loss of the Dryad system. However their jump drive technology won ’ t allow them to get any further than Dryad, ” Wingate paused and shrugged. “ It is not a perfect deployment but Earth is the priority and even those old cruisers are slightly superior to Tample ships. Our ultimate reasoning however is that Dryad is a place we can afford to take a hit. ”
“ I see, ” Clifton replied, before looking up and down the Council members. “ Does anyone have any comment? ”
“ I don ’ t like leaving the civilian population there so exposed. Is there any possibility of evacuating Dryad? ” the German Chancellor asked.
Wingate paused before answering.
“ The system ’ s population is a hundred and twenty thousand …”
“ One hundred thirty, sir, ” Admiral Fengzi interrupted.
“ Thank you. Evacuation would take at least a year and tie up every personnel transport available to the human race. So it isn ’ t a practical proposition. ”
“ We could evacuate the children within a practical time frame, assuming no hostile move against the system, ” Lewis said. “ But assuming parents were even willing, the separation period might run into years. ”
“ Maybe practically possible, Admiral, but politically … very, very difficult, ” Clifton replied. “ However that option is one we will certainly keep on the table. Moving on, the Nameless themselves, what do we have? ”
“ In truth, a lot of speculation but precious few facts, ” Wingate said. “ What we have is mostly based on observational data. We can now be sure that the Nameless currently favour missile armament exclusively. Their jump drive equivalent allows them to cross inter-stellar distances faster than our ships and also allows them to re-enter real space about a third closer to a planetary body, depending on the size of that body. On the positive side however, in real space their ships have markedly inferior power-to-mass ratios, meaning their ships lack armour and have inferior acceleration. Also while they can cross inter-stellar distances more quickly than us, this appears to come at the cost of higher fuel expenditure. The big downside however remains their long-range missiles. These weapons can fire effectively from far beyond our ability to return fire. The only counter we currently have to this would be fighters, but since we only possess two carriers, the Akagi and the Illustrious , our ability to use them is limited . ”
“ I see Admiral, ” Clifton replied, pressing her fingers lips for a moment before speaking again. “ In truth it is hard for any of us, any of us statesmen anyway, to truly grasp the magnitude of the threat we are facing. As nations, most of us have not faced a serious threat to our ways of life from anything other than our fellow humans in many decades. We have therefore perhaps been complacent in the face of external threats, forgetting that even the collective strength of all Earth ’ s nations still makes us only a secondary power in the galaxy. We accept therefore that our means are limited and our strategy must be governed by those limitations. ” Clifton paused for a moment then continued. “ However there is one topic which I believe the fleet is attempting to brush under the carpet: Landfall. ”
“ Our last communication from the colony stated that the population is being evacuated to the shelters and siege being prepared for, ” Wingate said carefully. “ However as of the last report, the planet has not been approached by any Nameless forces. ”
“ I believe those reports are subject to a transmission lag in the region of forty hours, ” Clifton replied.
“ That is correct, Ma ’ am. ”
“ So we only know what is happening there nearly two days afterwards. ”
“ Correct Madam President. The transit time for a fast wing of armed ships between Earth and Landfall is a minimum of ten days. If the Nameless choose to move against the planet, we will not be able to get a fleet