Chapter 95

TJ had been fully occupied and had let his net slide for a watch or two.

He got back to it while Allie and Kat were resting.

One of his contacts had posted an unconfirmed report that Sema was destroyed based on assessments of the last vids of the Armada deploying into the planet bombarding formation as it approached Sema in its n space. That same contact reported the Sema reaction mass fueling facility had been destroyed as the Armada had been approaching.

The vids were attached.

TJ considered the report and the implications.

The originator had drawn the implication regarding the fate of Sema but not made an assessment on the future actions of the Armada. The omission held some significance to assessors who had the endurance data for the Chencon warships and TJ believed this source did.

He extracted his PDA and began some calculations writing preliminary totals onto a scratchpad; he made reference to the collected data on the Chencon warships. Half way through his calculations he commed Clare to come up.

"This had better be good, TJ" Clare growled at him half an hour later.

"It is and I don't trust it to even our own PDAs to com."

TJ opened the "Pilot" for the Sema entries, selected the view he wanted and split the screen. He then booted up the "donated" vids and together they were able to confirm the similarities and watched the vid of the Armada's approach.

"While I was waiting for you, I've run through every take of the Armada we have; the few we have from Settlement and the chaotic coverage from Harbouria and there is nothing like this. So it hasn't been lifted. With enough time, a very high class forger could make this but it would take time. The time date on the bunker's destruction, I can be fairly sure of as I've had good int from him before so I rate the take six out of ten. The Armada going on to bombard Sema? Speculation! Four."

"What endurance has the Armada left?"

"I've entered the reaction mass capacity of an assortment of those ships and the specs – we got them off that coded bolt and some might just, just, make it back to the Orion arm if the owners had been clever about their consumption. But my money is on about a third of the way across the Orion Perseus gap and they are out of fuel. They will continue ballistic until trapped by some star's gravity well; heck, they could even reach the centre of the galaxy, who knows. But one thing for certain, seventy two hours after they run out of fuel, there will be no one alive on those craft."

"And there goes the Chencon's influence on this planet. What have they left? The Sopac fleet?"

"Basically. There is a detachment at the national orbitals and a squadron minus at the north polar hyper. There are some new builds coming on but nothing significant for another six to nine months."

Clare eyed the recumbent figures in TJ's sleeping space and started disrobing,

"Suits. Business resolved and seeing you got me up here, I'm going to take advantage of it."

TJ never complained but he was again distracted and it was mid-morning before he got back to his net to find the reports from the " 'Cloud's" scout in the second priority file.

This one he took down to the Norch manor house as Clare was attending to her estate workings.

"This one is political and we should brief Harold on the recent events as well. Where is he today?"

"He's at the Palace but that just means he's sleeping there at night. He could be anywhere on Royal Duties. I'll leave a message on the com and see when he answers."

It was late afternoon before Harold returned the call and was asked for a face to face.

"I'm visiting Colchester tomorrow morning and having lunch with the local dignitaries" Harold explained "I could fill in the afternoon by dropping into Wantasden to see how the factory is coming on."

"Suits, TJ and I will pay a visit to Harriers for lunch with Morg and he can take us on a tour of Wantasden."

"See you there. Cheers."

The newsfaxes carried a mention His Majesty had diverted from Colchester to Wantasden to visit the facility under development by the latest peers of the realm. It only rated a mention because of the mysterious R & D rumoured. There were some long range vids and attempts to pump the locals for additional titbits met with blank looks. Not surprisingly, the morning had seen the Sundowners straggle into Wantasden to catch up on progress and also to be briefed.

TJ had prepared a one sheet appreciation – produced on a 'writer – for Harold.

Everyone then plastered on their party face and went their various ways.

As these things usually progress, this one took off like a messenger rocket to Mars.

The Enklan Foreign Secretary and his Mil Int wallahs slipped into the Admiralty from Whitehall. The subterranean tunnels from Horse Guards covered Harold's arrival. Baron Westlake came in the front office as he was a known if infrequent visitor accompanied by the Lady Burgess. Clare, TJ and Morg arrived by hire ground car from the London City Airport where they had parked "Bulb". They were shown into the main conference hall and all moved to one end of the massive dark oaken table which seemed to fill the room.

The artificial lighting did not help the sombre atmosphere of the place, surrounded as it was by traditional oil paintings of stern visaged First Sea Lords of centuries gone by; the ones rated by their successors as being successful. Not even the occasional more recent female Lord gave any relief.

The group was joined by the First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Brooke, his First Sea Lord, Admiral Troubridge and the Admiralty Chief of Intelligence.

Water was the only refreshment offered.

The First Lord took the chair and opened the meeting with a request of names and responsibilities.

"Troubridge, First Sea Lord."

"Adrian Makepeace, Admiralty Chief of Intelligence."

"Abraham, Baron Westlake, Ambassador Plenipotentiary of the Empire of Mountserrat to the Senate of the United Solarian Worlds and I hold the confidence of the Secretary General of the USW."

"Lady Alexandrina Burgess, Mountserrat Principal Herald King-at-Arms, Herald to the Court of St James."

Morg's lips twitched as they exchanged glances.

