No Way to Start a War (TCOTU, Book 2) (This Corner of the Universe) (3 page)

The
shuttle ride to Lieutenant Commander Durmont’s ship,
BRS
Bulwark
,
passed without event. 
Bulwark
, a Bastion class escort light cruiser,
was the command ship for CortRon 15.  The six-ship squadron was comprised of
one escort light cruiser, three escort destroyers, and two frigates.  The
frigates were ill-equipped for escort duty and Third Fleet Headquarters had promised
dedicated escort frigates later, but for now, CortRon 15 would make do with
what was available.  Even if the frigates were something of an afterthought,
the four dedicated escort ships made CortRon 15 a formidable shield for Task Group
3.1, which would center on the heavy carrier,
Avenger
, and the light
carrier,
Eagle
.

Heskan
already knew many of his fellow CortRon ship captains.  Like Heskan, most had
been poached from the Narvi system defense ships.  He was looking forward to
finally working with Lieutenant Kelly Gary, with whom he had shared a lunch his
first day on Hulda.  Of course, Heskan had met CortRon 15’s other destroyer
captain, Lieutenant Stephanie Moore, coming out of Durmont’s office on Hulda under
more interesting circumstances
.

During
the previous week, Durmont had surprised his ship captains by revealing that
Heskan would be the squadron’s second-in-command.  Even though Heskan was the
most senior lieutenant and due for promotion, Brevic regulations granted
commanders a great amount of leeway in organizing their command structure and
Heskan had been certain Durmont would place his “special” lieutenant in that
position.  After the announcement, Heskan not only respected Durmont’s seemingly
impartial choice but began to question whether he had misjudged the man.

Heskan
was pleased with the decision for both professional and personal reasons.  Not
only was he happy to be the CortRon’s vice commander, but the job guaranteed
Kite
would be farther away from
Bulwark
. 
Maybe I am wrong about Durmont professionally
but I still don’t like the man,
he thought.  Additionally, Gary’s escort
destroyer,
Aspis
, world be paired with
Kite
during routine
operations. 
Kelly is a very capable officer and has a terrific sense of
humor.  I think we’ll make a great team
.  Buoyed by this final thought,
Heskan exited the shuttle.

After
being piped aboard
Bulwark
, a petty officer delivered Heskan to a large
briefing room deep inside the ship.  As he entered the room, he found
Lieutenants Gary and Moore embroiled in a heated discussion while they waited
for Durmont to arrive.  Taking a seat at the table, Heskan nodded to the other
officers and waited for a pause in the conversation.

Gary
pointedly tapped her head while staring at Moore and stated, “It makes more
sense to use a diamond wall formation with the frigates on the periphery than
going with a standard square formation that has them in the center.”

Moore
shook her head and responded, “That’s contrary to decades of missile defense
theory, Kelly.  Doctrine says you anchor your strongest ships in the corners of
the square and flood the center with less capable ships for mutual support. 
Weren’t you paying attention in SOS?”  Moore used the abbreviation for Squadron
Officer School, a supplemental school full lieutenants were sent to that
specialized in teaching the tactics of ships in squadrons.  The twelve-week
course covered most forms of naval combat including missile defense theory and,
of equal importance, served as a “rebluing” for Brevic company grade officers.

Gary’s
eyes narrowed at Moore’s barb.  The specifications of the Carriage class
frigate flashed onto the briefing room’s center table screen as Gary punched viscously
at her datapad.  “Coach and Chariot are both Carriage class frigates.  At best,
each will be able to bear three quad GPs and two dual GPs for point defense. 
Doctrine,” Gary gestured in air quotes as she spoke the word, “says those
frigates will only be able to stop roughly fifteen incoming missiles per wave.”

