First Strike

Admiral Sheridan wrapped up his briefing to Admiral Oshiro on how he intended to defeat the enemy fleet in orbit around Derra-5 and asked for questions. When there were none, he stepped back and turned over the lectern to Lieutenant General Denisov, the ground force commander for the invasion. The general was his usual gruff, succinct self and concluded his presentation in under five minutes with an observation that there was an insufficient number of landing craft currently available for the assault to be conducted in one wave. He made sure everyone in the room understood that he would have to sequence his attack based upon the availability of the landing ships. He did not see it as a showstopper, just something that the planning staff needed to keep a close eye on. Both men took their seats at the table across from Admiral Oshiro.

  “Gentlemen, I will take your proposals with me and present them to the federation president when I see him in two days’ time,” explained Oshiro. “I have no doubt that your plans will be approved. Therefore, you are to move ahead with your preliminary preparations. Admiral Sheridan will be overall in charge of the operation. I want you both ready to go when the order is given.”

  Denisov nodded. There could only be one person in charge and it made sense for Sheridan to be that man. As long as he kept the Kurgan Fleet away from his landing craft packed with men and equipment Denisov would be more than happy just to lead the ground assault.

  The meeting soon concluded. As always the staff officers who had quietly sat through the briefings at the back of the room and would have to do all the legwork rushed to ask their counterparts a million questions.

  Oshiro took Sheridan by the arm and together they walked to a window looking out into space. Oshiro handed Sheridan a note; he took it and read it over. With a stunned look, Sheridan stood there grasping for words to articulate how he felt. Oshiro smiled and patted Sheridan on the back. He was about to say something when the door to the briefing room opened and a Marine captain entered, his face was ashen.

  Sheridan waved the officer over.

  “Sir, we’ve just received word that the Aquila has been destroyed,” reported the captain.

  “My God, how?” asked Oshiro. The Aquila was a fighter carrier and the flagship of the First Fleet tasked with defending the Earth.

  “Admiral, according to the reports coming in, the ship’s nuclear arsenal somehow detonated. The Aquila was being resupplied at the time of the explosion. Three other vessels were lost with her. Preliminary estimates put the loss of life at close to eight thousand.”

  Oshiro remained outwardly calm. “Captain, pass this information to my staff right away.” The officer turned and walked toward a cluster of high-ranking officers.

  “You were right to be suspicious, Admiral,” Sheridan said to Oshiro.

  “This is horrible. The enemy has people everywhere. We’re going to have to double our surveillance and security measures, or there will be more losses like this.”

  Sheridan placed the note from Oshiro in his pocket. “Sir, we have to assume that they have people in key positions who have access to everything that we have. May I make a suggestion?”

  “Please, go on.”

  “Admiral, secrecy needs to be maintained or the invasion of Derra-5 will end in failure. We need the enemy to believe that we are going to strike somewhere else. From here on out, sir, I think it would be wise to identify Illum Prime as our objective. Their agents will undoubtedly feed the enemy this information and make plans to fight us there. I will inform my staff and General Denisov’s to keep the real destination a secret until just before we make our jump to Derra-5.”

  “Do it, and for God’s sake, Rob, don’t let your guard down for one second. I’m beginning to fear we could lose this war before we’ve even begun to fight back.” Oshiro excused himself and went to speak with his staff.

  Admiral Sheridan knew that Oshiro was right. If they didn’t find out who was a traitor in their midst and fast, they would always be looking over their backs wondering if the person in the room with them could be trusted. It was a surefire recipe for fear, paranoia, and scapegoating. It had to be nipped in the bud before it got out of hand. A thought crossed his mind. He called over his fleet master chief petty officer. “Master Chief Rey, please find Captain Jones and have him report to me right away.”

  Rey nodded and went to find the fleet’s senior medical officer.

  Admiral Sheridan had no idea if what he was thinking would work. It was a long shot, but it was all they seemed to have. He reached into his pocket and felt the piece of paper in his hand. He decided to wait until the room cleared before making a couple of calls. He just was not sure how he was going to break the news.

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