Liberty or Death Snippet 5

Okay sitrep: I just sent Rea Liberty or Death. I held out until today to give everyone who had it a chance to chime in. (I've had complaints I'm rushing the books through proofreading)

Also, I sent Wayne the first 2 acts of Full Circle last night.

And, I watched Pacific Rim Uprising last night. Not much character development, I hate how they have the usual soft dialog and then blasting sound FX. It had me scrambling through the entire movie. I have no idea what happened to some of the cast of the first movie. It was more of a kids movie, the mecha were cool but the plot had such large holes in it! You could drive a... well, jaeger through a couple of them!
-Like how a 15 year old could build a Jaeger on her own. Forty feet tall??? Not just a genius kid but holy crap! Super strong too!
-or how they have that 1 bit in the plot about how during the last war all of the Kaiju were headed to Japan. They all came from the same portal in the first movie. I guess some got lost and went to California, Alaska, Hong Kong???

Anyway, on to the snippet:

Chapter 4

 

Antigua

 

Admiral Irons nodded as he listened to the latest briefing. “Finally something is going right.”

“Yes sir. We've got De Gaulte on the defensive. Garth has been decimated. According to our psych profile of him he'll try to fight forward for as long as possible. Rattling him with scouts and then a coordinated assault will bounce him out.”

“I'd rather catch him and finish him. But I know what sort of battle that will mean,” Yorgi stated as he set his coffee cup down. “A fight to the death is bad but he's been ground down pretty hard. Our forces have been reinforced and can recover quicker and better than his. I think if Admiral White switches from a battle of attrition to one of annihilation he'll win.”

“It's not just winning I'm concerned about. It's what comes next,” Admiral Irons said. “He'll get hurt, and yes I know that is the price of doing business,” he held up a restraining hand to curb the intelligence officer. “But, I'm more concerned strategically. If they battle to the death yes it leads the road open to Horath. We can see that, but so can the enemy. They might panic and send a massive fleet out and catch Second Fleet off guard.”

“If they do sir?” Captain Sprite asked.

“Then he'll have to fight another battle of attrition at each jump point and give ground as he does in order to preserve the bulk of his forces. But we'll have to fight again to take back that ground later. We also can't reinforce him.”

“I believe you still wish to send him the SDs correct sir?” Yorgi asked. Admiral Irons nodded. “But that's it.”

“That is it until Admiral Creator of Things can get some breathing room and my people can play catch up,” Sandra'kall, the Centaurian Secretary of Industry stated from her holographic pedestal.

Admiral Irons grunted in agreement as he looked at the latest report on the fleet on his HUD. Phil, Odette, Yorgi, and Georgi were right; he'd gotten a bit carried away in his deployments. That had to change, the navy didn't have a bottomless well as far as ships and personnel were concerned.

He still intended to send the quartet of super dreadnoughts to Amadeus, and a draft of personnel to Pi though, they would be needed to man any captured ships and facilities there. But, a follow up draft to Tau was now off. He couldn't afford it at the moment. Shelby was on her own until they got sorted out. He was certain she would understand.

“Shh, the press conference is starting,” Emily Berkheart, the Secretary of Labor stated, pointing to the big screen. All eyes turned to it expectantly as the Neocat press secretary took the podium.

===<>===

“Good morning, and I hope everyone had a good weekend. I certainly did,” Liobat said as she took the podium from her assistant. She smiled her thanks briefly as the other woman left silently.

“First off, I'd like to wish Bundy a happy birthday,” she said with a nod to the reporter near the rear of the room. He blinked as the group broke into a smattering of applause and well wishes. “So, the first question will go to him when we get to that point.”

Bundy blinked and then nodded, looking a bit nonplussed at being singled out but eager to get the first salvo in.

“To open things up, the markets are ticking away smoothly. The economy continues to pick up and improve as each star system adds people to the job market as well as materials. Goods are exchanging hands on an increasing basis, so much so that Captain Broken Antenna finally has something to do other than to count paperclips,” she said.

There was a soft chuckle over that.

“Seriously, we all know that. There is no new news from the war front. The holdouts on Dead Drop are still refusing to surrender. To date Admiral White hasn't taken any action against them. We are still in the gathering intelligence phase I believe. Any further questions in that regard I will refer you to the navy's press secretary.”