"Harold Windsor, gentleman."

The smiles did flicker at that description.

"Merton, Foreign Secretary and these are my advisers. I hold the confidence of my colleagues of Noramcon and Russiberia."

No one thought it strange the advisers were not named; only the Sundowners were not aware of who they were.

"Clare Gillard, Master and Commander of AMC "Sundowner"."

"Morg Windsor, her XO."

"TJ Hobson, First Lieutenant."

The First Lord nodded at the C of I, "Adrian?"

"The background for this meeting" Rear Admiral Makepeace began, "is that the Admiralty received information that the Chencon hospital ship "Morning Cloud" was obliterated by the massed fire of the Chencon Sopac fleet some nine days ago. The information was given by a vid from a reconnaissance vehicle of some type as yet unidentified but it is thought most likely to be the vehicles demonstrated by SHOW Inc several months back...

We have some independent confirmation of the events about the Beijing Orbitals...

I've edited the vid only in so far as removing the irrelevant beginning of the surveillance..."

Here he threw a holo over the table showing "Morning Cloud" breaking hyper.

... I've sped up the sequence and summarise the dialogue. "Morning Cloud" contacts Beijing Area requesting clearance, identifying herself as a hospital ship. Things are normal here as the instructions are to continue approach and included the traffic about the orbital. After an hour or so, there is an encrypted exchange, in basic code suitable for vessels of a supply train and we had no trouble breaking it...

Someone dirtside wanted fuller and better details. The acting Master, a chap who identified himself as Chien Liu, told them nearly all the Armada's supply train's escort and about thirty supply vessels had been shot out of space without warning. Whoever it was ordered the crews into the boats to board the two hospital ships, "Morning Cloud" and "Morning Mist", in an accent which wasn't Mountserrat. The threats were enforced and several further ships were destroyed...

The hospital ships were ordered to return to Old Earth. The ships ran out of water on the way back. Many died before the reclamation plants caught up and the water tanks began filling again. Coms were lost with "Morning Mist" and eventually he discovered that all "'Mist's" people were dead. Their bodies were collected and transferred to the boat bay of "Morning Cloud"; apparently getting vacuum frozen in the process...

"'Cloud" continued on her approach almost reaching the outer harbour at which point she is diverted to a training area some twelve hours out in the disc. She proceeds to the area, heaves to and waits for about sixteen hours. She is then ordered to proceed further outward in the disc, not to leave n space and rendezvous with Sopac fleet...

She complies and eleven hours later runs into a fleet barrage and disintegrates...

I'll go back a bit and add the take from another of those recon birds and here you can see Sopac fleet shut down lying in ambush. and only two CAs and a DD squadron didn't fire. A number of the others fired only one energy weapon and I noted some poor gunnery as an occasional mount appeared to completely miss...

I've recorded the signatures of that fleet for reference."

Adrian Makepeace collapsed the holo and pocketed the PDA.

"This information was passed onto certain authorities" Lord Merton took up the discussion "and after due consideration, the Norlant Alliance has decided the Sopac fleet has to be destroyed."

Morg looked about the table and then rumbled,

"I am suddenly overwhelmed by the smell of a dead rodent because it will be a neat trick if your combined fleets manage that without being blasted out of space at the same time."

Admiral Troubridge answered,

"We have asked for help. The Admiralty has the information about the raid on New Liege which seemed to precipitate these events although the speed of the Chencon's response makes us believe they had been working on this for a long time. We asked Baron Westlake if we could get 119 to help but according to him it's rather busy at the moment dealing with that Armada – how he can make that assertion I don't know and he isn't telling us. He gave us additional information which we haven't been able to confirm but we accept it because of its source and so far everything he has said has been proved, some months later...

Baron Westlake tells me that "Sundowner" has the same capability that 119 (Reinforced) had...

It also appears 119 (Reinforced) was amalgamated into the RMN and was probably destroyed either at Home Space or the Chencon Bombardment...

119 (Reformed) is built around that monstrosity which was parked at Chagos and someone seems to have got it to work as the good Ambassador opines that it was 119 (Reformed) which took out the supply train's escort..."

TJ interjected

"119 (Reformed) has the AAS "Vector" which has energy mounts, quads I believe, nest capability and carries several squadrons of HACs which carry one point eight metre grasers. It's accompanied by the frigate "Sprightly" which is a young CA in capability, those V and Ws he started out with and four fast fleet ammunition replenishment ships, full of nests, and probably commanded by a very clever officer, Commander Amaranti. Oh, and "Shriek", that hypercapable HAC of theirs which its usual commander, Felix Arburthson, can make tap dance. For your information."

Adrian Makepeace looked at TJ,

"That AAS is a bit vulnerable what I saw of it."

"You've got to find it to hit it and to get at it, you have to get past some very effective shields. Her defensive shields are better than anything the RMN has and that puts it so far out as to be untouchable – unless McCock was so unbelievably stupid as to put her in the middle of that Armada and seems that he did not do."

Clare and Morg both nodded in agreement.

"Ah, Mr Hobson; what's your view on that Armada?" Lord Merton asked.

"Its dead, Sir. It's not coming home."

"You are very definite about that. Why?"