Jay Allan - The First Imperium

“Perhaps they simply don’t have the experience your people do.” It was Roderick Vance, who hadn’t said a word all day. “Think about our history. We are a detestable species in some ways.” Vance didn’t get up, but he straightened in his chair and slid in closer to the table. “We have been fighting and killing each other since the dawn of history. The Unification Wars almost destroyed the Earth, so we exported our conflicts, and now we fight in space.” He turned to face Holm. “Tell me, general, how many years of total peace have your people seen in the last 20 years? 30?”

Holm shook his head grimly. “Not many.” He looked back at Vance. “Are you suggesting that these beings are not violent by nature?”

“Clearly they are capable of extreme violence. I’m not in position to state anything specifically…none of us are. All I am saying is there are many reasons why they may lack the proficiency in war that we take for granted.” Vance’s voice was calm, his poker face unreadable. He wasn’t trying to hide anything from these people, but a lifetime’s habit is hard to shake. “Perhaps they are united as a species and do not fight among themselves. They could be utterly dominant in their primary sphere, and they may have been so for a very long time. Maybe they haven’t faced an enemy in centuries…or millennia…or ever. Possibly we’re the only other intelligent species they’ve encountered. We can’t know…we can only observe and draw conclusions.”

“Mr. Vance is correct.” Garret gestured toward the Martian industrialist/spy as he spoke. “All we can do is utilize whatever we can to obtain any advantage we can get. We’ve got the most experienced combat officers in the Alliance in here. The people in this room are going to create the strategies that win or lose this war. We need to use anything we can. And for now, what we know is the enemy seems to employ ritualized, inflexible tactics both in space and on the ground.” He panned his eyes across the table. “Use that.”

Garret turned and walked back toward his seat. “That just leaves us one more topic to discuss…the strategic plan going forward. General Holm and I have prepared a broad course of action that we’d like to share with you now.” He looked over at Holm. “Elias?”

Holm stood up, a little slowly perhaps, but he’d been sitting all day and his old wounds had stiffened up. “Thank you, Augustus.” He turned to look down the table. “I’d like to introduce our tactical plan.” He scooped a controller off the desk and pressed a button. The screen displayed a stylized two-dimensional map of solar systems and connecting warp gates. The stars were small circles in a variety of colors. He pressed again and three of the star icons began shimmering. “Sandoval, Garrison, Samvar…three crucial systems, which from now on we will call the Line.” He paused, looking out across the table. “This is where we make our stand.”

There was a long pause. “Sir…pulling back to those systems means abandoning another dozen colonies.” Cain was staring at the map as he spoke. “Isn’t that a big concession to make?” He was also thinking that they’d never be able to evacuate all the colonists from that many systems, but he kept it to himself. Garret had been right – they were all upset about the civilian casualties, and beating each other up about it wasn’t going to help anything.

“We need two things, Erik. Time and a defensible bottleneck.” Holm pressed another button and the screen zoomed in on the highlighted stars. “These three locations are just such a bottleneck. The warp paths from all known enemy incursion points must pass through one of these systems to reach the rest of human-occupied space.” He pressed the button again and the map zoomed back out. “There is no similarly defensible spot anywhere between these stars and the heart of occupied space. And Sandoval has a warp gate to Garrison, and Garrison has one to Samvar, so we’ll have goo interior lines…we’ll be able to easily shift reserves.”

“If I may interject, since Samvar is a Caliphate colony, it also makes this a joint defensive effort. That can only aid us in fostering cooperation between the Powers. If the Alliance and Caliphate can work together to face the enemy, the other Superpowers will fall into line.” Vance hadn’t intended to involve himself into the discussion of tactics, but he took the opportunity to address cooperation again. He was still worried about how well former enemies could work together. Old hatreds and prejudices could end up dooming the entire human race.

Holm nodded to the Martian. “Mr. Vance is correct. Cooperation between the Powers will be essential. Regardless of our past disputes, none of the Superpowers can defeat this enemy alone.” He looked at Cain. “I know it will be difficult… for me no less than anyone else…but we must work together.”

He glanced over at Sparks. “We also need time…time to build fortifications, time to get some of Colonel Sparks’ new systems into action. By choosing a defensive line this far back, we are likely to get it. As Admiral Winton noted, the enemy appears to have logistical problems. We’re going to exacerbate those. We’re going to stretch out their supply line and give them a massive fight when they’re far from their support.”

He turned and glanced at the screen. “And that space we give up will buy us time too. The enemy has been slow to advance after each engagement. If their behavior continues according to pattern, they will methodically occupy each system along the way. That time is priceless to us. We’re bringing up allied forces and even towing orbital fortresses from nearby systems. Every week or month we get makes those three systems stronger.”

Cain still looked concerned. “I can’t argue with the logic, sir.” He was staring at the display, but in his mind the star map extended offscreen…into the heart of the Alliance. “We will be gambling heavily on our ability to hold at your Line. If the enemy gets past us, they’re going to run wild through our core systems.” He turned and looked back at Holm. “We won’t be talking about thousands dead…it will be millions.”

“And billions if they reach Earth, Erik.” Holm spoke softly, barely loud enough for everyone to hear. “But that doesn’t change the fact that we need to choose someplace to make a stand.” His eyes bored into Cain’s. “Do you really think penny-packet defenses of outer colony worlds is the way to do that?”

Cain was silent for a moment. He knew Holm was right…in fact, he liked the basic tactics behind the plan. But he hated to give up ground. He’d spent his formative years as a command officer fighting to take back real estate lost early in the war. He didn’t like it then, and he didn’t like it now. But he realized there was no option. “I agree, sir.”

“I’m glad, Erik. Because you’ve got the shit job…you and Admiral West.” Holm’s tone became darker, sadder. “We need time, and you’re going to have to buy it for us. And I don’t expect it to be cheap.” He took a deep breath. “You have to hold Farpoint for as long as you can. Every extra day increases our chances to win this war. To survive.”

Cain stood silently, looking back at Holm, his mind lost in thought. Erik had never chased glory…he’d never really cared about it. The medals, the fame, the awards…they’d mostly made him uncomfortable. For him the Corps was about camaraderie, about being part of a brotherhood. About fighting for something better, something more worthy than the hell he’d come from. When he was young he had believed in that…he’d believed it with his heart and soul. But now he looked to that place his resolve had come from and there were only doubts. A lifetime of war, and what had changed? A legion of slaughtered friends and what had it gotten them? Another war? A never ending cycle of suffering and death?