Chapter 19: The Plans Evolve

“Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.”

—General George Patton Jr

“I would like to talk to you about your planned attack. I’ve discussed it with my people. The Una would like to suggest a few minor amendments. I’m going to talk to you from my room so you can see me,” said Winston as Jason sat at his desk in his wardroom after the women left.

Winston created an image in Jason’s mind of a luxurious but disorganized study with heavy, dark bookshelves and ancient books on every wall. Winston looked like a professor lecturing his students. He was dressed in a brown tweed suit with a vest and a silk cravat. He held a pipe in his clenched teeth and blew smoke circles. Jason laughed.

Winston smiled. “We advise you to consider one small change in your plans. You planned to disable the enemy ships, so you could use them to add to your fleet. You will employ the mines to accomplish your objectives and use the missiles as backup?”

“Yes, that is correct, Winston.”

“We recommend you arm your missiles on the asteroids thirty seconds ahead of the time you planned, arm them delay ten seconds, then fire. There is a rationale for our argument. When you arm the missiles, the Mob will detect them. They will prepare to fire long-range anti-missile missiles, fire anti-ship torpedoes, and charge the long-range artillery. The long-range artillery demand all the available power, and the ship gives them top priority. The AI will become more vulnerable to your cyber warfare activities; the AI uses considerable resources to aim the suite of weapons.”

“Winston, I have no difficulty with that suggestion,” said Jason.

“While you were otherwise occupied, Cherry Singh sent a small probe to each cruiser. The cyber warfare group decided the risk of discovery was low if they used a small, single-purpose probe. Using a suite of malicious software, they can briefly cripple the ship AIs.”

“I assume the situation is different in battleships?”

“Even though the demands on resources are way higher, battleships have far more available power. In cruisers, they must stage the use of power. They can’t concurrently arm short-range weapons as they prepare to fire artillery and mount force fields. The shield is a lower priority and slows to strengthen because the obvious threat is distant. Bring your mines in close. Do not fire them until the fighters leave the ship. Concurrently, fire both sets of mines: the anti-ship and the anti-fighter. You will probably disable the ship with your primary mines. Bring your next mines into the same positions as the previous ones. They should be in place before the enemy gets the point defenses operational. They won’t know what the threats are. If necessary, you will have a second shot at the ship and residual fighters.”

“Aren’t we firing our missiles from the asteroids when they are near the ships? Jason asked.

“Yes, but you must be ready to disable them depending on the result you achieve with the mines. You must also be ready to disable the second series of mines. You can board after the first mines explode.”

“Our Marines assemble in the Marine square before they repel boarders. Where can we strike to disable the Mob cruiser defenders?” Jason asked.

“I’d place two mines on the starboard side of the cruisers opposite the fighter exit gates to target the Marine staging areas. You will neutralize half the enemy Marines. They will be racing to don armor and to repel boarders. Wait two minutes after the first mines go off.”

“Thank you and the Una for your recommendations. I will discuss your valuable suggestions with Jacoba, Phoebe, and Janet.

Dinner was at eight that evening. The Empire crew ate late evening, and Jason had acclimated to this routine. Jason had dinner with the senior officers. He suggested they meet after dinner to review and discuss the plan in the conference room.

Robert and Marie delivered a smoked salmon starter with a Margaret River Chardonnay, then served a beef Stroganoff and a Cabernet-Shiraz. The dessert was a banana soufflé with white and dark chocolate served with cheese, biscuits, and a dessert wine. Jason’s guests praised Robert and Marie and ate the food with gusto.

“Jason, Janet, and I are delighted to tell you we are both pregnant. Congratulations, Daddy!” Phoebe remarked.

They both looked at him and grinned.

Jason was delighted.

“Congratulations, Phoebe and Janet,” he said enthusiastically. He kissed them both, and those in the canteen who heard the announcement hooted and cheered. Robert and Marie came over to the table to congratulate them.

They teased Jason about being a father to many.

“How many are we talking about?” Jason asked, increasingly worried.

“Jason,” Phoebe said patiently, “we explained to you how rare fertile men are in the Empire. We shared your sperm around. You will be a father to many; not all the sperm has yet been distributed. We have some concerns about how primitive these children may be. On your planet, people were not far away from monkeys, and we are concerned whether the children would have arms hanging below the knees,” said Phoebe with a straight face before giggling.

Janet and Marie joined her.

Meanwhile, the asteroids slowly accelerated toward the Mob ships with their missile loads.

