Rumors of Honor (System States Rebellion Book 2) (3 page)

Trojan
realized that his hands were clenched tightly and allowed them to relax.

“Naturally
the entire Planning Group will be vetted again including you, General. I hope
that’s not going to be a problem?”

“No,
Sir. I would have insisted on exactly that myself. We can’t afford to have any
cloud of suspicion hanging over the Group when we’re about to shift operations
to Hadley in a few months.”

“Very
good. Did you query Oracle about the strategic implications of this
development, as I requested?”

“Yes,
Sir. Oracle’s assessment is quite detailed, but I can summarize it. It’s clear
that the Union know about the Majestic Project. However, all the evidence
points to the conclusion that they weren’t able to get any technical data on
Majestic. Oracle has concluded that they will try to develop their own version
of Majestic as fast as possible. In the meantime, their best counter-move would
be to delay our implementation of Majestic. If they can accomplish that, then
both sides will be evenly matched as far as having an Oracle computer is
concerned. Our plans were to build the components for the Majestic device on
Makassar because that’s where all the other industrial infrastructure is being
built, and it seemed to be the logical choice. Any attempt by the Union to
delay the manufacturing of Majestic’s components would have to involve a massed
space attack to have any chance of success. If they can also smash most of the
industry we’ve already built there, that would be a huge bonus for them, which
is why Oracle is calculating a 99.6% probability of a massed attack sometime
within the next year.

“Moving
all that industry to another planet is not an option. Makassar is unique in
terms of the concentration of a whole variety of strategic metals. The industry
for building ships has to stay there, but the manufacturing facility for
building Majestic components could be relocated on another planet as a security
precaution with minimal delay in the planned start-up date for Majestic. Oracle
is recommending that it be built on the planet Danube, which orbits the
Franklin B star. Danube is airless and has no strategic value, which makes it
ideal for hiding the Majestic manufacturing facility since no one will have any
legitimate reason to go there. It’s also Oracle’s conclusion that the
anticipated attack on Makassar will give us an opportunity to inflict a major
military defeat if Makassar’s defenses are built up enough to completely wipe
out the attacking force. In fact, Oracle has assigned a higher priority to eliminating
the attacking force than it has to defending the planet’s industrial capacity.”
Trojan stopped when he saw the reaction on Chenko’s face.

“I’m
not sure I like that kind of thinking, General. We’re counting on exponential
growth in industrial capacity in order to have a fleet capable of offensive
operations within another two years. If the Union manages to smash a
significant part of what we’ve built so far, that has to push back the start of
offensive operations by months, maybe even years.”

“That
was my initial reaction too, Admiral, so I queried Oracle, and I now understand
the logic it’s using. What we have to keep in mind is that Oracle had already
anticipated a major attack would be made on Makassar  back when the industrial
buildup was just getting started. That’s why Oracle recommended from the very
beginning that industrial capacity on Makassar be decentralized as much as
possible, instead of concentrating it all in one place. That decentralization
means that any single missile strike would only damage or destroy a limited
amount of capacity, and any attempt to destroy all the capacity would take a
long time. By destroying the attacking force as quickly and thoroughly as
possible, we’ll actually minimize the damage done to structures on the planet’s
surface.”

Chenko
shook his head. “I still don’t see why we just don’t concentrate our resources
to defend the planet’s surface directly. Surely Oracle isn’t recommending that
the infrastructure AND the people working there be left wide open like so many
sitting ducks?”

“No,
Admiral. Oracle is also recommending that we adapt the anti-missile rapid-fire
cannon system that we’re installing on ships to be used as a low-level
anti-missile system on Makassar. That’s something we should be able to develop
and deploy relatively quickly if we give it a high priority.”

“How
is Oracle reconciling the need to protect our freighter traffic with this new
priority to defend Makassar against a massive attack?” asked Chenko.

“It’s
very simple, Admiral. We put anti-missile cannon on our freighters. They’re
small enough that they can be added without major reconstruction work. The
freighters don’t have to fire back at Union commerce raiders. They just have to
avoid being crippled by missile fire long enough to get out of the hyper-zone
and jump away. The cruisers that are escorting our freighters now can be
re-assigned to protect Makassar along with the new construction that is
starting to come into service.”

Chenko
nodded. “It’s about time we got some of those 20 new ships in service. I wish
now that we had gone with a bigger design, but at least this new class is
optimized for ship-to-ship combat.”

Before
Chenko could add anything, Masterson jumped in. “How much longer will you have
Oracle available before it’s disassembled for shipment to Hadley, General?”

“Another
three weeks, Sir. Taking it apart so that it can be re-assembled quickly on
Hadley has to be done carefully. We’ll be without any mega-computer capability
for almost four months by the time Oracle is back in operation in the Franklin
Tri-system.”

“And
how long after that before Majestic is scheduled to be on line?” asked
Masterson.

“Five
and a half months, General.”

“I
don’t suppose it makes sense to leave Oracle here and intact, and build a
second Oracle device on Hadley?” asked Chenko.

Trojan
shook his head. “No, Admiral. Oracle was a one-off system. If we wanted to
build another one, we’d have to retool the manufacturing facility all over
again, and by the time that’s done and a new Oracle is manufactured,
transported to Hadley and assembled, the operational date would be even later
than moving the one we already have.”