“There are no high level scheduled meetings with other governments to negotiate their return to the Federation at this time. I'll refer you to progress on that front with the State Department.”

“No news is good news?” a reporter in the front row quipped.

Liobat flicked her ears. “Sometimes we get the softballs and get to enjoy a good day,” she said.

“Lucky,” the reporter replied with a smirk.

“No, just good looking and really good at talking other people to death,” Liobat said. “I believe they refer to that as chatty,” she said, pretending to preen. There was a chuckle from the group. “Now, the military will be launching another ship later this week. You can pick up the details on the brief ceremony from my office or from the navy. The navy will give you stock footage if you require it. Due to heightened security they will not allow any live craft near their precious ships,” she said.

There was another soft chuckle. “I believe the term, you break it you buy it comes into mind for some bean counter in the bowels of naval accounting,” she said to a smatter of additional chuckles.

“The president is in good health and is most likely watching this press conference with the cabinet in their weekly meeting. So, without further ado, let's get to the question session so I can cut this short and get in there. I want to make sure certain parties don't eat up all the canapés before I get at least one,” she said to more chuckles.

“Bundy that's your queue,” she said, pointing a stylus to the reporter.

The Neochimp rose slightly and looked at his tablet. “We still haven't heard anything about the massive arrests several months ago. No one has heard from any of the accused. They've simply disappeared. There is some concern, especially since one of the people who went missing is one of my colleagues. Can you tell us any progress on that case? When will we hear their side of the story?”

Liobat kept her face impassive. He would start things off with a question about that and even hint about April O'Neill she thought in mild annoyance.

“I again will refer you to speak to the DOJ spokesman on questions relating to this matter. I will tell you that any investigation will be followed until its natural conclusion. Only then will charges, if any will be presented. There is no clock on the process unless two circumstances are met; one, if a statute of limitations is involved, or two, a person of interest is leaving the jurisdiction. Otherwise, a good investigator, be it a reporter,” she paused to indicate her audience and even smiled and flicked her ears slightly. “...Or law enforcement individual will keep generating and following leads until the picture is complete. As to why they are in custody, some are a threat to themselves or others. Some are potential witnesses who have had threats against them.” There was a smatter of clicks as old fashioned still cameras as well as modern ones went off. “I believe there is a gag order on talking to anyone during an active investigation. That is standard procedure in any case. Any further questions you need to talk to the DOJ,” she said firmly. “Now, who's next?” she asked, waving her stylus like a conductor's wand.

===<>===

Liberty or Death Snippet 4

Sitrep: I'm still driving Wayne nuts but skipping around with writing Full Circle. Getting there though, faster than ever. Mainly because I added a lot of crossover material.

Anyway, on to the snippet:
Still in chapter 3:

Nuevo Madrid

 

Colonel Valenko Kodiak received the news of his impending movement with typical Russian fatalistic charm. He shrugged it off when his staff reported it. “I'll believe it when I see it.”

“Yes sir.”

“It is months away. They were supposed to get them moving months ago. So, we'll make do as we always do.”

“Yes sir. So, we're overseeing the security of the new line of elections coming up. They are the primaries, so projections on turn out are mixed.”

The bear grunted.

One of their jobs now that the planet had been declared more or less secure was to make sure it stayed that way. His marines were spread out with militia groups securing strategic locations while turning control and the day to day management of towns and cities over to the natives.

But big events still had their interest. It was ripe for trouble, so his people were on hand to quell any activities, hopefully before it got out of hand. The natives were grateful for their work in making certain the Horathians and their partisans didn't get too feisty with their brand of domestic terrorism.

Given that they were releasing the news from the ansible about the war he knew that a lot of the reactions had been killed. Why go through the trouble of making yourself a target if the Horathians were losing the war? According to his intel team, the pirates were having a hell of a time retaining their people let alone recruiting replacements or getting supplies.

That didn't stop them from causing problems anyway though, he reminded himself. He had no intention of becoming complacent. Which was why he kept a keen eye on things.

There were several political movements ongoing on the planet. One was enthusiastic about joining the Federation and breezily assured him and others that everyone would fall into line when they saw the benefits. State Department was involved there but overworked.

He took that one with mixed feelings and a healthy dose of salt. The same with their polling numbers. They still had to send people to go door to door to gather information and he doubted they were getting accurate numbers. Especially when sometimes they were doing it in the dead of winter.

