Chapter 8: Planning and Setbacks Part 1

Javier slowly walked beside Shira in the centripetal ring passageway of the Lifen. Javier knew that it was the early morning shift. Breakfast had passed, and it was 0758, two minutes before the main briefing. The memory of being on Cebravis felt like a distant thought, even if it was yesterday after they lifted off.

“One more day,” Javier said to Shira.

“Yes,” Shira calmly replied. Her hands were wrapped behind her back as if she had contemplated something.

“I promise you that I know everything and can properly brief what is going to happen.”

“Yes,” she said. Her head was focused ahead of her. Javier could notice something.

“Does something bother you?”

“Why do you ask?”

“You have that ... look of yours. I know that you suppress your emotions to the best of your abilities, but I can still see that look of preoccupation.”

“There are things that are beyond control,” she said. “Nothing can be done about it.”

He tried to keep her happy as he thought of something that might ‘cheer’ her up. “I thought you looked great on Cebravis. I enjoyed our time together.”

“I did as well.”

He sighed. “A part of me ... just wishes that we could have a good holiday together. Not have to worry about everything.”

“We already had our chance to relax.”

“I know ... but ... I just wish we didn’t have this stupid war going on. I want to ... just find a comfy home somewhere and raise our kids together in peace.”

“Then it is best not to rest at this time. We work to achieve that goal.”

Javier turned to look at her. She still kept her head forward as they were nearing the officer’s stateroom. For some reason, her words felt prophetic in some way. It was as if she were absolutely sure in what she had just said. If only he knew the path that lay ahead, but for some reason, he was sure that Shira was somehow correct.

“I guess there is no way to doubt you,” he said.

“Correct,” Shira stated.

Javier took a deep breath. He was psyching himself out for what was going to happen next. The door to the officer’s stateroom was just ahead and on his left. Military protocol required him to be ready. He stiffened his stance as he stood by the door panel.

“Ready?” Javier asked her.

“Yes,” she firmly answered.

“Alright.” With that, Javier stood ahead of Shira. His hand reached the panel, and he tapped the button.

The door slid open. He stepped inside into the well-lit room. The stateroom was a simple briefing locale. It consisted of a large central display table. Numerous cushioned seats lined the walls with a few lavish chairs near the table. Displays lined some portions of the walls. Every officer with the exception of the one that was on watch was here. Stone, still dressed in his marine camouflage and stripped shirt rested on one of the chairs. Mizu, Dean, and a few essential enlisted personnel were also inside. All in all, there had to have been at least fourteen people that were present.

“Stand by!” Javier announced loudly. Everyone quickly stood to attention. It was the highest form of respect offered to the arriving captain.

“Whoa...,” Dean lightly said by the wall. The individual still reacted with some firm quickness. It wasn’t enough to really grab Javier’s attention.

“Attention on deck!” Javier said. It was Shira’s que for her to step inside of the room. Her red shoulder epaulettes could be seen from the red and blue officer’s jumpsuit uniform. For a few seconds, all was quiet in the room. The CO wasn’t going to keep it that way for long.

“At ease,” Shira said. Everyone reacted appropriately as they sat down in their respective seats. Javier walked up to the table to access the projector’s control panel. Shira went and had a seat on one of the closest chairs near him. She would let her silence do the talking in how she projected herself to the others

Javier had a brief moment to identify the various individuals in the room. Stone didn’t seem to be pleased in being there, but that was expected. He already knew the Master Sergeant was being removed from his recruits. Time was very short on his side, but he needed to be present to partake in the briefing. In many cases, the very man’s presence determined the haste of how the briefing was going to be made. In this situation, however, there were much more people that were there. This included other officers such as Ensign Behzad, Junior Lieutenant Patterson, Ensign Hoc, Ensign Fakhr, and Junior Lieutenant Pierre, just to name a few. Besides Mizu and Dean, chief engineer Amelia was also present, including chief of security Ioren. Javier was going to do his best to be cordial

“Welcome, everyone,” Javier explained. “I want to welcome everyone to our Training Exercise Briefing for the upcoming simulated engagement at 0800 tomorrow. I ask that we keep questions down to a minimum until I allow it. Due to our time constraints, Master Sergeant Stone may be excused at any time. I will try to be as fast as possible with the first phase of the operation. We all know how busy he has been with the new marine recruits.”

