2 Weeks Later. February 28th, 2267. 08:00 St Mary’s Station--First Fleet Command Center
John was one among thirty-two ship captains sitting in the room. Every last one of those captains was watching, with rapt attention, the presentation being given in front of them. Another two hundred were attending directly from their ships. The First Fleet was getting ready to utilize a noticeable percentage of their forces for this mission.
Admiral Dufresne was leading this portion of the presentation. John was surprised to see both Admirals Dickinson and Karlsson in the same room as him. Admiral Dickinson spent precious little time away from Earth. As for the Grand Admiral Karlsson, his official support had fallen to critically low levels and Dickinson was the odds-on favorite to be tapped to replace him.
Karlsson was a savvy political creature in his own right. John wondered if he was going to try and sabotage his Fleet Admiral on his way out. That was something he personally didn’t want to see. Dickinson seemed to be a generally good guy on the surface. There were of course skeevy deals lurking below the surface but nothing like the graft of old. His brief introspection on the issue was interrupted by Admiral Dufresne suddenly.
“Now then, this is the newly repaired Icarus. Her entire hull has been retrofitted with the new Mark 14 ablative armor plates. The rail turrets are a newer design than what she had equipped, but now she will fire roughly twenty percent more quickly as they are far more efficient,” Admiral Dufresne switched to zoomed-in images highlighting the different upgrades, “State of the art lances, close in combat systems, shielding arrays, and if the thing in the hangar is accurate, she has a small squadron of our recent fighter interceptors.”
“Fucking hell,” John said under his breath.
Lieutenant Vanessa Davis was sitting to John’s right, “Jesus John, that ship isn’t anything like what we saw or fought with. How did they get all that gear?”
“We don’t believe that the recent tactic Lieutenant Lief used will be of much use anymore,” Admiral Dufresne said, “It is assumed that they have the previous generation VI controlling the close-in-combat systems. Which means they ought to be able to track several thousand projectiles simultaneously.”
John raised his hand.
“A little early for the Q&A Lieutenant Lief, but the floor’s yours.”
“The tactic I employed should still work, technically. Though one ship alone won’t be able to flood her targeting systems,” John paused, “The old system can track seven thousand two hundred individual incoming projectiles. While it’s a big ship they don’t have the capability of shooting down all of them. Let’s say they prioritize cruise missiles and torpedoes over the micro-missile systems, they are going to lose substantial defensive effectiveness after the first wave.”
“Three cruisers firing one hundred micro-missiles should overload their systems once again,” Vanessa said.
The ship captains began throwing out ideas one after another. The doom and gloom tone shifted to one that was much more hopeful. John estimated that it would only take two cruisers to overload their defenses, but that would run them critically low on munitions.
Admiral Dufresne looked over at Charles. Clearly, there had been a contingency meeting that had happened between the two prior to this debrief. A simple nod meant they were moving to the alternative plan the admiralty had come up with.
Admiral Dufresne then brought up a new file and shared it on the holographic displays in the room. Thirty wolfpacks were displayed. Several battlecruisers were drafted for the attack. Rather disappointingly for John, his wolfpack was made up of just three ships. It was unlikely they’d do much against the Icarus.
“Dammit, forward scout role,” John cursed under his breath as he continued to look at the other two ships.
It was nothing against the captains of the two ships he was paired with. A stealth frigate and an older electronic attack cruiser weren’t going to do much against the pirates. How desperately John wanted to be the one to execute the Icarus. He felt he had earned that right, and maybe he had, but the political pull of Admiral Karlsson could be felt here.
“The commanders of each wolfpack will meet with the other members of their squadrons immediately following the conclusion of this meeting,” Admiral Dufresne said, “But before that, we need to explain the rather heavy-handed reason why we’re doing this after so long.”
A video popped up on the screen. Three freighters were disabled as a mostly reconstructed Icarus came into focus. She was hunting for something and presumably found precisely that in this convoy.
“This was three months ago. Most, but not all, of the armor plates, had already been reattached to the Icarus. You can see the old-style ones attached here, and here. Onboard this convoy was the rest of the plates that they needed to finish their retrofit. It is safe to say that those old plates have since been replaced.”
Admiral Dufresne paused for a moment, “In addition to those plates were defensive systems that were stolen. We do not believe there is a scenario that they haven’t been successfully integrated into their ship.”
“There was also an experimental computer system and a few other items which we cannot get into,” Admiral Dufresne sighed loudly, “We do not believe the new computer system is directly compatible, nor do we think the full benefit can be derived from it, but we must assume their systems function at similar levels to our ships.”
“Why wasn’t such a system transported onboard a warship?” a fellow captain said from the room.
“It is something we are investigating,” Admiral Dickinson said, “As near as we can tell, it was a bad assumption about security. Suffice it to say, a full review of that decision is ongoing. For the time being, nothing smaller than a battlecruiser is transferring tech like that for the foreseeable future.”
John pulled out his data slate and typed, ‘Eve, analyze all video and photographic evidence from the Icarus. Focus on any known weaknesses we can exploit. Especially focus on any damaged areas of the ship or how our e-war cruiser can affect their systems.’ There had to be a way where he could get back into the game.
