the potential for hidden surprises. Being deep in the well, they will not be jumping away, at least not right away. If they decide to evade, we will not be able to catch them due to their speed, so we may have to adjust our plans accordingly. Please review the task force formation orders and speak up if there are any issues or concerns." Graziano pauses for fifteen seconds, "Very well, we go with the existing orders. Be on the lookout for Task Force 101-Charlie. Godspeed." The task force moves into the well towards 51 Pegasi (c), with the cruisers Stanley and Pirrone, eight fighters, and several remotes at maximum distance remaining with the transports and tankers and ready to jump if conditions warrant. The Imperial ships around Charlie begin to form up and break orbit heading towards Task Force 101-Bravo. The master plot indicates just over five hours until intercept.

At the port, there is suddenly a massive amount of activity. An alarm klaxon is sounding, and vehicles and personnel begin sprinting towards the Imperial hangars by the airstrip. Bob Tyler jumps up off his seat in the snack bar and looks out the window towards the airstrip. He can see ground personnel guiding Navy dual environment fighters out of their hangars. The other people in the snack bar join him at the window, which is now vibrating from the noise made by fighters taxiing to the end of the runway and holding. Bob runs back to the counter and reaches over and grabs the voice handset and dials Fred's office at the CA building. As Fred answers, the first fighter spools up its engines to maximum and begins its roll down the runway almost making it impossible to hear the phone over the shrieking rumble of massive jets. It isn't until the fighter is halfway down the runway that Bob can hear Fred saying, "Hello? Bob? What's going on?" Bob can hear the next fighter rolling into position on the runway, "Fred! It's Bob! Something heavy is coming down. They're scrambling the Navy fighters." The next fighter spools up and drowns out the communication. A few seconds later Bob can hear Fred, "Bob? Are you still there?" Bob continues as the next fighter taxis into position, "They're launching them all. I don't think it's a drill," hesitating as ten Security Directorate officers come running to the snack bar with assault rifles at the ready, "Gotta go. SD. Guns." Fred can hear the noise from the port in his office, but only an intermittent dull rumble. Fred jumps up removes his recording pin and stashes it in the soil of his office plant and heads out of his office and almost collides with Andrea in the hallway and sees Ron heading up the hallway at a fast walk. Waiting for Ron, Fred relays the news, "Bob called, and it looks like they are scrambling the Navy fighters. Bob said something about SD and guns and the connection dropped. Something's up."

Tactical pipes up, "Admiral, detecting twenty fighters climbing out of the atmosphere and joining the main Imperial force." Graziano acknowledges, "Very well." Graziano reviews their disposition in his head; they have 28 fighters mounted on the destroyers and cruisers in the forward group against the 20 Imperial fighters. There are 40 fighters on Halsey, the light carrier in the task force, but those are DF-76 'Frontier' multi-role dual environment fighters. Although they have the flexibility to operate in both atmosphere and space, in order to do so they sacrifice performance in both of those environments. They have been brought to support the ground troops, and he is reluctant to use them to reinforce the 28 against the 20. We'll call that plan B.

With a little over an hour remaining until contact with the enemy, Task Force 101-Charlie begins emerging from jump near the transports. Captain Sorensen joins the quantum command network and Admiral Graziano immediately inquires, "Captain, what is the status of 101-Charlie?" Sorensen replies, "Zambezi lost with all hands to a Type 97, Yangtze, Volga, and Humber damaged sufficiently to return to Ross 271, 15 fighters destroyed, 163 total casualties, 132 killed, 31 wounded. The wounded were transferred to Volga, wrecked fighters were recovered and loaded on the returning destroyers, plus one captured Imperial fighter. Zambezi wreckage was scuttled. Imperial losses were 2 cruisers with all hands, 2 destroyers with all hands, 20 fighters with pilots, 10 damaged destroyers jumped out, destination unknown. Be advised, the Imperial cruisers were armed with a large near-lightspeed particle weapon. Fortunately, the remotes were able to give us sufficient heads up to evade, but if that thing connects it will do some real damage, as near as we can figure damage will be in excess of the Type 97s. Recommend placing remotes at 20 light seconds out, gives a good coverage to warning ratio."

