First Strike - An Earth@War Novel

Headquarters Destroyer Squadron Ten

Naval Base Oscar, Kylar II

May 27, 2487, 0730 Local, 1410 UT

A thunderstorm rolled over Naval Base Oscar in the early morning hours of the 27th. Thunderstorms were common on Kylar II due to its tropical environment, but this storm was particularly strong. Lightening flashed almost continuously followed by the roar of thunder. Rain came down torrentially, with water puddling in debris and muddying the ground where the attack had bared it.

Admiral Morris sat in his temporary office at the Headquarters of Destroyer Squadron Ten, one of only two squadron headquarters that weren’t destroyed during the attack. Stealth Squadron Three managed to avoid any damage, but the building was too small to handle even the decimated staff of Fourth Fleet. Admiral Morris stared out of the window and watched the storm as he reflected upon the disaster. The numbers were mind-numbing. Over 3100 dead. Another 2800 wounded. The Space Center practically destroyed. Although spacecraft could land and refuel there, no maintenance on the craft could be performed. Hangers were gone, so spacecraft were sitting on the tarmac, even in this weather. Almost 60% of the buildings at Naval Base Oscar had been damaged or destroyed. The Commands of both Carrier Squadron One and Battleship Squadron Three were dead. Many Commanding Officers of smaller units were also dead, including the Commanding Officer of the Communications Center where Kaitlyn had worked. And finally, the fleet. Of the 47 ships on Kylar II on May 25, only eight (the two supply ships, the two repair ships and four of the assault ships) were undamaged. 27 ships were destroyed and the remaining eleven were damaged, some very severely.

As the storm continued outside, Admiral Morris began to note the positives. The four carriers had not been at Kylar II. London and Dallas were out of the system finishing training exercises. Beirut was in the lunar shipyards for maintenance and Tokyo was at Masic Point when the attack occurred. In addition to Beirut and Tokyo, 25 other Fourth Fleet ships were not at Kylar II during the attack. Many of these were at Masic Point. Since First Fleet was moving ships toward Masic Point, Morris would be able to bring at least some of his ships from there to reinforce Kylar II.

In addition, Admiral Morris had ordered that the Fourth Division of the Naval Assault Forces be moved from Masic Point to Kylar II. The Fifth Division would remain at Masic Point.

But then what? Even with all the ships he was recalling, he would have less than 30 at Kylar II. And at Omar IV, he had only a cruiser and three destroyers, one of which was already damaged. He didn’t have enough available to begin a counter attack. Hell, he really didn’t have enough to prevent Batron from occupying Kylar II if they chose to do so.

As the storm continued to rage outside, Morris moved to the outer office where Wilson would normally be. With Wilson in the hospital, Admiral Morris had to handle his own schedule. He could, of course, have another Yeoman temporarily assigned, but that seemed to be disloyal to Wilson, who not only was injured in the attack, but lost his fiancé.

The Admiral noted that Carol Anderson was due at 0900. Hopefully, the representative of the Secretary General had luck questioning the Batronian prisoner. But even if she did, how could he fight a war with only 29 ships?

Naval Hospital

Naval Base Oscar, Kylar II

May 27, 2487, 0750 Local, 1430 UT

Andrew awoke with a jump after watching the apartment building fall on top of Kaitlyn in his dream with tears rolling down his cheek. Admiral Morris had told him that Kaitlyn had saved the lives of many by leading civilians and children to the basement shelter before the building was struck. She was a hero; the Admiral had said. But, how am I supposed to go on without her? Andrew asked himself for the hundredth time since he learned of her death.

Andrews injuries, other than the concussion, were not serious and he was expecting to be discharged from the hospital today. Overnight, the activity in the hospital was intense. Only now were things slowing down to the point that medical staff were able to check on patients that were stabilized. Andrew wiped his eyes as a doctor entered his room not wanting the doctor to see him crying. It wasn’t Doctor Goodwin this time, but a new male doctor.

“How are you feeling?” the doctor asked.

“I’m fine,” Andrew replied

“Problems with your vision?” the doctor asked flashing a light in Andrew’s eyes.

“No.”

“Let’s try sitting up,” the doctor said, helping Andrew into a sitting position. “Now take your time. When you are ready try standing.” Andrew slowly rose to his feet. His head still hurt and he felt a little light headed, but he was certainly not going to let the doctor know that. If he did, the doctor may want to keep him here and Andrew needed desperately go get out of the hospital.

