The Cost of Victory (Crimson Worlds) Read online

  Her other guest was Lin Kang, though he had discarded his naval uniform for non-descript civilian attire. Like Li, Lin Kang preferred his liquor imported, usually vodka, though in this instance he had accepted only tea.

  "If fortune is with us, our friend Admiral Liang will succeed at his mission." She drank the last few drops in her glass. "He is now well-motivated." She grabbed a crystal flask and poured herself a refill. "The intelligence that enables his effort was difficult to obtain, but it is highly reliable."

  "I am concerned about the naval resources we are providing to Liang for this mission." Lin Kang was a worrier by nature, but he had good cause to be concerned. Liang was taking well over a third of their depleted strength to attack Garret's fleet. If he suffered another defeat they would be in a great deal of the trouble, with no significant new naval construction scheduled for completion for at least two years. "Perhaps we are being too aggressive."

  "Admiral Lin, I believe that we are short on options." Wu spoke softly, politely, not wanting to offend Lin with what he was going to say. "With all due respect to your military organization, can you honestly state that you have anyone in your command structure that can defeat either Admiral Garret or General Holm? At least without significant numerical superiority that we are not currently able to provide?"

  Lin felt a flush of anger, but he stifled the urge to mount a kneejerk defense of the military. Wu was very clearly trying to avoid provocation. Besides, he was right. None of Lin's officers could outfight the Alliance's devil commanders. Fortune had favored the Alliance dogs and given them not one, but two military masterminds. "No," he finally said. "Though we have many fine commanders, I do not believe they are the equals of Garret and Holm."

  If we had so many fine commanders, Li An thought bitterly, we would not be at this pass. "Whatever the skill levels of our command personnel, I believe it is an inescapable conclusion that our path to restoring our fortunes and winning this war begins with eliminating these two adversaries." She leaned back in her chair, her eyes darting between her two companions as she spoke.

  Lin saw the need for the proposed course of action, but he didn't like it. Li and Wu were spies - they were just as pleased if their ends were served by bodies dissolved in acid in the dark as by military victory in the open. More satisfied, in fact, for they considered such a solution to be expedient. But Lin was a career soldier, and while he despised the Alliance and had spent his entire life fighting them, he also respected them as worthy enemies. He wanted to destroy them, but he wanted to do it in battle and not by thinly-disguised assassination. Still, he knew that Garret and Holm represented a true threat to the overall war effort. Grudgingly, he had decided to go along with the plans.

  "My staff will brief Admiral Liang further, and assist him in organizing his new command. He must be underway quickly, or he will arrive too late to complete the plan." Lin tried to sound positive, but he was still unhappy, and he doubted he disguised it completely.

  "Very well. We will leave it in your hands." Li An knew Lin had reservations, but she was confident he would do his best to execute the plan. "Now, let us discuss our intentions with regard to General Holm, who is no less of a threat." She paused to allow her guests to interject, but both remained silent and waited for her to continue. "I have developed a plan of some complexity. If we are able to execute it, we will not only rid ourselves of General Holm, but we will also inflict a major military defeat on the Alliance forces. Indeed, there will be ancillary benefits as well, which I shall disclose to you shortly."

  She took a sip of her bourbon and leaned back in the plush desk chair. "The resources required for the execution of this plan have been in the works for some time. As both of you are aware, we were able to agree to the terms of a treaty with the South American Empire quite some time ago. The provisions of this alliance are rather complex, but fundamentally, we have agreed to aid them in conquering five specific colony worlds, four from the Alliance and one from the CEL. These systems will provide the empire with two points of access to the rim, something they currently lack."

  Wu listened intently, rubbing his temples silently as Li explained her plan. She knows something I do not, he thought. It made him uncomfortable to lack information, and it annoyed the hell out of him that she had obtained intelligence he had not.