Graziano nods, "Remote Ops, vector remotes to 6 million kilometers distance, reconfigure for forward hemispherical coverage," pauses, "Thank you Captain. Task Force 101-Charlie has done an outstanding job dealing with the enemy forces at LP 463-23." Sorensen replies, "Thank you, Sir. If you don't mind, I'll hold off relaying your appreciation until after this day is done." Graziano nods, "Indeed, Captain. Deploy 101-Charlie to protect the transports, there are still 10 destroyers unaccounted for." Sorensen acknowledges, "Aye, Sir." As 101-Charlie deploys, 101-Bravo continues onwards towards contact with the enemy and at 30 minutes the fighters are launched from the cruisers and destroyers and form up in squadron order.

At the port, the Security Directorate officers have placed all of the civilians on port grounds in holding cells in the terminal building. Their treatment wasn't as rough as Bob had initially feared, but the SD was quite emphatic about taking them into custody. They were searched by the officers, and all of their possessions were taken and placed in a room to the side of the cell area. The civilians are still somewhat stunned by the events of the past several hours. There is much whispered speculation, but the consensus is that the TMF Navy has arrived, though nobody knows for certain. After a while Jaandor and her shadow Torin enter the cells area. Jaandor stops in front of the cells and turns to face the civilians, "You all are wondering why you are here. There is an emergency situation, and we have put you into custody for your protection. We will be distributing blankets and pillows, and food and water will be served at regular intervals. I do apologize for the uncomfortable accommodations but please realize that the accommodations could still be a lot less comfortable." Jaandor flashes pleasant smile with the all the warmth of surgical steel, "Are there any comments or complaints about your treatment?" None of the civilians are stupid enough to open their mouths, and Jaandor turns to Torin, "Good! See Torin Nalviriin? I told you they would be glad for our protection." Jaandor and Torin depart the holding cells, and everyone starts breathing again. Somewhere from the back of a cell, a quiet voice says, "Damn that chick is scary."

In the CA building, Fred, Andrea, and Ron are holding briefings among themselves every 15 minutes in the hallway to avoid sharing with the Security Directorate. The Army personnel in the south end of the building have long since geared up and headed out. The personnel carriers that were parked in the lot for months have been loaded up and driven off somewhere, possibly to the port or at least to the cover of the jungle. Communications with the port have been cut off, and the Bureaucrats are huddled up in a meeting of their own, discussing the situation and their expected role in an armed conflict. Activity at the front lobby draws the attention of Andrea, who spots armed Security Directorate personnel entering the building. Fred is glad he ditched his pin the minute the action started. He had loaded the survey data from the expedition on it with the intention of getting it to Roscoe to pass on. One of the younger Scouts had given him the data a couple days ago in the name of academic cooperation, and Fred has been hoping that the SD hasn't found out. Fred quickly says, "Andrea, Ron, if they haul me off there is a pin in the soil of my office plant. It has data on it for Roscoe. Roscoe may be watching Cappy's between 1900 and 2000 for a few days yet, but with the situation he may not."

