Conflict!

by Dale Moorhouse

  “That’s excellent news about the subassembly track. We were curious about the idea of performing the final assembly on Terra. To my knowledge, all of the motherships have been assembled in space, usually while in orbit around a planet.”

  I paused for a moment and did some quick digging looking for information about the first mothership. When I found it, “Moshe, I just checked our records, the first mothership was assembled in space from subassemblies built dirt-side. Once the first ship was expanded to a size where dedicated fabrication shops were feasible, total production was shifted to space.

  “I also see our production capability for segments is limited to two motherships, Mother of Glory and Mother of Peril. Mother of Peril is a Weasel run vessel and hasn’t produced a new section in over two thousand Terran years. It would seem like a good idea to make the first couple of segments dedicated to vessel production since we are going to be relying on the Weasels to produce thousands of fighter craft in the next few years. An additional section or two for them would certainly help in that regard.

  “I’m going to turn the logistics of production over to Sergei Romanov, he will be down to meet you and your team in the next few days. We will be sending a shuttle or two down to Japan to pick up the weld samples tomorrow and should be able to certify them in the following day or so. I’ll check in with you in three days. Sergei will be on the call, too. Take care, Moshe.”

  “Until later, Jase.”

  I managed to get a little paperwork done and was thinking of heading for the medbay where Elaine worked when Johnny commed, telling me one of the Swift Fangs we left to monitor the Plague had just returned and they have news. I told him to bring the ship’s commander to his office for debriefing, I would join him when she has arrived. Knowing it will be another deca before Bloody Fangs is in the hangar, I decided to visit Elaine now because I had a feeling it was going to be a long day.

  Elaine greeted me with some good news, “The surviving warrior you pulled from the Plague ship is doing much better. Vanilla is working with him every cycle for a half-deca in the morning and again in the evening, Thomas now lets me enter his room and check his regeneration capsules. He even allows me to feed him and change his diaper although he complains about it some. He hates being as helpless as a cub.

  “The bones of both arms are now completely formed, and his skin is almost covering them. It will be many cycles before the nerves and muscle regenerate, but he is looking forward to feeding himself. His legs are doing well too but are advancing more slowly because we opted to direct most of the nanites to his arms thinking it more important for him psychologically to be able to perform his daily cleanliness routines than to be able to run through the corridors. We also can’t feed him any more of the supplements he needs for regeneration without the risk of toxic effects of too much carbon and titanium in his system.”

  “That’s good news for sure,” I told her. “What about brain functions and aftereffects of the hack job the Plague did on him?”

  “Luckily they didn’t botch it as badly as they did with his companion. Some of the damage they did to Shining Black Sword was deliberate, and they used the threat of it on Thomas. He was being taken to one of the large spheroid ships for his next ‘treatment’ when you intercepted the ship you found him on.”

  “When do you think Tuxedo, Johnny and I can talk to him? It sounds like he may have information we can use and the sooner we know what he knows, the better.”

  “I think Tuxedo by himself would be best for right now, Jase. In a couple of cycles, Tuxedo should be able to bring Johnny in with him. It might be best if you let Tuxedo bring you in via implant for now. He is still pretty fragile, I don’t want to overwhelm him with Terrans and constantly having to relive his nightmares, he does plenty of that in his sleep as it is. He has asked for minimum contact for now and even refuses visits from his mate until he has healed up more. She is upset at this but loves him enough not to press the issue.”

  I wrapped my arms around her and said, “You’re the doctor, I’ll go with your recommendation. If Tux shares his implant feed with me, that should be good enough. I know Johnny will feel the same, and if I have any particular questions, I can have Tux ask him for me.

  “Speaking of Johnny I need to get back to his office, Bloody Fangs will be docking in thirty centas, and I want to be there for her commander’s debrief. I’ll stop at the dining room and grab a quick bite before the debrief starts.”

  “Bloody Fangs is one of the ships we left monitoring the Plague, isn’t she?” she asked.

  “Yes, and she is a bit early, so there might be major developments. I may be late getting back to quarters.” I gave her a quick hug and a kiss and headed back to Terran HQ.

  Margo, the skipper of Bloody Fangs, reminded me of Chocolate who commands Destiny, one of my Talon cruisers. She looked nothing like her but had the same confidence and excellent attention to detail.

  As we debriefed her, her answers were concise and direct. When we asked her to expand on something, she did so with precise detail and no obscurity. “Sers, the part of the Plague fleet we have been tailing is now split into three swarms. One seems to be continuing the mining of the Centauri system. It consists of one of the planet-sized spheres accompanied by close to forty-thousand ships of four types. Our AI counted over seven thousand of the breaker/sorter type, twenty-thousand harvesters with the remaining thirteen thousand split evenly between the Swift Fang and the shuttle types we have seen for the first time.

  “The second swarm is smaller having the same number of breaker-sorters and harvesters but only eleven hundred of the Swift Fang type and no shuttles we could see. When we last saw them, they were heading out of the spiral arm heading east relative to our course here. There are a few isolated systems out that way, but we haven’t caught any electromagnetic signals from them so we have no idea why the Plague would head in that direction unless it is just a token search or a feint. Neither of those makes sense to me.

