The single galactic hypernet was rapidly disintegrating. Communication with the command was cut off, and no new orders had been received, but the instructions received earlier had not been cancelled, and Hirch was plotting all new routes based on the last database update he had received almost a year earlier.
Any raid comes to an end sooner or later. The supply transport fuel tanks have shown their bottom. The ammunition was also nearly exhausted, but the organizers of the "exercise" still did not give the signal to quit, which meant that the command was waiting for new accomplishments from Hirch and his crew. However, the commander of the Consul Pran had little or no choice. The destroyer could only afford a couple of standard jumps, after which they could forget about traveling in hyperspace. On the other hand, the Lieutenant Commander hoped that the complete exhaustion of the ship's resources would finally force his superiors in the real world to stop this endless ordeal, which both Hirch and his men had already become accustomed to, but, apparently, it could only be counted on after the last mission.
The yellow dwarf, which the Consul Pran could still reach, had a rather strange status. One of his planets was populated by wild infected humans. However, the order received did not specify whether the infected necessarily had to be former citizens of the Sixth Republic, which meant that the destruction of their civilization was as obligatory as the sterilization of any republican colony affected by the contagion.
Information about this planet entered the fleet database from the report of the commander of the cruiser Admiral Kuhn. He was lucky enough to intercept an infected transport ship coming out of hyperspace at a standard surfacing point equipped with a subspace beacon. After hacking into the central computer of this transport ship, it became clear that just three jumps away from the interception point was an entire planet of infected people, virtually unprotected by an orbital defense system. The cruiser commander made a decision not to miss such a chance But no one ever heard of him or his ship again. The cruiser disappeared without a trace, as if vanishing into space. And now the only target available to the Hirch destroyer was this planet.
The destroyer commander did not risk approaching the yellow dwarf without reconnaissance, but at the same time he saw no point in simply sending a drone there to collect data. Something that managed to destroy a cruiser was unlikely to approve of an automatic reconnaissance ship, not the most advanced one, appearing in its star system. Most likely, the ship will be shot down before it can transmit any meaningful information to the destroyer.
Having consulted with technical specialists and analyzed on the ship's computer several scenarios for the upcoming operation, Hirch settled on a rather complicated and cunning variant. One of the unmanned reconnaissance drones was not fully operational. During the Consul Pran's last skirmish with an infected frigate, the drone sustained damage and its systems could not be fully restored. The camouflage field generator was losing power at the most unpredictable moments, and the active scanning systems were working at 30 percent of their normal capabilities. In general, this machine was no good, unless you use it as bait.
Hirch assumed that it was unlikely that they would start firing at a small and unarmed ship, which, moreover, was clearly damaged. If this ship tries to accelerate to jump, then, of course, yes, but otherwise If the drone behaves peacefully, and even gives a distress signal, claiming to have passengers in medical pods on board, the infected humans might fall for this nonsense. While the enemy is figuring out who it is that has come to his system, the scout ship will begin collecting data without using active scanning; it will transmit information via short-range communications to the second drone, fully operational and covered by a camouflage field, which will not go close to the planet, but will come out of the jump at the borders of the star system and hang there quietly, receiving narrowly focused data packets.
But if a serious defense is waiting for them in the system, both drones will be burned immediately, but that would also be the result, which would clearly show that the Consul Pran has nothing to do near this yellow dwarf. Well, if it all works out, then Hirch will be able to make a more conscious decision.
The idea worked, though not completely. It was not to say that Hirch counted so much on the fact that the infected people naively rushed to rescue the fugitives he had invented, fully disclosing themselves, but the lack of any reaction on their part was somewhat disappointing to him. The only habitable planet in the star system looked wild. No orbital infrastructure, no terminals, factories, shipyards and docks But there was something here all the same. The Admiral Kuhn didn't come back from here
The first passive scan data packet from the Eye-1 ship has been received, the space control operator reported. The reconnaissance ship discovered a number of debris indicative of a fairly long-standing space battle in high orbits of the natural satellite of the third planet. Accurate identification without active scanning is difficult, but there is a high probability that these are fragments of the hull internal structure of the Bear-class cruiser. Explosion craters and fragments of destroyed buildings can be seen on the surface of the satellite. Judging by their shape and location, there is a tiered base under the surface. This is not a purely military facility there are too few defensive structures and too many buildings of unclear purpose.
