> But to answer your questions, all theories that the evidence
>supports is in the reports. That is true. However, my going theory is not
>supported by the evidence, and it goes a little like this.... These aliens
>are a master of ambush and pack tactics. That suggests that they are
>intelligent. Any good starship CO can tell you that coordinated wolfpack
>style tactics are hard to pull off, but not impossible. These beings are
>able to do that flawlessly. The strongest evidence of that is that they are
>able to do this with a collection of pirates, thugs, and raiders not their
>own forces. If it were their own forces one could say that it was practice,
>but that is not the case. They are able to take out convoys guraded by
>Border Patrol cutters and by Starfleet starships. I am not comfortable with
>the fact that a band of pirate rabble are capable of doing this. The joint
>task force is happy to believe that the pirates are just highly organized
>around the feline species. My instincts are saying that there is much more
>to it than that. My instincts say that using the pirates is little more
>than a cover. A cover to build an end point to their rift technology to
>open a stable opening to our part of the universe and to begin the work of
>destabilizing the defences in this area for a major invasion. The
>destabilizing efforts will allow them to establish a better foot hold here.
>They are intelligent, so to underestimate them would be dangerous, no fatal.
>
> To sum up, we have a big problem on our hands. Possibly the next
>big war will be here, and we are definately not prepared."
This man was a good field commander, and good field commanders were often
right. That fact frightened her more than anything else she'd heard. She
looked over at Aurelius to get his reaction.
(eh?)
"You have a good eye forrr detail, Captain, and I will trrrust it. I wish
that you werrren't so able a field commanderrr, forrr then I could say you
werrre just blowing smoke. But unforrrtunately, you arrre a most able
commanderrr, and I cannot ignorrre what you'rrre saying." The role of spec
ops in this campain just became all the more critical, for if they could
get in and do their jobs and do them well, they could head off, or at least
knock the initial wind out of this assault. And they were not ready. She
was already pushing it to get two competant teams in the field who could
handle this assignment. How in Tillarrath's name would she get together
the teams she needed to combat an invasion?
"Captain Black, you've succeeded in worrying an old soldierrr, and that's
not an easy thing to do," she said grimly. "How much time do you think we
have?"
(resp?)
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"Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith,
let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it."
--Abraham Lincoln, February 27, 1860