In the small conference room, Jason updated the women, Patton, and Jacoba, about the advice of the Una. Jason asked Patton to simulate how events would play out.

Patton demonstrated the mine and asteroid paths and confirmed everything would be in place and ready for action by eleven the following day.

“The advice of the Una is valuable and helps us reduce damage to the enemy ships,” Patton added.

“Something worries me about this operation, and I don’t know what it is. There is a threat we are not addressing. I’ve had a lifetime of premonitions that came to fruition. Mostly they were minor issues on Earth, but I learned to trust them. I knew a problem existed before we had an inkling of the pirate attack. We must be careful tomorrow. Something will surprise us,” said Jason.

“What do you sense?” Phoebe asked.

“In the army, we faced many ambushes. When we overwhelmed an obvious ambush, they triggered a second one when we relaxed. I sense something else nasty after we trigger our ambush.”

“Let’s assume they are holding ships in reserve,” said Janet. “They have other ships nearby or on the way here that we cannot detect.”

They discussed what they could do.

Phoebe broadened the scope of the fighter scouting patrols and sent out additional long-distance sensor probes.

“I’m going to keep to my routine. I’ll see you tomorrow, in your gym or at breakfast. Good night, all,” said Jason, making his way with his Marines to his wardroom.

Jason ran with the dogs in the morning and then went to the Marine gym. The gym was a hive of activity. Behind the kidding around and locker room humor, they were a determined group of people readying for action.

Jason joined Lucia Pablo. They began with forms, and he went through them with the rest of the group.

“Jason, today it is time you spar with us; I want to see your version of martial arts in action and assess your skills.”

Jason had not pushed his heaviest weights so that Lucia would underestimate him. The Medical AI told her he was ready for action!

Jason went through his forms at half-speed to create the impression that he was slow. Jason loved playing the game and knew the Marines enjoyed their jokes.

“Lucia, can you explain the rules?” Jason asked.

“One of the group will act as a judge. I know you’ve observed previous sessions, but I’ve not explained the rules. Don’t use throws where you could inflict serious injury. Light contact is permissible. The judge will determine if your strike would inflict an injury or if it’s likely to be a death blow and score appropriately. An injury scores two points, and a killer blow scores five. A bout ends when you’ve scored fifteen points. A throw scores two points. If you immobilize your opponent, you score two points. Immobilizing your opponent in a position where you can kill them scores five points. I think that covers everything. This isn’t a formal contest but an assessment of your abilities. We won’t go to fifteen points. I’ll terminate the session after completing my assessment of your skills.”

Most people in the gym stopped what they were doing and gathered to watch.

Jason and Lucia moved warily into position on the mat. He waited for her to attack. Lucia moved around him. Jason watched her warily as she moved anti-clockwise. She feinted a kick at his head. He moved in close to her and tapped above her dominant arm, and struck the supra clavicular nerve paralyzing Lucia’s arm; when she winced, he grabbed her by her limp right arm and threw her over his shoulder, and as she landed, stopped his palm a half inch from her nose. He helped her up while she rubbed her arm, laughing.

She moved faster than he could react. Jason was up in the air and then on his back with Lucia on top of him. The Marines cheered and hooted. He struggled to move. She kissed him passionately. He was surprised and unconsciously relaxed. Before he knew what was happening, he was in a stranglehold. He tapped the mat to concede. She helped him up.

They circled each other warily before he found himself flying and found the side of her hand, held rigidly next to his throat. Her strike was so quick that his block missed her entirely. She kissed him again and helped him while the Marines cheered and hooted. He learned later that he was the first person that had thrown her and landed a strike. She came from a sizable dense planet where the gravity was higher than the ship, and, despite her size, she was inordinately strong and exceptionally quick. Jason was unable to surprise Lucia again.

Janet and Phoebe joined him for a light breakfast in the canteen before Connie Ross joined them.

Jason heard the voice of Winston—’Jason, I have bad news for you about Captain Kirsten Jones. The saboteurs activated her as an assassin. She’s planning to kill you.”

“Whose agent is she?”

“She is a Mob agent. The Mob intelligence services inserted her into the military after her training. The priests activated her. After we board the cruisers, she will return to the bridge and attempt to assassinate you and whoever else she can. Alert Colonel Janet Malone. Tell her we must prepare a little surprise for Jones. Jones’ malign intentions will be obvious from her behavior on her return.”