“Okay.
I’m glad to see that you’ve already looked at that option. What else did Oracle
come up with?”

Trojan
hesitated. He was about to throw a hot potato into their laps. “Oracle is
predicting that the Union will start deploying ships with neutron armor. That
will render our existing high explosive and kinetic energy warheads obsolete.
The recommendation is that we develop fission and eventually fusion warheads
for both anti-ship and potentially planetary bombardment missions.”

“Oh
Christ! I can just see the Council’s reaction when we ask them for approval for
THAT!” exclaimed Masterson.

Chenko
nodded his agreement.  “Yes, the use of nuclear weapons is specifically
prohibited by the FPS Constitution. It would take a majority of the Assembly to
change it. With over a hundred planets withdrawing from the Assembly already,
I’m not even sure if it’s still possible to get the absolute majority we’d
need.”

“I
understand that, Admiral, but Oracle’s logic is unassailable. If they’re going
to build armored ships, we either build fission warheads or we lose the war.”

Masterson
shook his head. “Using nukes against armored ships is one thing. The Assembly
might just go along with that. But fusion weapons used against planetary
targets? For God’s sakes, Jonn, we’re trying to bring the rebels back into the
fold, not exterminate them! Where’s the honor in wiping out whole populations?
I don’t see the Assembly authorizing that kind of escalation.”

Chenko
nodded. “I’m in complete agreement with you, Frank. If we get clear evidence
that the Union is building armored ships, then I’ll support a request for
anti-ship nukes but not fusion weapons, and in any case, no planetary
bombardment by nukes. Hell, if we start lobbing nukes at their cities, what’s
to prevent them from bombing Geneva or London or Tokyo? We can’t defend every
city on every Federation planet? Is that clear, General?”

“Yes,
Admiral, that’s crystal clear,” said Trojan.

“Do
you have anything else to bring to our attention?” asked Masterson.

“No,
Sir.”

“Fine,
then you’re dismissed, General.”

As
Trojan walked out of the room, he made a mental note to record in his personal
war diary that both Chiefs of Staff still hadn’t grasped the scope of where
this war was going. Oracle predicted that when the SSU started to lose, they’d
become desperate and the fighting would get very messy. If the politicians
insisted that the Army and Navy fight with one hand tied behind their backs,
then a lot of good men and women wearing the Federation uniform would die
unnecessarily. Trojan made up his mind that he was not going to let that
happen, and if that meant compromising his honor, then so be it.

Chapter Three

Day
99/2543

Drake
stepped onto the ship’s boarding ramp just in time to see a navy groundcar
carry away Cate Foster and Bret Murphy. They were headed to a debriefing
session with someone high up in the hierarchy, probably Janicot himself. He
stopped to take in a lung full of unrecycled air. It had the smell of an
impending rainstorm, and that was confirmed by the dark clouds on the horizon
coming towards the city fast. The freighter’s crew was already gathered at the
base of the ramp waiting for transportation to the Admin building. The
spaceport maintenance personnel were getting last minute instructions before
taking possession of Titan’s Gift. He was the last member of his crew to leave
the ship. As he slowly walked down the ramp, he wondered if Foster would keep
her word about praising his performance. He saw a lightning strike in the
distance. It was followed by a rolling clap of thunder, and he wondered if that
was a bad omen.

Day
107/2543

Belloc
told his desk computer to close the report that was being projected against the
far wall of his office. It was almost midnight, again, and he very much wanted
to go home, but there were things that had to be addressed before he did that.
This latest report from his Secretary of Defense was one of those things. There
was good news and bad news. The good news was the revelation that Cate Foster
had brought back  enough technical data to allow for the accelerated
manufacture and assembly of their own version of the Oracle computer. Janicot
predicted they could begin to use it in six months. Belloc suspected that was
overly optimistic, but anything less than a year was acceptable. He made up his
mind to approve Janicot’s recommendation that Foster be put in charge of the
project to build their own Oracle plus the R&D for their own super-Oracle
device. How long it would take to get the next generation capability was still
unknown at this point.

It
was the bad news that threatened to aggravate what he suspected was a
developing ulcer. Janicot’s planning staff had come to the conclusion that the
Union had to make a major attack on the industrial infrastructure on Makassar
and on the HQ facilities on Hadley in order to disrupt the FED buildup in the
Franklin Tri-system. That would mean pulling cruisers away from commerce
raiding. Secretary for Industry & Trade Frank Shaw wasn’t going to like
that. The man was fanatical about the need to conduct economic warfare on the
Federation by going after their freighters. Unfortunately, Belloc could see the
logic of both strategies. What he didn’t know, and what no one could tell him
right now, was which strategy gave the Union the best long term payoff. What
made it all worse was the knowledge that if they had their own Oracle computer
operational right now, it could give them that answer. But they didn’t, and he
needed to make a decision right now. Or did he? He told his computer to call
Janicot’s office.

“What
can I do for you, Nathan?” asked Janicot.

“I
thought you might still be there, Mykhel. I’ve just finished reading your
report, and I wanted to talk with you about the proposed raid on the Franklin
Tri-system. How long would it take to get all the required ships together?”

Janicot
didn’t hesitate. “Seven months for the minimum force level, nine to ten months
to bring the strike force up to where I’d really like to see it.”