Gary
punched more buttons.  The briefing screen changed to show a slender, vertical diamond
formation with the two Buckler class destroyers,
Aspis
and
Kite
,
forming the sides, Durmont’s escort light cruiser at the top point and Moore’s Guardian
class escort destroyer,
Sentinel
, at the bottom position. 
Chariot
sailed slightly ahead of
Kite
and
Coach
was positioned behind
Aspis
. 
“If you use a diamond formation, Kite and Aspis will be much closer to the
center and our two ships can stop over two hundred missiles per wave!”  Gary glanced
at Heskan and asked, “What do you think, Garrett?”

“We
need our strength closest to the carriers,” Heskan offered.

“There’s
no way we’re going to come under such a massive attack,” Moore said
dismissively.  “The Hollies won’t have that kind of throw-weight, and besides, they’re
going to be too busy shooting at our main battle fleet to have much left to
fire at a carrier formation.  Sure, putting us in a diamond formation makes us
strong in one direction but it leaves our flanks wide open to attack.  No
disrespect intended, but I’m the only one here who was a distinguished graduate
from SOS, so I think I know what I’m talking about.”  She tapped her “DG”
ribbon in the row of ribbons on her service uniform.

Heskan
considered her arguments. 
I think we’re going to attract a lot more
attention than she believes, but she does have a point about our flanks if you
look at it strictly by the book
. 
However, I think naval tactics are
undergoing a revolutionary change and she’s missing that
.  “Stephanie, our
task group is going to be a lot more mobile in combat than any group before.  I
agree that, potentially, our flanks will be more vulnerable in diamond
formation.  However, our task group won’t be locked into standard missile
attack fleet maneuvers.”

Gary
nodded aggressively and added, “Avenger and Eagle will launch their fighters
and then most likely start running away.  There’s no reason to close with the
enemy in a carrier group and because we won’t be closing, we shouldn’t find
ourselves facing coordinated attacks from multiple directions.”

Outnumbered,
Moore sat back and exhaled.  “Ultimately, it’s Commander Durmont’s decision
anyway.”

As
if on cue, a petty officer entered the briefing room and announced, “Ladies and
gentleman, the commander.”

All
three lieutenants stood and came to attention as Durmont came in.  He walked to
the head of the briefing table and sat before saying, “As you were.”

Heskan
had just reseated himself when Durmont opened the meeting.  “Our timetable has
been moved up.  CortRon Fifteen will sail for Titan tomorrow at oh-eight
hundred.  We’re to rendezvous with Avenger and Eagle no later than 0815.995 and
I want to make sure we’re early.  Questions?”

Moore
spoke first.  “What combat formation will we be using, Commander?”

Durmont
looked at the table screen and he was silent for several seconds.  “We’ll most
likely be starting in standard square.  It’s the recommended formation for
missile defense and it will allow our frigates to support each other in the
middle.”

Heskan
tried not to notice Moore’s smug look before he spoke.  “Commander, I agree
with you completely that the frigates are going to need all the support they
can get.  I’m not even sure why they were attached to us when they’re so weak
in point defense.  With that in mind, do you think the four dedicated escort
ships can best protect Avenger and Eagle isolated from each other and so far
from the center?” 
Not to mention protect ourselves.  The Hollie missiles
aren’t particular on what they target and destroying a task group’s escorts is usually
very bad news for the capital ships shortly afterwards.

“That
question has been asked by every junior officer in missile defense squadrons
for the last hundred years, Lieutenant.  The answer is the standard square is the
formation that gives us the best defensive coverage and I’m not going against a
century of naval theory.”  Durmont brought his fist down lightly on the table
as if it were a judge’s gavel.  “I’ll take the top forward position, Moore will
have the top rear spot, Gary will have the lower forward, you will take the
lower rear and we’ll put the frigates in the center of the square.  It’s the method
used for missile defense because it’s the best and safest formation.”

Heskan
responded, “Yes, sir.” 
I’m not done discussing this with Durmont, but as
his vice, I owe him support in front of the rest of his officers.