The doctor had Andrew stand on one foot, and then the other, as well as sit down and stand back up. Andrew felt embarrassed doing these things over and over again, feeling almost like a child. “I think we’ll go ahead and release you. Give me a few minutes to prepare your discharge orders.”

A few minutes, in accordance with the long-established military tradition, turned out to be forty-five minutes. A nurse finally came in and gave Andrew a prescription and an order for three days of no duty. A new set of dress whites had been provided, probably by Admiral Morris, and Andrew changed. As Andrew left the hospital, he threw both the prescription and no duty order away.

He sat at a bench watching the thunderstorm as he waited for a ground transport. Thank God, the stop was sheltered as Andrew sat thinking of Kaitlyn again. She had become his everything in such a short time. He remembered her smiling on the beach, her saying yes and the love for him in her eyes. He knew he would have a good cry when he got home. It was then that he realized he no longer even had a home. No home, no Kaitlyn, he thought as he began to cry once more.

Ten minutes later, he boarded a transport with red eyes. He found out that Fourth Fleet Headquarters had been relocated to Destroyer Squadron Ten’s headquarters and took the ground transport there.

Headquarters of Destroyer Squadron Ten was a large, plain concrete structure standing three stories tall with a two-level basement. Part of the third floor on the west wing had collapsed, but the rest of the west wing had been stabilized allowing the entire east wing, basement levels and part of the east wing to continue to be used. The storm had finally ended, although the sky remained overcast and the humidity was high indicating the rain may begin again later that afternoon. Most of the fires on the base appeared to be out as search and rescue operations continued. Just over an hour ago, three more people were rescued from the debris that had been Headquarters of Battleship Squadron Three. They were in bad shape, but they were still alive. Still, as time continued to pass by, fewer and fewer people were being rescued and more bodies were being found.

Andrew entered the building and after showing his ID to a guard asked for directions to Admiral Morris’ office. The Admiral was not in the outer office, so Andrew knocked on the inner office door.

“Enter,” the Admiral ordered. Andrew entered the office and saluted Admiral Morris.

“Reporting for duty, sir,” Andrew said formally.

“The hospital cleared you for duty?” the Admiral asked.

“Yes, sir,” Andrew lied.

“Wilson, if I comm the hospital and they tell me that you are not cleared for duty…” the Admiral said looking Andrew in the eyes.

“Sir, I need to work. I have nothing. Kaitlyn is gone. My apartment is gone. Don’t take work away from me too, sir,” Andrew pled, brown eyes becoming filled with tears.

“Okay, Wilson,” the Admiral said after a thoughtful pause. “Set yourself up. I have an appointment in a few minutes.”

“Aye, sir,” Andrew said and returned to the outer office. Admiral Morris lit a cigar as he watched Andrew leave. I’m going to have to keep an eye on him as tightly wound as he is, the Admiral thought as he puffed on the cigar. Still, the Admiral had a great deal of sympathy for the young Yeoman. He would probably be in worse shape himself if it had been Rose.

At 0857, Carol Anderson arrived. Andrew escorted her into the Admiral’s office, shutting the door as he exited the room.’

Admiral Morris stepped from behind the desk and introduced himself. At 31, Carol was younger than Morris expected. While not a beautiful woman, she was attractive in a hard to describe way. She was professionally dressed with short, brown hair.

“So, Miss Anderson, I assume you have met our guest,” the Admiral said as he returned to his seat, puffing on his cigar.

“Yes, I did. Late last night,” Carol replied as she settled into the chair she was offered.

“Did you learn anything?” Morris asked.

“Nothing yet, but I didn’t expect to learn anything from him, at least, not yet. I did confirm his identity. He is indeed Commandant Shonze. That is one hell of a prize you got there,” Carol said.

“So now what?” the Admiral asked.

“I have him completely isolated. He is to have no contact with anyone. Even his meals are being passed through a slot in silence,” Carol replied.

“Why?”

“Batronians are very social beings, far more so than humans. They need contact with others. On Batron, few Batronians live alone. Unattached Batronians generally live with four to six roommates. Even couples live with other couples. Being totally isolated is torturous for them. So, as of now, I will be the only social contact he has.”

But, the question, Miss Anderson, is will he tell you anything?” the Admiral asked.

