target. The Rebels in some wings would be completely surprised.
It struck Trexler as a superb plan. Some squadrons would be hit hard, and the ones that weren’t hit hard would at least be probed to identify Chessori wings. Seeton’s ships, approaching from behind, were always paired, and though they would not be in position at the outset of the battle, they were good reserves. Trexler was certain those squadron commanders had been given instructions on how to attack, probably using paired cruisers. Though the strategy would be new to them, it was not difficult to execute with a little practice.
Waverly, Stevens, and Walters stayed with him through all of this, and because of the magic of the net, they understood what he was looking at and thinking about.
He zoomed out again and just looked at the whole situation for a long time, moving in and out, considering and contemplating. He found a few places where he might have done things a little differently, but he found no faults. He had no idea who was crewing each ship; to him the upcoming battle was reduced to symbols.
Waverly approached him some time later. “I think I’m getting the hang of the commands,” he said. “While you were studying the big picture, I tried something else. Want to have a look?”
“Sure, Jim.”
Waverly thought, “display only enemy ships that are not in wing formation.” Forty-five Rebel ships remained on the display.
“Highlight these ships, then add all Rebel wings to the display,” Waverly commanded. The wings returned, and clear to them from the display, each had another ship associated with it, sometimes off to the side, and sometimes behind, depending on the positions of the attacking Empire ships.
“If each squadron is a battalion, those single ships are your brigade commanders,” Waverly said.
“Except for the four spaced geometrically around the far perimeter of the system,” Trexler added thoughtfully.
“Exactly. They’re running the show.”
Trexler studied the display. “Those four look to me like they’re in position to make an immediate jump. It might not be possible to take them out, even with a fast ship.”
“Would they see a fast ship coming in from outside the system?”
“Hmm. I’m not sure.”
“There’s one more item, but I don’t want to discuss it on the net. I have no idea who has access to what we’re seeing and thinking. Are you willing to disconnect?”
“Sure.”
All four of them disconnected. Stevens and Walters looked dismayed. “Something on your mind, guys?” he asked.
They looked at each other, and Stevens spoke soberly. “It’s like the Normandy invasion, sir. A lot of people are going to die out there.”
Trexler nodded. “Most will die quickly, some will not. Cruisers are very hard to completely destroy. We’ll rescue the survivors if we can. For all of history, war has been a gruesome business. In this case, it’s all for a concept: you might call it right versus wrong; you might call it restoring the Empire; or you might call it saving Earth. All of those reasons work for me. The cause is just. It’s our job to end it as quickly as we can. You helped us along that path by clearing the Chessori from Orion III and Aldebaran I. Those were key battles, gentlemen, and they were giant strides toward reaching the finish line. The battle here will be another giant stride.”
“Provided we win, sir. It looks to me like we’re seriously outnumbered.”
“We are at the moment, but you were here yesterday when we discussed the reserves. Something you might not know is that a lot of our ships have significant advantages over the Rebel ships. Our fast ships are just what the name implies; they’re lots faster than the Rebel ships. Some of them also have more firepower and better shields. They’ll hit hard, and if the going gets too tough, they’ll bounce away and come back from a different angle. It will make a difference.”
He turned to Waverly. “What did you want to talk about?”
“I did another search, Ray. I asked the AI to display only friendly ships that are not assigned a target. There were a few near the planet. Out here, there were three.”
“Hmm. Were we one of them?”
“Yes. I presume one of the others was Chandrajuski’s flag ship. I’m guessing Admiral Taylor’s flag ship has been sent into action. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chandrajuski’s is sent in later.”
“And the other?”
“It was a fast frigate, way out on the edge of the system, just like the four Rebel command ships. The reason I didn’t want to announce it to one and all on the net is that I think it might be the Queen. Reba talked about her quite a bit, and from what I understand of her, she’s not one to sit out a major confrontation.”
“Hmm. You could be right, Jim. She committed her own personal squadron to Chandrajuski, and I’ve been wondering where she went that’s safe. Wherever she went, it would be in a fast ship, certainly. If she’s here, she can fast ship away any time she wants.” Then he sucked in his breath. “Maybe.”
“Maybe? There’s no way the Rebels can get to her unless they have fast ships.”
Trexler’s eyes shifted around as he considered. “Have you heard Krys’ story?”
“No. Who’s she?”
“It doesn’t matter right now. She was jumped by a Chessori ship that was vectored in with the interstellar communicator. I’ll bet some of these Empire ships have the communicators. Certainly the top commanders have them.” He looked at Waverly thoughtfully. “I’ve been trying to outguess the Rebel commanders, trying to figure out what tricks they have up their sleeves. Taking out the Queen would be a big one.”
“Well, I hadn’t considered that, but I did have another thought. I’m told the Queen is their number one priority.”
“Most likely.”
“You’ve been trying to figure out how to get the Rebels to commit their reserves where and when you want them. What if the Queen moved a little closer in, too far in for a regular ship to jump back out. The Rebels would believe they had her blocked in. If we make sure they see her, wouldn’t they go for her?”
“Gods, Jim! What a thought. It’s perfect! And if she came in far enough, they couldn’t jump on her from hyper. Ship!” he announced into the air.
His communicator started flashing and buzzing again. He picked it up and said, “Stop. Get Chandrajuski on the line.”
It took a full minute. “What, Ray?”
“This is urgent, sir. Get the Queen moving inbound immediately, at maximum normal speed. No fast shipping. Call me back when she’s complied. Hurry, sir.
“Ray, she’s not here. She would have called.”
“Are you in the net?”
“Yes.”
“Tell the AI to delete everything from your view except our ships that have not been assigned targets.”
The wait was not long. “I see what you mean. Why bring her into the system, Ray? I’d rather she left.”
“Remember how Krys was jumped from hyper by a Chessori at Dorwall?”
“I do. I want her out of here.”
“No you don’t, sir. You have a job for her, but get her started inbound. No jumping. Then let’s meet in sick bay. This is too hot to discuss over the net. Trust me, sir.”
Chandrajuski cut the connection. The four of them just looked at each other and listed to Sam Taylor snoring.
Chandrajuski showed up about 20 minutes later with M’Coda and Seeton in trail. “Mike wants an explanation, Ray. He’s not happy about the tight beam connection. We might have exposed them.”
“Good. Are they inbound?”
“Yes, and they have all sensors active in every direction.”
“Great. Jim, this is your plan.”
“No, go ahead.”
“Okay. Admiral, Jim discovered something. He asked the AI to display only those Rebel ships that were not included in wings. He got 45 hits.”
“Is this their secret weapon? I’ve been waiting for something like this to muddle our plan.”
