796 UC May; enroute to Heinessen; Tanya
Onboard the Serebryakov
We left the El Facil Starzone a few hours ago. Leaving us to have a several-day-long transitional jump from El Facil to Heinessen. It was not the worst thing in the world, but it left a lot of downtime. During downtime, I had my escorting sub-fleet conduct drills and maintenance to ensure readiness during the downtime. While the rest of the sub-fleet was conducting drills and maintenance, I kept to my office or the bridge to work out a different invasion plan than the one that had been proposed by Commodore Andrew Falk and adopted by one-third of Naval High Command.
I took what information Oberstein presented in his briefing on the invasion corridor and what we could expect from the Galactic Empire's High Nobles as well as from Reinhard von Lohengramm. And used that information to make up my initial plans for invasion.
I did not believe that Reinhard would willingly let the people of the Empire suffer. He would most certainly succeed in encouraging the High Nobles to retreat and take with them all the food and supplies they could take from their holdings. The moment we began to prepare for our invasion it would be clear what we were planning, and Reinhard would have the High Nobles retreat. Putting us on a timer to capture and secure what worlds we could.
While I was by no means a genius with logistics. We would need a lot of wheat to at least provide the absolute basics for a population of any size. The average person on Heinessen eats about 53 pounds of bread per year. And if every starzone between Iserlohn and Odin is going to be deprived of grain. We are going to need at least twice the amount of wheat needed to feed Heinessen, three times if we want them to live comfortably.
Which for just over 2 billion people is going to take about 4,080,000,000 pounds of wheat or 1,850,657 metric tons. And considering that we would need to supply worlds in the middle of a warzone in four separate starzones. Risking the supplies on defenseless supply ships was out of the question. Even if they were a part of a convoy.
I guess we were just lucky Battleship was twice the size of most Cargo Ships from my first and second life. We could probably use all the extra space in our ships to transport all the wheat with us. Since we were only operating with crews of 1/3 the normal crew size. But that would mean losing any ship would lose us grain as well as costing us space we could have used to bring in spare parts to keep our invasion force operational. Of course, nothing says we must constantly always carry the grain with us. We just secure one Starzone tounload our stores there and have the supplies spread out as we push further into the Empire. But if we ever get pushed back for whatever reason that means we just lost enough supplies to keep Heinessen fed for the next two to three years.
Ideally, we would take our time and secure the Starzones one at a time. It takes at least a month to secure one fully and resupply them before moving on to the next Starzone. This would make the other Starzones in our path rely heavily upon the hidden stores that they have been forced to use for an entire month. At the end of which the people would be close to starving if they did not ration their food and supplies. Reinhard will have to either move back into the unoccupied Starzones to provide relief efforts or counter us. Ideally, I want him to be forced to retake one Starzone while we retake another unopposed. That way we would be two for two on Starzones under Alliance and Empire control.
If we move to Heimdallr we could begin putting pressure on Reinhard by threatening the holdings of the High Nobles with direct ties to the Kaiser. Not that we would, but it would put political pressure on him to do something more than wait and see for an opening. That or the High Nobles get it in their head that they can fight us and Reinhard is too cowardly to face us. If we go to the Sigmund Starzone, we would be much but a couple of star systems closer to Odin than if we went through Heimdallr. Which would allow us to reach Vǫlundr sooner. Where the High Nobles were holed up they would be itching to fight us and Reinhard who has been sitting on them for a whole month will have trouble keeping them in line for much longer.
The intended goal for my plan is to force Reinhard to fight us while we have high morale and functioning forces under our command. He has so far been allowed to plan when, where, and how he engages his enemies. I want to remove at least one of those abilities from him. By having others pressure him. Even if it is the foolish High Nobles or the Kaiser himself. He should feel pressured to deliver results or face some form of consequence or see his plans undone by those unwilling to wait any longer.
