Synchronicity War Part 1, The (8 page)

“Let me explain why I believe this to be true. From the data
relating to the combat between the alien ship and Commander Shiloh’s ship, we
can make some reasonably good guesses as to the combat capabilities of the
alien ships. The 344 was hit with a very powerful laser weapon. Experts have
looked at the extent of the damage, and their unanimous conclusion is that the
alien ship had a laser weapon that produced significantly more energy than both
of the lasers on the 344 combined. Sensor data indicates that the alien ship
was roughly the same size as the 344. To be able to generate that much more
power from a hull of the same size is disturbing. It’s safe to say that they
know more than we do when it comes to power generation. The combat data also
shows that the alien ship was more heavily armored. How much more is hard to
say at this point. But what is clear is that right now our ships have inferior
weapons and less capable defenses. While we don’t know for sure, it’s a safe
assumption that they have more ships than we do at this point in time. If they
had fewer, why would they put a significant percentage of their total fleet in
a star system on the off chance of encountering an alien race?

“There are some encouraging indications that you should be
aware of as well. At no time did any of our ships detect a sign that the aliens
were deploying missiles or drones. That doesn’t mean they can’t. It may just
mean that they don’t want to OR perhaps it just means that the type of ships
they used in that engagement don’t carry them. But if these were their
frontline combat vessels, that would tend to suggest that missiles and drones
aren’t an integral part of their tactical thinking. If that’s the case, then we
can use that to our advantage IF WE MOVE QUICKLY!”

These last words had been spoken with considerable emphasis,
and again the Admiral made eye contact with each committee member before
resuming his report.

“If we can develop and deploy combat drones in large
numbers, then we may be able to offset their laser weapon advantage with
standoff weapons. The other bright spot is what appears to be a much longer
recharge time for their laser weapon. If we can get in two or maybe even three
shots for each one they fire, and if we can upgrade our lasers, then we have a
better chance of beating them in a standup fight. Unfortunately those are the
only perceived advantages that we can see at this point.

“The question that I’m sure all of you would like to hear
the answer to is this. Given the nature of the threat, what do we do now? A
definitive answer will take some time to analyze and cost out. My staff is
examining some short-term options that are worth considering right away, and an
Ad Hoc Strategic Planning Group is in the process of being put together. They will
generate a comprehensive long-term plan. I hope, but can’t guarantee, to have
something for the Committee to look at in that regard in about a month’s time.
However in terms of what we can do right now, here are some of the options that
are being seriously considered.

“Our Exploration Frigates were not designed for this kind of
combat. We can improve their combat capabilities by adding additional hull
armor and by upgrading their lasers. That would be just a stopgap measure. In
the longer term we’ll need larger and more powerful ships, but that will be
covered by the report from the Strategic Planning Group. Right now we can
improve our chances of winning encounters by changing our operational doctrine.
We should not be sending out frigates to a particular star system in anything
less than squadron strength. And two or even three squadrons operating together
would be even better. I’ve already ordered the recall of all our Exploration
Frigates so that they can be reassigned in light of our new doctrine. The Space
Force is going to have to transform itself from a paramilitary organization
concerned mainly with catching smugglers and scouting new star systems, to a
purely military organization, one that is organized from the outset to deal
with external threats. That means we need to start changing the ‘corporate
culture’, so to speak. For example, up until now, the Space Force hasn’t had or
needed a medal that would recognize exceptional conduct in a ship vs. ship
battle. I’ve changed that. From this point forward, all commanding officers who
distinguish themselves in combat will be awarded The Distinguished Combat Medal.
It will take the form of a small red star on a jet-black board that can be
pinned to the chest or lapel, and it will provide a concrete symbol and
reminder of our new orientation.

“Another example of changing the corporate culture will be
the testing for, and development of, strategic and tactical skills. Those
officers who have an intuitive feel for combat tactics need to be identified in
order to be fast tracked to command positions. The Space Force Academy will
start teaching classes in tactical combat. Officers will be encouraged to be
aggressive in their thinking, and those who aren’t able to develop the ‘killer
instinct’, for lack of a better phrase, will be assigned to less critical areas
such as logistics and support operations.

“We also need to seriously look at a crash program for the
development of drones specifically designed to inflict damage on an armored
target. The normal acquisition process, which takes years, is no longer
acceptable. Therefore not only will I be submitting a proposal in the immediate
future requesting such a crash program, but it will also contain a faster
acquisition model that this Committee will have to approve. Speed is now more
important than accountability. I cannot emphasize this enough. While I
appreciate the fact that this Committee has to make recommendations to the
Grand Senate which has the sole authority to approve new spending programs, I
also know that this Committee DOES have the authority to authorize the re-allocation
of previously approved spending initiatives for emergency uses. I am asking you
to approve the use of 200 million Credits that have been set aside for
preliminary Pre-Colonization Ground Surveys, for the purposes of initial
design, testing and pre-production tooling for the Advanced Combat Drone
Program. It will require additional funding later. Because time is of the
essence, and we literally cannot afford to waste even a single day, I’m asking
this Committee to approve that reallocation request NOW, this very day.