“Hmph...,” Stone remarked. The hint of understatement could be clearly heard in his voice. Some of the officers looked at each other and nodded with a sigh. Shira remained quiet. Her fingers were pressed together as she leaned back on her chair. She was perfectly composed. Her finned tail spilled over the edge of the seat. Her single eye refused to look at any individual.

“The goals of this exercise are to the allow the crew to experience a mock engagement with an Itrean attack force,” Javier continued as he tapped a couple of buttons on the panel. “We are to fight against one of the best that the T’rintar clan has to offer, Lesser Adjunct Veleshar, former fleet officer of the Shal’rein clan.”

For some of the personnel in the room, it was the first time that they were hearing about this briefing. It might have been rumor beforehand, but now it was confirmed. Javier could see Fakhr and Pierre briefly comment to one another. There was a level of mild surprise to some point that could be seen in many of the individual’s faces.

The overall brightness of the room began to die down. It grew darker as the lights were shut off. In place, the projectors on the table and walls turned on. A rotating schematic showed up that depicted a few Itrean Assault Carriers. The small winged N’jip class looked like a green flying bird. Guns bristled its sides along with a massive array of tiny munitions tubes that lined the forward section of the wings. On the sides of the outstretched rear wings was a series of launch tubes for planetary fighter craft. For a vessel that was less than 150 meters long, it looked like it could inflict damage if it wanted to. The other large ship depicted on screen was the modified Hiko class Assault Carrier. This looked way more intimidating as it was much bigger than the Lifen ever was. Light railgun turrets lined the bottom side strips. On the top rear was the primary weapon array, which was an adjustable heavy torpedo launcher system also equipped with a particle cannon. The original purple hull color had been long thrown out for the T’rintar clan green.

“At 0745 tomorrow, we will make the jump to Gu’ii’lo’trelda at the opposite side of their moon,” Javier continued. “In phase 1 of the mock engagement exercise, we will then circle around to the other side of the moon and come to a complete stop at approximately 14,000 kilometers at the arranged rendezvous point.

The display screen changed to show a 2-dimensional overlay map. The projection image of Gu’ii’lo’trelda’s moon appeared with the name Hesa. What made it noteworthy was the massive debris field that floated around the night side of Hesa. It was as if the moon had been partially cracked open and left that way. An arrow appeared to show the arrival of the Lifen where it made a circle around it. The arrow then came to a halt as two green dots appeared next to it.

“At 0845, Veleshar’s flagship, the Avastier, will dock with the Lifen,” Javier stated. “Ninety of her warriors will be made ready for an onboard mock ship boarding operation. During this phase, the four new recruit trainees will be forced to engage these warriors. This will be all simulated, of course. Both sides will be using rubber rounds linked with their armor. All of this will be conducted on Deck 2, the main heart of the Lifen Lander. Master Sergeant Stone will be in charge of this portion of the training phase. Only Captain Shira or Stone have the authority to call for a training timeout or an end to the entire training exercise. Chief Engineer Amelia, I trust that Deck 2 is ready for a Level 3 Tactical Simulation?”

“Yes, it is, sir,” Amelia replied. Javier tapped a few buttons on the panel. An internal deck layout of the Lifen appeared on the projection. Just below the deck was the main storage facility of the Lifen lander. From the rearmost section, a circle highlighted the trainees’ starting point. A circle showed the side hatches of where the Avastier would dock. The internal map was detailed in showing numerous rooms in the long corridor. Another circle appeared on the opposite side of the starting point where the trainees would start.

“From Stone’s intentions, he has the jurisdiction to alter the parameters of the simulation from Level 1 to Level 3 as he see’s fit,” the XO continued. “The goal of the simulation is for at least one of the trainees to successfully reach console 2-1A in the bow of the ship and touch it. If all trainees are ‘incapacitated’ during the simulation, then the simulation is over. Assuming this occurs, Stone and Shira can issue the command to reset and restart the training simulation until the trainees succeed in this goal.”

“Ninety soldiers...,” Patterson remarked. “That’s tough.”