  Li continued. "What you are not aware of, is that C1 has been conducting an ongoing operation with the Red Bureau...an effort to deceive Alliance Intelligence." The Red Bureau was the South American Empire's intelligence agency. Not as capable as C1 or Alliance Intelligence, the Bureau was more of a brute force rather than the rapier of its CAC or Alliance counterparts. "We have allowed the Alliance to bribe General Santiago to interfere with Imperial preparations in order to delay the South Americans' entry into the war." She paused for a few seconds. "What they do not realize is that the general has been part of our plan from the beginning."

  Li smiled. She particularly enjoyed putting one over on Gavin Stark. The head of Alliance Intelligence was a worthy opponent, one who was rarely fooled by anyone. At first, Li was surprised that her plan had not been discovered, but later she became aware that Stark was distracted and deeply immersed in several unknown initiatives. It made her nervous not to know what he was up to, but she was glad at least to be working against one of his cronies on her op.

  "General Santiago has been duping the Alliance all this time?" Wu sounded surprised.

  Li looked over at him. I love that he has no idea what I have been doing, she thought. "No, General Santiago is greedy, and he was actually flipped by Alliance Intelligence. However, we were aware of the entire operation from the start."

  Wu interjected. "But Imperial intervention has been delayed for months because of Santiago's disruptions. If you were aware of his status, why didn't you inform the Bureau?"

  She smiled. "We did inform them." She enjoyed Wu's renewed look of surprise. "Monitoring Santiago's activities was a joint operation. We allowed his sabotage to occur in order to continue the deception. The Alliance now believes that the empire will not be able to initiate hostilities for at least six months. General Santiago has imposed significant delays on their supply chain. It was necessary to allow him to actually cause damage to convince the Alliance that the empire's lack of readiness was factual."

  "But it is factual." Admiral Lin had been listening quietly until now. "I have seen the reports. It is not possible for them to mount a significant offensive operation until they have resolved their supply issues. And I think six months is a very optimistic projection."

  "Indeed, Admiral, your analysis is correct save for one fact. My agency has been conducting an operation to secretly provide supplies and support to the empire. Admittedly, this has been a strain on our own logistics, and hiding that has not been easy, but I can state unequivocally that the Imperial forces can be ready to launch a major offensive in as little as two weeks."

  Wu and Lin both reacted with stunned surprise. "Is that possible? The Alliance cannot be expecting an attack so soon. We must coordinate with the imp..."

  "Please, Admiral,” Li interjected. "Allow me to continue, as I have only advised you of the first portion of the plan." Lin was annoyed at the interruption, but he leaned back. He was curious what else Li An had to say.

  "The Alliance expects the empire to attack one of the obvious target worlds along their line of advance to open space. However, I have obtained the emperor's approval for an alternative operation. Indeed, he has placed most of the available Imperial military resources at my disposal for this operation."

  She cleared her throat before continuing. "To understand what I now propose, we must review some back story. Early in this conflict, before the war was even officially declared, we became aware of a significant discovery made by the Alliance on Epsilon Eridani IV." She placed a data chip on the desk. "This chip contains a summary of what the Alliance found on that world. Before you leave tonight, you will both view the information on my secure terminal. The da
ta chip will self-destruct after this single viewing." She paused, clearly uncomfortable about having to disclose the secret. "Please understand that this is classified at the very highest level. Most of the Committee is even unaware of the contents of this chip. I must stress that you cannot speak of this or record anything to do with it by any means." She looked at them both with a feral gaze. "Are we agreed?"

  Lin nodded immediately. He had already considered it unwise to cross Li An, but one look at her current expression was enough to freeze his blood. Wu paused for the briefest moment, not happy to be taking something like orders from Li, but he too nodded his agreement.

  Li acknowledged their acceptance with a nod. "You will recall that we launched a pre-emptive attack and took control of the Epsilon Eridani system. Unfortunately, the Alliance was unexpectedly able to respond more quickly than we projected, and they retook the planet before we were able to reinforce." At least they made it easy on us in one way, she thought. Angry that the invaders had employed chemical weapons against the militia, the Alliance had wiped out the CAC troops who had been on the planet, saving her from having to do the same to maintain security.