The second major group wanted their star system to remain neutral. A faction of it wanted both sides, both the pirates and the Federation kicked out. He sympathized in a way.

A third faction was aligned with the Horathians, but had taken a less strident tone. They were aligned with the neutrals to some degree but still spouted some of the rhetoric from the Horathians. His spooks had talked him into letting them be. It sickened him to see such drivel, but it was important to let them speak their minds.

Besides, they were a small group and they were being closely watched. The moment they stepped out of line he'd step on them. He was certain they knew it. They also probably knew his people were watching for signs of coordination or communications with any surviving pirates out there.

Which made them very respectful of the bear, he thought with a brief mental smirk.

“We're two weeks out from the primaries and no clear sign of who will come out on top. We also have some issues with some of the players involved, not that we can come out for or against anyone in particular at the moment,” Captain SG Demi Aliana, their resident staff intelligence officer stated.

The bear grunted again, this time in irritation. You know what they say about underdogs. Everyone rooted for them from time to time so you couldn't quite count them out. In his line of work, it was smart to pay attention to them. There was no telling what they might try to do. Probably something stupid.

“The local law let us know yesterday evening that someone was sniffing around their armories,” Demi went on.

The bear blinked. “When did this come in?”

“After midnight. They spotted a few people casing the joint during the day. They didn't think it was important until someone tried to pick the lock that evening. They sent over the footage. The computers are processing it now.”

He nodded once. That explained why she looked a little tired. He wanted them to get a jump on such activities. “What sort of thing do they have in their inventory? Anything we need to be worried about?”

“It's a sheriff's armory. Ammunition, some non-lethals we gave them. Some flashbang ordinance, some armor and tools of their trade. Dangerous, but not as dangerous as a militia group or one of our armories.”

“Still, it's pretty ballsy of someone to case the joint. Could it be misdirection? See if we react?” Major Chase Rice, the Neodog XO asked.

“Possible. I'm taking it seriously since we want to establish good ties with the local law. But we're playing backup, I don't want to come in and step on their toes. There is no sign of corruption,” she pointed out.

The Neodog flicked his ears and nodded once. He turned to the bear. “I say we let her play it out sir,” he said.

Valenko nodded. “Agreed. I think we can let people know the army is on their way too. But make sure they don't know the timetable.”

“A problem of victory disease sir?” Captain JG Leena Chen, the head of logistics asked.

“No, more of a reminder that we've got backup coming and it's not wise to start something they know they can't finish. How are we with the outreach program?”

“Better with the medical and schools than in other ways. We've had some invitations to play games or visit people recently. Some of it is politically motivated of course. And recruiting is up...”

===<>===

Pyrax

 

Commodore I'r'll stood at attention as Admiral Subert pinned her new pips on during the promotion ceremony. The ceremony was brief; Admiral Subert wasn't that much of an orator and they all had work to do.

Still, it was nice to be acknowledged, and the promotion to Senior Grade made her feel all of the long nights and days were worth it. It also meant that the navy saw her potential and were grooming her for bigger and better things eventually.

Which was no surprise, though she was surprised when the news came in that her promotion to Commodore came with a ticket on the courier to the war front. That news came in the following morning when she reported for duty.

She immediately alerted her staff and then called Admiral Subert as she scanned the orders again.

“Commodore? I see you received orders,” Admiral Subert said as his A.I. informed him of the likely reason for the call. His fleshy appendages the humans called lips seemed to frown slightly. He was clearly not amused by the lack of foreknowledge on his part.

“I see the orders came from Antigua. I thought for a moment there I did something wrong,” the newly minted Veraxin flag officer stated. She should feel elated over the reprieve from him and from being under the thumb of some of the Bekian flag officers who had just came in. But she wasn't, not quite.

“No, you didn't. You did something right, which is a part of the problem I suppose,” Admiral Subert replied dryly. He shook his head. “Seriously Commodore, you did good work. Which is why you are being rewarded. At least, I assume it is a reward. I don't know what your mission will be. I don't even know if the brass know.”

He'd pushed hard to get her the promotion with the review boards. He'd even passed over Admiral Irons favorite Captain Sindri in order to make sure I'r'll got her just deserts. He hadn't known it would cost him her services though.

“I saw that my orders were open ended. I assumed I'd spend time in the yard in Antigua. Now I'm wondering if it is Senka or some other posting.” The Veraxin signaled first degree uncertainty. “Well, I suppose I'll find out when I get to wherever I'm going. Without any time off I might add.”

