Blockade

by Chris Hechtl

  Names, names chosen to be the showcase of imperial might and power were just empty threats now. It bothered him. It bothered him a lot, and he didn't like it. He scowled. Something had to be done. Somehow, they had to get back on the winning side.

  And soon.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Captain Elvira Varbossa noted the extra security at the central yard and sighed internally No doubt it was the emperor; the brass usually kept things low key in their virtual checkups. This one wasn't quite virtual though; drones were being used. The time lag and resources wasted were typical of the brass.

  The emperor was a different story; he wasn't even on hand. He was touring the yard virtually, but the prigs in charge were so worried about something happening while the emperor was looking they'd ordered a slowdown. Which caused all sorts of headaches and threatened to snowball into a tangled mess.

  Fortunately, she was out of it for the most part since she was mainly in R&D these days. Her job, no, her new job on top of all of the other jobs was to look into the boneyard for a couple of the ships she'd noted there.

  Part of the Empire's problem was that they weren't investing in their support infrastructure. They weren't expanding it; they were relying on what they had on hand or what the fleet of ships came in with or, relying on convoys from outside of the home star system.

  No support ships were under construction. Every slot in the yard was taken up by a warship. But a fleet didn't fly without parts, fuel, and the like. The current support fleet was saturated and actually overworked and near collapse. They needed more ships in other words but didn't have the time to build them.

  Which was where the boneyard ships came in. One of them was a Forager class mining ship. No doubt she'd been partially stripped and any replicators would most likely be useless but she was still there. A lot of the ship's big heavy equipment was most likely still on board. Her people tended to take small items of value not big mass hogs. A rock grinder wasn't something someone normally valued. She did though because it might give them another ore processing center, one they could use somehow.

  The ship could be parked in the belt and used. Or, if her engines worked, she could move around under her own limited power. She didn't need a hyperdrive; they just needed it in the home system. The less they invested in the project to get it going the better. She could dig up old parts to get her up and running or upgrade her in time. But first they needed to see what she'd found and if they were worth investing time and resources in.

  She didn't know what could be made of the two ships but it bore investigating. Maybe even a couple of the freighters might be of use too. Anything that could add to their near saturated industry was a good thing in her eyes. Along the way it might prove fruitful for Catherine.

  Her cheeks heated in a brief familiar heat at the thought of her lover and friend. She wasn't sure where they were going with their relationship, but she was starting to truly enjoy it. Was it the thrill of danger? Of sneaking around? Both of those things did add a sort of zest to it all. She knew eventually it might all come out. When was a big question.

  It could also make her a target. That was a scary thought.

  She grimaced and then shook herself as the cutter pilot indicated they were on final approach to the first ship.

  She didn't need to do the ride along personally but she wanted out of the office. She had no intention of boarding the ships, but she wanted a hands-on and mark one eyeball view of the ships to judge the potential project for herself.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Catherine crossed her arms as she watched the pieces coming into place. Not just in her grand plan, but also physically she noted, watching pieces of what was reported to be a Colossal class battle moon being manipulated by dozens of tugs. The remnant was just a small piece, twice the size of a monitor, but it had been hauled there across the sector ages ago for what she assumed was a spoil of war. She couldn't imagine it being put to use again.

  Apparently, someone hadn't told her father or the brass. Stupid, but apparently, they thought it would work as some sort of fortress. It was ancient though, a class younger than a Dahak class to be sure, but not really worth it in the end. If it had been up to her, the chunk would have been stripped of anything usable and sent to the breakers for recycling long ago.

  She turned her attention to the convoy moving out for the distant Finagle jump point. There were dozens of ships in that convoy—most of them yachts though there was one massive Epic class liner at the center of the convoy. Her sources had confirmed quite a few of the pirate lords were hedging their bets by sending their families away from the capital.

  She turned at a sound at the hatch. Her guard frowned but then stepped aside as a pair of emperor's guards came through. One was dressed in flat black and walked with a master martial artist's grace. She nodded ever so slightly to him as she straightened and let her hands drop to her sides.

  When her father came into the compartment, she bowed her head slightly to him.

  “Them,” her father growled, moving with purpose to the wall screen behind them.

  “Nice to see you too, Father,” she murmured. He waved that away as he stared intently at the convoy.

  “Like rats deserting the ship,” he growled.

  “We're not sinking just yet,” she murmured. He turned to look at her and then to the convoy.

  “I suppose you had a hand in this?” he demanded.

  She cocked her head and then shrugged. “You had contingency planning drilled into me from a young age, Father. Besides, the best way to remove an enemy is to let someone else do it for you or for them to do it themselves,” she said, indicating the convoy. “They are paying through the nose to run away. They are bribing and scheming their way out. Let them. It is that or they will feel trapped and come after the person or persons they feel responsible for that state.”

  His lips pursed, but he continued to glare at the convoy.

  “And, it opens a power vacuum. One we can use to our advantage,” she said. He turned and raised an eyebrow her way. She snorted. “I didn't dabble in political intrigue for a long time, but that doesn't mean I was ignorant of it as a naval officer, Father. Besides, grandmother drilled that into me,” she said.