  "The Alliance has reinforced the planet and stationed a battlegroup there in defense." She leaned forward in her chair, hands on the desk. "We will attack Epsilon Eridani IV and again seize control of the planet."

  Lin was startled. "Minister Li, we do not have the resources to launch such an assault. Epsilon Eridani is three transits into enemy-held systems. We would need an enormous force to fight our way there and then engage and defeat the defending battlegroup and planetary defenses. It is impossible, at least until Admiral Liang's mission is completed."

  "Indeed, Admiral," she said, smiling. "This operation would seem to be impossible and so the enemy will never expect it. Surprise will aid us in fighting our way to the target. The intervening systems are lightly defended, and we will not be attacking any populated worlds. However, what truly makes the mission feasible is the assistance of our allies."

  Wu blurted a response this time. "The Caliphate? They are crippled after the battle in Gliese 250, and their logistics is in a shambles since they lost their rim worlds and the vital supplies they provide. What help can they give?"

  Li flashed a catlike grin. "I do not speak of the Caliphate, though I have secured a small supporting force from them for the operation. I refer to the emperor, whom I have convinced to commit virtually the entirety of his naval forces to the campaign."

  Wu and Lin gasped in unison.

  "And to Europa Federalis," she continued, "which has agreed to provide a battlegroup and a cruiser squadron to the effort."

  They looked back at her blankly, too stunned to answer.

  "As I mentioned previously, one of the systems the emperor demands as the price of his support is held by the CEL. The need to meet this requirement forces us into eventual war with the League, which makes an alliance with Europa Federalis inevitable. By moving up the timeline we gain the element of surprise as well as support for this operation. The Alliance defenders in Eridani will not expect an attack, and they will be faced with a combined fleet and overwhelmed. Meanwhile, Admiral Liang will have eliminated Admiral Garret, creating a command vacuum in the Alliance navy."

  Her two guests sat in stunned silence. They were shocked at the amount of preparation Li had managed to complete in total secrecy. Finally, Wu spoke, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. "We should have been briefed on all of this much earlier."

  "These were C1 operations undertaken for the good of the state." Li An spoke evenly, her expression calm and non-provocative. She really didn't care if Wu or Lin liked what she had done, but her plans were likelier to succeed without petty rivalries interfering. "Of course, the alliance with Europa Federalis will have to be ratified by the Committee, which is why I have called a special session for tomorrow." She held up another data chip. "I have here the Europan ratification of the treaty. The Consulate met in secret session two days ago and approved both the alliance and the plan to provide support to our Eridani operation."

  Now I will make them feel a part of this and cut off any foolish resentment, she thought. "Admiral Lin, Minister Wu, it was my intention to fully brief the two of you in advance of that meeting, which is why we are here now. To date it has been necessary to maintain the highest possible degree of secrecy, however if we are to achieve success and redeem the fortunes of the war, we must work together."

  Wu was still clearly annoyed, but she could see that she had successfully appealed to his vanity by placing him and Admiral Lin above the other members of the Committee. What they didn't know - didn't need to know - was that she had similarly met with a number of other Committee members. Li An left as little as possible to chance, and when she called a Committee meeting she made sure she had the support she needed before anyone entered the chamber.

  "You should have advised us sooner." Wu found it necessary to complain a bit more, but Li was pretty sure he was onboard. Lin didn't even argue. He understood the military situation, and even if he didn't want to admit it, he was well aware they were now losing the war. Li's bold moves had an excellent chance of dramatically changing the strategic situation.

  Li relaxed a bit and leaned back in her chair. "Please note the table of organization I have provided." She motioned to two small 'pads on the desk. "This is a proposed partial order of battle for a ground force to occupy Epsilon Eridani IV. It includes most of the Imperial mobile forces as well as a small contingent from Europa Federalis." She looked at Lin. "Admiral, you will find suggested formations from our own ground forces to add to the operation. I would be most appreciative if you would review these and make whatever modifications you feel are required. Overall integration of the allied contingents with our forces is your responsibility."

