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bombardment must be reduced. However, with control of orbit, none of the national militaries could mount an effective defence for long. Any large troop formations could be picked apart by orbital fire. This approach would expose the Nameless to a more long running campaign with higher casualties.”
    “So there is a chance of them getting bogged down in an insurgency type conflict?” someone asked.
    “No, not really,” Wingate said shaking his head. “A classic insurgency has fighters operating within and concealed by a civilian population. As we know from the Centaur planet, any civilian population controlled by the Nameless would be liquidated. Military forces that could survive would have to remain hidden within wilderness regions.”
    “So in other words, most of the population of Earth would be slaughtered, with a few survivors running for the rest of their lives,” Clifton said sombrely.
    “Yes, ma’am. If the Nameless achieve Earth orbit, then we have already lost. But direct assault is probably not the way they will choose to go. I and my staff believe that for the Nameless, unless they are subject to time constraints we are not aware of, siege is the most likely strategy.”
    “Saturn. Cut us off from Saturn, you mean?” Clifton asked.
    “Yes, ma’am,” Wingate replied. “Over three quarters of Earth’s power is now generated by hydrogen harvested from Saturn. Currently jump-capable tug ships are moving slow-boat tankers to Earth. How much information the Nameless have on the infrastructure of this solar system, is currently unknowable. But once they have units in the system, it will be impossible to conceal.”
    “If the starforts around Earth and Saturn could hold off a direct assault, could we run convoys in and out?” the Indian Prime Minister asked.
    “Sir, while we believe that the planetary defence units around Saturn could stand off all but the heaviest assault, we also believe that the Nameless will be reluctant to put such a force into a mass shadow as deep as Saturn’s, since to do so, would run the risk of being caught by our mobile units where they couldn’t jump away. Unfortunately, they don’t need to take out the harvesting facilities. Earth – with its much shallower Mass Shadow, they could assault. Therefore the majority of our mobile units will have to remain around Earth to provide close defence. That would leave only a small number of ships free for convoys and the Nameless would see any convoy climbing out of the Mass Shadow. They would have all the time needed to intercept it. To guarantee their safety, we would have to send the whole fleet – the same ships also needed to defend Earth. Just cutting us off from Saturn will be enough.”
    Wingate shifted uncomfortably, then continued.
    “Battle Fleet’s strategic fuel reserves will last no more than thirty days under normal usage. But that figure will drop sharply when those ships are engaged in combat. If we have access to the various national reserves, that figure can be extended, but once we are cut off from Saturn, Earth and the fleet are living on borrowed time.”
    “So they can wait until Earth is protected only by a fleet of powerless hulks,” the Chinese representative said. “Therefore, we must ask – how does the fleet propose to avoid this?”
    “Yes, we clearly have a window after the Nameless arrive during which we can meet their fleet with our own,” Clifton said. “How does the fleet plan to use that window?”
    “Unfortunately, ma’am, that is where the situation becomes nightmarish,” Wingate said in an uncompromising tone. “We know that heavy casualties hold no fear for the Nameless. We also know that their economic strength is such that they can replace a lost fleet. We can’t. This means that simply charging out to meet them in a mutual massacre of our fleets, would make our destruction inevitable a year or two later. If we are to win, then it has to be a crushing victory. Something we