Blockade

by Chris Hechtl

  "That stuff is so cool! The matrix crystalizes at the point of impact and redirects the energy, any form of energy whether it is heat, light, or force as we expected. I'll skip the costs and go right to what I've been working on," Jory said, showing the birdman an image of a ship.

  "Nice," Wong stated. It was a wise idea to skip the costs given the mind-boggling numbers involved. "BC?" he asked, checking the scale of the ship.

  "Next gen, yes. I thought about putting it in the Freedom's Dawn class but we're still at least a year or more out from ironing out the production teething issues. Programming the nanites to lay the quantum materials is a bit more ticklish than we thought," Jory explained.

  Proteus put up an image of the BC and highlighted the armor panels.

  "Due to the costs, I thought we'd go with a mixed panel approach. That way we can pop them off and use conventional panels if we have to do so," Jory stated.

  "Makes sense with field repairs. I bet trying to cut through this armor with a plasma torch would suck," Wong stated.

  Jory snorted. "Hey, you'd be right. Nothing less than a nanite can do it," he stated.

  "Am I seeing this correctly? Did you armor the interior of the magazines and the boat bays?" Wong asked, manipulating the controls of the holographic emitter.

  "Yeah, I thought it was obvious."

  "Yeah, I get that. But you forgot the number one thing about trying to contain an explosion," Wong said, eyeing the human. "Don't. You neglected blow-out panels. You have to direct an explosion; it'll follow the path of least resistance. It can and will find a place to go."

  "But the quantum armor absorbs the energy!"

  "And then directs it elsewhere. But the force behind that impact has to be absorbed too, remember? And there is a saturation point in the armor before it fails. No system is perfect," Wong stated.

  Jory frowned at the design and then deflated a little. "Okay, I guess I got a little too excited, a new toy and all."

  "Yeah, you did. But we can fix it. Proteus, let's see if we can create blow-out panels so the explosion will act as a gun and vent overboard rather than internally and gut the ship," Wong stated.

  "I'll help," Jory said as they got to work.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Commodore Montgomery was set to hand off his duties to Admiral Subert and travel to Sigma when he received word of the courier arrival. He was surprised though when he was informed that the admiral was going to take a two-week liberty and then take several weeks getting up to speed.

  He nodded. Fair enough, the admiral had earned his respite. He checked his own status through his A.I. The bad reports and his lack of Academy training along with his firing from Pyrax had been used to deny him further promotion. Admiral Irons was changing that. The admiral was ramming through his promotion to rear admiral anyway on the grounds that he was going to be the senior officer in Sigma for a while.

  That was good and bad news. Good in that he was finally getting his second star, but bad in the way he was getting it. Some might think he hadn't earned it. And it was bad news in that he was going to be senior officer. That meant he was going to have to handle more than just ONI. He was going to have to oversee everything while coordinating with the Admiralty … at least until someone senior, most likely a Bekian, came out to take over.

  He couldn't wait to get away from the politics in the capital though. He liked the intrigue normally, but he wanted to focus on his mission and find this El Dorado.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Captain Broken Antenna waggled her mandibles as she read the latest report. Yard Dog Inc had just finished another civilian ship build, Gypsy Heart. The freighter had completed her builder's trials with flying colors and was already in orbit taking on a full load of ostrich exports. Everything on the birds were being exported—meat, leather from the skin, and feathers. Emu and hadrosaur were also popular exports.

  That was wise. She was still dealing with the mess from the import of sheep meat. An entire shipment had been rejected by the FDA. Her Commerce Department had been called in, but it had been FDA's call. They were right too, the Surgeon General's Office even weighed in on the problem. You just don't put contaminated meat products on the market. Neos were highly susceptible to prions from sheep meat.

  She checked the departures and then nodded her head in a human-style nod. Another convoy of Liberty class ships were on its way to the front. No doubt they were carrying the new hyperspace mines and fort modules. She made a note to look into getting more of the civilian grade ships out of the navy and into the hands of the merchant houses. Bek was setting up merchant houses again, but they were pushing to extend the reach beyond the rapids. If the market was established, she was fairly confident they'd have to work hard to get their niche rather than roll right over everyone.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Admiral Irons noted that Jory, Wong, and Proteus had tabled their fighter project. The two organics didn't know that their faithful cyber partner was keeping the admiral in the loop with summaries and peaks at their progress with various projects. Occasionally, the admiral would intervene using his own experience as a guide. Occasionally just seeing what mischief they were getting up to helped keep him sane when he thought he was going to drown in paperwork and politics.

  Their latest test bed, a BC utilizing the new quantum armor, was interesting. The quantum armor was on par for weight for current generation armor but far more effective. They still needed more lab tests in his opinion, and a full-up field test if possible. They needed to test the material to destruction to know where its breaking point was. The lab tests had topped out with an orbital fort's graser, but there had to be a bigger gun than that or successive gun strikes? No system or material was perfect.

