2953-02-05 – Tales from the Service: A View From Headquarters, Part 11  

Though it has been nearly two years since we’ve done a proper sit down with Admiral Abarca, I doubt any of you have felt left out of Seventh Fleet’s confidence in that time. Both Nojus and I have met with the admiral on many occasions, and spoken with him many more times at official functions. He is very familiar with the press pool here at Sagittarius and his staff is far more responsive than Admiral Zahariev’s was when we were embedded with Fifth Fleet. As long as we imperil no military secrets, he is only too happy to answer our queries. 

When we reached out with a list of questions about the Kyaroh front and Force 73, the admiral suggested we sit down for an official interview to answer them. As is common for this sort of conversation, you can view video excerpts of the interview on the main Cosmic Background datasphere hub. 

This interview was conducted in-person aboard the battleship Philadelphia in the Sagittarius Gate system on 2 February. 

D.L.C. - Duncan Chaudhri is a junior editor and wartime head field reporter for Cosmic Background.      

N.T.B. - Nojus Brand is a long-time explorer, datasphere personality, and wartime field reporter for Cosmic Background.     

K.T.K. - Captain Kenneth Kempf is the Naval Intelligence attaché to Seventh Fleet commander Admiral Shun Abarca.   

S.R.A. - Admiral Shun R. Abarca is the commander of Seventh Fleet.  

[D.L.C.] - Good afternoon Admiral Abarca. And you, Captain Kempf. Thank you for sitting down with us today. 

[S.R.A.] - Always a pleasure, gentlemen.  

[N.T.B.] - The situation is very different than when we last sat down, isn’t it? 

[K.T.K.] - How so, Mr. Brand? 

[N.T.B.] - Seventh Fleet has been on the offensive for the better part of two years. The perimeter is steadily expanding, and things are safe enough here at the Gate that you’ve sent some of your best cruisers off to Kyaroh space. 

[S.R.A.] - It is true that Force 73 contains some of our most modern vessels, but this was due to the needs of the mission, not because we did not have other uses for them. The dire situation the Kyaroh and our other Sagittarius-native allies find themselves in demanded attention. 

[K.T.K.] - It is no secret that the cruisers of Force 73 would have been the forward mobile operating force of our next major offensive. The planetary assaults of last year, though important, were small affairs by the standards of what this fleet can do when it is massed. 

[D.L.C.] - I’d guessed that, since few of the battleships in the fleet have seen much action since raids on Sagittarius Gate itself have become rare. Ashkelon hasn’t even been out of system since- 

[K.T.K.] - Let’s not be too specific about that on the record. Suffice to say that most of the battlewagons are spending most of their time close to home port.  

[S.R.A.] - They do get out occasionally, as you well know, but we like to avoid discussing the specifics of these operations on public media. You understand I’m sure. 

[D.L.C.] - Of course, Admiral. My apologies. 

[S.R.A.] - Returning to the topic of the day, Force 73, I do not like Mr. Brand’s characterization that it is an offensive maneuver. The force’s mission is to spoil enemy attacks on Kyaroh colonies, not to go on the offensive in the deep Corward flank of Incarnation space. It only appears as an offensive because the force is deployed so far forward relative to our own holdings. 

[N.T.B.] - Of course the tactical objective is defensive, but surely you think of it as a strategic offensive, Admiral? That’s how all the analysts are reading it. 

[S.R.A.] - I do not keep up with the opinions of the datasphere analysts. If you are characterizing them correctly, I disagree. Force 73’s mission is a defensive one only, at the tactical, operational, and strategic level. Logistics prohibit it from being anything else. 

[D.L.C.] - Lack of logistics seems like a more accurate assessment. 

[S.R.A.] - Indeed. A force not properly supplied can hardly be on the offensive, but it can get in the way and disrupt enemy operations. We cannot supply any offensive along that avenue. 

[N.T.B.] - Why would you tell us that, if the enemy can read this interview same as the people back home? 

[K.T.K.] - The Incarnation knows this already. It does not help their situation. They can withdraw their forces from Kyaroh space without real concern that Force 73 is in their flank, but to do so takes the pressure off the Kyaroh themselves. Eventually, they will have to do this anyway. 

[S.R.A.] - As it is, their expenditure of forces on at least three fronts – it may be more, as we do not know if there are other peoples in Sagittarius who are similarly suffering – is quite baffling. If the Incarnation focused all its ships and troops on us here at Sagittarius Gate, they would stand the best chance of breaking our fortress and securing the Sagittarius Arm against us. I think that they do not know when to cut their losses. To wield their whole strength in one place, they would need to surrender their gains in the Coreward Frontier and abandon their claims in Kyaroh space. 

[N.T.B.] - Baffling in that a Confederated leader would make different decisions? Yes, I suppose it would be. But quite like Nate from what we know of him. 

[S.R.A.] - What we know of our enemy is a bundle of contradictions. You could predict any course of action and have grounds for it. This is perhaps their greatest intelligence success; we know much about their equipment and tactics, but little about the motives and tendencies of their leaders on the strategic level. 

[D.L.C.] - Your candor in this is refreshing as always, Admiral Abarca. But do you think you are saying too much? 

[S.R.A.] - I am not saying too much, Mr. Chaudhri. If I was, Mr. Kempf would have stopped me. What this fleet regards as sensitive information has not been exposed. 

[D.L.C.] - So do you expect the Incarnation fleet to withdraw from Kyaroh suppression activities? And if it did, would Force 73 return to the main body of the fleet? 

[S.R.A.] - I think eventually their forces will withdraw, but it will not be soon, nor will it be all at once. They will not simply surrender that angle in their conquests, even though that would be the coldly rational thing to do once they are brought to a halt. 

[N.T.B.] - And at some point, the level of forces that way will be low enough that the Kyaroh won’t need our ships anymore. 

[S.R.A.] - Eventually. But at that point, once again, there is a decision point where the enemy is impossible to predict. If our ships departed, the enemy might redouble his efforts there all over again unless his forces were pinned down elsewhere. 

[D.L.C.] - Which means offensives – real ones – to pin them down elsewhere, right? Make them defend things they care about more than Kyaroh systems. 

[S.R.A.] - We shall see. I certainly hope we can do that without exposing Sagittarius Gate itself.