“There are two other initiatives that can and should be
started immediately. We need to have far better intelligence with regard to
where the enemy is at any point in time, as well as where they’re from. The
first requires the establishment of a network of passive sensor satellites in
our frontier star systems and in the systems just beyond our frontier. They
will take time to design, produce and deploy. However, we can begin to use our
tankers in a long-range reconnaissance role, where they will be self-sufficient
in refueling capability, giving them a much longer range. In that role, their
mission will be to creep into an unexplored star system that may have an alien
presence of some kind, and they will then passively scan for any signs of the
enemy, including ships, colonies or industrial infrastructure. I cannot
overemphasize how hazardous this duty will be. Our tankers will be totally
defenseless. If they are discovered, they will likely be destroyed. I’m going
to be asking for volunteers, and if a sufficient number of personnel volunteer,
we’ll only ask each of them to go on one of these long-range recon missions.
Multiple missions like this would be tantamount to asking them to commit
suicide, and I’m not prepared to do that … at this point.

“There is one final recommendation, the importance of which
cannot be overstated. Unfortunately, it is not something that the Space Force
can accomplish merely by deciding to do it. Yet its success is absolutely vital
to our chances for victory in the months and years ahead. The Space Force needs
to build its own internal industrial infrastructure and shipyard capability,
and the sooner the better. The kind of force structure that is needed will be
impossible to acquire if we must pay private sector companies to build it. Even
with this internal capability, the fiscal demands will be onerous. Without this
internal capability, we may as well give up right now and wait for the aliens
to arrive. What I’m referring to specifically is the acquisition of, or at
least the use of, one of the Universal Fabrication Complexes owned by GED. I’m
aware that GED has repeatedly refused to sell a UFC to the Space Force in the
past, despite very generous offers. I even understand why they insist on
keeping a monopoly on UFCs. The ability to make anything, including more UFCs,
using robotic equipment and asteroid-based resources means that GED can
manufacture and assemble an Exploration Frigate for a cash outlay of just one
or two percent of what it would have cost them using more traditional
manufacturing techniques. If they then sell the ship to us, even for a greatly
reduced price, they would still make an enormous profit. I have no
philosophical objection to GED making money, but I do have a serious objection to
their greed threatening the very survival of the Human Race. For the Greater
Good, they must be convinced, either by persuasion or by legislation, to give
up their monopoly on the UFC technology. I’m not insisting that they be forced
to give it to us without some form of compensation. Rather, I’m suggesting that
compensation is a question that can be resolved later. We need access to the
UFCs NOW! While we won’t be able to start building new ships right away because
they haven’t been designed yet, we can certainly start building more UFCs. The
kind of output of ships and equipment that we will very likely need will
require hundreds of UFCs. And we can reach that level of capacity through
geometric growth if the existing units reproduce themselves, with the new units
doing the same over the next few months. The classic example that illustrates
this concept is that of starting with one Credit and doubling it every day. Do
so, and in less than a month, you’ll be a millionaire. To give you some idea of
how urgent it is that we start this initiative immediately, let me provide
another example. If, as I’ve been told, it takes approximately one month for a
UFC to reproduce itself, and if we wait one month before starting this program,
then at any point in the future we will have only half as many UFCs as we would
have if we started today. Half as many UFCs will translate into half as many
ships. And half as many ships could very well mean the difference between
survival and the genocide of Humanity.”

The Admiral paused to take another sip of water before
adding, “This concludes my opening remarks. I’m now prepared to answer any
questions members of the Committee may wish to ask.”

The Chairman of the Committee nodded and looked at the other
members before responding.

“On behalf of the Committee, I’d like to thank you, Admiral
Howard, for that very comprehensive and insightful report. You and your staff
have obviously given this unexpected development a lot of thought in the short
time that was available to you. Speaking only for myself, I admit that I’m
somewhat overwhelmed at this point by what has happened and by what the
implications are.”

Shiloh saw most of the Committee members nodding their
agreement to that. The Chairman continued.

“Given that we haven’t had time to read your report as carefully
as it warrants, I’m going to ask your indulgence when we ask questions that are
already answered in the report. I think you can safely assume that this will be
a long session, Admiral. As the Committee’s Chairperson, I have the privilege
of asking my questions first. My first question is this …”

                                                      ***

Many, exhausting hours later, when he and the Admiral left
the Committee room, Shiloh realized he was sweating.

“What happens now, Sir?”

Howard snorted.

“Now? If by that question, Commander, you mean what am I personally
going to do, the answer is I’m going to go back to my office and have a stiff
drink, or two. If you mean what happens next in the process here’s that answer.
The Committee will meet ‘In Camera’. That means privately. I think I’ve
convinced them to take this seriously. If they agree with that assessment then they’ll
report back to the Grand Senate, which will debate the supplementary budget
that the Executive Branch will be tabling. Unfortunately that will take several
weeks. The government can’t just ask for vast amounts of money. They’ll need to
make a detailed request that will take time to compile. And there’s no way
around that. That’s where you can make a valuable contribution. I’ll have my
senior planning staff member contact you to start the Strategic Planning Group.
The two of you can then figure out who else should be in the group. I will temporarily
reassign anyone you need. Don’t waste any time with this. We need creative
thinking. The end result doesn’t have to be a polished report. That’s not the
group’s objective. What I want to get from the SPG is recommendations and
ideas, the more ideas, the better. In terms of recommendations, I want to see
the whole gamut, ranging from what kinds of R&D we should be conducting, to
force structure, deployment, infrastructure, and anything else you can think
of. No area is off limits for consideration, but speed is essential. Anything
the group comes up with can be revisited and polished later. Cost estimates are
a must, but no one expects them to be dead on accurate. Ballpark figures are
okay for now. The SPG report will form the skeleton that the Emergency
Supplemental Budget request will be built around. Do you understand what I’m
asking for, Commander?”