Read Online Extremis by Charles E. Gannon, Steve White - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Charles E. Gannon, Steve White
Ads: Link
it. For their path is to Nirvana.”
“Admiral? Sir?” Wethermere had taken a solicitous step toward her. “Are you all right?”
Krishmahnta literally felt an impulse to shake the memory—so strong and dislocating—out of her head, but that would hardly set the appropriate command image. She smiled. “My apologies, gentlemen. It seems I haven’t quite roused myself from that deeply satisfying twenty-one-minute nap that you interrupted, Mr. Wethermere.”
The lieutenant looked both surprised for being so blamed and genuinely repentant. Krishmahnta could hardly keep from smiling as he apologized. “I’m—I’m very sorry, sir.”
Watanabe laughed. “Relax, son, the Admiral’s just having a laugh. And we can use ’em wherever we find ’em, these days.”
“I see, sir.”
Krishmahnta resolved to put Wethermere at ease with a smile, and the lieutenant brightened up nicely in response. “So, Mr. Wethermere. I’ll have a reply for Admiral Yoshikuni in about five minutes. What are your impressions of the action in Beaumont? Is there anything not in the pouch that’s worth mentioning?”
“Just this, sir. The rank and file don’t understand why Admiral Yoshikuni has split the task force and bracketed Beaumont. Granted, the planet warrants defense, but by moving inside the Desai limit—”
“—she gives up her primary mobility advantage over the Baldies, is that it?”
“Something like that, although it seems that at least half of the Baldy ships now have Desai drives.”
“That many? Well, it was sure to come sooner or later.” She turned to Watanabe. “This is probably the last time we’ll have any drive advantage at all.”
“Could be. So we’d better watch ourselves here in Raiden. After we decimated the last Baldy fleet, they’d have had to rebuild it with new ships. And that means new technology.”
Krishmahnta nodded, turned back to Wethermere, tried to keep the assessing glint out of her eye. “What about you, Lieutenant? Do you have a guess why Admiral Yoshikuni has pulled back within the Desai limit?”
Wethermere shot a quick glance at the plot. “Well, sir, it extends the engagement.”
Captain Watanabe raised an eyebrow. “Really? How?”
“Well, if the engagement stayed out beyond the Desai limit, it would go along at .5 c, since large ships with Desai drives double their speeds out there.”
“Yes, and barely half the enemy fleet would be able to keep up.”
“Well, yes, sir, but the fighting would still collect around the other warp point in a day, maybe two. But this way, if the Baldies come inside the Desai limit and, furthermore, get in close to planets, flank speeds drop to .2 or .25 c, and fighters become more useful again. All factors taken together, that slows down the resolution of the engagement.”
“And where’s the tactical advantage in that, Lieutenant?”
“It’s a strategic advantage, sir. Slowing them down out here is key to developing our defenses farther on down the line. Out here, we’re forced to improvise quite a bit—not enough forts, older hulls, reserve crews, depleted stocks of mines. The way I figure it, our most urgent mission is to delay the Baldies long enough so that our rear area can get enough matériel cranked out and sent up to places with optimally defensible choke points. Like the single warp point at Achilles. Like you and the admiral were discussing earlier.”
“You make us sound very expendable, Lieutenant.” Krishmahnta allowed herself a faint smile. “Tell me, is your Navy insurance paid up?”
“Sorry if I wasn’t clear, sir, but I don’t think we’re expendable at all. In fact, I suspect the need to preserve every possible unit is the other reason for Admiral Yoshikuni’s leisurely pace.”
“How do you mean?”
“Admiral, if I read the tea leaves correctly, you are planning to disengage our two fleets from two different enemy forces in two widely separated salients, with the ultimate objective of
“Admiral? Sir?” Wethermere had taken a solicitous step toward her. “Are you all right?”
Krishmahnta literally felt an impulse to shake the memory—so strong and dislocating—out of her head, but that would hardly set the appropriate command image. She smiled. “My apologies, gentlemen. It seems I haven’t quite roused myself from that deeply satisfying twenty-one-minute nap that you interrupted, Mr. Wethermere.”
The lieutenant looked both surprised for being so blamed and genuinely repentant. Krishmahnta could hardly keep from smiling as he apologized. “I’m—I’m very sorry, sir.”
Watanabe laughed. “Relax, son, the Admiral’s just having a laugh. And we can use ’em wherever we find ’em, these days.”
“I see, sir.”
Krishmahnta resolved to put Wethermere at ease with a smile, and the lieutenant brightened up nicely in response. “So, Mr. Wethermere. I’ll have a reply for Admiral Yoshikuni in about five minutes. What are your impressions of the action in Beaumont? Is there anything not in the pouch that’s worth mentioning?”
“Just this, sir. The rank and file don’t understand why Admiral Yoshikuni has split the task force and bracketed Beaumont. Granted, the planet warrants defense, but by moving inside the Desai limit—”
“—she gives up her primary mobility advantage over the Baldies, is that it?”
“Something like that, although it seems that at least half of the Baldy ships now have Desai drives.”
“That many? Well, it was sure to come sooner or later.” She turned to Watanabe. “This is probably the last time we’ll have any drive advantage at all.”
“Could be. So we’d better watch ourselves here in Raiden. After we decimated the last Baldy fleet, they’d have had to rebuild it with new ships. And that means new technology.”
Krishmahnta nodded, turned back to Wethermere, tried to keep the assessing glint out of her eye. “What about you, Lieutenant? Do you have a guess why Admiral Yoshikuni has pulled back within the Desai limit?”
Wethermere shot a quick glance at the plot. “Well, sir, it extends the engagement.”
Captain Watanabe raised an eyebrow. “Really? How?”
“Well, if the engagement stayed out beyond the Desai limit, it would go along at .5 c, since large ships with Desai drives double their speeds out there.”
“Yes, and barely half the enemy fleet would be able to keep up.”
“Well, yes, sir, but the fighting would still collect around the other warp point in a day, maybe two. But this way, if the Baldies come inside the Desai limit and, furthermore, get in close to planets, flank speeds drop to .2 or .25 c, and fighters become more useful again. All factors taken together, that slows down the resolution of the engagement.”
“And where’s the tactical advantage in that, Lieutenant?”
“It’s a strategic advantage, sir. Slowing them down out here is key to developing our defenses farther on down the line. Out here, we’re forced to improvise quite a bit—not enough forts, older hulls, reserve crews, depleted stocks of mines. The way I figure it, our most urgent mission is to delay the Baldies long enough so that our rear area can get enough matériel cranked out and sent up to places with optimally defensible choke points. Like the single warp point at Achilles. Like you and the admiral were discussing earlier.”
“You make us sound very expendable, Lieutenant.” Krishmahnta allowed herself a faint smile. “Tell me, is your Navy insurance paid up?”
“Sorry if I wasn’t clear, sir, but I don’t think we’re expendable at all. In fact, I suspect the need to preserve every possible unit is the other reason for Admiral Yoshikuni’s leisurely pace.”
“How do you mean?”
“Admiral, if I read the tea leaves correctly, you are planning to disengage our two fleets from two different enemy forces in two widely separated salients, with the ultimate objective of
Similar Books