When he is forced to engage us, we will then pull back from either Heimdallr or Sigmund back into Tyr. Where we could establish an effective choke point from which he would be forced to face us head-on and be unable to attack us from the rear. It would look bad for us and morale would take a bit of a hit as the war maniacs on our side would want to fight and die rather than pull back and use our superior numbers to win the day. But so long as we could get Reinhard and his fleet to do what we wanted him to while making him believe we were weak. Then we might just have a chance. A chance that would rely on everyone doing their absolute best to overwhelm Reinhard and his allies.
"Admiral, we have received a secure high-priority message from Heinessen meant for you," Ilia says as she enters my office.
"Who is the sender?" I ask wondering if it was Fleet Admiral Lobos wanting to contact me to tell me to support the invasion. Or maybe it was someone else from High Command wanting to know why I was bringing an entire sub-fleet when a transport ship would have sufficed. Or perhaps it was the High Council? That would be interesting though only my father would be reaching out to me if that was the case as he was the only one on the Council I had any connection to.
"It's unclear as it was sent via channels only High Command has access to while using encryption only available to the High Council. But it doesn't have a signature from anyone in office." She replied with a frown and handed a datapad to me.
Taking it, I looked over the information in the message and verified its security and authenticity of it. It had been sent through High Command but it held security clearance from the High Council yet it did not have the seal or signature of anyone from the High Council. This means either someone in the High Council was misusing security clearances or the High Council had a secret government agency. Knowing my luck, it was the latter of the two.
"Alright I'll take it, either this is an elaborate prank, or someone is trying to set me up to take a fall," I tell her as I begin to access the message itself. "You should probably not be here just in case either option is true. I would rather you not be impacted by someone else's setup."
"Of course Admiral." Ilia saluted and left my office leaving me alone to receive the message.
Once I activate it, I am treated to a video recording of a dark silhouette of a man inside a room that shows Heinessen City from a window behind them.
"This message is to be considered highly classified and top secret. Do not repeat or share what you hear in this message. We will know. Do not attempt to track this message, you will not find us. We have reached out to you because concerned parties within the Free Planets Alliance government have decided you need this information." The figure from the recording stated.
I merely frowned at the recording itself and shook my head. Secret government agency and plot to make me fall it is. However, the mention of concerned parties in the government makes me wonder if this was sent because of my father. If it is… I appreciate him making me aware of the existence of such a secret organization but at the same time he could have just sent a message through normal means.
"As you may not be aware yet. The High Council was recently informed of a window of opportunity in which the war between the Free Planets Alliance and the Galactic Empire could be ended swiftly if acted upon within the next few months. The High Council was almost unanimous in its decision to invade the Empire. However, Finance Minister Lebello and Secretary of Human Resources Huang Louis were in stiff opposition against the invasion. Secretary of Defense Job Trunitch proposed a vote to accept that it was possible to invade the Galactic Empire. But to wait a month for the two dissenting voices to provide workable alternatives if they did not want to proceed or be a part of the invasion. In this the High Council was unanimous in its decision."
Internally I grimaced at the fact my father wanted to push the Alliance Navy and the Alliance itself onto an invasion footing. I know he is a war hawk, and he is predisposed to want to continue the war instead of letting things rest. But surely, he could have seen just how bad the invasion plan Falk had presented was.
"This information was presented to the High Council by a faction within the Navy that aligns with Fleet Admiral Lassale Lobos under Secretary of Transportation Cornelia Windsor."
"It is expected that the High Council will vote in overwhelming favor of invading the Galactic Empire. Our sources suggest that only a single invasion plan has been proposed by the Alliance Navy Headquarters and no others intend to submit a competing plan. Our sources and ourselves would prefer if there were more than one option available."
"Therefore we have reached out to you to request that you submit a competing invasion plan. Create and present a viable second option and our backers in both the High Council and within High Command will ensure you receive enough votes in both to see your plan is chosen over all others. In return for this service, our backers will be willing to provide you with certain concessions, services, or favors. To be discussed once you have completed this task."
"Attached to this message are recordings from several recent High Council meetings discussing the war offensive and the state of the Free Planets Alliance and its economy. As well as the data that the members of the High Council have access to. If it proves useful to your planning use it, otherwise consider it classified."