“I'm more concerned about what they want me to do. Am I supposed to run a tender? A mobile yard or something? Protodon has a small yard. It'd be a bit of a letdown to go from this to that.”

“True. I understand Senka is also agitating for its own yard. Perhaps Admiral Irons has that in mind.”

“You don't know sir?”

“All I know at this point is to get you in motion. Training your replacement is going to be a pain in the ass.”

“Yes sir. I understand there are several yard dogs coming in from Bek.”

The admiral cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Yes well, we'll see.”

“Yes sir.”

===<>===

Admiral Subert hit the disconnect and then sat back. The more things seemed to settle down, the more someone had to throw a monkey wrench into things. It was as if someone didn't want him to become complacent and comfortable. He had to admit, it was a failing of his, to coast.

Losing the Veraxin was irksome, but there were replacement officers now. Not one he felt he could trust as well as her, but he'd have to learn to adapt. But that wasn't the only source of his ire. No, he was increasingly not happy with the parlous state of affairs with Third Fleet. He did have to admit he had more carriers than Home Fleet. But his force was a paper tiger, a shadow of its former self.

And TF 3.2 and all the deployments were to blame. They had to get a handle on things, and soon. He couldn't keep being pulled in different directions.

There was one spot of good news in that he was getting dibs on the Bekian ships that were coming out of the rapids. Each of them had to come to Pyrax for rest and refit, and then work through training and working up exercises. He did admit that some of the crews were good. They had steerage and sublight tactics down.

He also wondered how long he'd be allowed to keep them.

Liberty or Death Snipped 3

Sitrep: Still plugging along with Full Circle. There is a lot of crossover material with LOD and Pi Fight.

Anyway, on to the snippet:

Chapter 3

Agnosta

Lieutenant General Jersey Forth received the request for a planetary invasion with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it was nice to be appreciated. Of course it would be nicer if they'd been given some advance notice. And it would have been nice to have some intel to go along with the request.

He frowned and then put through a series of requests for more information even while he checked on the status of the forces he had in motion. The closest available was in Nuevo Madrid, Valenko's division.

In order to handle the invasion of Dead Drop they'd need downtime, resupply, and perhaps another division to go along with them. And after that he had to plan on the invasion of Garth.

That meant he needed to coordinate with the Army. Fortunately, he knew just who to call about that.

===<>===

Newly minted Brigadier General Archibald Pendeckle was in something of a dilemma career wise. He already missed exercising direct command of his division.

As Jersey's deputy he was nominally the second in command of the entire Marine Corps. Politics were starting to crop up as they slotted in personnel from Bek though.

The good news was that he was given the task of handling his old division while overseeing the formation of a new one. Recruits were still flowing in, though not as much as he'd like to see. He knew many felt the same way.

And now the request for forces to invade Dead Drop. Not good. His division could go, but the second division was far from ready. He didn't want to go off halfcocked like last time with Protodon. But, they may not be able to wait long.

He decided to block out some time to explore the problem. He was aware though that Jersey was most likely consulting the army as well as other brass. Somehow he needed to get his hands involved.

===<>===

Brigadier General Pasha 1010111 shook his head as he read the report. The promised transports had finally arrived, so boarding could commence once they got the logistics sorted out. It looked like the handover of Nuevo Madrid was going to go as planned.

Even if it was a bit late. But, better late than never he reminded himself.

From what he understood of the master plan, the plan was for Valenko's division to fall back to Protodon to rest and regroup and then either go all the way back to Agnosta, or move on to Garth. Based on what knowledge he had, the unit hadn't suffered the losses seen in Protodon or Destria. Most likely they'd have a small refit and rest cycle and then move on.

He felt for some of the men and women in that unit who wouldn't get to go home to their families. They could be gone for years on deployment. Those that had kids, they'd miss a lot. They might miss their entire developmental cycle. And there was no way they could call home and visit either. The ansible wasn't up to that bandwidth.

But, it was up for other brief conversations he thought. He needed to seek counsel from older and wiser heads. He requested some time and was grateful to get it during a brief opening in his schedule.

That meant he didn't have to move anything around. It was nice that he and Henrick operated off the same wave length despite the distances involved.