“Yes,” Javier nodded. “However, the warriors will be fighting in shifts of thirty soldiers each per simulated round. During Phase 1 of the mock training exercise, all but the recruits, warriors, Stone, myself, or the CO will be allowed to be there unless we initiate a training timeout. All department heads, you are to advise your teams to stay clear of Deck 2 during this process.”

“I want to make that clear!” Stone added almost interrupting the briefing. His booming voice was loud as he pointed his finger to the group of officers. “Veleshar’s warriors and the recruits are allowed full access to all rooms in this area. They won’t be hesitating to shoot at each other. I don’t want to have any excuses that somebody had lost an eye during this because they forgot something or blundered in to take care of some basic maintenance shit in deck 2. I want this to be as fucking real to these future marines as possible! It’s off limits until Phase 1 is over. Do you understand!?”

“Aye, Master Sergeant,” some of the officers replied. Javier could see the respect that the higher rank had for the man. Stone only had it one way and it was going to be his. His experience and position on the ship quickly put him among the top three personnel of the Lifen.

“Captain,” Stone leaned onto his arms on the table and looked at Javier and Shira. “If necessary, I may request to have a Level 4 tactical simulation. The more real this is for them, the better.”

“I concur,” Shira stated calmly. Her shark-like eye gazed into his eyes and gave a nod to him.

“Level 4?” Ensign Hoc asked in the room.

“Level 4 is the highest level in a tactical shipboard training simulation,” Javier explained to him. “In that, other personnel will be asked to possibly participate. Most likely, simulated blood, medical training teams. We will need to have the medical officer’s authority to do this.” The XO looked at the crowd and saw Chief Caeytano in the room. “Chief, you feel that your team could handle a level 4 scenario?”

“It would allow me an opportunity to possibly help Private Isandro in his training to become a marine medic,” Caeytano commented with a smile. “Yeah, I wouldn’t mind getting a couple of my medics in on the action. However,” the chief lifted his finger. “I would still ask that we keep this to about a couple personnel only. Stone, I can hope that you can promise that my teams don’t exactly get hurt during the exercise.”

“We’ll keep it isolated to a couple of places only,” Shira said, looking at Stone. “I will notify Veleshar of the update so that her warriors will try to avoid targeting them by accident. However, I would still advise that the medics that participate observe all safety precautions.”

“Meclevar body vests and visor helmets should suffice,” Stone said. “It’s more than enough to protect from rubber rounds.”

“Then I have no further objections to this,” the chief said.

“Depending on the outcome of the scenario,” Javier continued. “We will continue to run Phase 1 and reset it until the recruit trainees succeed in their goal. However, if the trainees fail to accomplish the goal by 1300, we will then end Phase 1 regardless and proceed with Phase 2. Are there any questions?”

“We will remain docked with the Avastier through the whole exercise?” Hoc asked.

“Yes, unless the CO says otherwise.”

“I am assuming that the recruit trainees will be in their power armor,” Patterson said.

“Yes,” Stone answered.

“I see. Will the trainees be allowed to venture past Deck 2?”

“They cannot proceed to Deck 1 or Deck 3 to avoid interfering with ship’s operations.”

“What about outside?”

This question caught Javier off guard. In reality, it was a valid question. He was about to say that he didn’t know, but the master sergeant was quick with his response.

“Yes,” Stone answered. “The power armor is fully adapted to operating outside in a vacuum. As long as they don’t venture to the hatches that lead to anywhere but deck 2, then I will allow it.” Stone turned to look at Shira. “You can also add to the request that Veleshar have one of her shuttles launched and at the ready ... just in case.”

Shira had a faint smile that appeared on her face as her fingers flexed a little bit before it quickly disappeared. “That and more...,” she said without offering an explanation.

“Good question,” Javier nodded to Patterson. Patterson seemed complemented with bringing up something that was important. However, it might have been more for the fact that Javier himself complimented Patterson, which seemed to please him.

“Are there any other questions?” Javier asked.

A beep sound erupted from the table. Javier looked at the light indicator and knew that somebody was trying to call up to the briefing room. At first, it lightly agitated the XO, but he could see that it was coming from medical. A few of the officers appeared to be talking with each other.

“I’m receiving a notification from the medical bay,” Javier commented as he looked at Stone. “The message is meant for Master Sergeant Stone.”