  He still occasionally moonlit in the yard but tried to keep even that to a minimum. The security shift usually caused too much of a disruption, and they didn't need any sort of hiccup. When he had some free time, he looked into the final design of the modular Mulberry forts.

  The Mulberry forts were purpose-built fortresses built from modular blocks shipped in by freighters. The design of the blocks allowed them to be as plug and play as possible. Blocks could be swapped out for repairs or to customize a station design. An entire convoy had been recently dispatched to Garth with three fortresses, a weapon fort, carrier fort, and command fortress. The forts were so modular they could continue to grow over time, turning into gargantuan stations if necessary. Forts were already in the pipeline, but the latest versions being shipped out now would be tough nuts for any fleet to crack once they were assembled.

  He had no intention of giving the enemy too much time. Instead, they'd set up enough to secure Garth and then move on to sealing Horath. Most likely somewhere in-between the emperor would launch an offensive to try to regain the initiative. When he did, he'd break his teeth on their defenses and sacrifice the bulk of his capital ships with hyperdrives in the process.

  And from there it was just a matter of attritioning the defenses in Horath until they were worn down to the point it would be worth moving in.

  He knew a lot of people were unhappy with his plan. Amadeus had come around; after all, anything they could do to soften up Horath was a good thing. But the idea of standing on the defense and making the enemy come to them was not appealing to someone offensive minded.

  Every simulation said that the enemy would go on the offense. Everything they had said the emperor would push back. Which was why it was important to be ready. Yes, they were giving up the initiative, but they were going to fight on their ground with the enemy lacking in intelligence about what they were up against. And the hyper mines should give them fits once they were installed.

  He frowned as a new email came in. He scanned the header, and the signature made him snort. Odette had signed off on the idea of a raid. His eyes scanned the proposal.

  From their initial pitch, they wanted to use a small force, nothing larger than a battle cruiser to get in and scout Horath while hitting t
argets of opportunity. The argument was made that it would throw the enemy on the defense and keep them there, reacting instead of being proactive.

  The admiral nodded. It was true. "As long as we don't poke the bear," he murmured.

  He liked the proposal on several levels except one. It would spoil his primary attack. Odette's plan was for the BCs to come in well outside the established jump zone or even from different vectors. The idea was to force the enemy to spread their defenses thin in order to cover multiple approaches to their strategic resources and planet.

  But, again, it would spoil his main attack.

  He typed out a short answer but forwarded the proposal to the prowler commander. Emily might like it and take pieces from it for her own mission.

  The first wave of prowlers had departed. The second had finished their working-up exercises and were going to depart soon. They had to catch up with the first wave though.

  The newest generation of prowlers, the Poltergiest class, were much like an old Terran submarine in many ways. They were larger than a Meridian or Zephyr class, on par with an Arboth class destroyer. They were pushing the limits of stealth technology with the ship.

  Once they were gathered in Garth, Emily would work them up for their real mission.

  And wouldn't that be a fun time for the pirates? he thought with a grin.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Moira Sema scrubbed her face with one frustrated hand as she tried to get a handle on how to deal with the elections. The VP election was coming up on the next Federation Election Day. Enki had assured her that getting the data through the ansible and compiled wouldn't be a problem.

  Many of the star systems had their own mechanisms for dealing with an election. Some were so new they would be holding only their second election. Admiral Irons wanted to wait until the sector capital in Tau came online so they could have some say in the vote. So far only the ansible in the Trajin Cluster and Lebynthos had been established.

  Getting people to set up and run the elections and certify the results was one headache among many. She also had to deal with various ballot initiatives, plus arguments over ticket placement. The entire thing was random for the candidates but explaining that was hard. Or, no, it was simple, just getting the various campaigns to listen was hard. Everyone wanted to be at the top of their particular ticket. There was also a movement to push the election back another year or to randomize the placement on each star system ballot instead of just one or put the favored person at the top of a ticket in one given area.

  Which was why she was sticking to her guns and insisting they were using one standard for the entire Federation. It was making waves. Her people weren't sure if it was making the right sort of waves, but some were grudgingly approving of her insistence in a single standard for all.

  There were over thirty-six senate seats open, and hundreds of Federal congressional delegates. The local seats were under the Federal seats, which was another sticking point with her and the various planetary election authorities.

  There was another issue her people were dealing with—the thorny issue of the captured territories and star systems who hadn't yet officially joined the Federation. The military and those not in their home star system were voting by absentee ballot but the civilians were another story. The senate had deadlocked on how to deal with them. For the moment her staff had agreed to set any votes aside for the VP ticket. They could count to the popular vote but not for the actual candidates.

  And then there were planets who preferred paper ballots or slate or whatever over electronic ballots. And keeping this count secure was something she didn't want to think about.

  At the top of every ballet were the three candidates for the Vice Presidency. The various ansible debates had at least narrowed the field to three. All three were on the campaign trail. Admiral Irons had authorized the use of couriers as transport against their better judgement. Every candidate had access to them to do a single loop.

