Christopher Nuttall - Barbarians at the Gates

No matter what happened with Jefferson, Marius knew, it wasn’t going to end well.

“Admiral Drake,” Brockington said.

Marius looked up.

“I understand that you have a proposal to put before the Committee.”

“Yes, Senator,” Marius said, and avoided saying what he was thinking: Finally! “I believe the operational plan I have drawn up will lead to the quick defeat of Admiral Justinian and the end of the war.”

He stood up and keyed the room’s terminal. He’d uploaded the operational plan into it as soon as he entered the room. The Senate’s computer network was supposed to be inaccessible from the outside, but Marius had long since stopped taking such statements for granted. The chances were good that one of Admiral Justinian’s allies had slipped a tap onto the network before they were exposed or executed—if they had been discovered.

“Senators, here’s the situation at present,” he announced. “As you can see”—he’d discovered that most of the Senators couldn’t read a tactical display, so he had to use simple concepts—”we remain on guard in the Boskone System, the shortest line between Earth and Harmony. We have also positioned forces here, here and here”—he keyed the systems as he mentioned them—”to prevent the enemy from trying to bypass our blockade and take us from the rear. So far, Admiral Justinian has not attempted to launch such an offensive.”

“That’s good,” Alison said. “Do you have any explanation as to why?”

Marius smiled. ONI had turned up several, but only one was significant.

“All three alternate routes to Earth would add several months to the journey,” he pointed out. “If the admiral did shift forces through them, we would be able to counter him before he reached anywhere significant. His great advantage is that he holds the interior lines of defense, but if he attacks us away from Boskone, that advantage shifts back to us. With the advantage of the superior firepower we possess, it would ensure his certain defeat.

“The important detail is that we have fortified Boskone to the point where we can be confident of holding the system even without the mobile units,” he continued. He pointed to the fortresses on the display. “We have shipped in additional starfighters and fortress components, secured the planetary network and even fortified the other Asimov Point in the system. That allows us to take the risk of withdrawing our mobile units, combining them with the new-build units, and launching an offensive of our own.”

“I beg your pardon, admiral,” a Senator that Marius didn’t recognize interrupted. “I understood that you refused to consider attacking through the Boskone Asimov Point because the rogue warlord had heavily fortified it.”

“Yes, Senator,” Marius agreed. “That would be a very costly offensive for little reward. The key to winning this campaign is to reduce the enemy’s mobile units to the point where we can isolate his systems and reduce them one by one. Pitting our own mobile units against his fortresses would be asking for trouble. I do, however, have another plan.”

He keyed the console and the star chart shifted, displaying the links between Justinian and Governor Hartkopf. “As you were all briefed in confidence, Admiral Justinian has been tricked into a shooting war with Governor Hartkopf, who occupies the stars here. It was a fortunate turn of events for us, as we have good reason to believe that they were on the verge of signing an alliance when they started fighting each other. So far, the war hasn’t been significant as neither warlord dares devote most of his firepower to dealing with the other, but that may change. I intend to use Governor Hartkopf’s space to launch a major operation against Admiral Justinian’s unprotected underbelly.”

A low murmur ran through the room, but no one said anything, allowing Marius to proceed.

“The combined fleet will proceed through the governor’s space to The Hive and cross the interstellar void to Marx,” he continued. “Once there, they will break through the defenses and advance on Jefferson. Assuming that everything goes to plan, the warlord will not be able to shift his forces to mount a defense of the Asimov Point before we reach Jefferson. We will meet his fleet in open space, where we can maneuver and crush his ships away from his fixed defenses. Once we occupy Jefferson, we will seal the Asimov Point to Harmony and demand his surrender. If he refuses to surrender, we will punch through to Harmony and destroy his government. His remaining forces will be scattered, no longer able to coordinate their actions, and we will be able to mop them up at leisure.”

There was a long pause.

“It sounds very nice,” Alison said, finally, “but weren’t we given predictions of an easy victory before?”

“Yes, Senator,” Marius said. “Admiral Parkinson promised you an easy victory.”

Most of the Senators chuckled.

“I don’t promise that this will be easy,” Marius admitted. “I think that there is going to be a great deal of hard fighting before we punch into enemy territory and neutralize him. It is going to be very costly. I do believe, however, that this is our best chance to win the war before the other warlords manage to build themselves up into significant threats.”

“It is an interesting concept,” Grand Senator Rupert McGillivray said warmly. He locked his eyes on Marius’s face. “But I have a question. You’re claiming that you can get through Hartkopf’s space. How do you intend to do that without fighting?”

“He slipped a small squadron through without fighting,” the unnamed Senator pointed out dryly. “Why not a whole fleet of superdreadnaughts?”

“It won’t be easy,” Marius said, taking a breath. If they were going to balk, it would be now. “I propose that we offer Governor Hartkopf amnesty if he surrenders without further ado.”

There was instant uproar.

“Are you mad?” Alison demanded angrily. “It is the position of the Senate that all warlords, their families and their allies must answer for their crimes against the Federation! Do you propose to change that on your authority? How dare you, admiral! How dare you?”

“It is certainly a provocative suggestion,” Brockington agreed. “And quite against the stated policy of the Senate. On the other hand, we did select the admiral in the belief that he actually knew what he was doing.”

He threw Alison an unreadable look. “Admiral, please expound on your suggestion for the benefit of the Senate.”

Marius kept his expression blank while he organized his thoughts.

“It is a basic principle of military tactics that one should always leave the enemy a line of retreat,” Marius said. “If the enemy can escape, they are less likely to fight hard and cost your forces heavily to defeat them. If the Snakes had offered to accept surrenders in the First Interstellar War, would we have been so determined to hold the line, liberate the occupied worlds and eventually destroy their ability to make war on us? We never accepted surrenders in the later years of that war, and it cost us badly.

“In this case, you—the Senate—have ordered the death of Admiral Justinian and his family and friends. It gives him nowhere to run, so he will fight. Why not? He might win—and even if he doesn’t win, he’ll hurt us badly. A man may accept his own death calmly, with composure, but what about his family and friends? What about those who took no part in the rebellion?

“So if we offer amnesty to Governor Hartkopf and his allies—with due steps taken to ensure that they are never in a position to rebel again—we will send a powerful message to our enemies. That message states that they can leave the war and keep their lives—and their families, and their children. And if the governor refuses to accept our terms, someone in his government will see the advantages in assassinating him and taking command himself, just so he can surrender promptly.”