''Noted, Lieutenant. Do we know anything about this convoy commander? Where is he located?''
''He appears to be a she, sir. Wardhaven has one destroyer in system. The Halsey, sir, is commanded by a woman.''
''One of their Amazons, huh,'' grunted Saris. ''Maybe she will escort the liners right out of the system. Assure that they are safe, huh.''
''I would rather hear more about their use of multiple jump points. Is anyone heading for Jump Point Barbie?''
''We can not yet tell, sir.''
''Let me know immediately.''
The Admiral drummed his fingers on the battle board. It showed him his six battleships on a vector that now passed between High Wardhaven and the planet. He'd have to adjust his deceleration at some point. What held his attention was a formless glob of electromagnetic flux crossing the face of Wardhaven. ''Can you get me a visual or radar picture?''
''Radar is still being jammed, sir.''
''A convoy of luxury liners is jamming our radar!''
''So intel tells us, sir.''
''Get me the best visual you can on the screen. Have they started boosting? Can't we spot their engine burns?''
''They're boosting at a ninety-degree angle, sir.''
''Get me an infrared.''
''They're working on it, sir, but it comes back all fuzzy.''
''Fuzzy? Will someone put something on-screen for me to use my own MK I eyeball on? Saris, get that data up here.''
Minutes later, the Admiral stood, hands behind his back, and paced between two different screens.
''It is very confusing, sir,'' Saris said.
''Yes, it is. Infrared is all fuzzy. The laser range finders are confused. This looks like a string of merchant liners. First ship looks like a Sovereign-class. Next in line has to be a standard Pride series type. But the electromagnetic signals from the next ship are confusing. The laser return has strange echoes, and the infrared is off.''
''At least they are not headed for us, sir,'' the Duty Lieutenant said. ''They are all headed for Jump Point Adele.''
''And these,'' the Admiral said, pointing to a small group at the tag end of the line.
''They seem to be a bit off course, sir.''
''Let me know when you figure out what course they are on.''
The Duty Lieutenant nodded. Then his eyes went out of focus as he listened to his commlink. ''Say again,'' he said, then swallowing hard, ''Ah, sir, intel thinks the stray ships are heading for Jump Point Barbie.''
''Where is Division 7?'' Kris said, trying to keep her voice low, calm, and properly commanding when all she wanted to do was scream.
''There, Kris, over there with those two freighters from Custer. And don't ask me what they're doing. They were just following along with all of us until a minute ago, then suddenly they took off at one-g acceleration.''
''Where are they headed?'' Kris asked.
Her workstation immediately showed a course for Jump Point Beta. ''They're heading for the battleships,'' Nelly said.
''Van Horn said he had something special planned for those ships. But how did Division 7 get attached to them?''
''I don't know. You didn't tell them. Can we order them back?'' Tom asked.
''They were the last to get added to the force. They aren't on the Navy net, are they?'' Kris said, looking over her shoulder at Penny and Moose. The raven shook his head.
''You'd have to talk to them on the commercial net and in the clear. And the battleships could home on you as well. Me, I wouldn't issue them any new orders. As I recall, your last words to them were to stay close and listen up. Looks like they chose to hang loose and wander off, ma'am.''
Kris couldn't argue that, but still something in her command had gone horribly wrong. She couldn't have any more like that. She mashed her commlink. ''Light Brigade. Listen up. Stay in line with me. Do not acknowledge.''
Kris heard no replies, just as she wanted. At least the ones she had left could obey small orders like that one. She eyed her board. The transports now accelerated at a comfortable one g, much to the relief of their passengers, no doubt, for Jump Point Alpha. The Navy task forces would slowly separate from the civilians—and the cover they offered—as the warships headed for the moon. Still, for the moment, Horatio and Custer stayed close in the cover of the transports … and the Light Brigade hung tightly to the cover of them both.
Meanwhile, two lone freighters and three system runabouts boosted at one g for Jump Point Beta with no apparent intention of ever getting there.
The Admiral studied the battle board. It told him far too little. ''Talk to me about those five vessels,'' he demanded. ''Two of them are standard container ships. From visuals, they are partially loaded with standard containers. The others are small system runabouts, not cleared for star jumps, sir.''
''So what are they doing making for a star jump?'' When the silence stretched, the Duty Lieutenant stepped into it. ''Sir, if someone was desperate enough, they might think they could do a jump, then buy more fuel in the Paula system, do another jump, keep going until they found someplace that would take them in. It's risky. If they ran out of fuel…''
''But when you're running for your life,'' Saris finished.
''Makes me want to talk to whoever has access to ships like those and feels the strong need to run,'' said the future governor of Wardhaven, entering flag plot unannounced.
''A good reason to include corvettes with this force,'' the Admiral pointed out, not for the first time.
''But we must present only a hard, armored fist. Nothing weak about us.'' Harrison Maskalyne again was quoting Henry Peterwald. That might be a good negotiating position for a businessman. It overlooked much from a naval perspective.
''Well, these little fish will not be caught in the net we do not have,'' the Admiral said with finality. ''Assuming they do not threaten us.''
''Freighters and runabouts threaten us!'' the governor said.
''How close will they pass?'' the Admiral asked.
The Duty Lieutenant looked like he'd swallowed a lemon. ''Sir, each ship is having trouble setting and maintaining a course. I don't think the runabouts really know where the jump point is.'' Jump points appeared to wobble in their orbit around a star, part of the process of them maintaining a relationship with the several stars they were in contact with. Starships used a full set of sensors to find a jump as they approached it.
''I suppose the runabouts were planning on following the freighters through, but at least one of the freighters' sailing masters is a bit unsure of himself,'' Saris snorted.
The Admiral nodded. Things like that happened when people panicked. When you grabbed ships that had been tied up to the pier too long, merchant officers tied up to the bar too long… Then again, it also provided a cover.
''When will they pass closest to us?'' the Admiral repeated.
''In about two and a half hours, sir.''
''Establish contact with them in two. Warn them to stay twenty thousand kilometers from us. They come any closer, and we will respond with deadly force.''
''Yes, sir,'' the Chief of Staff said.
The Duty Lieutenant, however, was studying the overhead like a stargazer who might really see his future there. ''Sir, there is activity among the transports. Sensors are starting to clarify the situation. There are warships among the liners.''
The Admiral chuckled. ''Tell me something I wasn't expecting, boy.''
16
''They just lit up like a Christmas tree,'' Moose said.
Kris unstrapped and stepped around to study Sandy's and the raven's boards. Multicolored bar graphs danced everywhere, circles made sweeps, and lists grew as fast as cryptic letters could appear in small windows.
''He's searching us, full active,'' Penny said.
''Active with everything he's got,'' Moose said softly. ''And he brought the whole friggin' farm with him. Before he was pinging us with some off-the-shelf stuff I could have picked up in any secondhand ship store on Earth. No-account stuff that said nothing. This new stuff says he's good. He's very good.''