Aboard CFV-Olympia, Tau-44, Orbit of Planet Borneo, 1915 Crayter Standard Time
Fleet Admiral Richard stood up from the chair he was sitting as he finished looking at recent reports of victories and defeats around Tau region. The newly developed Deimos Class was showing a formidable performance versus both Valors and Ranseurs according to the reports. From the trio that are produced Poseidon and Scotus emerged mostly victorious. However the Olympia already got some small bruises and scratches due to skirmishes it participated. The Admiral did not see a big battle with Olympia under his command yet. Then he thought about the AI system under development. The 'Corinth' system managed to pull it off from the Tau-44 skirmish intact after Commune vessels hit its auxiliary engine components and damaged the cruise drive. Just a moment after those thougts, his communicator beeped. "Admiral, scanners detecting two contacts at eighteen clicks, direction uknown, no visual, listed as friendly though."."Must be the 'guests', navigatör." After a moment the AI made an announcement. "Two friendly ships approaching. Ten clicks, IFF, Crayter Military. Pending for scanning." And the navigatör confirmed their type. They were the other two Dreadnoughts. They formed a V around Olympia and shut their engines off while keeping weapons at standby. Their captains went over to Olympia's hangar bay with shuttles. Richard went to the hangar bay to greet the captains.
CFV-Atlantis, Tau-44, Orbit of Planet Borneo, 1920 Crayter Standard Time
"Olympia Actual , this is Atlantis, Tau 44 Defense Group. Commander Leto Atreides wishes to discuss with you, Admiral. Request flight permission and path for the CMS 11, carrying Commander and 2 AIT troops."
Aboard CFV-Olympia, Tau-44, Orbit of Planet Borneo, 1925 Crayter Standard Time
Admiral Richard got the Atlantis' request to enter formation, opened his Communicator with a flip of switch and said "This is Olympia Actual, your reqyest has been approved, A Taurus shuttle will be dispatched to grab you, Commander. Rest will be brought by the Razor, Celestra-Class transport. Over" He was a little bit surprised to have Leto in the meeting. Nonetheless he spent time at hangar bay and waited for the Commander to arrive.
Aboard CFV-Scotus, Tau-44, Orbit of Planet Borneo, 1915 Crayter Standard Time
The Scotus exited the cover of it's cloaking device as it approached planet Borneo, the Olympia clearly in the view from the bridge. There, Commodore Makoto Ryota stood in the middle, observing the large screen that was centered above the large front window of the wide room. Around him the crew of the Scotus worked to bring the ship in steady orbit around the planet and closely to the Olympia. The ship's radio operator quickly contacted the Olympia's bridge, transmitting the details of the Scotus as well as it's approach trajectory.
"Olympia command, this is Scotus bridge, we are approaching the meeting point and will be with you shortly."
Aboard CFV-Scotus, Tau-44, Orbit of Planet Borneo, 1925 Crayter Standard Time
As he approached the hangar bay of the Scotus, Makoto could clearly see his transports' engines starting up and kicking up the dust from the floor underneath it. His guard made out of four troopers in full combat gear, men that he himself chose, were just entering and the ship had been detached from the fueling system. Minutes later he entered the ship himself and after a brief salute by his guard he settled down in his seat, giving the pilot up front a green light for take off.
Meanwhile the Scotus' bridge had informed the Olympia that the Admiral's guest was on his way and will be there withing the next minutes.
Aboard CFV-Olympia, Tau-44, Orbit of Planet Borneo, 1928 Crayter Standard Time
As both the Commander and Commodore arrived, he moved to greet them. Richard noticed that Commander Atreides was a little bit nervous and tried to hide it. It was first time he have been in Fleet Admiral's ship.
Then he looked at Ryota, the ex-IKN Admiral had his fallen but still proud royalty with him, even under Crayter uniform. He quickly made men and women follow his orders with loyalty and adapted Crayter battle doctrines. Admiral wasn't disappointed by the Commodore after all...
Just as they left their Taurus shuttles, Richard walked to them. After handshakes and greetings Admiral ordered his guards to follow them. They reached to an elevator at the end of the hangar bay and Admiral pressed to Captain's Quarters and Meeting Rooms floor. Just as they arrived at the floor Admiral went ahead and turned to his guests. "Captains, welcome to my ship, i am honored by your presence as much as you are honored by being in this ship. Now follow me to Meeting Room 1."