  He nodded once. “No doubt she's finding ways to expand our influence.”

  She nodded. “I believe so. So, they leave? So what? They won't obstruct what you wish to accomplish here.”

  “And what is that?”

  “To get back on the offense and take back our territory,” she said.

  “I can't do that if they are stripping the treasury while running,” he growled, indicating the ships.

  “You could of course use your emergency powers to nationalize any assets they leave behind,” she said. He blinked and then his eyes narrowed as her smile turned slightly malicious. “Serves them right for leaving.”

  He snorted and then chuckled. “Yes, yes, it does!” He patted her on the shoulder. “I'll keep that in mind, my dear. At the least it will serve as a deterrent to those who wish to follow them in the days to come,” he said.

  She nodded.

  Chapter 7

  Antigua

  When it got quiet and no one came to bug her, Moira set down the brief she'd been reading to check out what her wayward staff was up to this time. No one was at the desk guarding her inner sanctum, and Nadine's office was empty. The hall was too, though she could hear sounds of laughter nearby.

  She followed the sounds until she got to Geoffrey's office. Trust the speechwriter to dredge something up and rope the rest of the staff into it. She leaned against the open door jamb as they watched an old 2D episode that had to have hearkened back to the days of old Terra. It was something about a Stargate.

  She watched and was amused at their laughter. Geoffery started to excitedly talk about the writing in that show versus another called Babylon 5 when he noted she was standing there.

  "Oh um …"

  Nadine blushed as she turne
d to their boss.

  "So, this is where my wayward children have gotten off to? And this is what you do with your time when I'm not around?" Moira chided teasingly. "I've got to admit, that was a funny."

  Geoffrey's eyes lit as the others sighed in relief at being passed over by the potential storm.

  "Come on, people, back to work," Nadine urged, clapping her hands and making shooing motions.

  Moira stepped aside and then eyed Nadine. Nadine ducked her head and left without a word.

  Moira snorted and went back to her office. It was a slow day anyway; she had briefs to read before she was supposed to meet with the admiral in a few hours. She had another hour to read … she checked the clock and shook her head. Okay, half hour before she had to get to the shuttle bay and hop a ride over to White Station. Security would have to be planned for. After the last bombing attempt, they'd tightened things up significantly.

  She still toyed with the ideas of chasing and catching Irons. He was on the bounce though and was closed off. She had to admit though, she was glad that red-haired witch of a woman was out of the running though.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  "So, too lazy to go anywhere else so you have to come here?" Admiral Irons asked as she came in the room.

  Moira paused in confusion. "Am I not invited? Did I get my schedule screwed up?"

  "No, I'm just pulling your leg about being a homebody and not going out to see the grand sights around the sector," he teased. "Come in, shut the door," he said, motioning her to come in.

  She entered and closed the door, then came over to the couch and took a seat across from him.

  "Is that why you gave me that courier? To get rid of me?" she retorted as she used the coffee service that had been set up to pour herself a small shot.

  He snorted and shook his head. "No, I want you to get out and about and see more of the sector before things really bog down. Get to know the people and the players involved."

  "I am getting to know people."

  "I know that. But the ansible doesn't count."

  She did the political calculus and then nodded. "You want me to put face time in with the people."

  "Exactly. Once the war winds down, I'll do the same. But it is up to you. The timing is ultimately up to you of course as well as the course you wish to set."

  She searched her feelings and then grimaced. "I have to admit, I spent a lifetime as a double star system woman. I think I went to Bek B once or twice in my life. That trip here was rough. I was bored to tears even with all the reading and videos I had for homework. Just coming here sucked."

  He snorted and nodded. "That's one of the downsides of travel. Imagine going to Tau or another sector!"

  She shuddered. "I'd rather not actually."

  "I know. It's a lot of time to burn."

  "How did they do it before?"

  "Well, they had the hyper bridges. And they eventually had the stargates. But mainly patience. Loads of patience or stasis pods if you prefer to sleep your way through the trip."

  She snorted. "Heh."

  "What?"

  "Geoffery showed me an ancient video of a stargate show. Something about having a gate on the ground?" She shook her head. "I admit the humor was funny once he explained the episode was preserved because it was so funny. Something about time travel. The one where the guy was golfing into the wormhole was funny once I understood it."

  "Um …," Admiral Irons frowned. "I think I know which one you are talking about."

  She blinked. "You do?"

  "I was in the Stargate project. We had some of the staff who were geeks. They dredged up a few old programs and would watch them. A few of the prudish scientists thought it would pollute their thinking, but they instead picked apart the show's technical features to show what would and wouldn't work."

  "Oh."

  "Like having a wormhole on a planet for instance," the admiral said. "When I came along, they were fixated on that concept. They couldn't make it work but refused to try something different or go back to basics. They spent decades chasing their tails with nothing to show for it."

  "Really? But you got them on track?"

