Free Synchronicity War Part 1, The by Dietmar Wehr Page B

people. None of them was able
to escape. There is evidence that their crews were killed either in the battle
or later, when Acting Squadron Leader Omar made the difficult decision to
destroy the remaining two lifeless hulks that the aliens were trying to use as
bait for another ambush. It was the opinion of Squadron Leader Torres, which I
share, that had it not been for the pre-emptive attack by Commander Shiloh, which
sprang the trap prematurely, all seven frigates would have been ambushed and
very likely destroyed. As bad as our losses were – three frigates and their
brave crews – we should consider this encounter as a victory in the sense that
half the squadron escaped unharmed, and a fifth frigate was able to return with
only a handful of dead or injured crew.”
     
    The Admiral paused and looked at each of the Committee
Members in turn before continuing.
     
    “As important as that is, what is even more important from
the larger perspective of Humanity as a whole is that the surviving ships were
able to bring back valuable data. Imagine for a moment if the ambush had succeeded
as apparently planned. What if all eight frigates had been destroyed? An entire
Squadron would have disappeared into the blackness of empty space, and we would
have had no idea of what had happened to them. More ships would have been sent
to investigate, and they too might have been destroyed. As it is, we have some
very valuable data on these aliens. Enough to give us some idea of their
technological capabilities, weaknesses, and even the way they think to a
limited but important extent. It’s this factor that I’ll discuss first because
I believe that while their technology is important, if we don’t understand how
they think and react, then we’re operating at a severe disadvantage regardless
of any technological edge we may possess.”
     
    Howard stopped to take a quick sip of water from the glass
in front of him.
     
    “I’d like to begin the description of the alien behavioral
profile by pointing out what they didn’t do. They didn’t send out one ship to
explore that system the way we did. They didn’t send out ships that were
designed for exploration. They didn’t attempt, so far as we know, to
communicate with our ships. What they DID do is the following. They apparently
attacked 319 without provocation. I say that because our exploration crews are
under standing orders to attempt to make peaceful contact if they should
encounter another space-faring race. The aliens also had seven ships in that
system, seven ships that we know of. There wasn’t time for them to have called
in reinforcements. Therefore they had to have been there from the very
beginning. Now, as someone who has had military training, I’m here to tell you
that you don’t send out seven or more ships to explore one star system at a
time. It would take far too long to survey any significant volume of space that
way. What the deployment of that many ships at one time tells me is that they
were engaged in what is referred to in military circles as Reconnaissance in
Force. You do that when you know that an enemy is out there somewhere, or if
you suspect that an enemy MAY be out there somewhere. If these same aliens were
responsible for the fate of the missing 233 last month, then they know that we
are out here somewhere, and apparently they consider us the enemy.
     
    “The strategy of setting up an ambush using the 319 as bait
strongly suggests preplanning. The ships that they used to attack us seem to be
very strongly armored with a single, very powerful energy weapon. That is NOT
the kind of design that is optimal for peaceful exploration. It IS the kind of
design that would be suitable for offensive operations. Because of the type of
ships they deployed and the way they used those ships, I can only come to the
conclusion that they weren’t out there to make contact. They were out there
looking for a fight.”
     
    The Admiral paused again to give the