Chapter 50

The take from Sol included a press conference held by Baron Westlake informing the Old Earth population of his announcement in the Senate of the United Solarian Worlds that Mountserrat wished to negotiate with Chencon and the USW. The reasons for negotiations were not clarified but the experienced reporters who had been following events knew the elephant was in the room and somebody was going to get trampled. Official announcements from the Chencon capital expressed puzzlement at the request for negotiations as Chencon did not know of any cause for dispute. Similar statements from USW spokespersons only heightened speculation.

Baron Westlake's publication of the recent Chencon dockyard activity was met with blank stares and statements that ships required routine maintenance. Naval affairs talking head experts pointed out that navies, particularly in peacetime, worked on a five year minor maintenance cycle, a ten year major maintenance cycle and a twenty year upgrade cycle. Talking heads who collected such minutiae dredged up the past records of Chencon Navy maintenance cycles to support statements that such a simultaneous surge was unprecedented.

The USW just watched but behind the scenes their navies were all playing catchup; the major difference was that supply trains were not being gathered.

McCock considered that the failure not to play up the supply train factor was a major mistake as that was the one factor that supported an extra solar operation. Westlake reported that several quiet approaches had been made to rather junior officers in his legation about the source and accuracy of the Chencon status and he was instructed not to comment.

Sir Henry Bollinger maintained his shadowy contacts supplying them with detailed reports without sources but supported with appropriate fly by vids which tended to confirm the reports. Sir Henry made no bones about Mounty apprehensions when exchanging information; several of his contacts reported similar apprehensions held by their governments regarding Chencon intentions. The Solly apprehensions were that an Earth nation was the target. Sir Henry developed the feel that his Earth bound contacts would be relieved if Chencon went adventuring in the galaxy.

The consensus of 119's Intel committee was that no assistance would be forthcoming from any Earth nation. The opportunity might be taken by an Earth nation to benefit by damage to the Chencon fleet but that would not extend to operations outside the Solar system.

Mountserrat and her Allies were on their own facing Chencon and Harbouria.

The take from Harbouria informed the listeners of significant absences from the parliamentary line up. Several worlds had not sent their delegates nor apologies; the commentators pointed out that most of the absentees were from systems which had no naval presence. U95 visual surveillance showed an increasing flow of cargo vessels which had not been seen by the linking chain of U40s; there had been virtually no traffic for Harbouria through the Junction so the committee came to the conclusion the traffic was from subservient worlds. The vessels were using secondary orbitals to dock as the New Liege docks were not operational at this point although work was progressing repairing them. Work was progressing on repairs to the infrastructure but almost no work was being done on the purely military assets. Interviews with politicians were uninformative, that is, even more uninformative than usual. None of them had any opinion on anything. Vids of the naval bases and command centres were devoid of activity.

Without taking a position, the Intel Committee floated the peaceful disintegration of the Harbourian hegemony which produced sceptical looks from the listeners with the reply of shrugged shoulders.

Sir Henry got permission to use additional U40s now that the missile crisis was resolved. He forgot to tell the committee that he was taking ninety of them. He sent them in an advancing line on either side of the Harbourian linking chain scouring information from every world they passed over. He built up a picture which seemed to confirm a disintegration of central Harbourian command and this appeared particularly so with naval elements standing in planetary defensive positions. Trade intercoursed but warships did not.

McCock's personal contacts with the Royals gained the information that the Emperor intended to destroy the Grigor Junction if Mountserrat was attacked; the Lord Protector's plans to disperse his orbitals and population were progressing and he had informed his Steadholders and Commons of the potential for invasion and or bombardment.

Renmark population was busy camouflaging everything which could not be placed in caves and cutting back on power usage so that infrared signatures would be insignificant; population centres too large to hide were being made look even larger and the power usage increased to simulate a larger population centre; plans for the dispersal of the population into the outlying villages country side were drawn up and disseminated. Good maps of Renmark were only of recent production, and not widely disseminated outside the local space as that was where their trade mostly was. Some fission piles had been exported outside the local space but investigation had shown that the shipments had not been direct so the Renmarks were guardedly hopeful that their efforts might bear fruit.