To that end, the command staff of the battle group had assembled in the conference room of the Ticonderoga. The captains of the Ticonderoga's various escorts were patched in by viewscreen. All that remained was the feed from Earth. A brief blinking was the only warning they had before Fleet Marshal Van Daan's face appeared on the screen at the head of the room.

Admiral Mfume rose from his chair and yelled, "Attention on deck!"

Those assembled, both in person and on the viewscreens, promptly stood at attention. They were not expecting the Supreme Commander to be the one to deliver the briefing.

The Marshal nodded. "Well, good. Then we can proceed. For the next sixty days, Heavy Carrier Battle Group One will be on maneuvers. We will be running five exercises. The first is 'Swan Lake', which will run from 10 April to 28 April and from 15 May to 8 June. Swan Lake will focus on battle group operations in twenty-seven different configurations.

"The second is 'Pandora's Box', the details of which are restricted to Admiral Mfume, Commodore Frazier and Captain Huang. Gentlemen, I cannot stress enough the classified nature of Pandora's Box. Make sure no one under your command gets caught asking questions they have no business asking. We will throw the book at anyone who even attempts to compromise this exercise. I tell you this so you can keep an eye on your men. The only information you are authorized to release is that there will be a classified exercise held at some point within the next sixty days for an unspecified amount of time. Even the name 'Pandora's Box' does not leave this room. Is that clear?"

The assembly replied in unison, "Yes, sir."

The Marshal continued, "The third exercise is 'Ready Eagle', which will utilize all aviation assets not otherwise engaged. Ready Eagle will run for the duration of the exercise period, from 10 April to 9 June. Beyond giving our pilots some flight hours, there are real-world applications to this exercise. General Pfeiffer, I will leave the details with you. I want the squadron leaders to be briefed before the day is out."

"Lastly, we have 'Solid Rock', a field exercise on Titan for the Army detachment which will run from 14 April to 5 May. The detachment will touch down planetside, secure, fortify and hold a mock colony under enemy attack. We do not want to disturb the locals, so you will be far removed from civilization."

Colonel Vasquez, the commander of the Army detachment, took the opportunity to speak up.

Obligingly, Marshal Van Daan nodded and said, "Go right ahead, Colonel."

The Colonel's utter disregard for the concept of tact earned him some fierce glares in the room, particularly from General Pfeiffer, but the Marshal seemed to be unfazed by his objection. He did not raise his voice or show any signs of being angry. He simply folded his hands and eyed the Colonel, speaking in a level yet decidedly pointed voice.

The Colonel did not apologize, but he made no further objections.

Taking a slightly conciliatory tone, the Marshal said, "There is more to these exercises that just training. We need to keep the crew sharp. 'Taking the fight to the enemy' makes for a good slogan, but we still have not found the Sheolite home base, if such a place even exists. We have to play for time while Intel does its work. The moment we get some actionable intelligence, you will get your fight, all of you. In the meantime, see to it that everything and everyone stays squared away. I look forward to seeing some excellent results from these exercises. Van Daan, out."

The viewscreen blinked off before any courtesies could be rendered. Admiral Mfume rose from his seat to address the assembly.

Once everyone was gathered in the briefing room, she wasted no time getting into the details of the exercise. She swatted the main viewscreen with her pointer, cuing the technician to start the slideshow. She began her narration on the title card, which was nothing more than the air division's insignia and the words 'Ready Eagle'.

Some groans in the assembly prompted the General to swat the viewscreen particularly harshly.

With the complaints silenced, the next slide came up, ticking off several of the activities the units would be doing during the exercise. Pfeiffer tapped the viewscreen for each bullet point.

The slideshow took a decidedly different tone. Rather than the same old pattern of bullet points, the current slide had an assortment of headlines. Things like '27 Dead in Pirate Attack on Xiyang' and 'Ghost Freighter Victim of the Seven Deadlies'.

"That's where you come in. Every time you and your pilots are out there, I want active scanning from takeoff to touchdown. We'd make a lot of people happy if we could get a bead on these criminals and take them down." She paused a moment to emphasis her next point. "Do not, I repeat, do not underestimate them. These aren't some low-rent punks with scrap heap tubs and Zulu cannons. The analysts think they might be ex-military and using refurbished hardware. Consider them to be no less a threat than a Sheolite unit of the same size and respond accordingly.

"The regional governor would like to have them taken alive and brought to trial, but I don't want to lose any pilots trying to bring them in. Standard rules of engagement apply. You are authorized to use deadly force in order to save lives and property. Is that clear?"

After the universal reply of 'Yes, ma'am!', she continued, "The first birds will be going out at 0400. That gives you about twelve hours to brief your units and double-check your equipment. Are there any questions?"

One hand presented itself. A testament to her professionalism, General Pfeiffer managed to avoid rolling her eyes when she saw who it was.

The irreverent squadron leader leaned back in her chair, hardly the way to address a superior officer. General Pfeiffer knew she was not going to like what she was about to hear.

Recalling the example set by Marshal Van Daan earlier in the day, General Pfeiffer made a point not to raise her voice or give any outward appearance of how angry she was.

It was hard for the General not to grin.

When Commander Han failed to respond, the General's patience wore dangerously thin.

The General eyed Commander Han's CAG. "Captain Nagashima."

General Pfeiffer scanned the room for any other malcontents who might want to cross her.

If there were any legitimate questions, no one seemed to have courage to ask. The General nodded to her vice commander, who stood up and called out to the assembly.

The officers all shot up at once. There was only one thing left for the General to say.

All of that was more than enough to keep her mind occupied, but there was something else that was bothering her, taking up more of her mental resources than she would have liked. It was giving her a headache. She massaged her temples, but it did not help much.

The General barely managed to keep from jumping in surprise. She did not expect him to be waiting in her office and had not seen him when she came in. Was she really so distracted or was he showing off his skills?

He laughed. Easy for him to find the humor in it.