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the hell is he?  
    Was it possible that Kalis had already launched a major offensive against the Union, as a follow-up to the Stillman raid and McAllister’s force had passed by it, unnoticed in transit? 
    He might have.  Kalis is an audacious old fox.
    The Stillman raid gave proof of that. If Kalis had gone off on a major raid of the North, he probably would have left more than a single task force behind to guard Ginia, wouldn’t he? Maybe a second, or even a third task force was hiding amongst the asteroids. That would make sense, but why leave only a single task force vulnerable near the planet with his major strength out in the asteroids? With the Planetary Guard fighters available, unless that single task force stayed close to the orbital forts, McAllister’s five task forces would maul them. Even staying near to the forts, McAllister would still maul them — it would just be more expensive.
    If Kalis had taken his whole fleet or more North, where did McAllister’s duty lie? Should she continue this ridiculous, politically-driven Ginia mission, or scurry home in hopes of surprising Kalis there? Her admirals were about evenly split on the issue. None argued hard for running back home, lest they be seen as timid, but most had that look that said that was exactly what they’d really like to do. If she did and Kalis wasn’t actually there threatening Waston, how would her superiors react to her aborting her mission to chase ghosts?  
    It was McAllister’s decision in the end, just as it had been at the beginning. Fuck it!   If Kalis was tearing the shit out of Waston, that was the damned politicians’ problem — those both inside and outside of Fleet. McAllister’s safest route was to obey her asinine orders, if there really was such a thing as a “safe route” for her at all.
    “We go in, mission option 3, one light-minute out. Launch fighters ASAP, on arrival.”
    * * * *
    Admiral Eileen Thorn detested the idea of leaving Missip to the Yankees, but she was determined to keep her 3 rd Fleet concentrated. Having 3 rd Fleet spread out all over hell’s half acre was what caused this damned mess in the first place. Thorn was glad she wasn’t the one who’d had to deal with their dumbass president, who’d royally screwed the pooch on their Tensee strategy.
    I’d have probably strangled the twit. 
    It took her three weeks to limp the damaged 3 rd Fleet to the Mystic Confederate Fleet Shipyard , hidden within the Helix Nebula near Sextus space. Estimates were that it would take two months to make repairs to the remnant of the original 3 rd Fleet. Once repairs were completed, Thorn would then be in the unusual position of having more carriers than she had fighters to put on them. 
    Thorn decided that once she kicked the Yankees out of Missip, she’d forward one attack carrier and one light carrier, both lacking fighters, back to Admiral Kalis in Ginia. That would leave her with full fighter compliments for her three task forces — actually just a bit more, as she’d be short a light carrier, but had an extra attack carrier to make up for it. She’d cope.
    * * * *
The Confederate Planet Ginia
Late June, 3862
    From information provided by Confederate Fleet Intelligence, it was expected the Union fleet would translate into the Ginia system at anytime, so every ship was fully manned. When the long range scans from Rikmon International Spaceport showed over 100 blips appearing at 002 by 003, one light-minute out, word was flashed to the Stillman’s two task forces and alarms sounded, calling the crews to battle-stations.  Combat armor was donned and stations were manned, getting ready to meet the enemy.  Carpenter’s TF-23 shot a message out towards Kalis’ ships in the asteroids and began launching fighters within six minutes of the flash alert. Ginia Planetary Guard fighters began lifting within 12 minutes. Stillman’s TF-21 cast off and began backing out of their slips at Norf Shipyard within 10