There was a cackle of noise from the comm station.

  “Sir,” Huber said. “Admiral Tojo is insistent.”

  “Very well,” Petty said hoarsely.

  The blocky CEO, dressed in his black suit and tie, lurched up and walked to the communications station. He saw Admiral Tojo on a small screen, other Daniel Boone bridge crew manning their stations behind him. The admiral had a hard, flat face, hard features, and bristles for hair.

  “CEO Petty,” Tojo said in his harsh voice. “Now is the moment. Unleash me before the enemy ships slip behind the Moon. The last wave of missiles will help us. We must burn there fast, with everything, making sure the Valiants don’t buzz the near side of the Moon and obliterate our lunar forces.”

  “You have asked for permission time and again,” Petty said. “I have not given you the release. When are you going to listen to that?”

  “Respectfully, sir,” Tojo said, “you should give me full command authority to do what I need to protect the Moon.”

  “If we wait…” Petty turned to Huber with haunted eyes. “If we wait… then what happens?”

  Huber also seemed nervous but he replied calmly. “Time will mean more Guardian III missiles for greater offensive striking power. Time will allow us to shakedown the fourth Orion ship. If we wait even longer, perhaps we can assemble the fifth Orion ship. Five Orion ships with seven to eight hundred Guardian III missiles will give us a better chance of inflicting crushing damage on the Valiant fleet.”

  “Waiting will also give the Valiants time,” Tojo said. “And this isn’t only a matter of time but will and fighting spirit. We must unleash our fleet while the invasion fleet is braking. We can still catch them by surprise or at least inundate them with a massive onslaught. Afterward, we can resupply as per your strategic reviews, Dr. Huber. However, unless we unleash and attack, beginning to wear down the enemy, we cannot employ your operational idea. This is the moment. If we hold back now—”

  “But don’t you see?” Petty asked, interrupting the admiral. “This is all we have. If we lose even one Orion ship, or if we lose two, we may doom everything.”

  What Petty did not say, what he kept to himself was that the Orion ships were his main hold on power. They represented his growing political strength. If he lost the Orion ships, the others would take advantage. There were secret rumors that Livia had some scheme regarding a secret space fleet in the making. And who knew what Chavez would do in the end. The Orion ships were the central core to his growing power. With two competing powers on Earth, he could not afford to weaken himself.

  “CEO Petty,” Tojo said, “I demand that you release me now.”

  Petty’s head snapped up. For once, he heard something that angered him. The anger caused the greasy feeling of fear in his gut to dissipate. For a moment, the thirst for vodka also went away.

  “You demand?” Petty asked, sounding more like his old self.

  “Sir, we must launch an attack,” Admiral Tojo said in his harsh manner. “We must make the Valiants fear our assaults. If we’re timid, they will use that against us. This is timidity, sir, gross timidity. I demand you launch the fleet.”

  “You dare to make demands of me? You dare to try to order me to launch the fleet? Don’t you realize that our fleet-in-being is what holds the enemy at bay?”

  Petty looked sharply at Huber.

  “That is a point to consider,” Huber said. “A fleet-in-being always has the potential threat of bracketing the enemy’s possibilities. If we lose our fleet—”

  “Yes,” Tojo said, interrupting. “I’m well aware of naval and space strategy and operational theory. But if we are cowardly—this is cowardly. You must launch the Orion ships to make our presence credible.”

  “No,” Petty said, pointing at Tojo. “Give me your second in command.”

  Tojo stared at Petty for just a moment. Then he moved away from the screen. Soon, Rear Admiral Wilson appeared. He was a tall man with thinning hair, much more cautious in nature than the aggressive Admiral Tojo.

  “You will relieve Admiral Tojo this instant,” Petty said, letting his rage fuel him. “Place him under arrest and confine him to quarters. You are hereby elevated to Admiral. Admiral Wilson, you are in command of the Orion ships. Is that understood?”

  “Yes, it is, sir,” Wilson said. “Send the admiral where?”

  “Confine Admiral Tojo to his quarters.”

  “Just a moment, please.”

