An Airless Storm: Cochrane's Company: Book Two Read online

  Cousins winced. “They sure will! What’s more, if we assign that many ships to one system, we’ll be short of ships to send to others.”

  “At our present and planned fleet size, yes, sir, we will. That’s why I suggest you order a lot more corvettes. They’re Hawkwood’s maids-of-all-work, and our most economical solution. Our current plans include nine of them, the last two of which are currently building.”

  “We’ve ordered one more, although our total will remain nine,” Cochrane informed him. “If you recall, our first corvette, Amanita, was Kang Industries’ prototype, which we bought used. All those built for us were lengthened, to provide bigger crew quarters, a brig, more damage control storage, and a larger sick bay. We also gave them full-size destroyer antenna arrays, to upgrade the performance of their fire control systems. They meet our needs better, so I’ve arranged to sell Amanita back to Kang, and buy a larger model to replace her.”

  “I get it, sir. In that case, I suggest you order at least seven more right away. That’ll give you a fleet of sixteen corvettes in all; three divisions of four operational vessels, plus one of ships undergoing maintenance or training new crews. Any two divisions are likely to be busy in client systems. If a customer needs more, they can be drawn from the third division; or, if all three divisions are busy, frigates can fill in for them in the short term. You have nine super-frigates on order, right, sir?”

  “Yes. I’m figuring on two divisions of three operational ships, plus a third division of three frigates under heavier or long-term maintenance, or protecting headquarters.”

  “Uh-huh. Sir, I’d like to propose that you consider two-ship divisions instead. One or two divisions can be allocated to an emergency response force. They’ll be at our main base, ready to reinforce any of our client systems in an emergency, or respond to anything the Albanians might try, including defending our headquarters. You’ll want two more divisions to operate in support of our corvettes in larger systems with more serious security problems. A fifth division will be for frigates undergoing maintenance. I therefore suggest you may need ten to twelve frigates in all.”

  Cochrane frowned. “Trouble is, those are expensive ships. We can buy two and a half corvettes for the price of one frigate.”

  “Yes, sir, but two and a half corvettes can’t do all that a frigate can – and they’re not the only expense. You need to figure on one depot ship for each corvette division, plus at least two for your frigates. You have four depot ships on order, so you should plan for two more, plus at least one spare to allow for routine maintenance. Finally, there are support ships. If we’re operating at, say, three planets, that’s two courier ships for each deployment, plus at least two for Headquarters use, and a couple undergoing maintenance or crew rest. You also need a fast freighter to resupply each deployment every month, and one to support your emergency response division in the field. We’re talking about ten to twelve courier ships, and at least six fast freighters. You’ll probably also need another repair ship in due course, because there’ll be too much work, spread over too great an area, for one to handle.”

  There was a long silence. Cousins broke it by saying, slowly and carefully, “We’ve already committed twenty-two billion Neue Helvetica francs to pay for nine corvettes, nine frigates, four depot ships, four courier vessels, and our present freighters. Now you’re telling us we need to budget at least another twelve to fifteen billion, for even more ships?”

  Frank shrugged. “Sir, you heard my analysis of the likely demands on our fleet. If it’s accurate, that’s how many ships we’re going to need. We paid for our present orders by recovering illegally beaconed asteroids from the Mycenae system. I just collected another six billion francs’ worth of asteroids from a deserted system. It’s not like there are no more where those came from. I think we can fund this.”

  “Yes, but there’s also the cargo shuttles, cutters and gigs that each ship will need, plus more spacers to crew them, plus more support facilities, plus… dammit, we’ll have more ships and personnel than the Fleet of a major planet, if this goes on! We may even have to set up our own shipyard to maintain them all!”

  “Yes, sir; but we’ll be securing three or four planets or star systems with them. That’s the reality of Hawkwood’s business.”

