First Strike - An Earth@War Novel

Chapter 12

ESS London (SCV-7)
950 AMU from Omar
June 7, 2487, 0130 UT

Rear Admiral Frank Kilgallon could not sleep, so at 0045 he helped himself to some coffee and moved to the flag bridge to watch the stars. Despite all the years in the Navy, he was still captivated staring out in space from a ship. The number of stars appeared to be ten times what you could see from Earth. His thoughts drifted to Evelyn and then to his daughter who was due dot have a baby in just a few weeks. His daughter, Vanessa, was the first member of his family to be born on a planet other than Earth when Evelyn gave birth to her at the Naval Hospital on Kylar II. Now his grandchild would also be a native of Kylar.

The Task Force continued racing toward the Omar System, now at a speed of 30 AMU, Iwo Jima's Chief Engineer somehow getting her to do two more AMUs than her rated speed. London would be able to launch spacecraft that could reach Omar IV at approximately 2300 tonight and Rear Admiral Kilgallon, like every other member of Task Force One, prayed that Omar IV could hold out that long. Waiting, Kilgallon had learned long ago, was the hardest part of serving in the military.

"Sir, I have a message from Fourth Fleet," the Messenger of the Watch said as he came onto the Flag Bridge.

"Thank you," the Rear Admiral said as he took the message.

070624870059U

From: Commander, Fourth Fleet
To: Commander, Task Force One
Subj: Enemy Ship Movement

1. Hawkeye One reports a large number of enemy ships
passing Icor, heading toward Omar at 23 AMU.

2. Recommend that Task Force One avoid contact with this
force due to numeric advantage and superior firepower of
the enemy force.

Frank closed his eyes. Icor was 1100 AMU or so from Omar. That meant that Task Force One had less than 24 hours once they arrived to do what they could.

Command Center
Naval Base Quebec, Omar IV
June 7, 2487, 0508 Local, 0208 UT

Amber Harrington returned to the Command Center just after 0500 on June 7th after having left at 0130 for a few hours of sleep. Her red hair, normally perfectly arranged, was a mess. She looked and felt exhausted. Gathered at the Command Center was the Commanders of the Thirteenth Fighter Wing and the Fifteenth Attack Wing, who both looked as tired as Amber, and a new face, a Major representing the Third Regiment who looked fresh and unrattled. His appearance caused a pang of jealousy for Amber, though it certainly wasn't the Major's fault that she had lacked sleep.

"Report, gentlemen," Captain Harrington said as she sat down at the conference table with a steaming cup of black coffee.

"Ma'am, my crews have managed to get two more craft repaired, so we have nineteen SA‑18s operational," the Commander of the Fifteenth Attack Wing reported.

"I have only fourteen SF-112s ready, ma'am," the Commander of the Thirteenth Fighter Wing reported. "We're trying to get more up and running, but I'm not hopeful."

"Third Regiment is at 65% strength, ma'am. They will be repositioning themselves shortly to compensate for losses and to better defend Zelerod," the new Major reported.

"It's not much, but we need to hold out. Task Force One is less than 24 hours away. Let's do what we can with what we have," Captain Harrington said.

And so, the Battle for Omar entered its second day.

Third Regiment/First Battalion/Company C/First Platoon
Five Miles West of Zelerod, Omar IV
June 7, 2487, 0536 Local, 0236 UT

A Corporal had shown up in the middle of the night assigned to take Sergeant Pachenko's spot by the Commanding Officer of Company C. The Sergeant's body, along with several others, had been removed hours earlier and transported to Naval Base Quebec. The Corporal had come by again at 0500 and told Phil and Dave to pack up and to be prepared to move out in a half an hour. At 0536, First Platoon rejoined the remainder of Company C and along with the rest of Third Regiment began to redeploy.