Retaliation
The introductory dinners were becoming a bore, the same crew members being introduced again and again to new dignitaries seeking to know more about the Snow Raven’s newly acquired capital ship. On the other hand, Tactical Operations Drills were a blast, and kept Katlina on her toes remembering the names of all the captains and their ships which operated with her. Fortunately she only had to remember her own Dropships and the Warships: if she had had to remember every Dropship in the fleet, the challenge would have been overwhelming. But she had broken it down to the following:
Friendly Warships:
Capt. Valerie: Moby Dick: Leviathan (8 Dropships, 20 Aerospace, 20 Small craft, 225 Elementals)
Capt. Robert: Alexander: Conqueror (2 Dropships, 100 Aerospace)
Capt. Enrique: Jamestown: McKenna (6 Dropships, 50 Aerospace, 16 Small craft)
Capt. Samuel: Houston: Texas (6 Dropships, 40 Aerospace, 16 Small craft)
Capt. Darla: Solomon: Nightlord (4 Dropships, 20 Aerospace, 50 Stars of Omnimechs & Elementals)
Capt. Alexandra: Bolivar: Liberator (6 Dropships, 30 Aerospace, 50 Elementals, 200 troops)
Dropships assigned to the Perseus:
Capt. Gina: Washington: Pentagon Dropship (3026 Rev: lots of conventional weapons)
Capt. Romero: Prometheus: Clan Titan (30 Aerospace)
Capt. Julius: Toronto: Miraborg (30 Aerospace)
Capt. Jennifer: Tesla: Assault Triumph (Combined Arms Trinary)
Capt. Stephen: Apollo: Assault Triumph (Combined Arms Trinary)
Capt. Jacqueline: Whitney: Carrier (10 Aerospace)
Capt. Tina: Montenegro: Noruff (lots of conventional weapons)
Capt. Escobar: Cortez: Conquistador (18 Aerospace, Combined Arms Unit)
Capt. Paulo: Pizarro: Conquistador (18 Aerospace, Combined Arms Unit)
The TOD they seemed to repeat most often involved the entire fleet starting at its most compact, with all dropships and aerospace units on their mother ships, then the fleet deploying in an orderly manner to allow maximum space and maneuvering room for each element, largely depending on each unit’s safe acceleration maximum. They then would approach an “enemy fleet,” and count coup with dumdum paint missiles and lasers at 3% power, just enough to leave scorch marks. The composition of the friendly side versus the enemy varied constantly, allowing them to measure each other’s strengths and weaknesses on a regular basis and know what they could expect from one another in a real engagement. It also allowed some of their highest level strategists to re-evaluate the fleet composition for optimal organization on a routine basis.
Of course these exercises also allowed her to evaluate the performance of her own crew as well. It seemed Nelson did indeed have things well under control, and was well liked by the rest of the crew in general. All the other officers also appeared to be well disciplined, seasoned crewmen and women.
Of the group of officers who had assisted in the original capture of the Perseus, only Star Colonel Dimitri and his Chief Master Sergeant Constantin remained in contact, and that only rarely. Usually the presence of the two led to small informal dinners with just the executive officers and themselves, discussing two topics: 1) What might happen in the event of Davion forces trying to recover the vessel, and 2) What now? Having captured the Perseus, no one wanted to leave her cowering in a corner somewhere: she should become a useful addition to the Snow Raven Space Navy.
So far, the location of the Perseus had been a carefully guarded secret, with even the officials attending the introductory dinners having no idea what particular corner of the galaxy they found themselves in. But that could not last forever: it would be too easy for someone with the right skills and tools to properly orient themselves relative to various constellations, and be able to determine their location. They had relocated five times since the capture, making it far more difficult but not impossible to trace. Of particular concern was the possibility of spies from the Steel Viper Clan infiltrating one or more of the dinners and aiding a surprise attack from that quarter.
So, when Dimitri posed the two questions to Katlina, it was imperative to have the right answers: 1) how prepared were they for an attack from either Davion or Steel Viper, and 2) how ready were they to take a lead in an offensive operation?