*not as such but it makes use of animation*
:: that relates prepare reserves ::
*POWER*
:: CIVILIZATION ::
“That’s some strategy!” Skot said as he returned. “Mnuhl gave me the details.”
“I thought he would,” Melody said. “Now let’s review. Each Knyfh ship has a long-range transfer unit aboard, but three of the four Atoms stayed loyal, and the fourth was destroyed in single combat. So the chances are they can’t do it back to us.”
“They would have removed the transfer unit to another ship before risking it in single combat,” Skot pointed out. “Mnuhl says it would have to be on one of the two Mintakan vessels, as Knyfh transfer units do not operate outside an Atom-type ship. Something about the magnetic fields—”
“May my Sphere by sundered by a sour note!” Melody swore. “I’d like to get into one of those ships and find out what happened.”
“Mintakan Atoms are pretty much like other ships of the fleet,” Skot said mildly. “They even have a few magnets. Some spheres won’t touch magnets, but Mintaka feels they go well with the type of ship. So probably their capture by the hostages was just the luck of the draw. And since the secret of hostaging remains in Galaxy Andromeda, we shouldn’t have much to fear from that particular unit.”
Melody touched his hand. “You are more generous to my Sphere than I am.” She returned to business. “Now we have four transfer units, and your volunteers should be arriving soon. Best to have Solarians for the Swords and Spicans for the Cups.”
“Yes. And if I may suggest, we should first initiate distractive action, so that the enemy will not be aware of our real thrust.”
“Yes, of course! What do you have in mind?”
“A conventional long-range bombardment. If we reset our ships’ missiles for fixed-range detonation, they will explode among the ships of the hostage fleet. It is highly unlikely that any will score, but it would resemble an attack.”
“Good enough,” Melody agreed, though she was concerned about the waste of irreplaceable munitions. “We can time our Lan of Yap effort to coincide with the arrival of the first missiles.” She glanced across the room, her eye attracted by the arrival of four crew members. “Do they understand this will be hazardous?”
“They do,” Skot said.
“I shall make sure,” Melody said. She beckoned them over. Two were female Solarians, but of course she had known that crews were of mixed sexes. Single-sex confinements were unhealthy for a double-sexed species, especially for prolonged tours in space.
“You are about to become transfer agents, which is what I already am,” Melody said. “You will transfer to available voluntary hosts aboard the enemy ships. You will acquaint the members of these crews with the fact that their ships are controlled by enemy officers. You will incite mutiny, which will really be a restoration of management to the proper authorities. If you are unable to take over a ship, you will sabotage it so that it is unable to fight. I estimate your chances of surviving this mission are less than fifty percent. However if this tactic does not work, the chances of the Ace of Swords surviving are also less than fifty percent. You may now withdraw from this assignment if you so choose.”
She looked at each, but no one withdrew.
“We know the fleet is in bad trouble; Officer Skot briefed us,” one of the men said. “That’s why we’re here.”
Suddenly Melody recognized him. “Gary!” He was the man who had taken her out to fix the light-collector trough, hullside.
“I qualify,” he said defensively. “My Kirlian aura is two point five.”
“Yes, of course.” She could not exclude him simply because she knew him. “Do you realize what happens to you if the hostages discover what you’re up to?”
“The same thing that happens to our whole galaxy if the Andromedans win,” he replied evenly.
Melody nodded. “If you do manage to take over your ship, try to conceal that fact from the hostage command. When you hear the code phrase ‘Lan of Yap’ on the fleet net, identify—”
Gary snorted with laughter. “Lan of Yap!” Then he was contrite. “Sorry, sir.”
Melody smiled. “Don’t be. I picked a code name that no hostage would understand, and that every crewman would appreciate. I am aware of its original meaning.”
“Yes, sir,” Gary said, trying to keep his face straight.
“When you hear that phrase, if you are in control of your ship, identify yourself on the net and fire on any neighbor-ship that has not similarly identified itself. Then try to disengage from that fleet. Do you understand?”
“Yes. We do not want our recovered ships firing on each other.”
“Hit and run,” one of the women said.
Melody smiled. “If you rejoin our fleet, we will have you transferred back to your own bodies.”
She turned back to Skot. “Take them to the transfer unit and send them through in rapid order on my signal. Good luck!”
The volunteers marched out. Melody shook her head. “I am probably sending them to their deaths,” she said. “But we can be sure the crews of the hostage ships are loyal, and if they’ll just believe the truth, they’ll act. An average of four hostage officers on each ship can’t stop a crew of a thousand! If we can take over or nullify even ten hostage ships without Admiral Hammer knowing it, it may tip the scales in our favor.”
“I know,” Yael said. “I sure hope it works. I wish I could go myself.”
There was a delay while she organized the details with Captain Mnuhl and made sure the other ships had their volunteers ready. A contingent of Lan of Yap transferees were to make a special effort to recover the two Mintakan vessels. Shuttles carried volunteers from all the Spheres to the four ships with transfer units, so that there were enough to send at least one agent to each hostage ship.
“Bombardment commenced,” Mnuhl announced on the net. The hostages would overhear this, but it didn’t matter since it was only a distraction. It didn’t even matter if Admiral Hammer fired back, so long as he didn’t know what was going on. Maybe he was laughing over-confidently at this seemingly ludicrous ploy. But his thinly spread hostage officers would hardly be paying much attention to what was going on in the depths of the crew quarters…
The missiles started exploding. But there was no apparent damage, and the enemy did not return fire. Admiral Hammer was biding his time, refusing to be shaken or to waste ammunition.
More time passed. Under Mnuhl’s directions, the loyalist fleet shifted about, getting into battle formation, but not approaching the enemy. Admiral Hammer must really be wondering!
How was Gary doing? The girls? The other Sphere volunteers? Were they getting through to the crews of the hostage ships? How would it show? Captain Mnuhl was giving them ten minutes: not much time to infiltrate and take over a ship.
There was one positive sign: All of the volunteers had been transferred successfully. That meant they had found willing hosts. Surely the crews were aware that something was going on; they should be ready to listen.
“Do you really think it’ll work?” Yael asked worriedly.
“You know I’m afraid it won’t,” Melody told her. “You can feel the courses of doubt washing all through our nervous system.”
“Yes. But Gary is pretty competent, and Skot—”
“Skot! He’s not going out there!”
“Yes, he is,” Yael said. “I got to know him while you were buzzing around the fleet. He’s a man of action.”
Melody spoke into the ship’s circuit. “Skot of Kade report.”
“Admiral, he has transferred,” a voice replied.
“Then who in the orchestra is talking now?”