The Last Charge (The Nameless War Trilogy Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

war it now found itself desperately fighting. Some of the projects – the jump missiles and parasite fighters – held great promise. But others, such as the cold plasma shielding, were so wildly ambitious that Lewis couldn’t help but wonder what the hell their proponents were thinking. But it didn’t matter – two years wasn’t enough time for a project to go from concept to development, then through production and into service. 
    Turning, Lewis looked into the brightly lit space of the shipyard. The battleship Warspite , his flagship, lay in the most distant berth, her refit finished. She was now completing her final loading and would within hours be moving out to join the fleet. Alongside her lay one of the few new projects to reach fruition, the barrage ship Minstrel . Built on freighter chassis, each side of the hull disposed forty short, low velocity railguns. At maximum rate of fire, Minstrel could lay down a box barrage no missile could get through and empty her magazines in less than eight minutes.
    No, when the Nameless arrived, there would be no new wonder weapons. Battle Fleet would have to fight with the same armaments that had come up short so many times before.
    ___________________________
     
    “The breakthrough at Junction Line three weeks ago, has resulted in a drastic change in the strategic situation that is not in our favour,” Admiral Wingate told the Council. An African-American in his mid-sixties, he was the fleet’s senior military officer. Despite the faded scars of old burns and a maimed hand, until two years previously he had looked like a man ten years younger. Now the reverse was true. “Unlike their opening advance last year, this new the Nameless offensive has been methodical rather than a blitzkrieg.”
    The Council chamber was near silent, disturbed only by the hum of the holograms. On the far side of the table sat the hologramatic forms of the heads of United States, Argentina, India, China, Japan, Great Britain and France. In the two years since the first contact with the Nameless, this room had seen many briefings. The means by which the war would be prosecuted had been subject to both discussion and argument. All the while as the war ground on, humanity’s position weakened.
    “While we cannot be sure of their exact strength, or their timing, we can be certain that within the next three weeks the Nameless will arrive in this solar system with a fleet that will outnumber and outgun our own,” Wingate continued. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I will not lie to you. What we face is a strategic nightmare and what may well amount to a tactical, no-win scenario.”
    “So,” asked President Clifton, “can we expect an immediate direct attack on Earth?”
    “No, Madam President. I do not believe Earth will be subject to an immediate frontal assault, something I say with considerable regret,” Wingate replied. “With the combined strength of the Home and Second Fleets, plus the starforts and ground-based planetary defence fighters, such an assault could be stood off. In fact, given the relative fragility of Nameless warships compared to our own, a direct assault would give us the best chance of winning a decisive victory. This is something we have to assume the Nameless themselves are well aware of. While they have never demonstrated any reluctance to suffer casualties, it is unlikely they will seek a battle that plays to our strengths.”
    “So what do you believe their strategy will be?” British Prime Minister Layland asked quietly.
    “To a certain extent, sir, it depends on what their long and short term objectives are,” Wingate replied. “If our swift eradication is their primary objective, then they may be willing to take a more forceful approach to destroy Battle Fleet and our planetary defences. Once they control Earth’s orbit, orbital bombardment will sterilise the planet within days. If they want Earth with a still functioning biosphere, then the intensity of any