Stone’s left hand balled into a fist. “Send it to my station,” he said, trying to keep himself composed.

Javier tapped a few buttons as the message was relayed for Stone to read-only. Ioren’s face even tensed as well, almost as if she knew that Stone was getting apprehensive.

The master sergeant began to read the information displayed on the screen from the table. Shira remained composed as she tapped a few buttons on her console. Without turning her head, her single shark-like eye appeared to read the information that Stone was also looking at. She appeared to be discrete as Stone was reading it diligently. She said nothing as she closed out the message and looked back at Javier. There was a brief moment when Javier could see Shira’s nostrils flare up. It was almost as if she had sighed, but it quickly disappeared. She appeared to be contemplating as her fingers were pressed together.

Suddenly, Stone’s fist slammed the table with a hard thump disturbing the conversations in the room. Even Javier could feel it. The master sergeant stood up and looked at Ioren.

“Stay here! Record any further information so I can review it later,” he angrily told her.

Ioren did her quick nods as many of the personnel in the room watched Stone leave. Once the doors closed behind him, Javier decided to resume the briefing.

“Now then...,” the XO sighed lightly. “Now to resume with the briefing. Once we finish up Phase 1, we will then proceed with Phase 2. After Veleshar’s troops depart from the Lifen, we will conduct a tactical ship-to-ship engagement.”

Javier tapped a few buttons on the console as the internal layout of the Lifen vanished. It then provided a more detailed outline of Hesa. Next, a 3D model of the Lifen vessel appeared. This was followed by the Avastier and the N’jip Mark 2 class carrier with the name “Cetra” written on it.

“Phase 2 is a limited ship simulated battle engagement,” Javier explained. “Veleshar’s flagship, the Avastier and the Cetra will position themselves to about 20,000 kilometers from the Lifen, away from Hesa. Veleshar is allowed to use whatever assets are available to her that her two ships can bring along. This also includes the Lifen as well. However, the battleground is adjusted so that Hesa, Gu’ii’lo’trelda, facilities, and all the satellites as neutral parties. We are treating this system as an unexplored sector, where a small group of Itrean vessels are trying to ambush and destroy us.”

A green arrow appeared on the display map. It showed as the Lifen was heading towards the moon. Yellow arrows with question marks appeared on the Avastier and the Cetra. They seemed to be chasing the solitary green arrow.

“At 1400, the battle will commence,” Javier continued. “The Lifen’s armament is capable of beating the Cetra in a one-on-one fight. However, the Avastier is another problem. It’s armed with two side-mounted light railguns and a heavy guided munitions launcher turret. It can release a large salvo of heavy anti-ship torpedoes that can quickly overwhelm our defenses. This, in conjunction with the Cetra’s mini-missile array network, will be more than enough to ‘destroy’ us in a fight.”

The moving line showed the Lifen slowly encircling the moon.

“Veleshar’s goal is to disable or destroy us. It’s our goal to stop her before she does it. We must take out both the Cetra and the Avastier for us to achieve complete victory. Another alternative goal is for us to jump out and escape if we can achieve that. However, the conditions of the battle will make that difficult.” Javier pointed at the display. “This battle will be a scenario of wits vs. survival. Veleshar will command her fleet, and Captain Shira will be leading the Lifen in its daring attempt to evade the Lesser Adjunct. We will be barely out of her fleet’s missile range at the start. Because we can’t directly engage both vessels simultaneously, we will make a run to the moon. It is assumed that Veleshar will give pursuit. The speed and acceleration that their crew can handle are better than ours. However, we can reach the other side of the moon before she does.”

“Sir,” Patterson interrupted. “No offense, but this is an unfair fight, even for a simulation. I remember the Fu Yi. Our asses were to the wall. This time, it’s just going to be us? No help? No reinforcements?”

Javier shook his head. “None. We’re on our own.”

“Do not expect there to be help like how we were saved back at Palora, Junior Lieutenant,” Shira commented. She turned to give him a sideways glance. “Much like those marine recruits, we must learn to fight against the odds. The Shal’rein and Aksren clan will not hesitate to use overwhelming force to stop us in any real scenario.”

“Ugh ... I hate it when you’re right,” Patterson mumbled.