  “The third swarm is vast. The one remaining sphere was joined by three others, our AI estimates over a million more ships of mostly the Breaker-sorter and Harvester-Class came with them. We saw less than a thousand of the Swift Fang-Class and about the same of the Shuttle-Class. When we left, they were accelerating, their course is bringing them in this direction. Sharp Eyes is following at a distance, and just before we jumped, she reported the Plague is leaving a trio of ships behind at intervals of twenty-five AUs.”

  Johnny and I questioned her for another deca with Ginger relaying questions to us via her implant. Several of Johnny’s staff has been listening in as well, and a feed was being sent to the Elders and the Ark fleet. Finally, Johnny and I stood and dismissed Margo. We asked her to rest her crew and be ready to go back on station in two cycles. She told us she and her crew would be available if there should be any more questions and took her leave.

  I turned to Johnny, “When it rains it pours. It looks like we have well over two million ships to deal with and track.”

  “Isn’t that the truth, brother?” he replied with a chuckle. “I think it is time to increase the number of observers and tail the other swarms as well as the main body. I’ll call a conference of the commanders and ask for volunteers then prepare a roster, so you know who is where and what they are doing. It’s a good thing we have all of our current roster of Swift Fangs upgraded and are updating their crews’ training.”

  “Yes, it is. Ginger and I have also asked for more Swift Fangs, the Mmrrreeowwn Ark will be going into production in five cycles. The starboard wing shops on MoG and Mother of Vengeance are already in full production, and I’m asking the port shops to start building more Talons with a modified deck plan that includes additional hangar space and more bunks in the warrior and officer quarters for pilots and gunners. I told the Elders I’m going to war, this is just one of many steps I will make on that journey.”

  “We will all support you in any way we can, Jase. Just don’t try to do it all on your o
wn, all of us on MoG are with you and will help shoulder this burden.”

  4

  WE DROPPED A SHUTTLE TO Ottawa so Rebecca could talk with her parents about moving aboard Mother of Glory to work with the children in the main creche. Before she went down, Elaine and I spoke with her about the nanite treatments and that if she came up to stay, she would be required to take them. We also explained why her parents were no longer good candidates for immigration, she took it well.

  “Dad explained that to me last year after he spoke with you and I understand—I wish it weren’t so but it is, and I’ve thought about it ever since and talked about it with mom and dad. They told me they will support whatever decision I make, and I’ve decided I want this life.”

  “I’m glad you have given it plenty of consideration and think you will be an asset to the creche and to our community here aboard Mother of Glory,” Elaine remarked. “When I first came aboard I saw my place as Jase’s partner and supporter. With my introduction to the teachers, I discovered I had talent in fields I’d never considered while living on the ground. For now, I’ve chosen medicine but like the Mmrrreeowwn, barring accident, I will have a long life and can move into other fields over time. Many Mmrrreeowwn have several careers over the span of three hundred plus years, and nothing is holding me back from doing the same. You will have the same opportunities and can take advantage of them or not, as you choose.”

  Now she was tying up loose ends on Terra, and we would be picking her up next cycle when we go back up after our visit to Toshi with the results of the quality testing on his weld samples. Elaine, Sergei, Sasha and I were heading down after breakfast. Missy is flying us in Righteous Claws, and Serena and Edgar have asked to come. Toshi loves cats, and when we asked about bringing them, he said, “My wife and I would be disappointed if you did not Jase. I understand your pilot has one of Serena’s siblings, will she be coming as well?”

  “Yes, Shadow will be coming with Missy. Her brother, Stealth is working with our warriors now helping train other lynxes to work with them as the K9 dogs on Terra. The lynxes have the advantage of being able to communicate more effectively, but that also leads to questions and discussions of tactics and protocol. The lynxes have a highly developed sense of ethics which can and sometimes does lead to problems when given an order. Stealth was raised by me, and he helps mitigate and clarify the issues.”

  “Splendid! We are looking forward to having you as guests. Our house is empty now with our children on Mother of Glory, while we like peace, we miss the extra company. When the kids left, they took their cats too, we miss the little terrors more than we ever thought we would.”

  “We will be at the Nagasaki site in about two hours, Toshi, we will see you then.”

  Toshi met us when we landed at a property the Japanese government has leased to us for 1000 Yen a year and we have paid ten years in advance. The property is in Kasugamachi, almost due east of Nagasaki Bay and surrounded by small farms. Toshi’s team lives close by. They either congregate at our property where he has built a small lab in an adjacent building or at the Nagasaki Institute of Applied Science in nearby Abamachi. There is enough room to land Righteous Claws by the lab and Toshi’s house is only a few hundred metres away with a nice walk leading to it.

  Toshi and his team came pouring out of the lab as we set down and showed the enthusiasm that Japanese culture bestows on honoured guests. I’d never met some of these folks before, but we were shown great courtesy and treated like family. Tuxedo chose to come with us and was wearing full armour when the crowd caught sight of him you would have thought Miyamoto Musashi himself had stepped forward in time to visit. Tuxedo laps this kind of attention up like cream but he was careful not to overplay it. As soon as the greetings were over, he shucked his armour and things quieted down.

