{"id":2495,"date":"2018-08-04T09:28:13","date_gmt":"2018-08-04T14:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=2495"},"modified":"2020-06-19T09:39:04","modified_gmt":"2020-06-19T14:39:04","slug":"master-of-violence-part-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=2495","title":{"rendered":"Master of Violence – Part 25"},"content":{"rendered":"

Master of Violence<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

by AJ Marks<\/span><\/p>\n

Part 25<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark went over the reports regarding the Fletcher.\u00a0 It had finally been completed and was now running trials to make sure everything was working as expected.\u00a0 The first jump was scheduled in a few hours from now and the weapons tests would follow.\u00a0 It passed the maneuver tests ensuring that it would be able to at least move around in a battle.\u00a0 The weapons were a mix of new technologies which had been on the drawing board for several years now.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow are things?\u201d Victoria asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it looks like the Fletcher will be ready to go by the end of the week,\u201d Mark replied.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the other ships of the class?\u201d she asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cComing along, it was going to be just a class of five, but that was expanded to ten,\u201d Mark said despite the fact he would have wanted a larger ship, but the Fletchers would have to do for now.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAny word from Sierra?\u201d she asked.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, nothing in a couple of days now,\u201d Mark replied, growing worried about them.\u00a0 The last bit of information indicated they had been working on slowing down the progress of the cleanup, but he knew they wouldn\u2019t be able to stall it forever.\u00a0 The last text indicated the spot might be overrun by the end of the week.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cStill want to get an invasion force moving?\u201d Victoria asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Mark said.\u00a0 The debate had been furious about such launching an invasion.\u00a0 Many didn\u2019t want to do anything until they finally managed to build enough warships to protect Earth.\u00a0 Mark had begun to think about that before forcing it from his mind and turned to another question.\u00a0 \u201cAny word about our meeting with the rebellion?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGoing a bit dicey,\u201d Victoria replied, she was about to say more when Hans entered the room.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, did I interrupt anything?\u201d Hans asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNah, going over the latest intel and such,\u201d Mark replied.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWanted to let you know, the Fletcher just finished her jump trials,\u201d Hans stated.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat isn\u2019t scheduled for another couple of hours,\u201d Mark stated looking at the reports.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it\u2019s on time,\u201d Hans said causing Mark to look at the time.\u00a0 He blinked seeing it was much later than he thought it was.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDamn, been reading too much,\u201d he finally said.\u00a0 \u201cSo, how\u2019d it go?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPassed, the real trial will be the weapon systems,\u201d Hans stated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark nodded at that.\u00a0 New weapons were always a bit of a risk when you were in a rush.\u00a0 Of course the new weapons would make the ship more powerful.\u00a0 The real changes came with the next ship of the class, it would have a new engine designed from the lessons learned from the Simian ship.\u00a0 It should, theoretically, be more powerful than even the Enterprise\u2019s engines.\u00a0 The power boost would give it an advantage in just about every system.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d Mark said, looking at the paperwork.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about the defense stations?\u201d Hans asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGot a few more up and running, none are at one hundred percent, but alpha and beta are now each around eighty percent, Delta is about fifty percent and the other three are below twenty-five percent,\u201d Victoria said.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was more than what they were operating at during the first attack, but still not that good.\u00a0 And they had a couple of more fighter squadrons which had been introduced.\u00a0 It really was amazing how quickly things had been built, but the fear of destruction made people do some very interesting things.\u00a0 Factories were running around the clock as were the ship yards.\u00a0 Seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day and humans could do some amazing things.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the next ship?\u201d Hans asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

For that Mark looked through a bit more to find that information.\u00a0 \u201cAh, here is it, the Sherman, should be ready next week, followed by the next three rapidly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With the additional ships and the quick repairs of the ships damaged the fleet would have eight warships.\u00a0 But he knew there was already pressure to retake Sierra from the people.\u00a0 He had to admit he was anxious to undertake such a mission.<\/span><\/p>\n