“Yes,” Carol said after reflecting for a moment. “Not as soon as we would like, but hopefully soon enough.’

“Good,” Admiral Morris said standing. “If there is anything I can do to assist you, let me know.”

“I will Admiral,” Carol said, shaking the Admiral’s hand. Admiral Morris summoned Andrew who escorted Carol out of the office. Five minutes later, he called Andrew on the comm.

“Get me Fleet Intelligence on the comm,” Morris ordered.

“Aye, sir,” Andrew said. Andrew go the Commander of Fleet Intelligence Services on the comm and patched him through to Admiral Morris.

“We need to get a better track on Batronian ships,” Admiral Morris said.

“Yes, sir,” the Intelligence Officer replied. “We are getting reports that the Batronians have occupied a number of systems beyond Omar, but we need to get more details on what ships they are using for those operations and which ships of theirs we cannot account for.”

“Let’s set up a Hawkeye network and get some more information,” the Admiral said.

“Aye, sir,” the Intelligence Officer replied.

ESS Armstrong (SS-16)

Near Kylar System

May 27, 2487, 1930 UT

ESS Armstrong, a stealth ship was traveling at 16 AMU, well below its maximum speed of 21 AMU that she could achieve in normal mode. In accordance with her latest orders, Armstrong was actively searching for Batronian ships. Now that war had been declared, she had the authority to attack any enemy ship.

Commander Carl Adams, the 36-year-old Commanding Officer of Armstrong had just assumed command of the ship on March 24th, was watching his bridge team at work. The stealth ship had a crew of only eight officers and 112 crewmembers. Stealth ships, unlike other ships prior to the attack on Kylar II, spent much time in space. That resulted in Carl’s officers and crew being comfortable underway and prepared for the mission at hand.

“Officer of the Deck, I have a Batronian cargo ship and a Destroyer bearing 005 by 008. Distance 45 AMU,” the Chief Sensor Technician reported. Unlike other ships, stealth ships with their smaller crews used senior enlisted men in positions occupied by officers on other ships. So, the Sensor Officer was the leading Chief Sensor Technician.

“Very well,” the Officer of the Deck replied, glancing over to Commander Adams who simply nodded. “Prepare the ship for stealth mode. Helm come up and left to 020 by 006 and reduce speed to 3 AMU.”, the OOD ordered.

“Come left and up to 020 by 006 and reduce speed to 3 AMU, aye, sir,” the helm responded. Getting the ship under 5 AMU before the ship entered stealth mode was essential. A stealth ship moving faster could easily be detected due to distortions in the stealth field which given the thin armor of a stealth ship, was a death sentence.

The Boatswain Mate of the Watch keyed the intercom on the comm unit. “All hands prepare the ship for stealth mode. Secure all nonessential equipment and minimize power usage.” Throughout the ship, the crew flipped switches, opened or closed breakers and pushed buttons to reduce power usage. Lights dimmed and ventilation slowed to a minimum.

“Steady course 020 by 006, speed 3 AMU, sir,” the helm reported a minute later.

“Ship prepared for stealth mode,” the Chief of the Watch reported as he checked the display that showed power usage levels throughout the ship.

“Chief of the Watch, engage stealth mode,” the Officer of the Deck ordered.

“Aye, sir,” the Chief of the Watch replied. He pressed a button on the panel in front of him and a light changed from red to yellow. After thirty seconds, it changed to green. “The ship is in stealth mode.”

“Very well. Boatswain Mate sound general quarters,” the OOD ordered.

“General Quarters! General Quarters! All hands man your battle stations!” the Boatswain Mate of the Watch called over the intercom followed by the sound of the klaxon.

“Captain, the ship is in stealth mode and all battle stations are manned and ready,” the OOD informed Commander Adams four minutes later.

“Very well,” Carl replied, “carry on.” It was Carl’s policy that every officer on the ship was prepared for and qualified to take the ship into battle, even the young Lieutenant who was currently the Officer of the Deck. He would take the conn only if the ship was in imminent danger.

The Officer of the Deck went over to the sensor displayed and after discussing it with the chief made a small course correction. “Sir, estimate enemy in range in twenty minutes.”

“Very well,” the Captain replied as he looked at his display, double-checking all the calculations with his expert eye.