  Wilson disappeared from the screen. There were loud voices on the bridge of the Daniel Boone. A few moments later, newly promoted Admiral Wilson reappeared before the screen.

  “It is done, sir,” Wilson said. “What are your orders for the fleet?”

  “You must keep my fleet intact,” Petty said. “You will remain where you are as we gather strength. That means you will engage the enemy later with much better combat odds.”

  “I understand, sir,” Wilson said. “Uh… should we perhaps approach a little closer to the Moon in order to imply a threat to the enemy?”

  Petty turned to Huber.

  Huber scrunched his brows, then finally nodded.

  Petty puffed out his chest as he regarded Wilson. “You will only move one-third of the distance to the Moon. From there, you will threaten the enemy in case he should advance onto the near side to assault our lunar surface forces there. Do you understand me?”

  “I understand, sir,” Wilson said. “We are not going to attempt Admiral Tojo’s swift assault and retreat?”

  “Negative,” Petty said. “That is a negative.”

  With the fine feeling of rage beginning to dissipate, the greasy feeling of fear began to return to Petty. At least he had made a decision. Now that he had made it, Petty didn’t want to go back on it. Admiral Tojo was rated as their best fighting admiral, but the Orion ships… it was too early to risk an all or nothing battle with the Orion ships and the 250 Guardian III missiles they had reassembled so far in orbital space.

  Huber had told him before that space battles, just like naval battles, could turn on a dime because it took such a long time to construct a capital ship such as the enemy’s Enforcer or their Orion ship. Bad luck could turn everything around, as it was too easy to destroy such a costly and hard-to-construct ship. Admiral Tojo had argued that luck could turn things around for them in a big way, but Petty wasn’t feeling aggressive.

  To date, humanity has lost every fleet engagement against the Valiants. Even at Neptune, all the Orion ships had been destroyed. Now the enemy was here at the Moon, and it looked like they were going to hide behind it. That was good. Earth needed time, time and more time. However, if the Valiants dared to advance toward Earth to near-orbital space, then the full brunt of Earth’s defenses would smash them. The dark side of the Moon was secondary compared to shaking down the fourth Orion ship and assembling the fifth.

  This was amazing; why hadn’t he seen it sooner? People were pushing him to make the fatal decision and launch prematurely. Just like premature ejaculation, that could ruin everything. They needed to do this right, with the odds heavily in their favor.

  “You may move one-third of the way to the Moon,” Petty said, “but make sure it is not more than that. I do not want to have to relieve you of duty as well, Rear Admiral Wilson.”

  Wilson looked at him shocked.

  Huber cleared his throat.

  “What is it?” Petty asked Huber.

  “You just made Wilson an admiral,” Huber said quietly.

  Petty faced the screen. “I mean Admiral Wilson. Do you understand me?”

  “I do, sir,” Wilson said, giving him a snappy salute. “It shall be as you have ordered.”

  “Good,” Petty said. “See that it is so.”

  The communications clicked off.

  Now Petty’s gut heaved. Had he made a mistake? Had he given the wrong order?

  “Keep me posted,” Petty said, pointing at Huber. “I need to use the facilities. My gut is churning.”

  Petty turned abruptly and headed for the hatch, his gut a seething cauldron. He hated this. He hated it desperately. This was so much different from launching Orion ships far away at the Saturn system. Here, one wrong move could cost them—him—everything.

  Petty exited the Command Center, hoping he had made the right decision.

  -6-

  The last dark side silos erupted in nuclear devastation from a Lagash missile. The way was clear for the Enforcers to insert themselves in orbit around the dark side of the Moon, keeping the fleet hidden from any offensive forces the humans might deploy from Earth. The Moon would act as the invasion fleet’s shield.

  Marshal Baal sat erect in his seat and gave the order.

  Naram Sin watched while making calculations on a tablet. He believed there still was time for the Orion ships to begin a hard burn for them. Maybe not a burn, but using their nuclear propulsion to get here fast. That was the point with Orion ships. They could start accelerating much faster than anybody else could, which meant they had a speed advantage. The Guardian III missiles they had collected in orbital space would not be able to advance as quickly.