Almost on cue, Jaandor strides into the lobby and appears at the end of the hallway, "Nakdur Aga Doyle Fred! There you are. I would like a word if you aren't busy." Fred groans, puts on his trademark grin, and turns to face the lobby, "Kudash Aapa Jaandor Seloriim! Of course, I always have time for the Security Directorate." He walks down the hallway and as he approaches stands to attention. Jaandor nods, and Fred assumes a relaxed posture, although that is the only thing relaxed about Fred just now. Fred notices that Torin and the armed SD personnel are not waiting for him but are over with the Bureaucrats and are checking IDs, apparently looking for someone in particular. After a few moments, Fred feels the need to fill in the silence, "How can I assist the Security Directorate?" Jaandor begins, "As you are aware, there is somewhat of a situation unfolding. What information did you receive from the port this morning?" Fred replies, "Bob called me from the snack bar to tell me that the port went on alert, and the Navy fighters were launching. We could hear them from here. That is the only information that I received." Jaandor almost looks disappointed that Fred answered honestly. Jaandor moves on, "What information did you pass to the Terran Navy?" Fred looks taken aback, "None. I don't have any information to pass, and even if I did how would I pass it?" Jaandor gives Fred a Look. "Come now, Doyle Fred, you are a clever man. I'm sure you could find a way." Fred counters, "I'm flattered you think so, but no." Jaandor smiles a very pleasant smile, "Doyle Fred, you should know that I've tortured and killed many people that I didn't know. On official business of course. For people I know I make a special effort," she playfully taps him on the chest, "and I've been getting to know you these past months. Hopefully we won't have to get 'official' one day." Torin approaches with a Bureaucrat in tow, "Kudash Aapa Jaandor Seloriim. This is her." Jaandor nods, "Very well Doyle Fred, I'm sure we will speak further," and turns and exits leading the SD personnel and the hapless Bureaucrat. Fred has a leaden feeling in the pit of his stomach like last year's Holiday fruitcake. After he is sure Jaandor is out the door, he steadies himself against the wall of the hallway for a moment. Damn that chick is scary.

As the opposing fighters come into contact and begin the engagement, the ships of 101-Bravo break into combat formation. The destroyers split into 5 groups of two and spread out in front of the cruisers. The enemy destroyers launch a salvo of ten Mirabel conventional missiles at their counterparts as the cruiser launches a new type of missile at the destroyers as well. Tactical pipes up, "Admiral, the cruiser has launched two unknown type missiles at the destroyers, they appear to be similar to Type 97s, and they do have radiological signatures." Graziano acknowledges, "Very well. Destroyers engage enemy destroyers with Mk26s." As the destroyers' point defense mounts engage the incoming Mirabel missiles, a wave of 20 Mk26 missiles are outbound, focusing on just two of the enemy destroyers. One of the remotes sends a warning, a particle beam weapon has fired from the enemy cruiser, the target is the cruiser Grant. Grant is able to handily evade given the 18 second advance warning. The two enemy destroyers targeted by the Mk26 missiles are only able to fend off half and each receives five solid direct hits but appear to still be in action. The TMF destroyers fire another 20 Mk26 missiles at the same targets hoping to knock them out. Just as the outbound Mk26s clear the area, "Admiral, nuclear detonation, 40 kiloton range, second nuclear detonation, 40 kiloton range. Hits on St Lawrence, Fraser, Mekong, St Johns, and Rhine." Graziano swears under his breath as he checks the optical feed. These missiles focused the detonation into multiple beams, finding five targets, but quite a few of the beams missed. It appears that they were covering the anticipated maneuvers of the destroyers as well as engaging multiple targets. The collision alarm sounds on Ishikawa as the cruiser evades a particle beam.

Graziano reviews the master plot. The last wave of Mk26 missiles hit their marks, and two enemy destroyers now appear to be out of action. Graziano orders, "Cruisers, full salvo of Mk26 missile at the remaining destroyers. Destroyers, when in range engage enemy destroyers with main batteries." The fighter action is hard fought but starting to favor the TMF fighters. The cruiser-launched salvo of 40 Mk26 missiles fired overwhelms the remaining three enemy destroyers' defensive fire and completely wrecks them. The Admiral checks the plot for damage indicators on the destroyers struck by the new missile. They are all still in the fight, though seriously damaged. The destroyers that are able have engaged the enemy cruiser with a wave of 16 Mk26 missiles. Graziano slowly shakes his head as Grant dodges another particle beam from the enemy cruiser. That ship has got to go, "Cruisers, fire full salvos of Mk26 at the cruiser." A wave of 40 Mk26 missiles streaks towards the enemy cruiser as Grant dodges yet another particle beam attack. Thirty seconds after the Mk26 launch, Graziano orders, "Cruisers, nuclear weapons are authorized. Fire a full salvo of Mk28s at the cruiser." Seconds later six Mk28 nuclear missile follow the Mk26s. The cruisers defensive fire cuts down the wave of 16 from the destroyers but is only able to stop 25 of the 40 from the cruisers and suffers heavy damage from the impacts. Thirty seconds later, six 100 kiloton detonations obliterate the enemy cruiser. The remaining seven enemy fighters have disengaged and are pulling hard for the safety of Charlie. They are faster than their Terran counterparts and are able to pull away. The TMF fighters break off and head back to 101-Bravo, slowing to check on the twelve fighters that had been hit during the encounter. The destroyers have closed and are picking up fighter crews, but it is clear not all of them have survived. Graziano orders, "Move the transports in and begin landing operations. All ships report damage and casualties." Task Force 101-Charlie and the transports begin their approach to 51 Pegasi (c). As if to put an exclamation point on the battle, the asset denial protocols engage on the lifeless enemy destroyers briefly lighting up the area with five tactical nuclear warhead detonations.

