Ivan carefully kept his features neutral. The important thing was to launch the nanites before the Navy launched another attack.

Very soon, humanity would have its collective face shoved in the fact that it was not alone in the universe.

73.Second Assault

73.Second Assault

Twenty Navy ships stood at station keeping outside the Lagrange Four base. Frigates, cruisers, and warships, each had its part to play.

In another area, five supply ships were being offloaded. Crews moved cylinder after gleaming cylinder from transport vessels to fighting ships, using what for some reason were still called forklifts.

Admiral Moore scanned the paperwork, making annotations and initialing sections as required. Despite the Board of Inquiry’s statement about his status, Commodore Mandelbaum had recognized that his decades of experience in certain areas should be taken advantage of. She would review his decisions, but it would be a formality. Moore could do this stuff in his sleep. And for a while, at least, he could feel useful.

Finally, the preparations were complete. Surveillance drones and cruise missiles had been distributed to the ships. Courses had been calculated and communicated. Before the ships departed, there would be a strategy meeting.

Twenty Ship’s Captains crowded into the large hab-ring conference room. The various seating angles caused by the floor’s curvature wouldn’t even be noticed by these Navy old-timers. Mandelbaum stood at the center of one of the longs sides of the conference table, her eyes scanning the room. Moore, standing to one side, found himself impressed by her outward calm.

Barely raising her voice, she said, “Your attention, please.” Conversations in the room stopped as cleanly as if a switch had been thrown, and all eyes turned to her.

“You all have briefing packages, which you will have studied exhaustively. I remind you that the enemy we are facing is more indifferent than antagonistic. Strategies will be set accordingly. We will maintain a radio communications blackout from the time we depart from Lagrange Four. Any necessary comms will be effected by intership maser. We have determined that our comms masers are sufficiently powerful to fry the nanites, so even if one manages to insert itself by fluke, it won’t survive the encounter.”

She paused and swept her eyes around the room. “Your individual orders are not to be discussed or shared with other ships. Inevitably, Pritchard will manage to take over some of your ships using his nanites. We will limit the information that he can extract from that tactic.”

Heads nodded around the table. No one had any illusions that this was an exercise, or police action, or some similar euphemism. This would be a naval engagement, with the very real possibility of destruction and death.

“All right,” Mandelbaum continued. “You have your orders. Let’s do this.”