Admiral Kuhn should have been able to handle them without too much trouble, Hirch said thoughtfully, But I have no doubt that this space debris orbiting the satellite is what's left of it. Something happened here that decided the fate of the battle not in favor of the cruiser. Judging by the condition of the structures on the surface, the base is badly destroyed. Can you determine what remained after the battle?
Only approximately, the operator answered after a short pause, The lower levels of the base and some of the peripheral defense systems may have survived. They destroyed the cruiser with something If the camouflage field generators work, we won't see anything from this distance.
Is the drone broadcasting a distress signal?
It's been almost ten minutes. No reaction.
Either our trick has been figured out, or they simply have nothing to answer with, grinned Hirch, And how is this to be understood?
Something must have survived, commander, replied Hirch's deputy in charge of weapons. It's a pretty big objective. The cruiser couldn't have destroyed everything and then crumbled to pieces. Unless the base was later evacuated.
I don't think so. Hardly anyone could have come to their aid, judging by what was going on in the central worlds. Let's not guess. Launch a flock of local probes. Have them orbit the planet and take a closer look at the remains of the base on the satellite. Their camouflage fields work fine, so hopefully the enemy won't detect them.
Too much distance, Commander. They will take two weeks to get from Eye-1 to the planet in camouflage mode.
We're not in any hurry, said Hirch. I'm not going to expose my ship to anti-space defense fire. The hull is barely hanging on as it is. All we needed was more holes in the sheath.
In fact, Hirch was indifferent to the fact that his decision would greatly delay the mission. Completing the task and entering the "real world" became for him an increasingly abstract goal that existed only somewhere on the fringes of consciousness. Subconsciously, he did not want to leave "virtuality" and wished that he had never had to do so. Mental illness was too deeply rooted in his brain, having long ago passed into an irreversible stage.
Local drones are activated.
That's better, Hirch nodded. Lieutenant Crate, you're in charge on the bridge. If there's any news, I'm in my quarters.
Twelve million kilometers from Earth, the cargo bay hatch opened in the hull of the automatic reconnaissance ship, and nine small cylindrical vehicles floated out one by one. Turning on their weak engines, which left almost no emission trace, they began a leisurely acceleration toward the third planet of the system. Minidrons covered by camouflage fields could remain undetected for a very long time and were able to sneak up close to reconnaissance targets. Lieutenant Commander Hirch was not going to take any chances and preferred to trade time for information.
* * *
Drones are in orbit, Lieutenant Commander, Sir, the reconnaisance drones operator reported. Now we have more information.
Report.
There is a constellation of scientific satellites orbiting the third planet. They have good camouflage fields, so the drones probably didn't pick up everyone, but some satellites are damaged and therefore easier to detect. Apparently, this is a consequence of the arrival of the cruiser Admiral Kuhn in the system. It probably just didn't have time to destroy the entire network, or it was distracted by another enemy.
Do the satellites have weapons?
The drones were unable to penetrate the camouflage fields of the active satellites, but judging by the wreckage of the destroyed satellites, they are unarmed. Apparently, the base on the natural satellite was designed to study the civilization inhabiting the planet. The drone managed to download some information from one of the almost dead satellites. It couldn't access the shared network, but it broke into the local data storage, and now we know a lot about about what was happening on the planet before Admiral Kuhn arrived here.
It can wait, Hirch brushed him off. What is known about the base itself?
All exterior structures are destroyed. There is no sign of the camouflage field generators, but scanners have not been able to penetrate deep below the surface. The lower levels of the base could have survived, with a fairly high probability of doing so.
Could anti-space defense assets have been preserved there?