Fred walks unsteadily back to Andrea and Ron in the hallway. Concerned, Andrea starts, "I thought you'd had it for a second Fred." Fred nods, "You have no idea. I've got to start keeping a spare pair of drawers handy. Did you get a look at who they led off?" Ron nods, "Yeah, it was Karv Darnaliim. Poor kid." Andrea nods, "Yeah, you hate to see it. At least it confirms our theory." Fred ponders, "Assuming we don't get locked down, let's try for Cappy's this evening. Something serious is going on and maybe Roscoe can shed some light." Just as the group is nodding in agreement, heavy vehicle noises fill the building. They peer through Andrea's office door and out the window to Main Street, where they see a column of heavy armored vehicles rumble past. Over the noise, Fred nearly shouts, "I'll try to get home now. If you guys can't make it, call and say you can't get to poker night, and I'll do the same." Fred fishes his pin out the office plant and heads to his car. He waits in his car for nearly an hour for military traffic to die down and takes the back way home and is able to make it without incident.

As the transports close into orbit, the destroyers have moved ahead and are pinging orbital space to locate and neutralize any Imperial satellites, and stealth RQ-121 'Raven' drones are deployed in orbit, armed with anti-satellite missiles to silently patrol, waiting for the day an Imperial satellite might be deployed. The tankers are busy fueling various ships of the fleet while the transports adjust their orbits for maximum efficiency of the landing shuttles. First down is the 166^th Marine Reconnaissance Company, with 1^st Platoon marking their return to Charlie after their probe four months ago, followed closely by the 208^th Marine Reconnaissance Company. Once deployed, these units spread out and secure the primary landing zone for the follow-on units. The balance of the 2^nd Marine Infantry Battalion soon follows, and the initial deployment has gone according to plan. The Army units are next, and then the heavy equipment and vehicles. In all it takes 18 hours to ferry all of the gear and supplies to the beachhead. The engineers have rapidly created a runway and crude revetements to shelter parked aircraft. Once the airbase is operational, two squadrons of DF-76 'Frontier' fighters deploy from Halsey to the base and maintain a combat air patrol over the beachhead area as their support personnel set up modular hangars for maintenance and repair work. Anti-aircraft and artillery units quickly deploy to cover the beachhead and support operations.

As the ground forces organize, damage control parties are hard at work on the five destroyers hit by the new missiles. The destroyers will all be able to jump back to Ross 271, but their other capabilities are seriously reduced, and their casualties have been evacuated to the cruiser Pirrone. The Admiral looks over the casualty figures, 119 total, 87 dead and 32 wounded, the bulk were from the hits by the new missile. Graziano convenes a command debriefing, and the action at LP 463-23 and today's action are reviewed. It is decided to simplify tactical communications and not wait for Naval Intelligence to decide on official codenames for enemy ships and weapons, so the new missile is designated as 'Type 98', and the known enemy cruiser type is designated as 'Camel' class, and the known enemy destroyer type is designated as 'Dart' class, with other designations to be made as required. Graziano poses the most important question to the briefing, "They clearly weren't expecting us here, where did three Camels and twenty Darts go five days ago? And where did the ten damaged Darts go from LP 463-23?" No answers are forthcoming; there is no way to know. Educated guesses are made; perhaps the fleets passed each other in jump space, and the enemy is now at LP 463-23 or perhaps there are other targets now under attack. Increased reconnaissance and intelligence is needed. In the meantime, the damaged destroyers and most of the empty transports begin their 21-day return to Ross 271 under the protection of cruisers Pirrone and Stanley.