  “Sir,” Naram Sin said, “could I have a moment of your time?”

  Baal turned and stared at Naram Sin. “Of course,” the Marshal said in a stentorian voice, “join me in my ready room.”

  The two rose, with Naram Sin following Baal into the ready room.

  Baal sat behind the desk and swiveled around, indicating that Naram Sin should sit.

  Naram Sin, with his long stride, did so.

  “Well, what is it?” Baal said. “We’ve done fantastically so far, haven’t we?”

  Naram Sin nodded as a matter of politeness.

  As a master chess player—knowing space battles were a matter of almost chess-like moves—he wondered at the humans’ unwillingness to advance the Orion ships as the dark side missile launched. The enemy had missed an opportunity. It was like forgetting to move one’s pawns to the correct locations when a chess match opened.

  “Sir,” Naram Sin said, “I am detecting hesitation from the Earthers.”

  “Oh?” Baal said. “Hesitation in what way?”

  “The Earthers did not engage their fleet or use their railguns from long range. That seemed like their optimal move given the situation. They also should have used the Guardian III missiles laboriously brought up from Earth or maybe have the orbital stations mass-fire their railguns, sending a blizzard of projectiles at us before we reached near-lunar orbit.”

  “Perhaps the Earthers expect us to head straight for Earth orbital space,” Baal said. “Therefore, they await the main assault.”

  “I don’t think that was it, sir,” Naram Sin said. “Surely the Earthers can study our trajectories and velocities. It is clear we are heading for orbital lunar insertion. Soon, we can begin the second move of our master plan.”

  “That’s all well and good,” Baal said as he cocked his head. “Why did you ask me to come here? Such a request at this time diminishes my authority, as it implies I need instruction from you.”

  “That was not my plan, sir,” Naram Sin said, which was, of course, a bald lie. That was exactly the idea—not to diminish Baal’s authority, but to instruct him.

  “You do know I understand that you report to Sardu about me.”

  “I’m glad you know, sir.”

  “Why have you never said anything about that?” Baal asked.

  “I was ordered not to by the Chief Marshal.”

  “I see,” Baal said, as he began to twiddle his thumbs over what remained of his formerly gargantuan gut. Now it was simply a large gut, bigger than most Valiants, but smaller than ever. Perhaps ambition had stirred and grown throughout the voyage. That had caused Baal to eat less. Wouldn’t that be interesting? Chief Marshal Assur seldom made a wrong move. Could he have miscalculated with Baal?

  “Now see here,” Baal said, “you will no longer initiate conversations with me unless it is a dire emergency.”

  “I understand, sir, and I will obey.”

  Baal nodded sharply. “You will also cease reporting to Sardu about me.”

  “Giving me such an order might be a mistake, sir, as it means I would have to disregard Chief Marshal Assur’s orders.”

  Baal made a show of clearing his throat and pointed at Naram Sin. “That’s good. I just tested you. If you had obeyed my order to disregard a higher-ranked officer’s order, I would realize that you were untrustworthy and a scheming bastard to boot. I am glad to see that is not so. You have passed my tests.”

  Naram Sin knew that was a cover, but he inclined his head and said, “Thank you, sir, I appreciate that.”

  “No, no, it is I who thank you to see what kind of man you are. Now what is this…” Baal waved a hand around, “all about? What are you trying to tell me?”

  “A slight modification to the plan,” Naram Sin said. “The Earthers are hanging too far back. They may believe that with time they can reinforce their fleet. We have seen through our teleoptics that they have the prefabricated pieces to construct a fifth Orion ship. Perhaps in five or six months they could assemble it. Perhaps, they are hoping to increase the number of Guardian III missiles. Finally, it may be that the fourth Orion ship still needs a shakedown cruise and testing.”

  “What does any of that matter to us?” Baal asked.

  Naram Sin held up a finger. “Because of my many chess matches, I have come to sense the pulse of my opponents. I watch their moves, and through them, I analyze their demeanor.”