  Cochrane scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I must say, I agree with Frank’s analysis so far. However, what I propose may change the number of frigates we need. I’ll lay long odds the Albanians are buying more armed ships right now, by hook or by crook, legally or illegally. In their shoes, I’d do everything I could to get more and better warships, to fight anything of inferior size or power – like our corvettes, for example, which by now they must know we have. I’m not sure if they’ve learned about our forthcoming frigates yet, but they soon will. They’ll be buying ships to counter such vessels, so we need to increase our firepower to match them.

  “We already know they have destroyers, even if they’re old and out-of-date. They’ll probably modernize those they have left, and may try to get more. I want firepower enough that even those ships won’t be enough to face us. A destroyer typically carries one hundred to a hundred and twenty main battery missiles, and the same number of defensive missiles. A cruiser usually doubles that – two hundred to two hundred and fifty of each.”

  Hui interjected, “But cruisers cost a fortune! With all their systems and weapons, they run three to four billion francs apiece, and they need big crews, too. Qianjin’s Fleet couldn’t afford to replace our four old cruisers. Instead, we chose to refurbish and modernize them, and even that cost as much per vessel as a new destroyer. Surely Hawkwood can’t afford ships like that?”

  Cochrane shook his head. “No, we can’t; but even so, I want to get as close as possible to cruiser-level firepower. I thought first about armed merchant cruisers. However, there’s the problem that, according to United Planets regulations, as a private company, we’re not allowed to operate armed ships with more than two missile pods. Whatever we do has to take that restriction into account, otherwise our ships risk arrest whenever they call at a planet with a conscientious System Patrol Service.

  “Frank mentioned that we’ll need more freighters. They might also offer a solution to our heavy hitter problem. There are several commercial fast freighter designs, of three-quarters to one million tons capacity, that can achieve speeds of up to one-quarter Cee, fully loaded. They aren’t built to military standards of toughness, of course, but they also cost much less than a military-grade transport. A new fast freighter of that size sells for a hundred and eighty to two hundred million francs. That’s less than half the price of a corvette – although, of course, they aren’t stuffed with military-grade systems and weapons, like a warship. The thing is, they can do a lot more than just carry freight. Some of their cargo holds can be used to convert them into arsenal ships.”

  Frank looked puzzled. “I’m not familiar with the term, sir.”

  “That’s because no major Fleet has used them for a long time, due to their limitations. The idea arose early in the Space Age, back on Old Home Earth, for use in wet-water fleets. Briefly, an arsenal ship carries a lot of weapons, but has no systems to control them herself. They’re fired at the command and under the control of warships accompanying her. Basically, she’s a missile truck.”

  Frank’s eyes lit up. “Oh! I get it. Yes, that would limit her. If you don’t have warships with her to guide all her missiles, she’s dead weight. I suppose she can’t even defend herself.”

  “True. However, we’ll have enough ships to protect her, using her own defensive missiles as well as theirs. There’s no reason we can’t equip some fast freighters to serve as arsenal ships when needed, or even dedicate some to that role. We can build the necessary reinforcement into their hulls. When needed, we’ll simply load missile pods. What’s more, we won’t have to observe United Planets restrictions by loading only two pods, because the arsenal ship can’t fire or control its own missiles. It merely transpor
ts them, so it’s not classified as an armed ship. We could load a lot more than just two missile pods.”

  “Oh, yes!” Hui said, her excitement obvious. “Why not six, or eight, or ten? The fire control systems on your frigates and corvettes can control up to a hundred and twenty main battery missiles, and the same number of defensive missiles. Put two of those freighters, each with eight of your super-frigate-size missile pods apiece, in formation with four of your corvettes, and the warships can control and direct everything the freighters can launch. That’s like having two cruisers.”

  By now everyone was smiling, leaning forward eagerly. Frank added, “And the warships will still have their own missiles in reserve, for a second salvo if necessary. It’ll be like a double whammy!”