"This message will now end."
With that, the recording ended and I noticed that it deleted itself and left behind several large data packets that I began to access and read over.
It appeared that someone, likely my father, wanted to use me and my position to attack their political enemies and weaken their power block within the Navy. So long as I can provide a reliable alternative to what Commodore Andrew Falk presented. It also did not escape my notice that they mentioned Fleet Admiral Lobos and Secretary of Transportation Cornelia Windsor among their rival faction within the Navy. It almost felt too perfect for things to line up this way.
I needed to review all this new relevant information and compare how it would fit with my plan and make the necessary changes. Depending on how drastic this data is I was going to need to bring in more people to plan things out. I already had planned to bring my command staff in on this to get their feedback and improve upon it. But if it grows any bigger, I will need to bring people from outside my command into the planning.
This was going to rapidly balloon out into an operational security nightmare before it even got to the voting floor in High Command.
…..
[Recording Begins]
Heinessen; Free Planets Alliance Central Government Building; Free Planets Alliance High Council
Lebello (Finance Minister): This may be an unsavory way to put it, but for many years both the Galactic Empire and our Alliance have fought this war to the extent that it could be financially sustained. But now, the pensions of the families of the men lost at the Battle of Astarte alone requires us to pay out ten billion dinars per year. On top of that, feeding the 100,000 prisoners taken in the capture of Iserlohn will require an enormous budget.
Minister (one): It sounds like you're saying our heroes have led us to financial distress.
Lebello: To remedy this, we can either issue more bonds or increase taxes. These have historically been our only options.
Minister (two): Increase taxes? What did you promise our people in the election?
Lebello: True, but I'm saying that expanding this war any further will bring economic destruction!
Minister (three): But if we don't win the war, we have no future.
Lebello: Then perhaps we should simply stop fighting.
Silent pause.
Lebello: Our Admirals resourcefulness gained us Iserlohn. The Imperial Navy lost its base for invading the Alliance. Is this not an excellent opportunity to enter a peace treaty that favors us?
Minister (one): But this is a war for justice against a tyrannical government.
Minister (three): Exactly. How wise would it be to drop out just because it's uneconomical?
[Recording Ends]
…..
As I half listened to the recording I read over the information I was also given. Painting a picture of what sort of economic ruin we were heading into. 41.9% of all shares in the FPA's largest shipping company the Santa Cruz line was owned by the Dominion of Fezzan as well as half of all the bonds sold by the FPA. The Santa Cruz being taken over by them would allow the Dominion of Fezzan to set any price they wanted on trade goods and establish a near monopoly on trade and shipping. They could afford to sell high and ship for near dirt cheap and choke out any competition. This means my plan to start up a logistics company when I retire would be dead before it even got off the ground. But what ensured that the Alliance was doomed was that half of all our bonds were bought up by the Fezzan.
With Fezzan having control over our shipping and owning so many bonds. They could easily force the entire FPA into near-perpetual servitude to pay back those bonds. As for how much the FPA owed the Fezzan via those bonds? That number easily eclipsed any sensible amount from the 22nd Century mindset with the number of zeros attached to it. Even if we defeated the Galactic Empire, we would need to spend the next several centuries repaying these bonds. Unless we felt like following in the Empire's footsteps and conquering the Fezzan Dominion and installing a new government that would be willing to forgive those bonds we owed. Which while I am being wishful. I should wish for an entire starzone all my own where I can retire to where all I have to worry about is what I am going to have for dinner and leave the concerns of the galaxy to a truly free and open economy under a strong, reliable, and dependable Democracy.
…..
[Recording Begins]
Heinessen; Free Planets Alliance Central Government Building; Free Planets Alliance High Council
Huang Louis (Secretary of Human Resources): Human resources that should be devoted to social development going toward the military instead is disconcerting. Our investments in education and vocational training have been continually reduced. As evidence that skill levels among our laborers are dwindling, workplace accidents have tripled since last term. This brings me to my proposal. I would like four million technicians, as well as transportation and communications personnel currently in the military, to be returned to the private sector. That number is the absolute minimum.
