Li An continued, slowly moving her gaze from Al’Karesh to her other guests. “If this interpretation is correct, the Alliance military movements could, in fact, be aggressive in nature. They could be massing for a strike through this new warp gate, and that attack could come anywhere…against any of us.” She paused, trying to read the faces of those assembled. “This is our primary hypothesis.”
“We also have considered this.” Al’Karesh sat rigidly upright as he spoke. Clearly, he was concerned about the possibility of the Alliance gaining another advantage by bursting out into a previously secure sector. “Do you have a proposed plan of action, or are we here to simply discuss obvious concerns?”
Li An looked back at the Caliphate official, but she refused to take the bait and become angry. “Yes, Chairman Al’Karesh, we do have a proposed course of action, but before I move on to that, we do have one other theory.” She glanced away from Al’Karesh. She was a master at controlling her emotions, but sometimes it was difficult. She really couldn’t stand the little shit. If he hadn’t been the Caliph’s cousin, she thought derisively, he’d be shoveling camel shit in some desert. “We believe it is also possible that the Alliance has discovered something of significant value on one of their frontier worlds. Perhaps a find similar to that on Epsilon Eridani IV.”
A low murmur rose in the room. None of them had considered such a possibility, and the prospect of the Alliance discovering another ancient artifact deep in their own space was unsettling. The balance of power was in a precarious state already – a major Alliance technological advantage could shatter it permanently.
“This hypothesis is somewhat supported by the force compositions of the Alliance fleets. The naval units they are moving are decidedly second line formations. Perhaps they feel older vessels are sufficient to defend an important site deep in their own space.” She paused, taking a short breath. “Nevertheless, we still believe the first theory is the most likely. They may be moving older ships simply because that is all they can spare and still maintain the border defenses on their inner colonies. With the losses they suffered during the recent rebellions, this is a decided possibility, if not a probability.”
Tankovich leaned back in his seat. The furniture in the conference room was of the highest quality, but the chair creaked anyway under the Russian’s massive weight. He had always been a big man, Li An thought, but now he’s a fat man too.
“Assuming we concur on the likely reasoning behind the Alliance’s moves, what are the CAC’s intentions?” He paused, but before she answered he added, “And what would you have us do, my dear Minister Li? You did not call this meeting for nothing.”
Li An looked out across the table, her expression a blank canvas. “I am afraid I am not at liberty to divulge what actions the CAC may choose to undertake on its own.” She paused…it was time to try to sell her plan. “But I do have a proposal for joint action, assuming your respective governments are in agreement with us.”
Tankovich shifted uncomfortably in his chair. The RIC was willing to listen to CAC entreaties, but if Li An was going to suggest a military alliance, she was moving far too quickly. The Russians tended to act cautiously – ponderously some said - whatever course they ultimately chose. He opened his lips to speak, but decided to remain silent. Li An knew all of that - he would wait and see what she has to say.
“I propose that all of our nations mobilize their space-based armed forces and deploy significant formations near our borders with the Alliance.” She glanced methodically around the room, weighing reactions. “I want to be clear, we are not suggesting an attack on the Alliance…merely that we all apply pressure. The presence of significant forces in a position to strike Alliance targets will compel them to retain heavy garrisons. This will starve any offensive launched via a newly discovered warp gate.” She paused as the others considered her words. “It is the least aggressive stance we can responsibly take. It does not require us to initiate any hostilities, yet it still serves our purpose. I do not believe any of us can afford to simply wait and see what the Alliance is doing.”
The discussion continued for hours, and by the time her guests filed out of the room, Li An was confident she’d convinced them all. Whether or not they could persuade their faction-ridden governments was another question. She bid them all goodbye, all except Tankovich. She asked the Russian to stay.
“I wanted to have a little chat, Igor.” She smiled at her aged colleague. “We both know the RIC has some significant choices to make in the future. I thought perhaps we could discuss some options.” As she spoke, the door opened and a startlingly beautiful young Asian woman walked into the room. She was dressed impeccably, though her skirt was extremely short, almost scandalously so by the prudish standards of the CAC. “Ah, here she is. Igor, allow me to introduce my new assistant, Jia.”
Chapter 10
“Keep digging, all of you.” Sergeant Jake Clarkson wiped his grimy, sweat soaked forehead. The grizzled ex-Marine could have been plucked right from a war vid. Bald, with a nasty scar over his left eye, he looked like everyone’s idea of the veteran Marine sergeant. “I know it’s hot boys and girls, but it’s going to be a damned sight hotter if those bastards land and we don’t have these works done.”
His troops had been digging all day. It was almost impossible to determine where the enemy would land…they could come down just about anyplace on the planet. But New Sydney was the biggest target by far, and Cooper Brown figured they’d land somewhere near the capital. And if they were going to hit New Sydney, they had a limited number of options.
The asteroid strikes that had damaged Adelaide’s ecostructure also created an atypical geography. New Syndey had been built on one of the small, temperate oases, the only spots on the planet even marginally comfortable to human settlers. As with most of these small habitable zones, the area around New Sydney was almost entirely surrounded by mountains. To the east and west were jagged ranges, almost impassable to ground forces. That left the passes to the north and south as the only practical approaches…and the logical places for the militia to mount a defense.
Clarkson’s com buzzed. “Sergeant, give me a status report.” It was Captain Krantz. “The colonel wants an update.”
“Yes, sir.” Clarkson had 50 troops under him. Cooper Brown had tried to make him an officer three times, but he’d refused the commission. Clarkson was at home close to his troops. He was a sergeant at heart, and he couldn’t see himself as anything else. Brown respected his wishes to remain an enlisted man, but he gave him a lieutenant’s billet and put him in command of a front line platoon anyway. “I estimate 18 hours to complete phase one fortifications.”
“Very good, sergeant. You’re running a day ahead of the units on your flanks.” Krantz had expected good news – Clarkson was one of the best men they had. But he was still surprised how much progress 4 th Platoon had made. It was always hot out on the rocky plains south of New Sydney, but the last two days had been unseasonably brutal. Krantz knew Clarkson had a lot of Marine vets in his unit, but he still didn’t know how he kept them moving at the pace he did. “Keep up the good work. Krantz out.”
Clarkson turned and walked back along the line where his troops were busily digging. How many of them, he wondered, would be alive in a week? He didn’t know what was coming – not even Cooper Brown knew – but he had a bad feeling. He wasn’t part of the high command, and he didn’t have access to whatever meager intelligence Brown had, but his gut told him they were in big trouble…and it had never been wrong yet.