Part 16- September 18th

On arriving home, Fred immediately checks his vid player to see if Roscoe has contacted him and is rewarded with a message calling for a meeting using the usual procedure. Noting the time, Fred grabs a shower and dinner and kicks back until it is time to walk over to Cappy's Lounge. He arrives at 1912 and heads for the bar. He sees Ron is already at the bar and he grabs the stool next to him. Ron greets him, "Hey Fred, still in one piece?" Fred motions for the bartender, "So far, Ron. Any word from Andrea?" The bartender arrives and Fred orders a beer as Ron answers, "No word, so I assume she'll be here. Our friend is in the corner booth." Fred nods and hands a coin to the bartender as she delivers his beer. Fred takes a sip, "Let's go say hello." They get up and walk over to the booth and sit down, and Roscoe nods, "Good evening. Are we expecting anyone else? Never mind, she just walked in." They make small talk until Andrea purchases her drink from the bar and walks over. Fred and Ron nod as Andrea sits, "It appears I'm late; I wasn't sure when to be here." Roscoe responds, "You're not late, there is no set time. Besides, it looks better if you don't all arrive at once. Anyway, I'm thinking you're all wondering what goes on. The Navy has cleared out all of the Imperial ships from the system, at least for now. Army and Marines have begun landing in the northern boreal zone to establish a base of operations. From there they'll set about evicting our guests. I'm not telling you anything that isn't blatantly obvious to the Imperials, so no harm in giving it up if pressed." Fred interjects, "Speaking of pressed, Jaandor showed up at the CA building today and hauled off Karv. Seems to confirm our theory about the weird vibes with the Bureaucrats. Oh, I almost forgot," Fred fishes a pin out of his pocket and slides it across the table to Roscoe, "that is the Scout survey data for the ruins. Interesting stuff." Roscoe nods, "Thanks, Fred. Ok, now that this is an active combat zone, be very careful about what you do. The Security Directorate or even the Army may be in shoot first mode if they suspect espionage or sabotage. If any of you want to extract, let me know and we'll try to get you through enemy lines." There are thoughtful nods around the table.

On Naanushugam, the remnants of the 2^nd Battalion of the 1074^th Assault Regiment have accomplished their initial objective to capture and hold the assigned industrial area within hours of landing and without casualties. Lacking further orders, and with no prospect of reinforcement or resupply, Kiron Aamrosim has decided to stick to the orders in hand and hold the industrial area. The three remaining companies are deployed throughout the area in a defensive posture, ensuring key points are well defended and maintaining patrols out to 2 kilometers. The supplies have been moved from their drop containers to storage areas in the factory complex thanks to commandeered trucks. The Heavy Sections have set up their mortars and surface to air missile positions and have already shot down several armed drones that entered their airspace. Kiron Aamrosim has set up Battalion headquarters in the old factory security office, and she is reviewing the Battalion's disposition with the Company commanders when the Naval comms set chimes for an incoming call. Falar Haalvinok answers and offers the handset to Kiron, "Kiron Aamrosim, destroyer IN Marguum for you." Kiron notes the Imperial Navy designation and takes the handset, "Bakha-shi Kiron Aamrosim speaking." Ship Leader Murkaar begins, "Bakha-shi Kiron Aamrosim, this is Laka Murkaar Zaalivar requesting a situation report for the 2^nd Battalion." Kiron reports, "2^nd Battalion has taken the initial objective, and no further orders have been received. We have suffered no casualties besides cuts and sprains. Supplies are holding, but if faced with determined opposition they will deplete quickly. We were never able to make contact with 5^th Company, so we must assume they were lost during the landing. What is the situation in orbit?" Murkaar replies, "Your report is acknowledged. The situation in orbit is, regrettably, disorganized. The 7^th Fleet destroyers have opted to escort their damaged flagship to a safe port, which as of 30 minutes ago leaves destroyers Marguum and Zoshtaar as the sole naval presence in this system, and leaves myself as the senior officer." Kiron nods, "I know the feeling." Murkaar continues, "Indeed. We are currently in high orbit at jump distance but have no intention of quitting our post. We do not have any supplies or means to deliver aid or evacuate any personnel from the surface. If there is any support we can provide, ask and we will try our utmost to make it happen." Kiron shakes her head, "If we need anything, we'll call. I am reassured that the Imperial Navy is now on the job, even if it is at reduced strength. Kiron signing off." Kiron hands the handset back to Falar and resumes her conference with the Company commanders.