  Governor Randall was the odds on favorite for the post. He was performing a loop with his family visiting Triang, Senka, Syntia's World, New Texas, Avalon, Proxima, Centennial and then ending back in Antigua a week or so before the election if he was lucky. He was the most prepared and had the deepest pockets.

  All of the senators who had announced their interest in the candidacy had bowed out. Governor Saladin in Pyrax was a last-minute addition. He was going out to Agnosta, Centennial, and then Gaston before returning to Pyrax. He complained about not being able to hit more stops in the time allotted. Petina had politely pointed out his late timing in announcing his candidacy during a press briefing when the subject had been brought up.

  Governor Parvati Das was the third and final candidate. The Seti Alpha 4 governor had started her loop south to garner support in Halced 6, New Haven, Airea 3, Nightingale, Epsilon Triangula, Gaston, Pyrax, and then a return to her home star system. She had a lot of stops like Governor Randall. Three of them were high population worlds which put her in the second slot. Her involvement was most likely the reason why Governor Saladin had chosen a short loop over a larger one. Governor Das was certainly taking a chance with her loop; scuttlebutt said she might not make it back to her home star system before the election began.

  Moira shrugged such considerations away. It wasn't her problem. She had been sure someone in Bek would have thrown their hat in the ring. Bek by far had the greatest population. Apparently not though, no one had expressed serious interest. She had been surprised by that; they would have more or less locked Bek A and B up and quite possibly Nuevo. Bek had the largest population of any star system by far.

  Apparently like some of the senators and governors that had dropped out, no one wanted to take the chance at the high fruit and jeopardize what they already had in front of them. In a way she couldn't blame them. Admiral Irons had insisted on an electoral system to go along with the popular vote. That would balance Bek out. They might win the electoral vote of their home star system and get the electoral votes but get outvoted by the other star systems.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Agnosta

  Governor Saladin waved at the people on the tarmac. It was raining, another point against him. He was pretty sure his candidacy to the VP slot was dead before it began but he couldn't resist traveling on someone else's dime. Besides, getting out and meeting and greeting people was a good thing, especially when he might use that for a later campaign.

  The one good thing about his short hop was that he'd be back in place as governor and able to dominate the news cycle in-between visits by the other candidates. He'd have to find some way to make the Federal news through the ansible as often as he could. He wasn't certain how his staff could pull that off, but they'd figure it out.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  General Forth scowled as he read the latest missive from the senate. No doubt he'd be hearing it from the other generals soon enough.

  Avalon wanted to mass-produce armor for all ground forces. That included powered armor. They lacked the industry for it though. Just one more headache to have to deal with. Politics no doubt, and the senate would start to weigh in shortly. He hoped the politicians running for the VP office didn't make the situation worse.

  He was an Avalonian; he knew from experience that his people produced weapons in simple Iron Age forges. The best forges had hammers and bellows powered by water wheels. That was a far cry from modern technology.

  Workshops mass-produced custom or generic pieces. Some were reused from older campaigns. As long as the iron was kept oiled and in a case, it could last for years. A few forges had recreated stainless steel and alloys, but they'd jealously guarded the secrets of their manufacture for years.

  They were also into embellishing their armor. Usually with raw metal acid paste that etched the metal. The paste was made out of salt, vinegar, and copper sulfide. Painted areas protected metal that they didn't want etched.

  The process turned the metal red. Sometimes they'd engrave things with a hammer a
nd chisel too. High-end weapons were trimmed in gold leaf. To apply the gold leaf, they had to mix it with mercury, which lead to mercury poisoning. They'd then burn off the mercury. That was completely impractical on the modern battlefield.

  It was also why many saw some of the best artisans going “as mad as a hatter.”

  The renewed introduction of the Marines, and especially powered combat armor, had convinced some Avalonians to back the Federation. Many were flocking to the army and Marines. Those that couldn't handle the Marines ended up in the army or back home as some sort of militia or reservist.

  Some of the armor the old lords had passed down to each generation came from pieces of powered armor from the Xeno war or even before it. Those he wouldn't mind getting his hands on, though they were keeping them.

  He really didn't see Avalon making armor anytime soon, not in any sort of useful quantity. But he had to put up with politics.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Triang

  Governor Randall waved from the top of the boarding ramp. His wife tugged on his arm, but instead of going in, he pulled her out for one last kiss under the sun and coincidentally in front of the cameras. There was a smattering of laughter and applause from the audience when the kiss broke and she gave him a delighted but surprised smile.

  He grinned and waved to the group. "Remember to vote!" he called out as she waved too and then elbowed him inside.

  He grinned at her and then goosed her into moving down the aisle to their waiting vacant seats where the kids were excitedly chattering. "On to the next stop, Senka," he said, listening to the kids recap their adventure.

  He was tired, he wanted to sleep, but their enthusiasm was a bit infectious. Besides, he'd have plenty of time to sleep in stasis on the ship.

  Chapter 22

  Antigua

  "So, before we get started, does anyone need the floor for something earth-shattering?" Admiral Irons asked.