“All of this data has been transmitted to you. Feel free to disseminate this data to your crews in any way you feel fit,” Admiral Dufresne, “I expect all leaders to share all tactical data with one another. It will be needed for this to succeed. You are dismissed,”
John was slow to get out of his chair. Bitterness at being sidelined at a time like this made him want to speak out. Instead of doing that John stood and left the room in an orderly fashion. He wanted to fight, to lash out, hell anything that would get him a better assignment. But that would only worsen his position. He needed to know how to win with the two other ships assigned to him.
Now was the time to get back to his ship and hatch a plan. To analyze anything and everything. And most importantly to get to know his fellow captains. He needed to understand what their strengths were and what the three of them could do to achieve success.
10:55 CNS Waukesha – Captain’s Ready Room
The last hour had been spent reading up on the freighter assault the Icarus had undertaken. Several items, which were redacted beyond any reasonable level, that were taken were still not officially identified. That bothered John, what in the hell had she taken that got the Naval commanders so worked up? But another question cropped up, did the Icarus know about those items, or had she stumbled upon them and taken them like true pirates?
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Sometimes being in the right place at the right time was a highly profitable affair for pirates. If the Icarus was looking for armor plates and she hit the motherlode, then she bit off more than she could chew. In the past hundred-plus years of the Navy dealing with the Icarus, no more than a single squadron had been sent after her. Fifteen percent of First Fleets’ assets were being diverted to this task force.
John was reviewing documents as he waited for the final captain to join his meeting. First Lieutenant Tessa Rose was infamous for her tardiness in meetings. Aside from that bit, she seemed to be an exceptional young officer. Second Lieutenant Oscar Conners looked an odd combination of bored and constipated.
“Something wrong Oscar?” John looked up from his data slate.
“This wolfpack seems sub-optimal. If I’m not mistaken, we and the others set up like ours are meant to find the Icarus but not actually attack her.”
“So it seems,” John sighed, “But it is what it is. If we don’t get credit for the kill at least we can do our job to ensure she dies.”
Just then Tessa appeared on the screen. There wasn’t a hint of apology or concern about her late entry into the meeting. If anything, John felt like she was presuming that more would have been done already. He didn’t know how to read the young woman.
“Lieutenant Rose, thank you for arriving. Ok, so let’s get right to it. Our wolfpack is made up of a mini-carrier, an attack cruiser, and a stealth frigate. Tessa, you and I will basically blast what Oscar finds. If we do track down the Icarus we are, unfortunately,” John sighed as he rubbed his forehead, “Going to have to call in backup to finish her off.”
“How do they propose to do that? We’re being sent to dozens of systems,” Tessa’s tone grew in acidity.
“Three packs will be sent in per system,” Oscar said, “One like ours, a balanced cruiser assault, and one with a battle cruiser as the centerpiece.”
“We are to lure out the prey but not engage it?” Tessa didn’t sound like she could believe what she was hearing.
John nodded, “That is correct. Look, unless we can pull a rabbit out of a hat twice there just isn’t an easy way for us to take out the Icarus.”
“Why are we getting sidelined?” Tessa asked.
“Politics of course. None of us are connected,” Oscar said, “Hell, Lieutenant Lief, despite his prolific results, is barely tolerated at the higher levels. At least if the rumors about you are true.”
“I’m probably just an ape they keep around to see what weird shit I’ll come up with,” John smiled, “But Oscar isn’t off the mark in my opinion. We aren’t high on Admiral Karlsson’s list, thus we didn’t get prime positions. But we will do our part to the best of our abilities.”
“The intel suggests multiple pirate groups are assisting the Icarus. This is new, isn’t it?” Tessa was reading a data slate.
“Yeah, I got the distinct impression that most pirate groups didn’t care for them. Either they are paying them or calling in all their favors. But I’m not sure why that is,” John said, “I’m running on the presumption that it won’t just be the Icarus we’ll be fighting.”
“Where are we heading?” Tessa asked.
“The Paximus system,” John sighed, “It’s solidly within First Fleet’s territory, but it’s near the outer edge. It’s also the recent hotbed for pirate activity.”
“Are we going in to rectify that?” Oscar asked.
“Officially?” John answered with a grin.
“We’re going to pick a fight,” Tessa looked surprised as she spoke.
“Technically you and I are. Oscar is going to be a sneaky bastard and find them for us.”
“That’s nowhere in our mission,” Tessa said, “That could have lasting consequences for us.”
“For me. Not us,” John leaned back in his chair and looked straight at the screen, “We need to draw them out. We do that by hitting their friends or people that they called in favors. They will then begin talking. That gives Naval Intelligence a chance to intercept and locate where these assholes are.”
“Which then gives intel to us. And it draws the Icarus to you because you're running down the streets shooting at anything and everything that moves,” Oscar said, “That’s a nifty plan.”
John grinned, “I want us to conserve our missiles. I do not know how long it’s going to be between resupplies.”
“Understood. When are we pushing out?” Tessa asked.
