Read Stark's Crusade for Free Online Page B

hands. "They're my babies, Stark. We can salvage the tank from the wrecked shuttle, by the way, but losing even one piece of heavy armor hurts. We can't replace 'em, you know."
    "I know. Not unless Gordo manages a black-market buy of a shuttle. Maybe he can smuggle a tank onto it."
    "Why not?" Gordasa muttered. "Just ask Supply to do the impossible. No problem. We deal with CDATs all the time."
    Lamont chuckled. Back in the twentieth century soldiers had joked about DATs, dumb-ass tankers. As their tanks grew more sophisticated the DATs had become CDATs, computerized dumb-ass tankers. "Gordo, after word gets out on that raid, my boys and girls will be in the CD AT Hall of Fame. You'll feel honored every time you reject a spare parts requisition from us."
    Stark smiled briefly. "Mendo." Private Mendoza, his chin resting on both hands as he watched the others speak, jerked slightly in surprise. "What do you think? We blew up a lot of stuff and ruined that enemy general's day, week, month, and year. Big picture, though, was it worth it?"
    "I think, Commander Stark . . ." Mendo visibly hesitated for a moment, then spread his hands over the display. "It depends. On the objective. What do we seek?"
    "To avoid getting beat," Yurivan drawled.
    Stark wondered if Mendoza would be intimidated by Stacey Yurivan's mockery, but the small private shook his head stubbornly. "That is a very limited objective, though a valid one. But is that our objective, Commander Stark? And is it a wise objective?"
    "Why wouldn't it be wise?" Stark asked.
    Mendoza paused again, gathering his thoughts. "A defensive strategy can work, but it requires time. Time to wear out the enemy. Too, it requires an enemy who cannot corner you, cannot force a decisive battle."
    "We're surrounded here," Lamont noted.
    "Exactly. The essence of a delaying strategy is to avoid a decisive battle. It is often called a Fabian Strategy after the Roman commander who used it successfully against Hannibal. Since the Romans had lost every time they fought a major engagement with Hannibal, Fabius simply refused to fight such an engagement, always retreating when confronted."
    "What kept this Hannibal from just capturing Rome while Fabius ran away?" Reynolds questioned.
    "Rome had fixed defenses. Walls. Hannibal lacked the engines of war necessary to breach those walls. Nor could he settle down to attempt to build them while worried about the Roman army operating in his rear. So Hannibal could not win as long as Fabius refused to fight. Operating in hostile territory far from home, Hannibal's army was eventually worn down and forced to retreat."
    "Interesting idea," Stark noted. "But it sounds like this Fabius had time on his side. Which we may not. And he could run away when he didn't want to fight. We've got nowhere to run."
    "Just so," Mendoza agreed. "We must wait in one location while our opponents muster their forces against us. Aside from tactical adjustments to the perimeter, we must defend the Colony. We have Rome's walls, but we lack an army on the outside able to threaten anyone besieging us."
    "We aren't stuck here," Lamont argued. "We left the perimeter to hit that enemy landing field. Why not keep doing that?"
    Mendoza shook his head. "Carrying out that raid required use of deception to bypass enemy defenses. Can another raid such as we conducted succeed again?"
    "No chance in hell," Reynolds stated. "I'd hate to be the shuttle crew that accidentally lands on the wrong field from now on. They'll get blown away before they can say 'bad mistake.' There may be another way to get past the enemy defenses surrounding us, but I sure can't think of any right now." Some of the others at the table looked uncomfortable at her words, but no one contradicted Reynolds.
    "Then we must be prepared to defend against heavy attacks," Mendoza concluded, "and to somehow hold out until our attackers are exhausted."
    Stark glanced around at his staff, all of whom were digesting Mendoza's