The communications buzzed interrupting any further thoughts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAdmiral Pappas office,\u201d Victoria said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNeed to speak to the admiral,\u201d a familiar voice said, who Mark recognized as Richard.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRichard, what can I do for you?\u201d Mark asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNeed you down planetside,\u201d Richard said.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh?\u201d Mark replied curious as to why they might need him down there.\u00a0 He knew of nothing which was going on which they might need him for.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPressure is mounting for some sort of action at Sierra,\u201d Richard replied to him.\u00a0 It was strange that the call came as he was thinking about it.\u00a0 \u201cThe government is concerned that they might lose support if nothing is done.\u00a0 And,\u201d he paused, \u201cwell, there is increasing pressure to go on the offensive in some way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t they understand we don\u2019t have the resources yet to do such a thing?\u201d Victoria said from where she sat.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark remained quiet for several seconds about that.\u00a0 With the new ships coming online, and the stations becoming operational they might just have the ability.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what we want to discuss,\u201d Richard said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be down, when is this meeting?\u201d Mark asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re hoping to have it for five pm standard,\u201d Richard said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark looked at the time and mentally calculated how long it would take.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, I think I can make it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGood, we\u2019ll see you there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark looked over at Hans.\u00a0 \u201cWell, get a shuttle ready, looks like I\u2019m headed planetside.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

*****<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark sat down at the meeting table seeing that there were already several others in the room, including Richard.\u00a0 A few more walked in filling up the rest of the chairs before Richard got everyone\u2019s attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you all for coming,\u201d he said to them all.\u00a0 Mark realized there were no politicians in the room, or any of the other aliens for that matter.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAre you really thinking of an assault on Sierra?\u201d one asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes we are, that why we\u2019re here,\u201d Richard said.\u00a0 \u201cWe need to figure out when we can strike back, and with how much.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur forces are still too weak for any offensive push.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark thought about as he listened in on the arguments.\u00a0 He kept quiet for a while as there appeared to be several opinions going around.\u00a0 Most thought the military still had too few forces to even defend Earth, let along Mars.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAdmiral Pappas, you\u2019ve been very quiet, what do you think?\u201d Richard finally asked turning the conversation in his direction.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe still know very little about the O\u2019krad, but the one thing I do know is we\u2019re going to be losing communications with those on Sierra soon, if we haven\u2019t already.\u00a0 Second, at what point do we finally have enough warships and men to launch an invasion,\u201d Mark said to them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMore than what we have right now,\u201d another one replied.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut, how will they react to such an action?\u201d Mark said.\u00a0 \u201cIf everything we\u2019ve ever heard is right, the O\u2019krad are unused to such actions.\u00a0 Going on the offensive might cause confusion among them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019re suggesting an offensive attack?\u201d one of the intelligence officers said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I guess so,\u201d Mark said.\u00a0 \u201cWe have several of the defense stations up and operational, along with several additional fighter squadrons.\u00a0 And I feel an attack would catch them off guard.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIts possible,\u201d Richard said. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the rebellion has been able to tell us is that no one has done such a thing against them,\u201d the intelligence officer said.\u00a0 \u201cOr at least, none they know of.\u00a0 They very well could be fighting another group and we would never know about it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhich is why we need to keep them off guard,\u201d Mark said, taking a look around the table at the others.\u00a0 Several of the others appeared caught off guard that he had mentioned such actions, while some of the others seemed more willing to do something.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe simple fact is gentlemen, the public is growing restless with inaction,\u201d Richard said.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou fear losing their support?\u201d another officer said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Richard said.\u00a0 \u201cWe all know support is fickle at best, even when united it can disappear.\u00a0 Inaction isn\u2019t helping us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGoing ahead and losing can be just as bad,\u201d another one said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark understood what they were all saying. They were walking a fine line of support, defense and offense with the ships they had.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCan we undertake an attack?\u201d the one who had been most supportive of the idea asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think so, it would require most of the fleet and the Enterprise to do,\u201d Mark said as he put his mind to what might be needed, and something he had been thinking about for a while now. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow would we defend ourselves?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWould we need to defend ourselves?\u201d Mark asked.\u00a0 \u201cThere is no indication of how the O\u2019krad would react to such actions.\u00a0 We\u2019re assuming how we would react, but they\u2019ve already shown they act differently, almost sluggishly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you\u2019re saying we should act with haste?\u201d one asked Mark.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn a way, yes, speed might be to our advantage right now,\u201d Mark replied back to him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe shall consider it,\u201d one finally said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark looked over at Richard who seemed thoughtful about it all before he said anything.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think we should move forward,\u201d he finally said seeing a lot of people look his way.\u00a0 \u201cHistory has shown over and over again that to play defense is a way to lose a war.\u00a0 We must have a clear objective and plan to carry out that objective.\u00a0 Attacking Sierra gives us an objective, one which everyone can see.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd after that?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll decide that after we liberate Sierra,\u201d Richard said.\u00a0 \u201cCall it, Operation Tiger.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At that a lot of the others looked at Richard with a strange look.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat, I like cats,\u201d he finally replied.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark shook his head, but he had no problems with the name.\u00a0 It meant they would be doing something rather than sitting and waiting for the next attack to occur.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll talk with the generals, I\u2019m sure we can use a few of the freighters to transport the troops, and we might even be able to use the people on the planet,\u201d Richard said.\u00a0 \u201cDo we still have communications?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe last communications indicated the signal spot would probably be overrun by the end of the week, if not sooner,\u201d Mark replied back to him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark watched as that bit of news seemed to sink in with them all.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn fact, Jack mentioned they think we\u2019ve abandoned them,\u201d Mark said. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf something like that gets out we could have trouble among the people, questions on why we are not doing anything,\u201d Richard said.\u00a0 \u201cNow, what plans can we come up with?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