“Now...,” Javier continued. “There can be three different possibilities that may occur when we retreat. One is that the Avastier and Cetra will be in hot pursuit with the Lifen. The second possibility is that the Avastier will pursue us as the Cetra encircles around the other side of the moon to pincer us in. The third possibility is that the Creta will not pursue us as the Avastier flushes out from the other side of the moon. When we fly back around the moon, we will then have the Avastier directly behind us, and the Cetra will be waiting for us. According to the CO’s opinion, Veleshar will most likely chase us as the Cetra remains back. The Lifen cannot properly engage the Avastier directly. Veleshar knows this.”

Patterson began to fumble with his chin. “Wouldn’t it be logical to have the Avastier hit us from behind as the Cetra comes in from the other side? It looks like we would be ahead of the Avastier enough that she wouldn’t be able to track us.”

“That is what she expects,” Shira commented. She lightly pointed her finger at the display. “Veleshar is cunning. She is one of the best strategists that formerly served the Shal’rein clan. She knows that we will retreat and try to use the moon as cover. She had also speculated in sending the Cetra to come around. However, our speed wouldn’t allow us to properly engage one another. The Cetra would only have one pass on our trajectory around the moon. This wouldn’t allow her to adequately use the full extent of the Cetra’s combat capabilities. The N’jip class is designed to launch all of its munitions onto a target. They are designed for long-range barrages. By encircling the moon, the light assault carrier’s main weapon wouldn’t be able to achieve a proper lock, further weakening its salvo. Most likely, she will have the Cetra left behind. She will believe that the Lifen will encircle the moon and then directly engage the Cetra. By eliminating the Cetra from the scenario, it would slightly decrease her chances of winning in a one-on-one battle. This is what she is hoping for. However, there is something that she hasn’t considered.” She gave a queue to Javier to continue.

“Upon reaching the halfway point of the dark side of Hesa, we will disconnect the centripetal ring and engine module,” Javier continued. “There, the module will be left on autopilot as it engages in a simulated collision course with the Avastier. Veleshar would be expecting this. By jettisoning the engine module, she will assume that we are trying to delay her so we can have more time to destroy the Cetra. She will slow down her approach to evade and destroy the module. The Lifen lander is her primary target. For all officers in this room, ensure all personnel are onboard the lander for Phase 2. That is the heart of the Lifen. It carries all the weapons and can put up the fight.”

“Heh ... this feels like what we did back at Palora,” Patterson commented. “Fu Yi’s ring and engine module was toast. I doubt that the Lifen’s habitat and engine module is going to do much to stop her, though.”

“Your assumption is correct,” Shira replied.

“That is why Veleshar will get the big surprise,” Javier smiled and gestured his hand to Mizu and Dean. The officers turned their heads to look at Mizu. The pilot’s heart almost seemed to skip a beat at the idea of so much rank looking upon him. He wondered if the thought was mutual as he turned to look at the other pilot beside him. He could see that Dean was fast asleep. There was the tiniest bit of air that could be heard breathing through his nostrils.

“Ugh...,” Javier frowned at Dean.

“Dude!” Mizu took his elbow and smacked Dean’s hip. It was enough to knock the stoned man to awaken him. Dean quickly stirred awake. He was doing wide blinks with his eyes.

“Whoa...,” Dean remarked in his stupor. He then held his arms up in cheer. “Like ... that’s when we come in!”

Javier gave a questioning look as if he was ready to scold the man for sleeping during a significant briefing. His mouth was slightly agape as he briefly looked at Shira, that said nothing about it. The XO decided to drop it and continue. He tapped a few buttons on the panel. The projection began to alter, highlighting Hesa. It showed the massive debris field that orbited the moon. They were locked in the moon’s orbit, almost stuck in its hold. The model of the Lifen showed the lander detaching as it was left behind. It was perfectly near the largest cluster of rocks.

“Yes,” Javier continued. “Approximately, over 100,000 years ago, Hesa took several direct hits from a variety of heavy railguns. It ripped a large chunk of it where it still orbits the moon to this very day. The Gui’optre people still mine the moon for some resources, including the blown-off debris. Unfortunately, most of the asteroids are too small for the Lifen to adequately hide behind, and it’s most likely that we couldn’t get behind them in time to launch a proper ambush against the Avastier. This is where our two pilots will be able to play their part.”