Durmont
nodded his approval.  “Good.  When we get to Titan, the commander of Task Group
Three-One, Rear Admiral Mitchell Hayes, will have a meeting that we’ll both
have to attend, Lieutenant.  They call him ‘Hurricane Hayes’ and I expect you
to be on your best behavior.  Naturally, I am CortRon Fifteen’s voice so you
won’t have to worry about speaking but I will need you to carry some of my
briefing materials.  I mostly expect you to just L-and-L.”  Heskan had gleaned over
the past weeks that while “L-and-L” stood for “Listen and Learn,” it actually
meant something more akin to “Shut up and color” to Durmont.

The
meeting moved on to the topic of the squadron’s first exercise.  Because of the
expedited departure from Anthe, the exercise would be watered down even more than
originally planned, giving the whole production very little value for the
effort involved.

We
should just cancel it,
thought
Heskan
.  There’s no benefit doing it with just our four ships.  In fact,
conducting an exercise without the two frigates might do more harm than good.  Besides,
we’ll be exercising enough once Task Group Three-One forms and those maneuvers will
be of real value.
  He listened to Durmont’s expectations for ten minutes
while trying to decide if he should suggest abandoning the exercise. 
Just cooperate
and graduate, Garrett.  Shane will take the suggestion to cancel as a personal
attack. 
Heskan resigned himself to silence but then thought back to a
promise he had made. 
What did I say?  That’s right, “I’ll never mask my
concerns from a superior officer again.”

Durmont
lectured on about the script of his exercise.  “So the surprise force I have
planned to attack our squadron at Point Charlie will really show us how well we
can split our point defenses, I should think.  And when things look their
darkest, I’ll order the formation to staggered square and that should save the
day.”  Finished, Durmont sat back and smiled.

“Sir,
is it possible to work our two frigates into this exercise?” Heskan asked.  “I
think having them included will make the pressure our center will face more
realistic.”

“It’s
already calculated into the simulation, Lieutenant.  I’ve reduced the ratio of
incoming missiles based on the standard square theory.”

“What
if the pressure on the center of the formation is greater than what’s been
calculated, sir?” Gary questioned skeptically.

Durmont
frowned deeply as his face flushed.  “It won’t be, but even if it is, the corners
of the square can lend additional support.  That’s why the square formation has
been the standard missile defense formation since before you were born, Lieutenant!” 
Durmont looked around the group, exasperated.  “Haven’t we covered this
already?”

“I
think Kelly is referring to dead center, Commander.  None of our ships will be
able to cover that portion of the square since we’ll be seven to nine light-seconds
from the frigates,” Heskan clarified.

Durmont
shot up from his chair and bellowed, “The frigates aren’t helpless, you two! 
Instead of undermining me by questioning every decision I make you both
will
support me like good officers should!”

Both
Heskan and Gary sat in stunned silence as Durmont continued to rant.  “Both of
you need to be part of the team instead of armchair admirals.”  He jabbed at the
top of the table with a finger.  “Each of you needs to think about that long
and hard and realize that I have full authority to replace any ship captain
under me if I think it’s in the best interests of the Navy.”  Durmont bit down
before taking a deep breath and slowly exhaled.  Several seconds later, he
reseated himself and his volume approached normal conversation level again.  “You’re
both new and inexperienced to fleet combat.  I’d advise you two to L-and-L and
take your cues from Lieutenant Moore.  Unlike the two of you, she was top of
her class in Squadron Officer School and understands naval combat theory.  Are
we clear?”

Heskan
and Gary replied in unison, “Yes, sir.”

Satisfied, Durmont leaned
back in his chair.  “Then you’re both dismissed.  Lieutenant Moore, I need you
to stay behind for special consultation.”  Heskan and Gary rose quickly and
walked out of the briefing room.

*  *  *

Durmont
watched the door close before locking eyes with Moore.  His stern expression
softened and he took in a deep breath.  “That man hates my guts,” he proclaimed
as he watched Moore rise from her chair and begin to walk toward him.

Moore
laughed pleasingly and replied, “No more than Gary hates me.  She’s always been
resentful that I have you.  It’s the same with Heskan, he’s just plain jealous
of your abilities.”