“So, Pasha, you wanted to talk? Talk?” a familiar voice growled through the ansible as it came online. After a moment the grizzled holographic bust of the general came forth. He instinctively stiffened in his seat.

“I wanted to keep you abreast of deployments sir.”

“And why is that?”

Pasha had to remind himself the other man was on Nuevo. He might be old but he was pretty sure there was nothing wrong with the man's mind or memory. That meant he was being set up. He decided to wade in to the conversation with a blunt frontal assault. “You do realize, you are the ranking member of our branch of the military correct sir? They are going to want you in Antigua eventually. So, I need to make sure you know what is going on. And get your stamp of approval or input where needed.”

“I thought you were going to say in Agnosta there for a moment,” General Anheuser replied.

“I would love to have you here. In fact, when you pass through, I fully intend to give you the full tour and pick your brain.”

“Funny that. Well, I've seen some of the images.”

“You have sir?” General 1010111 said, wrinkling his nose in confusion.

“Ships come and go from Nuevo regularly now. We get news downloads too, including video footage you know Pasha.”

“Oh,” Pasha replied, embarrassed by the minor oversight.

“Not a big deal. As to Antigua, I don't know. As I said, I won't go without Gabriella. And she's set on staying here with the kids.” He left unsaid that she was starting to have health and mind issues. “But, she keeps pushing for me to go.”

“Follow your heart or your head sir?”

“Right.”

“How goes the war?”

“You mean the one here? Not bad. We took some casualties of course, we always do. But the Spacebees and the care packages Admiral Irons passed on made a world of difference this go around. And with enough time under our belt before the next swarm we'll do even better.”

“Ah. I see.”

“I suppose it is all about managing our people and equipment effectively, and with the new tech on our hands we can do that.”

“Yes sir, there is certainly that.”

“I'm struggling to handle it to be honest. I'm not a Neodog, but the old saying about teaching an old soldier new tech still applies.”

“Old soldiers never die they just fade away. But we need your wisdom sir.”

“I know that. It's one of the reasons I've stayed on this long. That and I want to see this through, and to be honest I don't think Gabriella would let me live long in retirement. She's repeatedly said if I didn't find something to do she'd wring my neck in a heartbeat. There are only so many places we can go and visit before we're both bored to tears.”

Pasha chuckled.

“We'll see on the future and where it might lead. For the moment I'm trying to balance sending you flexible people while hanging onto some here to help run things as we reorganize. Any requests?”

“I think I like being surprised sir,” Pasha replied after a moment of thought. He didn't want to say that he didn't have any at the moment.

“Cute. An officer who likes getting surprised. Most people would consider that nuts you know that? I for one would want everything in triplicate. And I don't like to be surprised. It might keep you on your toes but it's a good way to get your ass handed to you.”

“True. But I get the reports on who you are sending anyway sir. I find out about them long before they get here.”

“Eh? Oh, the ansible. This thing. Forgot that.”

“Organic memory is fallible, which is why we have supports. No one can keep track of it all, trust me.”

“I'm learning that myself all over again. Do you really have units moving all across the sector?”

“Yes sir. Plus bases to manage. Protodon, New Texas, Nuevo Madrid, Antigua to name a few.”

“Yeah, and you want me to take all that on?”

“As I said sir, there are supports. That's what a good staff is for.”

“You mean you are feeling overwhelmed and want to pawn it off on me. I see where this is going.”

“To be honest sir, I'm still feeling my way forward. I think most of the Federation military; no matter the branch is doing that too. Even the old hands are feeling out the new situations as they arise.”

“Ah. Well, I guess I'm in good company then.”

“Yes sir.”

“I'll let you know one-way or another. Eventually.”

“Thank you sir.”

Liberty or Death Snippet 2 plus Valenko Squad

Okay, I'm humming along with Full Circle. But, I remembered to take a break for a moment to upload this.
First, Valenko's Squad, the final images.
Sorry about the picture quality, the camera in my phone isn't all that it's cracked up to be.

Each of the figures were printed when I had first started with the 3D printer. I was curious to see if something I made could be printed. I made a lot of mistakes with them. I learned a bit later, like orienting them to reduce support material, cutting back on filler, etc. I also made the mistake of trying to prime and sand them over the hot acetone method. (I used that and body filler on the 2 heavy worlders)
I admit, my paint job is a bit rough. Oh! The base is a picture frame trick I learned about on Youtube. It worked out far better than trying the magnets or other methods I'd failed at.