  "It was me or the entire project got canceled. That lent me the power I needed to get them to focus on ship gates over ground gates," he explained. "And don't get me started on the power needed for running a ground gate," he said with a shake of his head. "I admit, some of the fiction was funny."

  "You saw it from an engineering standpoint? Oh, wait, duh," she said, smiling and dropping her head as she shook it in humor. "Look at who I'm talking to."

  He chuckled silently. "Exactly. Yeah, we did consider the idea of having a Pico wormhole. The concept is you have a digital replicator on either side of the gate. It scans the person or object going through, digitizes them, and then sends the data through a tiny wormhole to the other side where the process is reversed. That's essentially how they explained it in the show."

  She blinked. "Oh."

  "But you run into all sorts of issues. Like having a wormhole on a planet. That requires a whole lot of shielding to protect the planet … which interferes with the gate itself!" He shook his head in despair. "There was talk of doing something like that with ansibles for almost a century or two." He paused and then snorted.

  "What?" she asked, looking at him curiously.

  "It's nothing."

  When she didn't look like she believed him, he shrugged. "Okay, I just remembered having a similar discussion in Pyrax over twenty or so years ago."

  "Oh."

  "So, I get why you don't want a wormhole on a planet …"

  He snorted. "Yeah, having what amounts to two pinpoint blackholes linked by quantum tunneling on a planet would be a tad energetic," he drawled.

  She blinked in surprise and then pursed her lips in a silent whistle. He nodded. "The funny thing is, despite the arguments, that was what they were shooting for. The Stargate design team I mean. They bitched about being tied to 'preconceived hairbrained ancient sci-fi,' but in the end that was what they were after."

  "Oh." She shook her head. "That changed though, obviously."

  "Yes. See, we've been able to make wormholes for over a century," he explained. She blinked. "Pico ones. It stems from the Hyperspace War."

  She blinked again and then frowned, clearly puzzled.

  "The researchers at the time did a lot of work on trying to figure out the hyper bridges. And well, war tends to give research a kick in the pants. Once people see something done, they know it can be done. That gets them over their own preconceived notions that were hampering them. It opens their mind to new possibilities and stimulates science."

  "Oh. But …," she frowned as she collected her thoughts. "You said they couldn't get over a Pico size?"

  "Yes. See, the original plan was to send data like the ansible. But you can't send any signal through a wormhole. The event horizon sucks them up. Physical shielded objects, yes, not a stream of data. The event horizons bend them into pretzels and the quantum bubbles …." He stopped when he saw her eyes glaze over. He shrugged. "Look, just take my word for it. Years of research into the problem of trying to map data onto a medium that can be transmitted went nowhere. Academics sucked grant money up for papers that spouted the same thing," he said as he picked up his coffee for a sip.

  "Oh."

  She frowned for a bit then cocked her head as he took a sip of coffee and then set the cup down. "But you did it."

  "I was a part of the team."

  She snorted. "You can try that, but Bek has admittedly, a polarized view of you. Also, a few people who built gates ended up getting through the rapids to Nuevo. We heard about your part."

  The admiral felt his ears and cheeks heat a little. "Okay, so I gave them a kick in the pants. They needed it. They were so wrapped up in what couldn't be done and trying to do it their way I got them to go back to basics. And I took the point of view I naturally do, the one of an engineer."

  She smiled.

 
"Engineers have their quirks, and yeah, we sometimes get carried away and make things more complicated than they need to be. But, some of us firmly believe in the KISS principle and another one—if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

  She chuckled softly.

  He smiled, feeling good about making a lady laugh. It had been a while.

  "So, you got it to work with ships. I thought they couldn't get it to scale beyond the Pico size?"

  "They were trying too hard and as I said, trying to limit things to human size. I took a different route. That's why I'm amused at Gwildor's work, and I know it won't work."

  She frowned. "Professor Gwildor?"

  "Yes."

  "The Nova research?"

  "Oh, I think he is right in theory, but it hasn't bit anyone in the butt yet so it isn't urgent. Yet. But it's not just his idea of harnessing that energy. You know the rest of it, right?"

  "I'm still amused by the idea of free energy. I've heard that promise a few times," she drawled.

  He chuckled. "Me too. No, it's the man-portable gate."

  She frowned, this time darkly. "He isn't serious, is he?" she asked, clearly dubious by the idea.

  "I believe he is. See, the Stargate program was trying to do it with antimatter. They also wanted to do it with a facility not a handheld device. His is just a little too ambitious."

  She nodded. "I'm not sure I like the idea of a gate anyone can turn on and invite the Xenos in," she said darkly.

  His face closed suddenly.

  "What? What'd I say?" she asked.

  "It's not how it works," the admiral said.

  She scowled.

  "I'm serious. We didn't open a portal to another dimension. You need two anchor points. What happened was we had a network here. Gates I mean. It sped up commerce and transport and really changed things. We had also sent a small exploration flotilla to the nearest galaxy. One of the ships carried an ansible. They spent years getting there. When they did, we built a gate here, and they built a gate there, and then we connected the two."