  “Meaning what?” Baal said. “Get to the point. Don’t make this so complicated.”

  “Of course, sir,” Naram Sin said. “I have been honing my skill at understanding my adversary by his chess moves. When I encounter a tepid or cowardly opponent, I make more aggressive moves than I would otherwise. While this is not always necessary, it shortens matches by a considerable degree. I am now sensing the Earther commander’s hesitation to engage us directly. That might change over time, but I suggest we make our conquest of the Moon swifter and more certain by making an orbital pass around the near side of the Moon.”

  “By An’Kar,” Baal said, “why would we do something so risky?”

  “To use our particle beams and short-range missiles to hammer whatever the Earthers have built on the near side. Such destruction early will aid our space marines capturing the near side defenses. Then, we can set up that much faster, using our mass drivers to bombard the orbital stations and then Earth industries.”

  “Yes,” Baal said, “but the risk. Flying across the near side exposes our Enforcers to them. They will turn everything on our Enforcers and possibly damage or even destroy one.”

  “That’s just it, sir. The Earthers should have moved their fleet closer. Instead, they are keeping further away. I believe, out of a tepid demeanor. That means this is the moment to make an aggressive move. That doesn’t mean we continue to make aggressive moves, but we must confound their thinking, or that of their commander. As in a chess match, it is not the pieces that are critical, but the mind moving those pieces.”

  “You’re talking about yourself,” Baal said. “You think you’re the grand chess master of the invasion fleet.”

  Naram Sin shook his head. “I’m only here to assist you. The final decisions are always yours. Thus, the glory of the situations accrues to you, not to me, never to me.”

  “Humph,” Baal said. “I’m not so sure that’s true, but I see you’re trying. I appreciate that. I have learned from you, and I agree you are a masterful chess player. Do you truly think chess is the same as war?”

  “Not the same, sir, but there are correlations. The key is this: testing the mind of your opponent. I am certain I have gauged the Earther commander correctly.”

  “And yet,” Baal said, as he fingered his chin, “I will be the one they laugh at in derision if human missiles slam into our ships.”

  “You could use aerosols to help us,” Naram Sin said. “Spray them in the rearward areas. The various enemy silos would see our faces, never our backsides. Our Enforcers would be coming around fast and bombarding them.”

  “Yet…” Baal said. “There are two items you have failed to understand.”

  “May I ask what those are, sir?”

  “First,” Baal said, “we do not know the type of armaments on the near side of the Moon. Notice how the humans have destroyed all our probes crossing the horizon to keep us ignorant of the near side of the Moon. The enemy fleet may be hanging back to entice us, to lure us into such an assault as you suggest. Then they will unleash massive firepower at our Enforcers at close range. They are likely anticipating this very move, hoping we’re foolish enough to make it.”

  “I don’t think so, sir.”

  “Think. You don’t think so. Do you know, Naram Sin?”

  “I do not.”

  “So then,” Baal said, “the Earthers are trying to lure us. The safer course is to use the Moon as a shield, protecting our assembled warships and letting the space marines whittle away and conquer the enemy through superior combat prowess.”

  “But we can make that conquest a swift certainty, sir,” Naram Sin said, “if we will dare to take this risk. We don’t want our space marines taking all the risks while the Earthers are building up. But you said two things, sir. What is the second point?”

  “We, meaning our Enforcers, are superior to the Orion ships at close range,” Baal said. “That means particularly if the Orion ships dare to approach the Moon closely. The Orion ships will have to swing around the Moon to engage the Enforcers. That gives us the advantage because the contest will begin at close range.”

  Naram Sin didn’t know how to argue against that. Did Baal think the Earthers would ever dare such a maneuver?

  “And suppose,” Baal added, “that in some manner the Orion ships we supposedly “see” are instead faker forces in Earth orbital space. The real Orion ships could be waiting in near Moon orbit for us.”

  “That would be incredible,” Naram Sin said, trying to hide his disbelief that Baal could even broach such an idea. “Given what we know about human technology that is almost… it is highly unlikely.”