Hurrana broke off of Ox's back so I had to glue her back on last night. So, her pose doesn't match the original one on the cover of Jethro Goes to War. Sorry.

Yeah, Sergie's stripes leave a lot to be desired.

I added some rocks from my yard to the foam base. The base is stippled in various acrylic shades.
Overall, I think they came out pretty cool. They are now taking up a corner of my curio cabinet.

If I ever did more figurines (for instance as a business) I'd probably go with the industry standard and buy a resin printer. I just saw Angus's review (Maker Muse on Youtube) of one. It was interesting.

In other news I'm in the various stages of mourning...
For my lawn.
No, it's not that the heat is baking it. We had code enforcement Nazi's come around and tag everyone who didn't have a perfect lawn. (we don't live in an HOA!) I've tried to keep it up but it's not easy when you start with a dirt patch. I can see them tagging a few of my neighbors but I only had a few dirt patches where the sprinklers couldn't reach. Many of the neighbors had given up and had just dirt all over.
After we installed fresh sprinklers a few days ago, my landlord decided to go the cheap nasty route against our wishes and rip it all out and put crappy rock in. That's happening Monday and I'm not happy about it.

Okay, on to the snippet!:

Chapter 2

TF 3.2

 

Rear Admiral V'r'z'll noted the update from Second Fleet as well as the orders from Admiral White. Technically he had no jurisdiction in ordering her around, no matter their difference in rank. She was outside his chain of command. Not that she had any intention of bucking his orders or asking for clarification up the chain of command.

She had realized she needed to keep a low profile. Her fleet train was still making good on the damage to her remaining ships after the debacle of her first actual battle. It still rankled on several levels that they hadn't taken their objective. If they had, De Gaulte would have been broken.

Standing in place and coordinating the assault with Second Fleet made sense. She noted her staff were attentively waiting on what she had to say.

“As much as I'd like to, they are right, we can't go in right now. Not with De Gaulte going back there. We'd show up, get our licks in only for him to chase us out. Or, we'd get in, tear up what's there, and then have to chase him out.”

“Why is the latter a problem ma'am?” Commander Sunil Pizey, her chief of staff asked.

“Because, I believe Admiral White wants a knock out. He wants to break De Gaulte. So, we play it Admiral White's way. Order the prowler forward. We need the intel. If we're lucky, De Gaulte will come in and keep running, pulling everything and everyone out with him. Then we can walk in and take over,” she stated.

“And the odds of that happening ma'am?” Commander T'rll, her staff Tactical Officer asked dubiously.

“I'm not certain. We would need to check his psych profile. Given that he just faced antimatter weapons for the first time, they destroyed two of his capital ships, and he had been defeated again, he might decide to preserve what he's got and run home with his tail between his legs,” the admiral stated. “Why do humans even use that expression? It's not like they have one to begin with,” she said signaling first degree annoyance mixed with second degree amusement.

The humans on her staff chuckled softly or smiled politely.

“Never mind. Cut the orders for the prowler to jump in at a large distance. At least four AU out from the jump point. Then go dark. They can stay on station for at least a week correct?”

“Up to ten standard months actually ma'am, depending on how deep they go in,” Commander Pizey replied.

“Good. Let them know that there will be another prowler in the star system. Coordinate with Admiral White, let's see if they can work together to spook the enemy.”

“Keep them on their toes to wear them down ma'am?” Commander T'r'll asked carefully.

“Something like that. Being on a continued readiness state will wear on them and their equipment over time. I'm not certain if it is Admiral White's objective, but I'm okay with it if he is. This is his show now.”

“Aye aye ma'am.”

===<>===

Commodore Zachery Binks flicked his whiskers as he received a report from a lieutenant. He glanced at it, scrolled down and then double checked to make sure everything was in order. When he was certain there were no hidden booby traps he scrawled his signature with a fingertip at the bottom and then handed the tablet back.

“How are we with repairs?” he asked, turning to Captain Troi, his flagship captain.

“Getting there sir. The biggest issue is that our fleet train took a big hit too. We lost a lot of supplies and both of the surviving tenders are damaged as well. The mobile shipyard slip didn't get hit but she's useless for the big fish.”

“I know. Which is why the admiral let us get first dibs on her,” the Commodore replied. He felt his ebony black fur rise slightly as a sailor worked on welding a strut. He turned away to preserve his vision just in time. “I thought all the repairs were complete?” he asked.