  “We can also make the freighters less visible,” Cochrane went on. “If we apply to their hulls the same stealth coatings we use on our warships, their radar cross-section will be reduced – even more so if we remove radar-reflecting protrusions, or put fairings over them. If they use minimum gravitic drive power, or shut down their drive and rely on reaction thrusters, they might be able to sneak up to within a million kilometers of an enemy base or formation, then fire at point-blank range. That many missiles, that close… they’d never be able to stop them all. It’d be a slaughterhouse!”

  “Think of them on defense, too, sir,” Frank said. “Instead of needing to keep three or four expensive frigates at headquarters for defense, you could have one arsenal ship, plus two corvettes to control her missiles. I’d hate to be aboard an enemy ship poking its head into that hornet’s nest!”

  “How could we buy so many missile pods without arousing suspicion?” Cousins asked. “We need to keep the arsenal ships under our hat until we need them, so an enemy doesn’t know what’s waiting for them.”

  “We’ll be buying the same missile pods for our frigates,” Cochrane pointed out. “We can simply order a lot of reloads. We can use the excuse that we’ll base them in all the systems where we operate, even if frigates aren’t deployed there. In case they are, they’ll find reloads waiting for them. It’s threadbare, I know, but I think Kang Industries will wink at it. They’ll be making a lot of money selling us the pods, after all. We might buy more freighters from them, too, to sweeten the pot and make them more cooperative.”

  Frank grinned. “You’ve still got all those old missiles taken off the New Westray patrol craft, haven’t you, sir?”

  Cochrane looked surprised. “I didn’t know we still had them. They were all unserviceable, of course. I thought Sue had gotten rid of them.”

  “Last I heard, sir, they were in a hold aboard Humpback, our warehouse freighter, waiting for disposal. I was told there were well over two hundred main battery missiles, and at least as many defensive units. What if you transfer them all to a separate ship – an old, cheap one – then arrange for an ‘Albanian attack’ that steals or destroys it? You can swear with a straight face, even under truth-tester examination, that Hawkwood really has lost that many missiles, and you need to replace them. What more logical reason to order a lot of missile pods from Kang?”

  By now they were all laughing. Frank continued, “You could even order twice as many, because you want to keep reserve supplies in two different places. That should be good for at least twenty new pods, maybe as many as thirty – enough for a full load-out of three or four arsenal ships.”

  “I’ll think about that, and see if we can make it work. Over and above the missiles, we’ll need an auxiliary reactor for each ship, to provide startup power to the missiles’ reactors and run the pods’ mass drivers, which will launch the missiles on command. The warships accompanying the arsenal ship can program them via datalink before launch, and guide them once they’re fired. If worse comes to worst, after firing, we can dump the used missile pods and wiring harness into the nearest star, then bring the freighter back with empty holds, as if nothing had happened. Any investigation will have to prove what we did. They’ll find that very hard.”

  He looked at Frank. “You said we’d need four or five fast freighters. If we order ten of them, and modify, say, four to six in this way, we’d have some as dedicated fast freighters, plus the two smaller ones we already have. Some of the arsenal ships can also be used as freighters until they’re needed, when we’d load their missile pods; or we might keep them loaded, standing by to defend our headquarters or a major base like Mycenae, along with a few corvettes to control their missiles. How does that sound?”

  “Like a winner, sir,” Frank said, grinning. “What about frigates? Will you still need them?”

  “Oh, yes! We still need warships more powerful than corvettes, to help the smaller ships in more dangerous systems. Arsenal ships can’t patrol independently, but frigates can. On the other hand, we might be able to make do with fewer frigates. We’ll have to try out this combination of vessels on operations, and see what fleet mix will work best for us.”

  “There’s another aspect,” Hui pointed out. “If you need to send out a squadron for an extended mission – for example, looking for the Albanians’ base – the arsenal ships will have plenty of space available in the holds not used for missile pods. They could carry enough stores to supply the whole squadron for months, without having to call at a planet or be resupplied from our base. Give it an arsenal ship, plus four corvettes to search through star systems, and maybe a frigate or corvette to stay with the arsenal ship, plus a couple of fast courier vessels to keep in touch, and the squadron would have tremendous operational flexibility.”