“08:00 tomorrow morning. Slip tides look good so it’s a two-day trip out there. We’re the advanced force. I do not expect to find the Icarus in the system. But this is step one in making enough noise to draw her out. Any questions?”
Oscar shook his head, “We are due to finish resupply by noon station time. I’ll have the crew called to the ship by 17:00 and begin our shifts accordingly.”
“I’m doing the same, though I’m expecting them to arrive by 19:00,” John said.
Tessa looked a bit worried when she looked at her data slate, “I’m going to call the crew back sooner than expected. And I’m going to have a word with the loadmaster.”
“Happy hunting, I’ll be sharing some more information with y’all once we’re off. Oscar, you are dismissed,” John then looked at the other half of his screen, “Tessa, would you mind staying on for a moment?”
Oscar dropped off the conference call. Tessa stayed on but her eyes were glued to her data slate. John presumed that the CNS Ugley was behind schedule.
“How far behind are you?” John cut through the bullshit with his question.
“Six hours on the best side. Twelve on the worst.”
“And you’re running on a skeleton crew at the moment?”
“I’ve recalled my crew.”
“Which means your still running light for the next four hours,” John sighed as he looked at his peer, “Tessa if your preparations aren’t on point and timely you are going to look very poorly in my wolfpacks. Running the crew ragged before departure isn’t a good look for you either.”
“I wasn’t aware that we were leaving so…”
“You were made aware that our departure date was in the next seventy-two hours a week ago. Your assumption was that we’d shove off towards the latter end of that window, not the former. I strongly suggest you change your mindset and presume everything happens ahead of schedule going forward.”
“I will. This won’t happen again.”
“Good. Another thing that won’t happen again is your tardiness to a meeting,” a hint of anger tinged those words, “I don’t care that your previous commanders allowed that bad habit of yours to fester. It will not stand with me. If a meeting is to start at 09:00 then you damn well better be in the meeting and ready to participate by 09:00. If that means you clear your schedule fifteen minutes prior to the start, then do so”
“Look, I’m sorry…”
“Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough to you. Your presence in these meetings isn’t optional. It’s a demand and an order from me. I do not want to bury any peers. I don’t want to make enemies needlessly. But I will bury you if this tardiness bullshit happens anymore,” John leaned forward in his chair, “I have very high standards and I expect those under my command not only to follow my lead but meet those very same standards I hold myself to. Are we clear?”
“Crystal, sir.”
“Good,” John’s tone changed suddenly, “I look forward to working with you. Let’s hope our working dynamic can improve in the coming weeks. Also, I don’t know what load master you are working with, but ask for Max, he owes me a favor or three.”
“I presume the station grunts will know who I’m asking for?”
John nodded.
“Alright then, thank you, sir. I need to get my ship prepped,” Tessa saluted then ended the conference call.
John didn’t want to be a hardass all the time. His expectations effectively made him one though to most of the crew. Once his crew realized that they could not only achieve but surpass his expectations, most understood what he tried to do. At least the good officers and enlisted did. John had a natural talent for drawing out a surprising amount of potential from those he worked with and commanded. That in turn was generally rewarded with an incredibly loyal crew.
Tessa was going to be a unique case to work with. She was a rising star of sorts in the First Fleet. But her attention to detail was lacking in some critical areas, and her time management was terrible. Even worse than Andern’s was, which made John smile since he knew how terribly awful Andern was with managing work.
It was his hope that some of John’s more noble habits would rub off on Tessa. While she was the current rising star, primarily because of some truly brilliant bits of captaining during the pirate sweep, her failings were coming into focus. She could make admiral in the future, but right now the more likely outcome was ending as a lieutenant commander.
Oscar on the other hand was a solid officer. He wasn’t loud or brash, he simply did his job. Perhaps too quietly, captains of stealth ships do have a tendency to go under the radar. John knew he could rely on him to accomplish anything he asked him to do.
Tessa wasn’t wrong that what they were going to do was not per the script. This was a bit of a risk, especially since it was clear that his wolfpack wasn’t meant to be anywhere near the Icarus. John had something that none of the other captains had though, a relationship of sorts with the captain of the Icarus. John was the only one in the Navy that could draw the Icarus out of hiding.
If she were smart, which Rene and the crew absolutely were, the Icarus wasn’t going to do anything to get noticed. That would be a death sentence given how many resources were being thrown at the issue. The way the Navy was going about it was wrong and wouldn’t work. If John were the captain he’d just bugger off to other places and not be around them.
No, John nodded to paint the biggest damn target on his back. He needed to piss off the maximum number of people possible. He needed as many pirate organizations as possible to rant and rave about their actions. Demands, the key here was plural, would be made. If enough were made the Icarus would have no choice but to support these other organizations.
That is the only way the Icarus will get drawn out, and ultimately the only way to find a successful resolution to this mission. John’s name was well known to pirate organizations, but he wasn’t infamous with pirates yet. He needed to become infamous in order to accomplish the impossible.
If that meant he would stretch their orders to the limit, then he would. Every system they would go to had pirates in them. Ships would be killed, and bases raided. The best way to make people hate you is to take their things and loved ones from them. He just needed to make the chorus of voices so loud that none could ignore their pleas for help.