The projection showed the handy flat-looking stealth vessels that were in the storage bay. Their black winged box-looking configuration was partially majestic, but just barely. However, what they lacked in grace, made for its practicality.

“Well, I’ll be,” Ensign Hoc commented.

“Stealth composites,” Patterson added with utter surprise. “Meclevar Anti-Thermal Carbon Composites. How in the universe did you get ahold of this?”

“Meet our secret weapon for this engagement,” Javier proudly explained. “Special thanks to Mizu, Dean, Chief Engineer Amelia, and the engineers for working their asses off to make this happen.”

“Yeah, man ... like ... totally awesome,” Dean said as he held his hand up to high-five Mizu. Mizu was reluctant to slap his hand, but Amelia seemed to give a gentle slap on the hand.

“In our storage bay, we carry two of these infiltrator vessels,” Mizu continued. “What they make up for their crowded space, they make up for the fact that they carry a single missile launcher. Upon arriving at Heza before Phase 1 is initiated, both shuttles will be deployed from the Lifen. Mizu will take up a position at one of the moon craters. Dean will use the abandoned mining outpost of ZT-191. From there, both pilots will fly their craft to ambush the Avastier.”

The projection showed two stealth craft making an attack run towards the Avastier. It would form a classic pincer maneuver. However, despite the awe and surprise of the concept, there were a few that naturally did voice some objection to the idea.

“Both of the vessels carry enough munitions to launch an attack upon the Avastier,” Javier continued. “They will target the bridge sections and torpedo launcher array network. This will weaken the vessel enough that it will make the fight with the Lifen easier.”

“It’s an amazing idea,” Patterson said. “But ... how do we know Veleshar won’t pick them up? We still don’t fully know if Itrean sensors are accurate enough to register stealth ships or not.

“Itrean sensors can register UHN stealth vessels,” Shira explained. “It depends on what they are doing. Any heat generated from engine flares will automatically be detected.”

“Hmm...,” Mizu mumbled.

“So ... umm...,” Dean questioned. “Like ... how do we get close to Dely, ma’am? Because ... it would be a total bummer if she just ... I don’t know ... shoot us down before we reach her. That Avastien ... it’s got a lot of guns on it.”

“It certainly does,” Javier explained. “We believe that Veleshar will expect an ambush of some degree. Pilot Mizu will be taking off from the planet onboard the ‘Stealth-Bro’ and make a direct course to the Avastier. It will be possible that Veleshar will react and change her course closer to ZT-191. This is where Pilot Dean on board the ‘Silent-Bro’ will make his ambush.”

An internal layout of the ZT-191 base was presented for the pilots to look upon. The diagram consisted of a facility and a series of winding mining tunnels. The entire rock where ZT-191 was positioned was over 23 kilometers in diameter. Only one tunnel led through to where the Avastier would be heading.

Javier pointed at the screen. “Pilot Dean’s skills will be ... put to the test again. He will take the shuttle and fly through access tunnel 3-70 and then take tunnel 2-9. Inside the abandoned tunnel, the Silent-Bro will be undetectable even by Itrean scanners. It will be up to him to accelerate and maneuver through the mine shaft as fast as he can go. Once he reaches the tunnel exit, he will have to shut the engines off and coast directly towards the Avastier. Then, when he reaches within range where the Avastier can’t respond to missile fire, he will then unleash his salvo against those targets. With a little luck, Veleshar won’t see it coming.”

“Whoa ... so like ... if I do all of this, Dely won’t see me?” Dean asked.

“If you perform the maneuver perfectly, yes,” Javier said with a smile.

“Far-out ... dude ... that’s a smart idea,” Dean smiled and nodded his head. “You and the Captain are like really smart. I think that I ... could do that.”

“There will be an extreme risk to that,” Ioren’s tilon echoed out in the room while she typed as fast as she could. “My father used to work in mining. The layout that you have is wide enough for the shuttle to fly through. However, it will require specific maneuvering. Inside, some sections are so small that the risk of collision is very high. Combined with rapid acceleration, this would put Dean’s life at significant risk.”

“Oh ... man...” Dean’s eyes squinted as he looked at the numbers on the projection. “Yeah ... Iory has a point. Like ... that would be a total bummer if I crash.”