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.But that missile exploded only ten kilometers away, albeit quite high.Can you not intercept them farther out?”“My apologies, Hu’urs Khraam, but that missile exploded the instant before we would have intercepted it.Evidently, the humans are using the rockets being launched from Asia to generate EMP attacks upon your electronics.”In the background, Tuxae Skhaas heard a Hkh’Rkh—probably First Voice—interject: “They have succeeded.All my communications gear is useless, as are our sensors and targeting.My troops must now rely on hand signals, iron sights, and brave blood.” He sounded oddly, if grimly, satisfied.“And the PDF arrays?”A new voice: Darzhee Kut, if he was not mistaken.“Thankfully, Hu’urs Khraam gambled to take them offline.There is some further degradation, but not much.Tell us, are the missiles from North America and Europe heading for us, as well?”“No.They are almost all inserting to orbit and deploying drones.”“How long before the drones reach you?”Fleetmaster R’sudkaat leaned in toward H’toor Qooiiz’s console.“They are not heading toward us.They are sternchasing the ships we sent to intercept the human fleet.”Hu’urs Khraam’s response was immediate.“Fleetmaster R’sudkaat, deploy all the remaining drones in your orbital flotilla to pursue the human drones.They must overtake and eliminate them.Otherwise, our counterattacking ships will be struck from both the front and the rear.”“I will do so immediately.Tuxae Skhaas, I need trajectory data on the human drones.”But Tuxae, staring into the holotank and then at his screens, barely heard the senior Arat Kur.“Tuxae Skhaas, will you comply?”“Fleetmaster, Hu’urs Khraam.We have a new problem.There is a new human launch site—no, two new launch sites.”“So? There are hundreds of human launch sites already.How bad can two more be?”“Very bad.” Tuxae turned to look up at the Fleetmaster.“These two launch sites are in the middle of the water.One is only ten kilometers south of Bawean Island, near the middle of Java’s northern coast.”Hu’urs Khraam voice was preternaturally calm, almost as if he already knew the answer to his question.“And the other?”“Forty kilometers north of Jakarta.If you look out an upper story window, you should be able to see the launch plume now…”Flagship USS Lincoln, Sierra Echelon, RTF 1, cislunar space“Admiral Silverstein, Lord Admiral Halifax on tightbeam secure line two.”Ira nodded, tapped his collarcom.“Silverstein, here.”“Ira, Tom Halifax.I just received a lascom from the sensor chaps in Plesetsk Cosmodrome.The big thinkers in joint force intel have high confidence that the enemy’s planetside situation is deteriorating.”Silverstein nodded.“Which means they’ll either shore it up by keeping their interdiction assets in orbit, or they’ll engage our fleet with everything they’ve got and sacrifice their beachhead.Any indication which way they’re going to go?”“We just got a whistle from the Big Blue Marble on that.Groundside observation indicates no new enemy transfers out of orbit and no decrease in orbital interdiction.”Ira nodded.“So they’re digging in to save their beachhead and letting their screening force take its lumps from us.”“Seems so.Big Blue has also managed to launch a handy little fleet of drones to help us exterminate these damn Roaches, so I’m activating contingency Delta and taking First Echelon to flank speed for a high energy half-orbit and then all the way out the other side.”“A gravity-assisted slingshot toward Vesta?”“’Fraid so, Ira.The muddy-side brain trust seems to think we’re a bit too mobbed up here in cislunar.It’s possible we have more force than we need to do the job.So after my first echelon boxes the Arat Kurs’ nonexistent ears during our approach, we’re going to boost again and run the gauntlet—right through them.”A cheery, confident tone, but if the drones didn’t get close enough to the rear of the Arat Kur to divert some of their firepower, Halifax’s maneuver could be a messy—and grim—business.“Orders, sir?” Ira asked.“The enemy orbital flotilla has launched drones to intercept ours.We’ll need to employ the Mousetrap contingency to keep that from happening.But after you’ve sprung the Mousetraps, do what you think best, Ira.I hope to be in touch again, but frankly, we can’t know what happens next—other than this: once my echelon is engaged, the battle for cislunar space is in your hands and the laps of the gods.Despite all the scenarios we’ve run, there’s no knowing what happens next.So if you don’t hear anything more from me, you’ll have to play it as it lies, old boy.When you’re done trouncing them, do catch up if you can.I expect those of us in the first echelon will be stepping lively with their inbound belt fleet in a day or so.”“I’ll try to be there, Lord Halifax
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