David gritted his teeth as he watched the Trevakian captain walk towards the table, indicating to several of the soldiers as they nodded, his voice a whisper as Debra’s gloved hand rubbed his lower arm supportively, ‘A transfer request it is then…’
Chapter Twenty Two: Total War
Nearly Seven Hours Later
In a briefing room next the bridge of Galactic Freedom, the commanding admiral stood leaning over the hologram table below, a raised screen being fed scrolling information from an intelligence officer in a lower section of the Battle Cruiser. The other ship commanders sat around the glowing differing coloured images projected upwards, including a Fahimian delegation with Begum, the petit tanned figures all wearing translation earpieces as hushed discussions continued around the sombre grey, dimly lit room.
The room was soundproofed, the glass side facing the ensigns seated across the wide control deck having adopted a smoked effect once all fleet officers had entered, preventing observation from outside should any visitors be present.
The twenty one vice admirals and nine senior ship officers stared across the hologram of the human universe, the Fahimians whispering to each other as they considered different planets and whether any atmospheres could sustain life.
The admiral stepped back, whispering to a senior Intelligence Service commander with her adjutant sat behind in a darkened corner of the room, the female officer nodding her approval before indicating that she would join the admiral, rising to step in behind him as he approached the table once more.
Clearing his throat as the darkly uniformed I.S. (Intelligence Service) commander drew alongside, he indicated to one of the glowing smaller hologram planets, the surfaces seeming to be tinged with red as the muffled chatter fell away, ‘You may be fully aware that our ships have slowed and that we are gradually adopting a cloaked battle formation, this is in final preparation for the attack ahead.’ The admiral shifted his stance slightly, grasping the sides of the table, ‘We have intercepted the information pod jettisoned from our Battle Cruiser ahead…they have remained concealed behind this planet of Mars for a number of days, scanning the enemy’s movements and progress on this planet earth’s surface.’ He grinned thoughtfully, ‘Their vice admiral is to be commended for his cunning…placing probes in caverns on Mars and allowing the planet’s rotation to then permit scanning of the enemy has apparently left them completely unaware of our approach.’
The admiral smiled fleetingly, ‘We are moving between the planets, allowing their orbit around the sun to conceal our presence as we draw nearer, numerous comets and asteroids will also cause problems for Morgon scanners…there is considerable space debris in this sector and it was chosen for this reason.’
He shifted uncomfortably once more, glancing across at the intelligence commander, the female nodding for him to continue, ‘The battle will evolve in two sections…without neutralising one or both of the Morgon warships, we cannot expect to win or fully alleviate any battle on the surface…but will reinforce our beleaguered allies.’ He indicated to the projected planet of earth, two small dots orbiting on opposite sides, the admiral raising his hand above the hologram to enlarge the image, several eyes widening around the table as they glimpsed the size of the warships, ‘We have an opportunity…the ships are in close orbit to support their ground forces and therefore have no direct communication with each other. We must complete an attack on one, but maintain the planet as a shield to prevent the intervention of the other…intelligence has predicted that we are of insufficient strength to combat both vessels and their considerable firepower at the same time.’
The admiral grimaced, his eyes narrowing, ‘We have designated one cruiser as a distraction for the Morgon warship…a sacrifice if you like. This coupled with Fahimian distortion technology should confuse them for a short time whilst our ships all engage the one ship…you all have predetermined targets across the hull and should not deviate from these…these and secondary targets are in your individual orders that will be delivered by intelligence in approximately one hour.’ He swallowed nervously, ‘Fighters and bombers will also target the warship to further engage their defences as we launch our main infantry forces toward earth with escorts.’
The intelligence service commander cleared her throat as the admiral stepped back, her hand expertly tapping on the screen directly below as the hologram flickered and died, further colours surging and becoming clearer as the table lights changed, projecting the images upwards. Several of the seated officers smiled in anticipation, the Fahimians swinging their feet beneath their chairs as they leant forward, their brown eyes widening as the images sharpened, lines of fighters and bombers forming along with the battle cruiser and battleships.
The I.S. senior officer smiled reassuringly, her open palm waving across the formalised fleet, ‘These are our projected battle formations…’ She indicated to the numerous smaller blue ships on the right, numbering nearly two and a half thousand, a red battleship and cruiser behind, ‘This section is designated for earth…’ The admiral drew a deep breath of pride as she continued, ‘An initial drop of sixty thousand Trevakian marines to reinforce our human allies…this will be followed by a second wave of forty thousand…once the transports return. They will receive support from the two fleet ships initially to ensure they are able to deploy their soldiers successfully to the surface. The transports will continue shuttling supplies and new weapons for our earth allies for the foreseeable future…or until we can open a portal to Alexion One.’
She indicated to a second, much smaller section of red ships next to the first, ‘Fahimian commandoes will also land with their fighter support…and some more of our troops, five thousand in all. The Fahimian fighters will be based at an airfield in Great Britain…Heathrow I think it is called. We currently have a ship cloaked nearby and these fighters should provide valuable protection as well