The guests and Admiral went to the meeting room that was designed with the inspiration from efficient Council designs that he saw when he was at meetings with General LaFlamme. A table in the middle, projector at the left and chairs formed an U opposite of the projector instead of rather complicated Crayter designs. "Gentlements, here are the tablets for you to take notes, open relevant files and all the other things you can do with a tablet. You are to keep them at your ships after this meeting." Just as he said that he took the chair at the very end of the table and pointed the chairs at sides for the captains. "We are here for some concerning issues, mainly, Gallics and their operations. Mainly their presence in Taus. Anyone want to voice their wishes before we start?"
Leto looked around and he felt uncomfortable when he followed the Admiral. Bad enough this new class ships were in the area but this room was something that clouded his mind, as a true Crayterian and heir to one of the Families in the Republic he felt out of place. "Gods from below, we are living interesting times"he muttered and he disliked the Council influence in the room.
Leto took the pad into his hand and he listened to Admiral "Admiral, with all due respect, permission to speak freely, sir" and waited for his permission "First of all, I want to ask what happened with the Crayterian design? I feel like I am no longer on a warship of the Republic. Second, tactical and operations." he coughed and after a few seconds started to realize what he said but couldn't take it back even if he wanted to "Sorry for being so bold, Admiral. As you know, I am commanding here the Battlegroup Atlantis. At the moment, the Admiralty ordered me with defense of Tau 44 and we were heavily reinforced by another Task Force, Task Force Echo which bolstered my group with 2 Thanatos ships, 9 Hydra and another 4 Heavy Interceptor Hydra and as a bonus 11 Wings, Nyx and Pytho. Also, CIS Director also stationed here the main bulk of their forces, which I must say, since when they operate so many heavy ships?" he stopped and looked at his own datapad "At any given time, there are present in the system the CIS flagship, 2 Thanatos Cruiserclass, 8 Hydra and as a number of Nyx operatives, how many is a mystery as they are trickier to discover." he waited and hoped he get a response.
"Tactical wise, we secured most of the system, but there are still intrusions from the Royalist Fleet and some shady Kusarian ships which sided with Commune. But in those operations, however, CIS are always present. Is like they track them. Anyway, my CIC received instructions to inform our pilots to keep their eyes peeled for anything suspicious. All my calls to CIS Bureau came back with the usual polite form of stay out of it."
Looked again at his pad "We had some losses, 24 Nyx, 13 Pytho destroyed , 13 Nyx, 12 Pytho and 2 Hydra Damaged,representing the losses since we finished the Campaign. The ships are being repaired onAtlantis and on Borneo and the Hydra are sent to Singapore for repairs. Governor Aeryn got us a docking port there for our Capital ships to be repaired. Sulawesi Citadel is operating at full capacity and is maxed out with Interceptors."
He looked at them and saw that they were looking for something else, not his usual report "Now for the Gallic movements. They are still using Tau 23 as an important node for their supply lines towards the main fronts. I want to come with a proposition. Bottleneck Tau sector fully. We should disregard the Orange Threat and focus mostly on the Gauls. Now that Helios Group jumped in the area, I propose that elements from the Combined CIS-Atlantis Fleet to restart the Guerrilla War here in the Tau at a different stage. We must target more their supply convoys,Royalist owned ships or civilian. Our ships and wings were designed for this kind of warfare and I think that my Group can put some pressure on their lines. I want permission to send my interceptors in a 3 system chase: Tau 23, Tau 31 and Orkney."
He stopped and saw the looks he received " I know that what I am proposing may appear primitive and savage but we are fighting a brutal enemy. We must strike where is going to hurt him more. Without resources, the Royal Navy Sirius Expeditionary Force would be put under a strain. And also another question is why there are 3 ships of the Line here in Tau 44 and why is Helios so close to us?"