Naval Station Vincent - Ross271 has become used to operating on a wartime basis. System patrols are now a matter of routine, and a small fleet of remotes drift near the stellar and (b) DTEZ limits, ensuring that any emerging vessel is immediately identified and information is instantaneously relayed via quantum communications to the base operations center. The crews of the 107^th and 113^th have gotten some well-deserved shore leave while their ships undergo repairs and maintenance at the yard. Once all of the repairs and maintenance are completed, the 107^th and 113^th assume their place in the patrol schedule and take the opportunity for training and drills. The dull routine of patrol feels strangely at odds with the knowledge that there is an active conflict underway. Like a forgotten bear trap, they wait to spring into action not knowing if or when they will. There is also the tension of not knowing the outcome of the mission to 51 Pegasi, and throughout the base there is much anticipation, speculation, and even wagering as to the outcome and individual ship performances although this is officially discouraged. Perhaps what the crews of the 107^th and 113^th miss the most is the action, almost a sense of adventure found jumping into hostile systems and accomplishing missions against long odds.

In the holding cell area of the terminal building, the civilians who had been detained during the initial alert are milling around their large cells wondering when dinner might arrive. At least the facilities are functional and almost private. Inspector 2^nd Jaandor walks into the area with two armed guards dragging a semi-conscious Bureaucrat between them. Even though they've never seen an injured Ishtaari before, it is not difficult for the civilians to realize that this prisoner has been thoroughly worked over. The bruises on her face are darker than her skin tone, her eyes are almost swollen shut, and her nose is broken and bleeding. The procession stops in front of the main holding cell, and the two guards throw the Bureaucrat to the floor. The detainees look in horror, not quite believing what they are seeing. Jaandor turns to face the cell and smiles pleasantly, "Yes, in case you were wondering, we do bleed red. Please allow me to introduce Karv Daarnalim, formerly a Clerk 1^st Class in the Bureaucratic Corps." Jaandor looks over the detainees, giving them time to absorb the plight of the hapless Karv. Without changing her pleasant smile, "Karv Daarnalim has sent an unauthorized official message to Ulikar, which is a serious offense, but what brought her to here, on this floor, is the is the subversive content of the message. Why don't you tell our guests what you said in your message?" Karv manages to raise herself up on one elbow, "I sent news that there is a connection between Ishtar and Terra. They must be told." Jaandor gently shakes her head, "As I said, a subversive message. Don't worry, this," gesturing to the prone Karv, "was necessary to convince her to share her story. She will be given medical treatment, and when she has healed she will be assigned to other duties where she will be less troublesome," looking over the cells, "I'm sure that none of you will be troublesome in the coming days, right?" Just then Karv shouts, "The Ishtaari must be told!" Jaandor's pleasant expression instantly transforms into a look of angry disappointment as she swiftly pivots and lands a savage kick to Karv's kneecap, and Karv drops back to the ground in a sobbing heap but manages to gasp between sobs "I am a Child of Ishtar!". Jaandor pivots back to face the cells, looking over the horrified and frightened detainees, and as quickly as it left her pleasant smile returns, "You see? Troublesome," she turns and drops to one knee next to Karv, tenderly stroking her hair, "Of course you are a Child of Ishtar, dear Karv Daarnalim, we are all Children of Ishtar."