Assault Line. Макс Глебов

decided to help his ward by diverting the attention of the defense forces. Having switched the engines into overdrive mode, he drastically changed course and attacked one of the patrol ships. The pursuit plane, virtually, fell out of the void and slightly shocked the commander of the corvette. The distance at which his scanners detected the enemy was completely out of line with his understanding of the capabilities of modern EW means. As a result of the brazen attack, the corvette was hit by a rocket, and the computer displayed a list of conditional damage to the projection screen. The pursuit plane that ran at maximum speed past the corvette went unpunished, despite the fairly heavy fire from the patrol’s anti-aircraft guns. Two more corvettes tried to intercept a single pursuit plane, but their guidance systems were hard-pressed to capture a quick-moving target, and consistently missed it.

      Meanwhile, the torpedo continued to approach the autonomous space dock. The idea of a torpedo capable of reaching the enemy ship on its own after leaving an aircraft carrier came to my mind when I watched our torpedo bombers being destroyed, because they were very vulnerable to enemy pursuit planes.

      Of course, this ammo turned out to be very expensive. In fact, it was an unmanned pursuit plane, equipped with electronic warfare systems, powerful engines, which provided for high speed and maneuverability, and instead of rockets and cannons it was armed with an internal binary charge of considerable power. But the main advantage of this weapon was its ability to effectively counter the enemy scanners and aim-capturing systems.

      Shipyard scanners spotted the threat at the moment when it was already impossible for the anti-aircraft systems to respond to it, furthermore, the high intensity of radiation from the scanners made the torpedo start chaotic maneuvering, that made it difficult for the enemy to point the guns.

      The torpedo didn’t hit the dock, after all, it was a combat drill, and no one wanted to lose the only experimental product yet, at the risk of crippling the shipyard. During the next maneuver, the torpedo passed close to the dock structures, signalled by a bright flash the conditional detonation of the warhead and headed back towards the aircraft carrier.

      “Target hit,” aircraft’s computer stated, “Industrial object of the hypothetical enemy critically damaged.”

      “It was spectacular, Mr Lavroff,” Captain Clark noted with satisfaction, “Congratulations on your success. When can the Fleet expect to see these weapons on our ships?”

      “Sooner than you think, Captain, Sir,” I responded smiling, “and thank you for congratulations. Gentlemen,” I turned to the representatives of the weaponry companies, “In a month and a half, I need 500 of these torpedoes and 50 command pursuit planes to control them in battle. The technical documentation for the products is ready and will be handed to you by representatives of the FAWC. You will have unrestricted access to the designs of our engineers required for the serial production of the torpedoes. I’m not gonna do a competition, I just don’t have time for it. The decision to enter into direct contracts with you will be made by me under my own responsibility, based on the prices and schedules you will give us. I expect your offers tomorrow, gentlemen. I can’t give you more time.”

* * *

      “What is this, Captain?” The Minister of Defense looked at me in surprise, taking his eyes off his tablet, “Are you doing this again?”

      “This is a plan of battle tests for a new type of torpedo, Fleet Admiral, Sir. Since its primary purpose is a covert surprise attack on the enemy’s major ships and space infrastructure, the quarg shipyards where they are currently building their superbattleships have been selected as targets.”

      “But where did you get the resources, the ships and the production capacity, Captain? This is actually not a combat test, but a major raid on the enemy’s rear with the involvement of serious fleet forces.”

      “The ships were provided to me by Colonel General Knyazev, with the permission of Fleet Admiral Nelson, as part of the agreement on the testing of new equipment, which has not been rescinded since the name of the FAWC was Lavroff Weapons Company. Minister of Military Production Zwerev agreed to provide me with shipyards for their reequipment. I can’t say he did it willingly, but he did it. And as for resources, the FAWC had its own funds after the sale of battleship Titan to the Fleet.”

      “Captain, you are a pure adventurer. You put yourself at risk, you injure me as your immediate superior. Couldn’t you have checked with me in advance?”

      “You wouldn’t approve of my plan, Mr Minister, if I’d informed you beforehand.”

      “Fine, Captain! Just fine! You knew I wouldn’t let you do this and you did it without my knowledge, and now you have the audacity to say it looking me in the face.”

      “I always prefer honest answers, Fleet Admiral, Sir, unless a lie is necessary.”

      “Ghm…” Bronstein choked on another angry tirade,“What should I do with you, Captain? I can’t sanction this operation, obviously. I’m gonna have to deal with what you did, you understand? You’ve acted contrary to the decisions taken at the Presidential High Command meeting. No one ordered you to prepare this raid, and you’ve diverted industrial resources from the repair of ships and the manufacture of equipment that we may very soon need in battle.”

      “It won’t help us, Minister, Sir…”

      “Silence! Captain, if you dare to challenge the command’s decisions again, I’ll dismiss you from your functions and send you to command a battalion on Kapteyn, so that you remain in this hole for the rest of the war and not cause any more trouble.”

      “Mr Minister,” I answered as calmly as possible, “but I have never exceeded my authority anywhere, not once. The development of new weapons and their preparation for testing is my immediate responsibility. My job description doesn’t say I can’t involve other ministries and agencies. I made a formal request to Minister Zwerev, and he granted it, which means he was able to do so without compromising the Federation’s defence capability, and his decision in no way affects the Ministry of Defence, headed by you. This is his sole responsibility.”

      “Well, let’s just say you are right,” Bronstein agreed, cooling off a little, “But why is it that the Minister of Defense finds out about the preparation of such an operation two days before it begins, and the General Staff doesn’t know about it at all?”

      “Because this is not an operation by the Federation armed forces, but a combat test of a new experimental weapon, Mr Minister,” I patiently explained, “and it is being conducted under the auspices of the New Equipment and Weapons Commission of the Ministry of Defense, which I have the honour to head. The job description I mentioned earlier says that I’m obliged to notify you of the tests, and not to get your agreement for them at the planning stage. You are, of course, free to make any adjustments to the test plan, if it is contrary to the current interests of the General Staff or the Ministry of Defence as a whole, that’s what the notification is for, so that I don’t accidentally mess things up for you and the General Staff. But somehow I don’t think that’s the case.”

      “And I think you’re a cocky squirt, Captain. I recognize your distinguished combat service, but you’re neither politician nor an official, and I’m afraid you’ll never be either. You should be commanding a landing brigade, maybe a division. You want me to write down an order right now, Captain? That’s where you’d be. ”

      “You have no idea, Mr Minister, how happy I would be to accept this appointment, but being a commanding officer of a Commando Division, it is impossible to resolve the outcome of the war, and I want the Federation to win, and I will pursue it with all the means at my disposal.”

      “Those are beautiful words, Captain. And I can see that you’re being sincere. Would you like me to be frank with you? You’ve done a very foolish thing by bringing your ideas to the High Command meeting. I didn’t just tell you you weren’t a politician. You shouldn’t have done that. In the eyes of respectable generals, you are a boy with the rank of captain, who tries to impose his plans on adults with such stars on their shoulder straps that you have yet to grow up to, and it’s not like with this attitude, you’ll ever make it happen. You think I don’t understand that there was some merit in your words? I’m well aware of that,