Silent pause.
Job Trunitch (Secretary of Defense): Don't ask the impossible. If we remove that many people from the rear services, our military, as an organization, will collapse.
Huang Louis: So you say, but at the current rate, our society and economy will collapse before the military does.
Lebello: In other words, we need to allow our human resources time to recuperate. To force the people to sacrifice anymore would violate the principles of democracy. They can't bear this burden any longer.
Cornelia Windsor (Secretary of Transportation): There's no need to pander to the selfishness of citizens who don't understand the greater good. When in history has anything great been achieved without sacrifices?
Lebello: The citizens have begun to question whether they have sacrificed too much, Ms. Windsor.
Windsor: Some things must be done, no matter how great the sacrifice.
Lebello: *Stands up in agitation raising voice slightly* Politics doesn't work that way!
Windsor: We have a noble duty… to defeat the Galactic Empire… and save all of humanity from the threat of its tyranny. Can forgetting that greater purpose in favor of cheap humanism… be called taking the high road?
Lebello: *Angrily* Are you sure you aren't the one overtaken by cheap heroism?!
Huang: Calm down.
Lebello: But…
Royal Sanford (High Council Chairman): It appears we need another break. But first, there are some things I'd like you all to see. *A screen shows up in front of everyone*
Royal Sanford: This is our approval rating among the citizens. Our approval rating is 31.9%. Certainly not a very good number. And this is our disapproval rating.
Minister: 56.2%...
Sanford: If nothing changes, it's unlikely that we'll be re-elected next year. Caught between the pacifists and the hardliners, we will likely lose our majority. However, certain barometers indicate that if we can secure a decisive victory against the Empire in the next hundred days, our approval ratings should rise by at least 15%.
Lebello: *Accusatory tone* What do you mean by that? You people want us to fight this war so you'll be re-elected?
Windsor: Chairman. I would like to put forth a proposal created by the military for an invasion of the Empire.
Sanford: This is the first time I have heard of this. Go on.
Lebello: *Stands up right angrily* Wait! We don't have that right! We haven't been granted the authority to dispatch troops in vain… for the sole purpose of maintaining political power!
Windsor: *smug smirk* My, such righteous statements. However, I believe the Secretary of Defense would be best to present this proposal.
Trunitch: This proposal was created by Commodore Andrew Falk a young up-and-coming officer from within the Navy who is a Staff Officer for Fleet Admiral Lobos. *A different screen shows in front of all the members of the High Council*
Trunitch: It is a simple and straightforward plan. Which should keep those concerned with a prolonged conflict and drain on our resources. As it promises to deliver a swift end to the war by making a singular push through the Empire. Liberating the worlds and people on a path of righteousness straight into the heart of the Empire. Our forces would use the momentum of those people who are liberated to supply the invasion force and turn the tide in numbers against the Empire. So that by the time the invasion reaches the Valhalla Starzone and Kaiser on Odin. Our forces will be supported by no fewer than two billion rejoiceful liberated former citizens of the Empire who will have joined or be in support of our crusade to dethrone the Kaiser and destroy the Empire.
Lebello: Do you honestly believe this… tripe? There is no way nor reason for the people of the Empire to join us! Even as you say we liberate them. There is no guarantee they will willingly assist us. And to disregard the High Nobles who would stand in opposition! There is no way we could realistically do this!
Huang: I agree. This plan also calls for the use of two-thirds of our forces pre-Battle of Astarte. Both in terms of ships and manpower. If this invasion were to go wrong, we would see the collapse of the Alliance in a matter of months if not years, not decades as currently predicted.
Windsor: What other options do you have to offer? Lay down our weapons and pray the Galactic Empire does not strike back at us. Our heroes have proven Iserlohn is no longer impregnable. Do any of your projections account for the Empire retaking Iserlohn? Or destroying it and denying its use to us to hide behind it?