  Cochrane nodded. “Very well. I think we can all see the possibilities here. Dave, I want you and Frank to put your heads together over the next month. Start working out how we can fit arsenal ships into our operations. I must visit Kang Industries soon, to discuss our forthcoming frigates, so I’ll inquire about more corvettes, depot ships, courier vessels and fast freighters while I’m there. Frank, in two months you’ll assume command of our frigate prototype, HCS Bobcat. You’ll spend three months working her up, wringing her out, and seeing what needs improvement. Expedite that, if possible. Let’s get a list of what needs to be improved, so Kang can incorporate it on their production line, and Bobcat can be modified accordingly. Once we have a better idea of her capabilities and potential, we’ll decide whether to increase or decrease our frigate order.”

  “Yes, sir.” Frank hesitated. “Ah… something just occurred to me, sir. You realize that, if we order what we’ve discussed this morning, we’re going to have more warships than most planets, rivaling even a decent-size military fleet? What’s going to be the reaction of Constanta or Rousay when they learn that? We have licenses from both planets to operate armed spaceships, but I can’t think of a single politician who won’t be worried by our size. With a fleet that big, we could crush both of their System Patrol Services and take over both planets’ orbitals, anytime we wanted to. They probably won’t be very happy about that, sir. In their shoes, I wouldn’t be, either.”

  Cochrane frowned. “Dammit, you’re right! We’re going to have to look at basing our fleet more evenly across both planets, to spread our ships around and look less threatening. Even that may not be enough.”

  Hui suggested, “Why not talk to Barjah? You’ve been taking your asteroids to the Dragon Tong there for several years, to be refined. They could talk to the people they know in the government. I’m sure you could get a license for Hawkwood there, too. If you split your fleet across three planets, plus the Mycenae system, you should be able to stop people realizing how big it’s grown. With all the courier ships you’re ordering, you could maintain adequate control. For a big operation, you could have the ships rendezvous at a deserted star system, to brief them all together.”

  Cochrane’s frown cleared. “That’s brilliant! It might even stop the Albanians figuring out how big we’re getting. That may lead them to go on underestimating us, just as they did in Mycenae last year. Yes, Barjah will do nicely. I’ll go there as soon as I’ve seen Kang Indu
stries, and talk to Mr. Huang and Mr. Hsu.” He smiled at her. “Care to come along?”

  “Try to stop me! I’m your liaison officer, remember?”

  The other two laughed. Frank said, “I’m not going to say a word about liaisons. No. Really, I’m not. I –”

  He ducked, grinning, as Hui and Cochrane both took mock swipes at him.

  3

  Upgrade

  PATOS

  The stone-faced security team tramped down every corridor and through every partitioned room, eyes flickering up and down and from side to side, hands lifting, fingers probing, missing nothing. They paid particular attention to a corner office, ornately carpeted and paneled in wood, and an equally plush boardroom in the adjacent corner.

  The team leader turned to the building owner, who had hovered attentively by his side to answer questions during the inspection. “What about the windows?”

  “As you specified, Mr. Tanush, we replaced the standard double-glazed windows with nitrogen-purged triple-pane units. Your people watched as we put them in.”

  Tanush glanced at one of his subordinates, his eyebrows rising, and nodded in satisfaction as the man agreed. “They were as we specified, sir.”

  “Have you tested them?”

  “Yes, sir. We used a laser from various distances to try to detect vibrations from voices inside, and record them. We could not.”

  “Very well.” He looked back to the owner. “Thank you for making all the changes we requested. I shall inform Mr. Nushi that you have fulfilled our requirements to the letter. He will pay you the balance of our deposit, plus the first quarter’s lease in advance, as agreed. We shall move in next week.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Tanush. I’ll have our workers ready to help.”