On the hologram, dozens of small blue dots appeared, hovering dangerously behind the triangles. Immediately, the dots began spreading over the Earth’s surface.
“Once you arrive behind the satellites, you’ll need to sufficiently disable their grid so that the Fleet can make its approach. Destroying a single satellite will not be enough to bring down the entire network. The satellites are interlaced in their signals, meaning that a single satellite being destroyed will only cause a brief delay as the system circumnavigates the destroyed nodule. If you want to take out the whole hemisphere of satellites, you’ll need to take out a series of satellites, positioned seemingly randomly around Earth. These specific nodules,” she gestured at the hologram as the blue dots destroyed twenty or more satellites, “contain the rerouting software that protects their whole grid. Bring those down and the entire system will suffer a catastrophic failure.”
Yen furrowed his brow. “Excuse me, ma’am,” he said softly. “Are we sure that this will work?”
“What do you mean, Commander?”
“It just seems odd to have so much information about the Terran defenses. I’m used to going into missions where I question how we’ll escape, much less exactly where to strike to disable every possible defense they have.”
“This is information directly from the High Council,” Merric interceded. “Why would you assume their information to be wrong?”
“Excuse my skepticism,” Yen replied angrily. “But it’s not the High Council or you that is warping into the heart of enemy territory!”
“Gentlemen,” Captain Hodge said sternly before the conversation could get out of hand. “Commander, I understand your concerns, but Eminent Merric is correct. We have no reason to doubt the High Council’s information. We must have faith in their ability to lead us to victory.”
Yen frowned. It seemed easy for everyone to spout rhetoric about trusting the High Council, but none of them were placing their lives on the line. To his surprise, Yen felt a reassuring hand on his arm. Looking over, he saw his concern vividly expressed on Iana’s face as well.
“Phase two will commence once the satellite grid has been disabled,” Captain Hodge continued as though the interruption had never occurred. “The Terran Empire relied heavily on its political infrastructure for guidance, both in the civilian and military sectors. If we can disable these political hubs throughout their world, we can cripple their ground forces before the battle even begins. Once the satellites are down, the Fleet will advance at top speed. Even accelerating like we will, it will still take us nearly two hours to reach Earth. During that time, it will be up to the Duun fighters to bomb these targets.”
On the hologram, a series of red concentric circles appeared, spread evenly across the major continents. “These are not just political sites. These are also launching points for low orbit aircraft. We need these eliminated before we will be able to land a ground force.
“The final phase of this invasion will be the ground assault itself. Many of our ground forces will be on board the Cair transports that will warp in initially. The support teams will be on the Cruisers but, again, there will be a delay before their arrival. The immediate ground forces will be required to gain and hold key positions across the planet, many of which coincide with the initial bombing areas.”
Overlapping green circles appeared, many of which mirrored the previous red concentric circles. “These will not be easy engagements. However, the Terrans have been lulled into a false sense of security over the past century. They have placed their major forces throughout known space and left only a small contingent to protect Earth itself. They rely too heavily on the satellites to protect them. We will exploit that weakness.
“Which brings me to my final point,” Captain Hodge said, sighing. “I need a leader for the ground forces. This Officer must be intelligent, cunning, and have years of combat experience. I actually have a number of Officers that meet that criteria on board right now. However, there is only one that seems like a natural selection for the assignment. The ground force commander will be-”
Merric smiled broadly from across the table. Yen shrunk from that malicious smile. Merric outranked Yen and had nearly the same number of years in the Infantry. But the thought of spending an entire conflict fighting side by side with and taking orders from Merric turned Yen’s stomach.
“-Commander Xiao,” Captain Hodge concluded.
Yen sat in stupefied silence. His look of surprise hardly matched the combined look of horrific defeat and stunned disbelief that was painted across Merric’s face. His confidents smile was gone, though he still bared his teeth in a feral snarl.
“Commander Xiao?” the Captain prodded as the silence stretched on.
“I’m… I’m sorry, ma’am,” Yen finally stammered. “Thank you for this…”
“This is ridiculous!” Merric yelled, interrupting Yen in mid sentence. “To hell with this! I am better qualified, I am senior in rank, and I deserve this, damn it!”
“Merric,” Captain Hodge said sternly, “please calm yourself.”
“Calm myself?” Merric demanded, pointing wildly in Yen’s direction. “Are you serious? This poor excuse for a soldier gets promoted first to Squadron Commander and not even a week later is now in charge of the entire ground force! That is my job!”
“You forget yourself, Eminent Merric!” Hodge yelled as she quickly stood, her voice losing its melodic tone as it took on a screeching minor key. “And you will excuse yourself from this meeting before I find a reason to make you a Magistrate again!”
Merric scowled as he locked gazes with Captain Hodge. Growling softly, he turned back toward Yen, hate filling his eyes. “This isn’t over, Yen.”
“Leave now, Merric!” the Captain ordered.
Turning on his heel, Merric stormed past the rest of the stunned crowd and disappeared through the doorway. Breathing heavily, Captain Hodge sat back down and, reaching behind her, smoothed the ruffled feathers of her wings.
“I’m sorry about that,” she said musically, her composure restored. “Believe me when I tell you all that every aspect of this mission has been examined in great detail. Eminent Merric was actually correct when he said that he had seniority and should have, by regulation, assumed command of the ground forces. Under different circumstances, I would have gladly obliged him. He is not only an intelligent Officer, but he is well versed in combat. However, I am already putting Commander Xiao at great personal risk as he leads his Squadron against the Earth defenses. I will not put another of my senior Officers in harm’s way just to satisfy one man’s inflated sense of self-worth.”
The Captain’s eyes darkened as she glared at everyone at the table before her. “That being said, let me also explain one other simple fact. I am not required, at any time, to justify my decisions to any of you at this table. I’ll not abide someone second-guessing my decisions. If it happens again, I’ll take it as an act of sedition. Do I make myself clear?”
She hardly waited for their responses before continuing. “Good. This concludes our meeting. You’re all excused.”
Everyone stood brusquely and saluted before filing out of the room. As the briefing room began to clear, Yen felt a cool hand on his arm. Turning, he found himself face to face with Captain Hodge.
“Please stay behind, Commander,” she said. “There is something else we need to discuss.”
Yen looked over his shoulder to where Iana waited. He waved to her to get her attention, then motioned toward the door. Understanding, Iana turned and left, leaving just Yen and Captain Hodge in the room alone. Yen swallowed hard, knowing what she wanted to discuss. Merric’s outburst during the meeting, followed nearly immediately by the Captain’s desire to discuss a matter of importance, told Yen that Merric hadn’t kept quiet about their episode during shore leave.