“Oh they are. That's ongoing work and maintenance,” Commander Silverfish, Enterprise's XO stated, coming over to them. “Sir, ma'am,” he said, nodding to each.

“Commander,” the Commodore murmured.

“Number one,” the human murmured.

The calico XO's tail flicked gently, then moved as if on its own will to get out of the way of a passing work party. “They found a minor leak. But, to get at it, they have to do some major surgery.”

“Ah,” the Commodore said with a shake of his head. “Nothing serious I should hope?”

“No sir. A very annoying water leak actually. But, it's best to fix such things before they become bigger headaches,” the XO stated.

“Standard practice. Fix small problems before they become bigger ones,” the Commodore replied with a nod and ear flick. “Good work. Carry on,” he said as he left them.

Commander Silverfish turned to the captain. “Ma'am, is it true we're supposed to be sending the prowler in to Garth?”

“That's the plan,” she replied mildly.

“One question, where did it come from? It was just here when we got here?” That was the big question roiling around the fleet. More than 1 person had been a bit unnerved by the sudden appearance of the ship a week prior.

“Ah, well, I can only tell you classified. As in, I don't know.”

“Oh.”

“Keep your nose short and your butt moving Commander,” the captain said as she left him.

“Aye aye ma'am,” the XO replied.

===<>===

Liberty or Death Snippet 1

Sitrep:
I'm ankle deep in Horatio Logan 3, Full Circle. So far progress is being made in my usual round about way. AKA: Pick a comfortable area, plop down and write. :)
(It drives Wayne nuts lol)

Anyway, I forgot to post the snippet so here it is:

Act I

 

Chapter 1

Dead Drop

 

Vice Admiral Amadeus White was proud of his people. They had successfully taken the star system and had taken out three enemy capital ships and driven off the Retribution Fleet in the process.

But, it wasn't quite as perfect as some thought. His fleet was still dealing with the aftermath of the battle some six-weeks later. They had just set up the ansible and reported in. But, he had one mess left to deal with. Well, two, he thought, turning a sour brown eyed look to the wreckage distributed through the inner and outer star system.

His own people had shattered the enemy space platforms in the outer star system. At the time they had been following his orders, so he couldn't fault them for that. Nor could he fault them for what had happened in the inner star system. The Horathians had scuttled every station, every platform, and every wounded ship they'd had left in the inner star system in a brief but spectacularly violent act of self-immolation designed to deny him the rewards of his victory.

In other words, it was a mess. It was also something he would have done in their place, so even though he wasn't thrilled about the results, he held a sort of grudging respect for the officer who had ordered it. That person had put their career on the line to do what they thought was right. For the first time he actually thought good of the enemy in some small way.

Which also made him feel a bit odd.

Not that it made his job any easier. It just made it clear that he had to secure the planet. Which was the biggest snag in his plan; the bastard had retreated to it and was holding out there. Another point he grudgingly had to respect.

Not that it was going to do the little shit much good in the end. Not if he and his people had anything to say about that.

It seemed that his command team was shaping up nicely. So much so that he'd allowed Commodore Dwight Harris to command the force guarding the Garth jump point on his own. Commodore Trajan Vargess's carriers were off the jump point, poised to act as the second tier in the defenses while his own capital ships resided in the inner star system, overseeing the fleet train as they tried to scrape up the wreckage.

He wanted to grind his teeth together in annoyance but instead turned and listened with half an ear as Kelly tried to talk sense into the Horathians again.

He gave her chances of success about even with their own chance of holding out indefinitely.

===<>===

Lieutenant Sri Savenan wasn't happy about being left in charge, but he had to make due. A part of that was dealing with the enemy. It wasn't a duty he liked, but it was one he had no intention of leaving to a subordinate.

Even if he thought Ensign Smith might be able to handle it, there was no way he was going to let her get into trouble or potentially give something away to the enemy.

They had learned to communicate with the Federation forces in orbit only through an air gapped computer. He had ordered every communication system to be air gapped. That had been the easiest and yet hardest order to implement successfully. They were still finding and plugging gaps in the network. Hopefully before the enemy A.I. found them and found a way to get in and exploit the oversight.

“You have to know it's over. You've lost. Admiral De Gaulte fled. It's over,” the Neogorilla said.