Aboard CFV-Olympia, Tau-44, Orbit of Planet Borneo, 1928 Crayter Standard Time
"Leto, thank you for informing me of your concerns and ideas. However i believe there is much to be understood by you... First of all, why Council influence on meeting rooms? There is a brilliant reason: Efficiency to the maximum. Our own designs were cluttered, clunky and simply ineffective. However those minimalist Council designs do the job JUST right." He caught he breath for a second and continued while walking around the room and opening an interactive map of Sirius on projector. "Look at recent battke reports, Leto. What do you see? You see Gallics mostly concentrating their forces at Magellan and Cortez. What are we going to do? We will position Helios in western Taus obviously. Tau-29 is just a preperation, Commander. We will strike at Tau-31 instead. And liberate the Harris, weaken Gallia right from behind. Helios, Atlantis and Olympia will strike with fury and righteous vengeance. Cut off their supplies and get us another base of operations. You see that Admirality's plan is vastly different than what you seek. No more battles of attrition and delaying them. We strike first, strike hard. Overwhelm them in asteroid fields and other hazardous areas. Your proposal of guerilla warfare is granted. However, unless civilians provoke you, do not outright destroy them or we will have The Council screaming at us about civilian lives. You are authorized to disable ships though." He switched to Tau-44 map. "Now now, regarding Tau-44. We do not question intelligence's motives, Commander. They do as they see fit. I faced those Kusarian ships myself. I think they are not the "real" kusarian fleet." He focused the map on one particular ship. The Razor. A celestra armed with a NEMP Warhead Launcher platform. "What you see here is a Celestra armed with a dangerous weapon. Yes, it is a cruel thing to arm a transport with such a warhead and yes, the Razor will explode in a glorious kaboom. There is a catch however. It is going to strike on RNS-Guillestre stationed near Java Station. We will refit it with remote control and dont have a crewman at all. The Razor will sacrificed to deal a heavy blow to Gallic Fleet." He looked at Makoto Ryota. "Makoto, you have been silent for all the time. I would like to hear your thoughts."
In a few moments Makoto found himself onboard the Olympia, disembarking his personal transport with the guard. They followed him at a respectful distance, their faces obscured by their helmets. As Admiral Richard approached, Makoto put a friendly smile on and shook his hand with assurance. Next was the man he didn't know, Commander Loto as he was informed. Another hand shake and brief introduction, soon enough they would be following the Admiral up to the meeting room.
At the Admiral's remark of honor and being here, Makoto couldn't help but briefly smirk, nodding slightly in response. He himself didn't care too much about the design, after all the Imperial one was by far the best, yet he kept his opinion to himself, on the outside only a faint smile could still be seen as he glanced around the room and followed Richard's guidance to his seat.
After quickly getting familiar with the setup, he turned to Commander Loto as he saw he would be the first to talk. Throughout out his talk he made small responses, smiles at one times, slight grins of disapproval at others. Similar was the situation with what the Admiral had to say, and once he was mentioned he coughed slightly and stood up. Brief moment to straighten his Commodore uniform, and he gave them a small nod as he started.
The map of Sirius which was opened by the Admiral would change to the map of Tau-31, and as Makoto brought up his ideas the key points would be pointed out.
"I myself see potential in both plans, whether we cut the Gauls at Tau 23, or 31. However, Admiral, I do not think we should use this weapon on the Gallic garrison in Tau 23. Instead, how about moving the bulk of our forces to Tau 29, preparing for a attack for 31, and shorty before launching it we use this weapon on the jump gate between 31 and 23. It would permanently cut their supplies, to 31 and further to Leeds. At the same time we could contact the Libertonians and Bretonians, telling them of our plan so they may act accordingly, using this opportunity to push hard against the Gauls. There is also the jump hole to Roussillon which is located somewhere behind Planet Harris, meaning the Council forces could launch attacks from the other side. I believe this 'sandwiching', if you wish to call it so, would be able to crush the resistance and we could quickly position defensive forces at the Leeds jump gate, and also the jump gate to 23. Also we can organize raids on the supplies that will surely come to repair the jump gate, delaying it by as much as possible, giving us more precious time."
Makoto made a small pause, rethinking his words as he planned what to say next. The map would now switch to Tau-23. During these talks, both the Admiral and Commander would see he held a firm stand, his eyes switching between the two men in front of him.
"Now if we were to attack Tau 23, the Gallic garrison would be the prime target. We could take the jump gate to Languedoc, cutting off their supplies once again, but that would also expose us to be attacked from Tau 31 and the forces from Leeds. While we can tell our House allies to try and push, due to us being even further in the Taus I do not think their quick strikes would prove as efficient. The garrison in Tau 31 would quickly come to help, unless if we were to use the Nuclear warhead on one of the jump gates, and not the garrison. However this would still leave another way for more of them to come. Council forces, which I trust would be aiding us in whatever we decide upon, would have to come in through the same way we are, or well, more or less so. We do have the direct jump hole from here to 23, while also able to use the path through 37. Our forces from 29 can come in directly as well, perhaps moving into a quick strike for the 31 jump gate, trying to hold off any reinforcement.