“Weapons Chief, load forward missile launchers with M-4s. Load aft launchers 5 and 6 with M-4s and launchers 7 and 8 with M-7s,” the OOD ordered over the comm. The Captain nodded his approval. Never could tell if another stealth ship was out there, so it was best to have some M-7s ready just in case. Twenty minutes later, the Chief Sensor Technician announced that the enemy ships were in range.

The Officer of the Deck decided to move closer. “Weapons, lock missiles one through four onto the cargo ship,” the OOD ordered. Taking out supplies was more important than a single destroyer. After all, without supplies, the enemy could not fight. “Captain, I don’t think she detected us.”

Commander Adams once again looked at his display. Armstrong was now only 20 AMU from the cargo ship and 17 AMU from the destroyer, well within the range of 30 AMU for the M-4 missiles. The Captain waited for the OOD to make the call.

“Fire missiles one through four,” the OOD ordered.

“Missiles one through four away,” the Weapons Chief, a Master Chief Missile Technician announced over the comm.

“Reload one through four with M-4s,” the OOD ordered as he move to the sensor display. “Helm, come up and right to 180 by 316. Increase speed to 5 AMU.”

“Come right and up to 180 by 316, increase speed to 5, aye, sir,” the helm quickly responded, fingers moving over the panel.

“The destroyer fired four missiles!” the Sensor Chief shouted.

“Launch decoys!” the OOD ordered.

“Steady course 180 by 316, speed 5,” the helm announced.

“Target missiles 5 and 6 on the destroyer,” the OOD said looking at the sensor display. “Bow thrusters down full!”

“Shit! I think they got us!” the Chief Sensor Technician shouted as he watched the missiles pass through the decoys on the sensor display.

We’re dead, thought the OOD.

“Missile hit, port side,” Commander Adams announced.

“Damn!” the Officer of the Deck swore.

“What went wrong?” the Captain asked ending the simulation.

“I was too close when I fired,” the OOD replied

“Yes. And you should have maneuvered to the other side of the cargo ship. That way you could use the cargo ship as an obstacle. The destroyer would have to come around it but that would have bought you some time to move away. Finally, once the destroyer fired, you should have immediately returned fire. If we are going to get destroyed, take him with us,” Commander Adams coached. Sticking with his training methods, he ended with a positive. “However, you handled to the transition to stealth mode expertly and got the ship to battle stations quickly. And you did destroy the cargo ship.”

“Yes, sir,” the young Lieutenant said looking disappointed.

“You did well. Learn from the mistakes you did make,” Carl said.

Enlisted Bachelor Quarters

Naval Base Oscar, Kylar II

May 27, 2487, 2130 Local, May 28, 2487, 0410 UT

The Enlisted Bachelor Quarters at Naval Base Oscar was within walking distance of the major commands, including Headquarters of Destroyer Squadron Ten. The quarters were used by single naval personnel who chose not to pay for their own housing. The lower level housed women and the upper four, men. Each room in the quarters contained three beds with lockers arranged to give each bed some privacy. Each room also held a desk, a refrigerator and a comm unit. The head was adjacent to each room. The walls were painted a dull green and the floors were white tile, waxed to a shiny finish.

Andrew Wilson was relieved to find out his new roommates were pulling duty. This allowed him to be alone in his thoughts without the need to meet strangers and to explain to them why he was so down. As he sat alone in the room, he cried and then got angry. He got up and left the quarters to take a walk and found a few men who had come up with a couple of bottles of whiskey. With the base exchange and club closed, it was a seller’s market and Andrew ended up spending four times what the bottle would have normally cost. After buying the whiskey, he made his way back to his quarters.

Andrew sat at the desk, the bottle in front of him. He hadn’t drunk in almost three years since being picked up at the base club by the base’s master-at-arms when he was drunk and involved in a brawl. After a night in a cell, he swore off drinking. He remembered telling that to Kaitlyn early in their relationship. He still went to the base club on occasion, but no alcohol, he had told her. The memory brought up a fresh wave of grief.

He opened the bottle and took a long drink, feeling the warmth of the liquor filling his stomach. As he drank, Andrew thought about how good it would feel to kill one of the skinny aliens. The more he drank, the more pleasure he got by imagining what it would be like to kill Batronians. By the time Andrew passed out, it was after 0100 and he had killed hundreds of Batronians in his mind. His new roommates were not impressed to find him passed out at the desk with an empty bottle in front of him.

