Alpha One - Chris Burton [72]
“By my reckoning, we have perhaps twelve hours to cover all these issues comprehensively. Admiral Haines and Commander Troy will handle the logistics and Commander Schneider, the media and crew. Let’s thrash out how best we can use these weapons.”
Again, Commander Troy was the first to speak.
“We can’t use teutonic delivery. There is too great a risk of the missiles being destroyed prior to hitting their intended target and putting us within the charges range… I suggest we use a jump ship and short range Tigers.”
“If we go down that route, it will need to be delivered by a Sabre. The question is, how many do we deliver and what is the target?” said Haines.
“The target is the same as before.” said Rose. “We need to use three charges and target the command centers within the Sentinel Fleet. We also need to quickly determine the whereabouts of these Dark Ships and destroy them, before they attack us again.”
“Is there any call for us to use atomic weapons other than sub-space?” said Schneider. “This would be a more appropriate response and, if deployed properly, could still be effective.”
“No we need to gain the initiative here. Atomic weapons need to be delivered with pin-point accuracy for a task of this type. We would need too many warheads to make use of them here effective. If we run with the sub-space weapons, we need only use three to five charges at the most. However, we could use atomic weapons on the Dark Ships. Courtney?” Rose gestured towards his Number Two “I need you to find a way of locating the Dark Ships and removing their threat.”
“Well. If it’s okay with you I will leave Commander Troy to look at the sub-space charge logistics and I will concentrate on the Dark Ships and their destruction. One thing though, it would seem logical to utilize Admiral Shenke’s fleet. They are now well positioned but outside detection range. The Sentinels won’t be expecting an attack from behind.”
“An excellent idea Courtney.” Rose continued to refer to his confidant and friend personally than by rank, while he used normal protocol when speaking to Troy and Schneider. “We will deploy sub-space charges from both fleets. Let’s double up and fire all targets from both sides. A total of six charges. Okay, everyone let’s get to it.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Home for the Weekend
Jake Carter was on his way home. He had not seen his parents for three months and looked forward to some ‘down’ time, some good food and to seeing his parents and, in particular, Barrat, the family collie. He was slightly apprehensive, though, about seeing his father. He had not spoken to him since Joanne’s memorial service, and he knew that he would persist with his assertion that progression to Starship command didn’t come through starting his career as a jump ship pilot, especially with the news coming from the Ionian front of major jump ship losses being reported.
The short trip in Jake’s PTV from the Academy to his parent’s home in Surrey only took ten minutes. Jake brought the craft down expertly onto the circular launch pad which his parents had installed last year to accommodate their new hyper space yacht.
His father had seen him arrive, dropped his gardening tools and walked towards the house to let his wife know Jake had arrived.
The house was situated in a leafy wooded lane on the outskirts of the town of Farnham, the hustle and bustle of modern life taking a back seat in this peaceful and remote environment. Barrat, who was in the corner of the garden, recognized Jake instantly and charged across the garden to greet his long lost friend. Barrat was very excited, with his tail wagging in circular motions. a sure sign that he was pleased to see his ‘brother’ as Barrat’ s ‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’ referred to Jake.
Jake was happy to respond in kind and bent down and gave Barrat a big hug. Then his mother and father arrived and he hugged both of them too before returning briefly to