  Lin nodded acknowledgement, his face blank. He picked up the 'pad and began to scan the information on the screen. He glanced over briefly and saw that Wu was doing the same thing. My God, he thought, how did she put all of this together? On the 'pad in his hand was set forth the greatest land army ever assembled for an off-world operation. The table included most of the mobile assault forces of the South American Empire as well as contingents from both the Caliphate and Europa Federalis - tens of thousands of troops. After the allied contingents was a list including dozens of CAC units drawn from every colony or base within a reasonable transit distance to Epsilon Eridani IV.

  Lin was about to question how so many troops were to be shipped to the Eridani system when he flipped to the next screen and saw a detailed manifest of transport assets. Troopships from four superpowers, plus list after list of civilian transport ships to be commandeered.

  Li smiled as she saw his question answered before he could ask it. "You will note that we have completed a significant amount of prep work on securing sufficient transport. The actual assault force to take the planet will consist of approximately 10,000 troops. The rest are being sent as part of our overall plan to trap General Holm." She paused, waiting for them to look up from the 'pads and pay attention. "The Alliance will do anything to take back Epsilon Eridani IV. Most of our fleet will withdraw to the outer reaches of the system and go dark, waiting." She saw that she had the complete attention of her guests. "General Holm is the natural choice to mount an assault to retake the planet. We want him to land. We will leave a small naval contingent near the planet to put up a cursory resistance. This force is largely sacrificial. They must be defeated for the plan to proceed."

  Wu continued to listen, untroubled by what Li had said. Admiral Lin looked less happy, and while he had sent thousands to their deaths in battle, he didn't like the way she was casually using CAC warships as bait. Still, he remained silent and listened.

  "If our counter-intelligence efforts are successful, General Holm will have no idea that he will be facing almost 100,000 troops. Most of this force will be landed after we secure the planet and kept hidden in reserve. The planet has significant heavy metal deposit
s, and troops deployed in and around the primary mountain ranges will be undetectable from orbit. When General Holm has landed along with the bulk of his forces, we will commit the entire army to a full scale battle of attrition. Simultaneously, our hidden fleet units will move back in-system to engage and destroy the Alliance naval forces, while Holm is overwhelmed and crushed on the ground.

  Lin and Wu just sat in stunned silence. The scope of Li's plan was shocking, yet they could see the potential. The operation would not only eliminate General Holm, it would inflict enormous land and naval losses on the Alliance, especially if Liang was also successful in his attack. Combined with the entry of the empire and Europa Federalis into the war, the operation could be the climactic battle. It could swing the fortunes of the CAC from near-defeat to total victory.

  There was just one thing bothering Lin. "Your plan is impressive, Minister Li. You are to be congratulated. However, the entire plan is dependent upon the Alliance reacting immediately and committing everything they can to retake the planet. How can you know they will respond so aggressively? While it is well within their sphere, the planet is unremarkable."

  She stared right into Lin's eyes. "Now I would like you both to review the contents of that data chip. It is time you knew the secret of Epsilon Eridani IV."

  Chapter 6

  Classified Excavation Site Z

  Epsilon Eridani IV

  Alex picked her way through the rubble-strewn excavation site and brushed the reddish dirt from her fatigues. Things had been going even more slowly than she had feared. Someone was going to pay for dragging her out to this forsaken dustball.

  The site was beyond just classified; no other secret she knew of had ever been so carefully guarded as this one. That made it hard to move things quickly. The workers were expendable at least; they didn't realize it of course, but none of them were ever going to leave Carson's World. But the supervisory personnel had to be drawn from the highest levels of Alliance Intelligence, and there wasn't a big cross-section between that group and excavation experience. Not beyond burying bodies, at least.