ESS Newton (B-39)

In Orbit, Masic Point

May 28, 2487, 1450 UT

ESS Newton was an Einstein class Battleship, a ship that contained the navy’s largest guns: three triple mounted 400-mm guns. The nine large barrels dominated the view of the ship from just about every angle. The huge guns were meant to tear other ships apart or bombard a planet with constant and heavy fire power. In addition, the 1200-foot long ship was covered with twelve additional 125-mm guns and sixteen 35-mm anti-spacecraft guns. Newton was the first of the battleships to have received the new BX-17 engines during her last overhaul two years ago. These engines gave her an additional 2 AMU of speed, making her top speed 32 AMU.

Commanding this monster of a ship was Captain Kendra Allgood. The 44-year-old stood on the bridge as the ship pulled away from the dock. Captain Allgood had served during the War at Masic Point, but in the Supply Corps and had regretted not getting the opportunity to get any combat experience which she felt was the reason she had not been promoted to Rear Admiral. But, with a new war came new opportunity, one that Kendra desperately wanted.

“Thrusters ahead full,” Captain Allgood ordered as the ship broke orbit. Masic Point was both the name of the system and of the large single planet circling an exceptionally bright star in it. Around the system, pieces of destroyed ships continued to orbit Masic Point’s sun, over twenty years since the war here had ended, almost acting as a reminder what the war had cost both sides.

“Thrusters ahead full, aye, ma’am,” the Quarter Master First Class at the helm replied as the ship moved away from the planet. Kendra ran a tight ship, as she felt any battleship Captain should. Sharp and obedient response to order and good, safe watch standing were demanded of every one of the 51 officer and 691 crewmembers onboard Newton. She looked around the bridge, pleased by the nearly complete silence.

Once outside the system, Newton met up with eight other ships that would be moving with her to Kylar II; another battleship, six destroyers and a cruiser.

“Captain, all ships have reported in, ma’am,” the comm unit announced. As the senior officer in the group, Captain Allgood would be in overall command of the group as they moved the 479 AMU to Kylar II.

“Very well, signal the group: course 095 by 020, speed 25 AMU,” Kendra ordered the Communications Shack. “Helm, come to course 095 by 020. All engines ahead standard, make your speed 25 AMU.”

“Come to course 095 by 020, engines ahead standard, make my speed 25 AMU, aye, ma’am,” the helm responded as fingers tapped the control pad executing the orders.

Here we go, Kendra thought, excited by the prospect of combat. And of showing the navy what she so rightfully deserved.

ESS Argentina (D-868)

In Orbit, Kylar II

My 28, 2487, 1630 UT

“Underway,” the announcement came over the intercom as Argentina pulled away from Appalachian Mountains. Repairs to the ship were complete, although in several areas, painting and other cosmetic work was needed.

“Captain recommend course 212 by 187,” Ensign Singleton said from the sensor display. The confidence in his voice was incredible considering that he had just got underway for the first time less than two weeks ago.

“Very well, come to 212 by 187, thrusters ahead full,” Captain McCollum ordered.

Al watched ten TP-5s inbound for Kylar II, transporting the first troops from Naval Assault Forces Fourth Division to Kylar II. Al was still unsure why the Batronians had not followed up on the attack. But with ships being repaired, ships being transferred, spacecraft being redeployed and reinforcements being brought in, an invasion of Kylar II was becoming much more difficult, which gave Earth hope. As the ship settled on the new course that would take her out of the Kylar system, the Captain walked over to the comm box and activated the intercom.

“Onboard Argentina, this is the Captain. Listen up,” the Captain began. “We are going to take up position just outside of the system and monitor inbound ships and spacecraft. This is exactly the same mission we had during the training exercise we just finished. Remember what we have learned. We are at Condition Three which means extra watches. Stay sharp. Any problems or concerns, talk to your chiefs. That’s all.”

“Well done, sir,” the XO said.

“Thank you, XO. Ensign Singleton keep a close watch for stealth ships as we exit the system,” Captain McCollum said.

“Aye, sir,” Al replied.

“You have the first watch once we are clear of the system. Set a good example,” the Captain told Al.

“I will, sir.”

Boatswain Mate Apprentice John Bennett needed no encouragement to keep a sharp lookout, clearly recalling what happened last time he was on lookout watch. He looked through his scope scanning the space along the port side of the ship as ESS Argentina headed out for war.