Lebello: It took us thirty years to take Iserlhon. It will take them no more than that. Plenty of time for us to rebuild and recover so long as we do not waste the advantage that we have gained!
Trunitch: I propose that we hold a vote, we acknowledge that it is viable for us to invade the Galactic Empire to end this war. But we give our good colleagues a month to come up with a counter-proposal. After all, it would look ill upon us to jump to this invasion without giving our fellow members a chance to create a viable counter.
Windsor: *smile of victory* I would agree with that.
High Council: Agreed.
[End Recording]
…..
The Navy before Astarte consisted of roughly 50,000,000 soldiers who served primarily within the Starfleets without considering any other part of the military. If I went with my previous knowledge of how many people it usually took to get one soldier onto the battlefield as well as his supplies. That would mean at least twelve people per soldier. Meaning there were probably at least 600,000,000 give or take several million enlisted soldiers in the military.
That was mostly me giving a rough estimate on those numbers. I did have some of the hard numbers available to me but I wasn't in a position to have all of them available to me. So the best I could do was an educated guess. For the Secretary of Human Resources Huang Louis to pitch such a low number of people he would need to have returned to the private sector severely undersold the direness of the situation. I assumed he wanted them to return to act as teachers rather than actual workforce replacements. As we would need more than just four million people to get the FPA back on track to recovery.
I spared a glance back to Oberstein's briefing. The Tyr Starzone had a population of roughly 680 million. Maybe we could encourage people to leave their homes in the Empire and come to the FPA. The majority of the Starzones population lived on just three worlds with the rest spread out across the other fifteen planets. If we could reach a second Starzone and begin recruiting and encouraging people to leave the Empire and return to the alliance that would be another pool of nearly 680 million people we could encourage to leave with us.
How would we encourage them to leave their homes and come to the FPA? We weren't despots nor raiders and any suggestion that we were forcefully evicting people from their homes in the Empire would be a public relations disaster. I would worry about the citizens of the FPA being concerned about the influx of Empire citizens. But hopefully, the High Council could sell it under something positive such as liberating the people and giving them a better chance at life or something.
Maybe it would be worth talking to Juan Lebello and Huang Louis? They did not want to press the war any further and seemed to care about their constituents as well as the economy. I could at least rely on them to know just how many people we would need to convince to leave the Empire and relocate to the Alliance. As well as what it would cost to supply a handful of Starzones for a handful of months. I had no intent on holding land within the Empire for any period beyond however long it took for the High Council to realize that invading the Empire was an untenable resource sink with no end without a great deal of significant change either within the FPA or the Empire's forces.
"Ilia," I called paging her. "Please see if it is possible to set up a meeting with Finance Minister Juan Lebello and Secretary of Human Resources Huang Louis."
"I will see what I can do ma'am." She replied. "Would you like it to be the same day as your meeting with Admiral Dwight Greenhill?" She asked.
I thought about it for a moment. I did not think my meeting with the Admiral would change much of my intended plan. As I only wanted to provide him with an alternative to Commodore Falk's invasion plan so that he could present it to the High Command. If he could be convinced that my plan was better I imagined he could sell it to the rest of High Command as well. I would have to rely on him to present it since Lobos was my superior officer. However, nothing said I could not talk to a peer and senior about what I had in mind and give them ideas that they could present to the rest of High Command. Leaving my hands clean and the Navy a chance to survive the coming massacre. Especially if those people from that nonexistent government agency held to their part of the deal and gave him the support he needed.
"That sounds like a good idea just make sure there are no scheduling conflicts. I am sure this is going to be on short notice for them. But hopefully, they will appreciate being given an alternative to what they have been given." I tell her.
"Understood ma'am I'll contact their offices right away."
Of course, once I have everything I have in mind in place. I should talk to my father and tell him my plan once I talk to the three of them and get their input. Ah, that reminds me. I need to bring my command staff in on this as well. So I can have them point out where I made mistakes or missed something important. I guess worrying about operational security is going to be even more important now after all.