  We met in the lab where Toshi had reserved a room for the meeting. I introduced Sergei and Sasha to Toshi and his team, and they were momentarily surprised when they both returned their greetings in Japanese. Toshi chuckled and said, “I keep forgetting about your wonderful implants that allow you to understand and speak many Terran languages. If there was only one piece of technology I could get from you, I believe the implant would be the one.”

  Sergei replied, “I believe we might be able to provide you with implants. I will double check with our med-techs, but I’m pretty sure the nanites used for the connections to our neural centres are independent of those of the longevity treatments.

  “In the meantime, our technicians have performed the full battery of tests on the welds you provided us and your technique is a complete success. I would like to firm up the timetable to begin production which I understand will take place in Israel in a facility near Tel Nof Airbase. Are you planning production anywhere else?”

  “Yes, we are, Sergei. The problem for us is we have nowhere to build a cube that is a little more than a kilometre on a side. Japan and Korea are both very mountainous, so flat land is very precious and is all down along the coast. We haven’t been able to persuade the government to give us the powers we need to confiscate the land much less clear it of any structures.

  “What we would like to propose is building the subassemblies in Busan, Korea and here in Nagasaki and, using gravitic modules, lifting them to space and assembling them there. An alternative would be to craft the subassemblies into cubes a quarter kilometre on a side then lift them to space for final assembly. We have reviewed the blueprints you sent and believe it is feasible.

  “Our Israeli friends think they can build the whole segment on the planet and launch it, but we are sceptical, and they haven’t been very forthcoming with their information.”

  “Well,” I said, “they have rethought that and have decided to concentrate on building subassemblies on Terra then lifting them to space. It seems like your two groups are actually in accord.”

  Sergei commed privately and asked if it might not be a bad idea to take Toshi and his team with us tomorrow when we go to Israel. By way of an answer, I said, “I think it would be nice if you all come with us to Israel tomorrow and we can get a first-hand look at what the Israelis are planning. What do you think, gentlemen?”

  Toshi immediately agreed, “Yes, Jase, that makes sense. We could even discuss our communications or lack of and perhaps resolve some issues.” He looked around at his team, and they all nodded in the affirmative. “Well, it looks like we all get to go on a little adventure!”

  On our way to meet with Moshe and his team, we stopped first in South Korea and Taiwan to pick up the rest of the consortium team members. Moshe was waiting for us when we landed and had ground transport waiting for us. He beamed with pleasure at seeing the whole team had come.

  “I am so pleased to see you all,” he said as we boarded a nice air-conditioned bus. “It won’t take long to get to Tel Aviv and our project headquarters. When I told the rest of my group you were all coming, they were quite excited at the chance to meet the people they have been video conferencing with for the last year.

  “We thought to take you to the subassembly plants after a quick meeting for introductions. We can also catch each other up on all that we have learned since our last meetings.”

  While we were flying to Israel, I got in touch with the project leader who supervised the building of the two new segments for Mother of Glory and asked him if there was anything special about the shop segments. He was quick to explain the differences and sent me a complete set of blueprints and specifications. I told Moshe and the others, “We need to ramp up our ability to produce war materials, I have a new set of specs and prints for you. When we get to your headquarters, I’ll transfer them to your systems, and you can begin distributing them to your teams. Because the shop segments require fewer subassemblies, it should take you less time to build them and assemble them in space.

  “Once we have two additional shops running, you can begin building subassemblies for the habitat segments.” I saw a bunch of smiles and nodding.

  When we
got to the project headquarters building, I introduced Sergei to the group, telling them he is taking over the logistics and planning while I concentrated on assembling our fighting forces. Sergei hit the ground running with a short recitation of his background before having each team member do the same. A few of the Israelis were reticent about sharing but a couple of stern looks from Moshe cured that, and they became much more open and forthcoming.

  Moshe took me aside, “This is a job I love and hate. I have extremely talented and capable individuals to work with, but sometimes, I feel like I’m herding cats.”

  “I know the feeling, Moshe. I am herding cats every day and actually have more trouble with Terrans. My cats have a hundred thousand of years experience working cooperatively—the Terrans, not so much. Perhaps when the main part of the meeting is over, we can address some of those issues.”

  When the meeting ended, I stood and moved to the front of the room, “I’m hearing some discontent concerning the communications between groups within the consortium. Perhaps since we are all together, we can hash some of this out and set up some protocols that make things easier.

  “One of the main complaints I’ve heard is related to the timeliness of status and updates. Another is there is no clear understanding as to which group is to produce which module. While I’m investigating getting some tools for you all to use to create and transport the subassemblies, perhaps you could break up into groups and discuss what you need to accomplish your part of the project.”

  As the people got up and moved around I saw the Japanese head for one corner, the Israelis head for another and other smaller groups trying to decide which of the two larger groups to join. I was about to say something when Sergei blew a sharp, loud whistle through his fingers that brought everyone up short. Serena, who had been quiet as a mouse until now complained on her implant, “Jeez I hate that kind of noise! Fair warning would be nice—my ears are going to be hurting for cycles!”