“Maybe. Then again, maybe not. My orders are clear.”

“The same orders that you followed in destroying everything in space you mean?” Lieutenant Kelly Gaudino stated in annoyance.

Sri allowed himself to smile ever so briefly at the enemy's annoyance. That little bit was something to warm his aching soul. He knew there would be hell to pay over scuttling everything in orbit but at the moment he didn't care. “We all have our duty.”

“And yours is to surrender and prevent more needless loss of life. It's over.”

“Not while I and the soldiers here live and breathe it isn't. I formally refuse to surrender my command or control of the planet. We will contest any landing; we will obliterate them on the ground. If you try to land a shuttle we will shoot it out of the sky.”

“That sounds ominous in theory, but you and I both know there are other alternatives to force your surrender. Or the next person in line. I wonder how many KEW strikes it will take to get someone to see reason?” the Neogorilla growled.

Sri thought about it. There was a reason he was using a distributed array to communicate with the enemy. And another reason for being inside a mountain. “I don't believe you'll bomb us into oblivion. We have our orders to contest this ground. I'm so informing you again. This is Imperial territory. You will pay in blood if you land here.”

“Huh. And here I'd thought you'd quote history with a simple statement like 'Nuts' or something equally heroic and ultimately stupid,” Kelly replied.

Sri's lips couldn't quite help but curve upward in a smile. He could actually like the woman on the other end. “It's not stupid if it works.”

“Sure. Keep telling yourself that,” Kelly replied before she cut the channel.

===<>===

Amadeus heard about the report and then shook his head. “I know it's futile, but I've got some grudging respect for someone who says nuts in the face of what is in orbit over him. It's stupid yet brave.”

“Yes sir,” his chief of staff stated.

“But, ultimately futile and thus a pointless gesture. Okay, time to send in the Marines.” His lips puckered at an old naval rule of gunfighting. Adopt an aggressive posture, drink coffee, and send in the marines.

“Only one problem sir, we don't have enough on hand,” Commander Ch'v'tt, his Veraxin chief of staff stated.

“Then we'll have to get them. Get on that,” the admiral stated.

“Aye aye sir.”

“In the meantime, have your people draw up a list of targets. We can strike them from orbit. Maybe getting a few rocks dropped on them will make someone change their mind,” he said turning to Kelly. She nodded. She was already plotting every potential target but she was very much aware that they wouldn't get them all. The priority targets were command and control, clusters of enemy soldiers and equipment, as well as their long range sensors and SAMs.

“Sir, we can do that, but every factory we bomb into oblivion is one less we can use later. Also, the enemy may be using slave labor. We might be killing civilians,” the Commander warned, signaling first degree uncertainty mixed with reluctance.

The Neochimp admiral grimaced at that reminder. “Have ONI look into it. If we have to, go with military only targets until we can deal with them. Find out how much resistance we're talking about.”

“Aye aye sir.”

“What about the spaceport and capital? If we poll the ship's companies can we make a scratch unit up to secure the capital?”

“We could probably do it, but it would be tight. They would also need resupply and wouldn't be used to coordinating with each other. It would be Protodon all over again. To be honest sir, other than taking a stand politically I don't see the point.”

“I do. It is the principle of the thing.”

“Yes sir. But it would be putting our people into harm's way for little return,” the Veraxin warned.

The admiral scowled and then nodded once. “Get them moving now. We'll sort it out before they drop, if they drop.”

“Aye aye sir.”

===<>===

Liberty or Death

Well, I wanted to leave Pi Fight up on the blog a little longer but it looks like most of the betas who wanted a crack at LOD have reported in. Only 2 are out standing. So, I better let everyone know about the next book.

Here is the cover to Liberty or Death, the next book in the Federation Reborn saga.

I've wanted to use that station for years but kept putting it off. I finally had a scene to justify it's use. :)
(And hey! not a battle scene!)

I'll try to post the first snippet this weekend. I've been forced to reduce my PC time, it is blistering hot here right now. Currently 108. Yesterday it topped out at 118. Even with the AC on my room temp can hit 90 by 2pm. That is going to hamper things a bit, but it's to be expected.

I've started writing Full Circle, the next book in the Horatio Logan/Pi Adventure series. (They are merging) It is slow going so far, but, I just started yesterday. I'm shooting for a short book.

I hope everyone had a great Fourth!