War Plan

Apophis and Antanria finally left the Secret Service building.

They were both exhausted from lack of natural sleep, and probably from the various drugs they'd been knocked out with. This time, Apophis signaled to the first cab he saw, rather than order a limousine.

It was a rotten cab, but it only cost 10 GC and sped quickly towards what was, without question, the best hotel on the planet!

Antanria had taken the food from her cell as Apophis instructed, and she ate it hungrily in the cab, despite the glares which the driver shot back at them in his mirror. After ten minutes of driving, Antanria fell asleep on Apophis's shoulder. His own eyes were heavy, too. To avoid falling asleep like Antanria had, Apophis asked the driver to turn on the radio. Soon, the galactic news filled the cab.

"Hello, everyone! I am Kent Brockman, live from the Federal Senate. Today, the assembly voted to declare a state of emergency throughout the Federation and to appoint Grand Admiral Azerof as Commander of the Federated Forces at the border!

"Despite attempts to neutralize the situation through the mediation of the Galactic Council, tensions continue to escalate between the Federation and the Orc Empire. The Orcs have concentrated over 10,000 ships near the Cronos system, including one hundred and fifty heavy cruisers, eighty dreadnoughts, and ten capital ships.

"In response, the Federation has sent reinforcements to the zone. The Federation fleet has grown to three thousand and seven hundred ships in that system, including fifty cruisers, six dreadnoughts, and two capital ships.

"Due to the obvious imbalance of forces, the Federation has called upon its two closest allies, the Lizardman Commonwealth and the Holy Elven Empire, to lend local aid. At the moment, both fleets are conducting maneuvers on the border. Despite continuously rising tensions, Chancellor Souley asks that all Federation citizens remain calm and have faith in our military's ability to deter the aggressors without bloodshed!"

***

SEVERAL LIGHTYEARS AWAY

Grand Admiral Azerof was holding a war council on the most secure space station in the Cronos solar system, the system bordering the Orc Empire and the Federation.

The atmosphere in the room was tense. There were more than fifty admirals present, but only two grand admirals. 

Unfortunately, these two men hated each other.

On one side was Grand Admiral Azerof, representing the Human Supremacists… and on the other side, Grand Admiral Wesley, a human-Orc half-breed who supported the Federation's public ideal of a cosmopolitan society.

The Grand Admirals were both ambitious men—and very talented commanders. That was to be expected, considering their rank! Nevertheless, their ideological opposition made their cooperation nearly impossible, especially now that Azerof had been made Commander-in-Chief despite only recently rising to his rank.

The meeting began with Wesley speaking. "…As of the last transmission, our allies have honored their pledges of military aid. The allied expeditionary force has just integrated into our great fleet, bringing us to a count of six thousand and nine hundred ships! I therefore propose to the War Council that we adopt a defensive strategy around the Cronos command station, taking advantage of its battery of over 50,000 automatic turrets. With such a defensive advantage, we can afford to wait for our opponent to move next."

The majority of the admirals seemed to approve of this defensive strategy. It seemed like a reliable way to deter the enemy from attacking—and, hopefully, avoid an all-out war.

But Azerof stood and replied, "I agree that a defensive strategy is safer than a face-to-face battle… However, I must remind this council that, despite the addition of allied forces, we are still vastly outnumbered! No, we cannot rely on passive defense alone. Rather, I propose a surprise attack on the Orc fleet!"

Everyone in the room fell silent, and the atmosphere became as dismal as a funeral.

None of the ordinary admirals dared to contradict their Commander-in-Chief, whether from fear or respect. Eventually, though, Grand Admiral Wesley spoke up. "To attack directly would be to declare open war. If we defend, instead, we buy more time for diplomacy. Once our forces have bloodied one another, it becomes a simple matter for the nations involved to make a show of listening to peace protests and settling their differences via a simple exchange of territory and perhaps a trade agreement which will benefit us all in the long term."

Wesley paused for a moment, scanning the faces in the room before continuing. "This is the pattern which various nations have used to deal with the Orcs in the past. They are a vicious and warlike nation, but they are not savage beasts. The Orcs will end the conflict once some mild bloodshed gives them the opportunity to do so without looking weak. However, if we initiate the attack, then we declare open war, and the Orcs will never relent until one of our nations is irreparably broken."

Azerof, furious at being contradicted, answered with spitting aggression. "Perhaps there are some in this room who have forgotten that I was there at Era! I have seen the savagery of the Orcs with my own eyes! From the moment I saw the Orcs slaughter the pacifistic Tyottings, who were under Federation protection, I considered us to truly be at war with the Orcs! To whine about diplomacy with such animals is not only the height of cowardice, but it would defile the graves of all the Tyottings who were under our protection!

"Therefore, let us ignore politics and focus on the military details. Our technology and firepower are superior to the enemy, so we must take advantage of them as soon as possible. I remind you all that the enemy's 10,000 ships make up only a sliver of the entire Imperial Army of the Orcs. The moment they call more reinforcements, which they can easily do, we have already lost. And they would surely do so before any kind of cowardly diplomacy would resolve!

Azerof took a moment to sneer at his opponent before continuing his speech. "Admiral Wesley, I caution you not to let your very natural and commendable sympathy for your countrymen cloud your judgment. Under other circumstances, I know your military genius would have already seen the wisdom of my plan."

Azerof knew he could not convince Wesley, but that was not his goal. He merely wanted to justify this military operation and avoid immediate disobedience from his subordinates.

The Federation military code did not give even the Commander-in-Chief absolute power over those below him. If his subordinates considered him to act against the interests of the Federation, a majority vote could easily oust Azerof and result in Wesley taking his place, as he would be the next-highest-ranking officer.

Judging by the silence after Azerof's first announcement, that danger was closer than he liked it to be.

Despite Azerof's provocative words accusing him of being sympathetic to the Orcs because of his heritage, Wesley didn't take the bait. He was, after all, quite experienced in his position.

"I think," said Wesley in a calm, cold voice, "it would prove to be a historically catastrophic mistake to attack first. As to my experience and allegiances, I've served in the Federation military for sixty years… the last ten of which have been in the role of Grand Admiral. I don't need any military or political lessons from a novice like you, Azerof, who tries to puff us up with words about how we're better than politicians when you strut around with them yourself on Terra!"

Azerof gave him a broad smile. "Thank you for sharing your perceptions, Grand Admiral. Now, as I am Commander-in-Chief… Let us begin developing the battle plan. Since you are so experienced, Wesley, it stands to reason that you should spearhead the assault with your capital ship…"