Once again he made a small pause, the map zooming out to the full view of Sirius. After a few seconds of rest and briefly licking his dry lips, Makoto looked up to them as he was to finish.
"In my opinion, a strike against Tau 31 has more potential and depending on the results, we could perhaps even move on to 23 right after it. The momentum is one of the most important things, and if we can make the attack a surprise it would be even better. Perhaps our intelligence agency could plant false information, leading our enemy to believe that we will strike somewhere else. Perhaps 23 and if they take the bait and bring in more ships, once the jump gate is disabled they would have a decent bulk of their forces cut off and unable to help swiftly.
Let me hear your opinion."
With that Makoto made a bow with his head and sat down in his seat, picking up the glass of water that was prepared for them and taking a gulp down. His eyes quickly returned the next speaker, listening to how his suggestions were taken.
Richard listened to Makoto as he spoke and voiced his plan. He saw that his plan was brlilliant except one thing. And he started thinking briefly about how to make it flawless as possible. Then he set the projector to Show Tau 23 system and walked over to projector. "Ad...Commodore. Your plan looks solid and i agree with your points. However, there is one question... Why not both? We could acquire even more NEMP warheads and do simultaneous strikes in coordination with the Council. Reports indicate the Council also have one of those warheads with them and they may use it on a target. The only thing is, where they will use? That we do not know yet. I invited General LaFlamme to this meeting however he did not arrive yet.
As i was saying, simultaneous strikes. One at the Jump Gate connecting 23 to 31, one at their garrison near Java. Ultimately we would hit two birds with one stone, well actually two stones but that doesnt matter. Just after that, we would push for Tau-31 and do multiple strikes to weaken gauls if we cannot succeed with one strike."
Admiral drank his water and sat down to his chair as projector zoomed out to Show entire sirius once again.
Leto listened to the plans and he waited till everyone was quiet.
"Sirs, I may add something? We have part of our line of ships designed for Tau 23. I suggest another approach for Tau 23. Reinforce our Fleet in Tau 44 with more Hydra, Nyx and Pytho. We have three points of interest in the system. The former BMM station now called Indochine, the Languedoc jump gate and the Battleship near Java." he stopped and put the design of the ships in question on the projector "I propose something cunning. In the Tau wars we used what we called Nyx-Pytho Swarm against Outcasts and their allies. My proposal is this" he selected the three points of interest "We form 6 teams,mixed Hydra and fighter class. First team is going to launch an attack on Indochina, which will cause the Gauls to send units to protect, which means their patrols are thinner. Group 2 will stay hidden right next to the Gate, engines cut just on thursters. While they rush to protect the installation, they engage the rest of the defenders at the Gate." he stopped and now the Battleship Guillestre was highlighted "At this attack, the Navy will dispatch troops from the Guillestre. Group 2 will do a strategic retreat further from the Gate and towards the station" now the flight plan is highlighted by green arrow and another red circle another group "Group 3, placed at 7 clicks, with engines cut, will then move to attack the Jump Gate when group 2 is at 15 clicks away from the Gate. This third attack will provoke the Gauls to either send reinforcements or to send Guillestre out for a fight. Our Eros ships, towed to asteroids will keep an eye on them and depending on what they do we react accordingly with Group 4. With the Battleship moving towards the Gate, the Group armed with nukes will cut them and using the asteroid cover, will try to disable the ship." he stopped,having a grim smile "No, I am wrong, they will disable the ship by any means necessary, even using Kamikaze techniques. If the ship is not leaving Java, we attack them there. " he stopped and the plan was shown again on the map "Now groups 1 and 2 will join and make a retreat towards Tau 29 jump hole, where group 5 will wait them. Being reinforced, they will turn back and fight the Gallic ships." two more circles appear near the sun belt "Group 6 will be placed here, at the edge of the radiation belt which will be used as cover. At best will appear as a glitch on the radar"
Stopped for a few and explained the second circle "Also, 2 Thanatos class ships and their Hydra escort will jump at this position. The Hydras will be dispatched to assist the Groups and the Thanatos mission will be to hunt for Guillestre also. What you think, Sirs?"