They could, especially if they were located at some distance from the base itself and were used only at the very end of the battle. It is possible that hangars with fighters or in-system transport ships have also survived.
Is the enemy showing any activity?
There is no absolute certainty, but drones are picking up signs of short-range communication systems. The orbital constellation seems to be exchanging data with someone on the planet's surface and with the base on the natural satellite.
What's going on down there?
There's a big war going on over there, Commander, replied the ship's deputy commander for armament, The Aborigines enthusiastically destroy each other, using primitive technology that is two hundred years, maybe two hundred and fifty years, behind ours. The only problem is that there are a lot of these wild people out there. The resources of the Consul Pran are not enough to destroy them all. Besides, it's not certain that we'll be allowed to do it in peace. Going to the planet with an incomprehensible object on the satellite behind us
Don't take me for an idiot, Korff, Hirch grimaced. Forward me all the data delivered by the intelligence. War on the planet is good for us. If we can't kill the natives on our own without undue risk, why not help them do our job for us? I think covert support for the losing side would be a good solution. Senior Analyst, in eight hours I want to see a preliminary computer analysis of the main scenarios of our intervention in the course of combat operations on the planet. The goal is to expand the scope and intensity of the conflict as much as possible. There must be no winners in this war.
Chapter 2
Vice Admiral Gun'ichi Mikawa stared intently into the night sea. Today his luck had smiled on him. In the difficult battle just ended, his squadron defeated U.S. and Australian allied forces covering the landing of the American troops on the island of Guadalcanal.
The Solomon Islands were one of the most important points in the Pacific Ocean. With the airfield already nearly completed on this strategically important island, Japanese aviation would be able to control considerable water space and operate on convoy routes connecting the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
The Americans also understood the importance of Guadalcanal and were not going to let the Japanese gain a foothold on the island and build an air base there. The Allied amphibious landing began on August 7, and attempts to prevent it with air strikes had only limited success. As darkness fell, however, the Imperial Navy entered the fray.
Allied ships covering the landing fell into the trap set by Mikawa off Savo Island. Their four heavy cruisers went down. Another cruiser and two destroyers sustained serious damage, while not a single ship in the Imperial Navy even lost combat effectiveness[1]. It was an undoubted victory, but it was no less important to make the next decision. It was now, after the destruction of the cover ships, that the way to the American landing zone was open, Mikawa's cruisers could reach the defenseless American transports unloading equipment and ammunition on the island shore. However, somewhere in the darkness of night the American aircraft carriers were hiding, and if morning caught the Japanese ships in range of their planes, this victory could turn into a catastrophe.
It was a difficult decision. Vice Admiral Mikawa understood that his ships would need time to regroup, eliminate the effects of enemy shells and to reload torpedo tubes, which was a laborious and time-consuming procedure. The Japanese ships had few shells left, and there was no air cover. The few seaplanes based on the cruisers don't count they're just scouts. A brief meeting with members of the staff only confirmed Mikawa's near decision not to risk the squadron, and at two hours and twenty minutes he ordered his ships to begin withdrawal.
Suppressing a heavy sigh, the Vice Admiral temporarily turned over command of the squadron to the commander of the cruiser Chōkai and headed for his quarters. The victory warmed his soul, but the decision made did not give the squadron commander peace of mind and brought unpleasant thoughts.
The first months of the war brought a number of resounding victories for the Land of the Rising Sun. After the tremendous success in attacking the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor, the destruction of two British battleships in the South China Sea, the capture of Burma, Malaysia and the Philippines, the successful landing of General Yamashita's army at Singapore followed, as did the landing at Bali and the capture of the islands of Sumatra and Timor.
In the battle in the Java Sea, Rear Admiral Takagi's squadron sank five enemy cruisers and five destroyers, almost completely destroying the Anglo-American squadron that was trying to prevent the Japanese from taking over Java Island. As early as the eighth of March the garrison of Java surrendered and thereafter the entire Dutch East Indies were seized by Japanese troops almost without resistance. Then, in March, they occupied the Andaman Islands.