*****<\/span><\/p>\n

Angie watched as Jack and Sven made their way back to their camp.\u00a0 Neither appeared too happy with anything as they sat down.\u00a0 The others came over to see what might have happened.\u00a0 She knew the cleanup was about to reach the signal spot, and feared the worst.\u00a0 She hoped they had not lost the only communications with Earth.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened?\u201d Aku asked speaking up first.\u00a0 Angie learned he was one who despite was quiet, wanted to know right away, especially if things were bad.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cProbably by tomorrow they will be upon the site,\u201d Jack said to them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDid you inform Earth?\u201d Charlie asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Sven replied.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cBut, we did receive some good news.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Angie wondered what type of news would be good when they were about to lose their ability to communicate with Earth and see what was going on.\u00a0 She felt a bit depressed by it all actually.\u00a0 As long as she had communications with her uncle it felt like this would end, now, the reality of her life crashed around her.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey are hoping to liberate Sierra in less than two weeks,\u201d Jack said to them.\u00a0 \u201cThey are moving fast and we\u2019re to remain ready to help out any way we can.\u00a0 It means keeping the phone charged, and on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo they can signal us when they arrive, here\u2019s hoping,\u201d Ben stated speaking up.\u00a0 Angie had to agree.<\/span><\/p>\n

End part 25<\/span><\/p>\n

Continued in part 26<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Master of Violence by AJ Marks Part 25 Mark went over the reports regarding the Fletcher.\u00a0 It had finally been completed and was now running trials to make sure everything was working as expected.\u00a0 The first jump was scheduled in a few hours from now and the weapons tests would follow.\u00a0 It passed the maneuver […]
Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[3,83,28,5,12],"class_list":["post-2495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-original","tag-aj-marks","tag-master","tag-original","tag-sci-fi","tag-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2495"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2692,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2495\/revisions\/2692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}