Fleet Action posted:

"How are you, Geoff?"
Geoff looked up in surprise as "Big" Duke Grecko walked into his private quarters.
Geoff started to get up from his cot and Duke motioned for him to relax while he pulled a chair around and sat down across from Tolwyn.
"What the hell are you doing out here, Duke?"
"Can't keep the Marines in port when the action starts. I'm not interfering out here, Geoff, but I thought I should come out and have a look."
"You got the after action report then?"
Duke nodded glumly.
"It was relayed up to my frigate a couple of hours ago."
"I screwed up, Duke. I should have fallen back from Sirius and then held here with Saratoga joined in for the strike."
"You couldn't abandon Sirius without a fight. Civilian morale would have gone off the deep end."
"So we lose two carriers and still lose Sirius."
"At least you bloodied them."
"One old carrier destroyed, one damaged and one of their new carriers reported heavily damaged, but no kills on the new fleet. Which is what I wanted."
"We're reporting that big carrier as dead for now," Duke said quietly.
"I never liked doing that."
"Sometimes we have to, and for all practical purposes it is dead at the moment."
"So what do you want, Duke?" Geoff asked, cutting straight to the point.
"I'm ordering you to fall back on Earth."
"What? Hell, Duke, if they break our line there they'll fry Earth in a matter of minutes."
"I know, but we've been busy. By the time you pull back, Lexington and Ark Royal will be on line."
"How? The jump engines on Lex and Ark Royal were fully out for realignment, and core reactors had been dumped."
"If we're fighting inside the home system we won't need jump engines and both ships have one reactor back up and running."
"They'll be sitting ducks."
"They'll be sitting ducks in the dockyard anyhow. At least they can still launch fighters."
Though neither one said it, they both knew as well that the two additional carriers would serve as targets, forcing the Kilrathi to spread out their attack.
"Mars is the closest planet in towards the jump line," Duke continued "We've packed every landing field there full of every damn fighter, trainer, and even civilian light craft."
"You've got to be kidding. I stripped out every good plane and pilot before I left. Put what's left into space and they'll die like flies."
Duke nodded.
"And the Kilrathi will burn up ammunition while some of our people still get in for another strike."
He knew it was better than a desperate stand out here with no hope of winning. If he stood now, it'd only delay the inevitable by maybe a day or two at most.
"Our psych analysis people tell me that even if you abandon this key jump point, Thrakhath will not spread out into the inner worlds until he completes his kill of you and Earth. The bastard hates your guts, according to psych, for too many humiliations. He wants your hide almost as much as he wants Earth. He'll follow you straight in."
"You know, Duke," Geoff said quietly, "even with the additional material and manpower, they still have us. You saw what happened to my last strike, and those boys were the finest pilots in the fleet."
"I know, Geoff, I know. But there's one more idea I sort of cooked up on my own, that might help things out."
"What?"
And as Duke told him, Admiral Tolwyn came to his feet.
"You're mad, Duke, that's senseless murder. You're bloody mad to even think of it."
"And that's why it might work," Duke said with a cold smile.