Jason could see that he wasn't going to win but still didn't know what to do.
"I want to rejoin the Confederation fleet with my ship."
"Impossible," Kruger snapped. "I need you here, and here you're staying."
"Look, son," Richards said, suddenly serious. "It's a ten day transit back to Earth at full speed. You'll arrive back to the inner worlds with just twenty fighters on board."
"None," Kruger growled. "Most of them are mine anyhow, and I'm requisitioning the rest."
"All right then, none, and no munitions, because even if Kruger did let you go I doubt he'd spare one IFF missile out of his stores to refit you."
Kruger nodded and said nothing.
"The battle shaping up back there, wherever it is they're going to fight it, might already be over. Meanwhile, we can expect a major sortie by the Cats straight in here to pin us down. You could very well run from one action to the other and miss both. It's that simple."
Jason had already heard the argument once before from Richards just before loading him into the Sabre for the trip from orbit down to the Hell Hole. He'd been too damn angry over the abandonment and then from the signal reporting him dead to think. He realized now he could no longer argue the point.
"Damn you," he said quietly, looking back at Kruger. "All right, you won. You've got me."
"I'm so honored that you would volunteer to join me," Kruger replied with false sincerity.
He took an old style printout report and held it up.
"This is our latest intelligence report. Three Kilrathi carriers are moving to the frontier and are expected to cross it momentarily, with an estimated eighteen escort ships. They're moving straight at Landreich and will make planetfall here in this system within eighteen hours."
And your response."
"Meet them and beat them, it's that simple."
"Four escort carriers going head to head against three Kilrathi fleet carriers?" Jason asked. "At best we've got a hundred fighters on board our ships."
"Eighty seven."
"They'll have over three hundred. We'll be frozen meat an hour after the action starts."
"Do you have any better ideas?"
Jason looked at the President. Though he was still simmering with rage he could not help but wish that it had been Kruger who had been running the Confederation instead of Rodham. They wouldn't be in this mess now if it were.
"No, sir."
"Then get back to your ship . We leave here in six hours."
"What about the Confederation, sir, what's happening there?"
"The usual screw-up. The only positive sign is that Geoff is heading Third Fleet. They moved out five days ago, and have kept radio silence since."
"Admiral Tolwyn commanding the Third? What about Banbridge?"
Kruger told him of the bomb plot, the pardon, and the political confusion that still gripped the Confederation, along with the growing panic.
Jason took it all in, wishing more than ever he could be back under his old commander for the showdown.
"If Geoff stops the invasion, it'll be a miracle," Kruger said.
"And if he doesn't, what about you then?"
Kruger smiled, the first time Jason had ever seen him do it.
"We'll survive. It's what we've been doing for thirty years, with precious little help from your Confederation, I might add."
"It's official, gentlemen, a state of war now exists between the Kilrathi Empire and the Confederation. Four old style carriers crossed the frontier four hours ago, and the Senate passed the declaration."
He looked around at his bridge crew on Concordia flagship of Third Fleet.
"All signal traffic from Station Hanover and the Hanovian System was lost forty-five minutes ago, the last report stating they were under heavy attack."
"Good God, there's two million people on that world," a staff ensign whispered.
"There were two million people there," Geoff said.
Geoff saw a young communications technician lean over his desk, covering his face, and he inwardly cursed, realizing that Hanover was most likely the boys home. He wanted to say something, to apologize for his lack of tact, but knew he couldn't. The cold reality of what they were facing had to be driven home.
The bridge was silent, more than one turning to look at the boy as he muffled a sob and then sat back up, his features pale.
"We're going to lose a lot of worlds in the days to come," Tolwyn said, "a lot of worlds."
"Communications, put laser locks on the other ships in the fleet, pass the information, and order all ships to continue silent running."
He turned and retreated back to his wardroom. Sighing, he settled down into his chair and looked at the holo map. They were now positioned three jump points ahead of Sirius in towards the frontier. The Kilrathi had yet to show their main fleet. The carriers could be a diversion, or the vanguard of the main assault
Damn, to be able to use full size carriers as a vanguard, while he had to husband the five ships that would be under his command, that is if Saratoga and Leyte Gulf could get up in time to join his other two ships. He ran a quick question into his nav system and the answer coldly blinked back at him. If the Kilrathi came on at flank speed, they'd get to Sirius a day and a half before the other two carriers could join up.
He looked at the three dimensional map, pausing for a moment as a new signal burst in, updating the situation. Three more red blips appeared, the three tentatively identified as cruiser squadrons, crossing the frontier. Far off to one side, over by Landreich, a thin red line was already traced deep into Kruger's territory, two definite and one probable carrier moving fast towards the core worlds of Landreich.
Which was the main assault? The carriers at Hanover could be a feint to draw him in, the main fleet following behind one of the three cruiser squadrons. If he had the strength, that would be his approach, hoping to draw the enemy forward, then flanking by a side jump line, cutting him off from the rear.
He sat back, hands clasped, pondering, wishing he could somehow penetrate the fog of war. The Kilrathi had shut down nearly all military channels and kept silence ever since the burst signal from Tarawa got through, except for the nonstop bombardment of propaganda. The mere fact that signal traffic was nonexistent showed just how well planned the operation was. In the ordinary sphere of war, it was impossible to maintain operations for long without a steady flow of information.
Masterful.
I've got to buy a little time till they show their hand, but at the same time I need to wiggle a little bait, bringing the main assault on myself.
It was almost a foregone conclusion that Thrakhath was in charge of the main fleet. He was always bullheaded, and when he believed himself to have the upper edge, arrogant. Thrakhath never really gave a damn about taking territory; he wanted battle, to close with his enemy and destroy him.
He'll come straight in and dare me to stop him. He was behind the carriers.
I need to show confidence, aggression, he thought, not let them think we're already whipped.
Geoff punched in to his bridge officer.
"Pass the word to the fleet. We jump forward to the Warsaw system and will move at full speed to meet the carriers head on. Get Admirals Ching and Bjornsson on laser."
He turned the channel off and within seconds felt the vibration run through the ship as the helm officer called for full engine thrust.
Ching's image materialized on a flat screen, the bridge of his carrier, Moskva, in the background, followed seconds later by Bjornsson, commander of Verdun.
"We're going up to bloody nose them a bit and get their attention," Geoff said. "It'll be three on four, and with luck we'll buy enough time for our other two ships to get into position."