by T J Bryan
After the meeting ended all five SAR's fired active probes. Time to enter the Megra kill zone by the probes was almost 122 minutes. Casters from this distance would take less than eight seconds so timing was critical. The timing was so precise that Silvi chose to use the auto fire system given that a sloppy finger push might either wipe out the probes or obscure any data they might receive.
Silvi knew that within moments of firing the modified 'K' class probes the Megra would spot them and probably respond with their slow missiles. A brace of well timed casters would easily take out the missiles and their previously slow cycle time might allow the probes to get quite close. The problem was that the ten probes faced 29 dumbbells and the Great Maw. With a cycle time of 90 seconds those 29 dumbbells might let loose a missile every two seconds or so. But they would probably fire in volley, in which case if the casters were timed right, and took out a hole in the volley fire, the probes might well get a good glimpse at the Great Maw before meeting their destruction.
Silvi sat in her Commodore's seat and sent Toni a short text on her probe and caster attack. She wanted Toni to know just in case the whole idea turned out to be wrong.
Silvi watched the clock intently and as the countdown approached five minutes she found herself gripping the arm of her Commodore's seat. Relax she thought, relax.
Stan Daugherty at the defence chair called out, "Dumbbells have fired a volley. Looks like almost 20 of the ships fired at the same time. Impact on the probes in 93 seconds."
Again Silvi found herself gripping the armrest of her Commodore's chair.
"Casters away," called out the weapons specialist Renee Campbell. "Impact in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, impact. Casters cleared the 'K' class probes in advance of impact. Six probes are within scan range and are scanning now."
"Second volley of Megra missiles away now."
Silvi did not smile. The expenditure of 16 casters on a hoped for probing mission was a costly move. Only the probe data would tell her if the cost was worth the gain.
Defence called out, "We just lost two probes, four remain in flight. Lost another. Three are good... all three are now lost."
Silvi now smiled. She knew she would have a good set of scans.
"Mr. Daugherty, broadcast the scans to all ships and to Holgata Station. Then join me in my quarters to review what the probes captured."
Moments later they entered Silvi's tiny office. Stan Daugherty pulled down the jump seat from the wall as Silvi sat at the tiny desk. Stan queued up the probe reports on the vid screen. The probes had been designed to provide not only scan data like mass, energy level, radiation, position, and other physical factors, but also very high definition 3D images, that is if three probes survived long enough and Silvi knew they had.
Daugherty split the screen with stats and data on one half and the other with the visuals as the probes approached the Great Maw.
Silvi and Stan watched the 63 seconds captured with great interest, and about half way through the display they noted the casters speeding through and ahead and then detonating in the distance. Additional explosions occurred as the Megra missiles, sent out to stop the probes ran into two metric tons of depleted uranium pellets traveling at 60% SOL. The flashes were brief and only ten seconds or so of the vid was obscured by the flash as the probes continued on in toward the Great Maw. The Great Maw itself had not fired in its' defence, but of the several dumbbells who had not fired in first volley they now unleashed additional missiles. The probes tracked the missiles and within another 20 seconds the missiles struck all the probes and the vid went down.
"Ok," said Silvi. "Now lets look at the full vid scans of that big bastard."
"Do you want it in real time or slo-mo?" asked Stan.
"Frame by frame on this pass. Begin with the part right after visuals are recovered from the explosion of the casters and the missiles."
"Those probes do high vis at 8,000 frames a second Commodore. We may need to go a bit faster."
Silvi nodded. It was the last few seconds and the last 18,000 frames that provided the most information. Three probes had made it to within 42,000 kilometres and their three eye view gave exquisite detail of the Great Maw. It took Silvi and Stan over two hours going over the last frames from each probe and then combining frames for an in depth view of the ship and its maw.
On one of the last frames Silvi spotted something. "See that Stan? That kind of ball hanging in the middle of that concave cavity?"
"Yea, I see it."
"Hmmm," Silvi found herself saying. "Can you give me a analysis of the concave shape?"
Stan pulled out his inter-tab and began to make calculations based on the scan data of the front of the Great Maw. It took several minutes.
"It's a concave bowl of some kind. Like to focus something." Give me another minute Commodore.
Silvi turned her attention to the scan data which was displayed next to the vid. She found what she had expected. There was an anti-matter signature aboard the ship. After all the primary weapon of the Megra was the anti-matter torpedo, but what surprised her was that the front of the big Megra ship registered an anti-matter signature that was nearly off the charts.
Stan continued calculating then he stopped and looked at Silvi. "If that sphere in the middle were a bright light, then the concave mirror behind it would cast a direct beam in front of the ship. But the curvature is not for light at all."
"What is it for Stan, if not for light."
"I think given the radius and what I am seeing on the mass index for that section of the ship, as well as the polygonal shape of the reinforcing sections, and then there is ..."
"Stan," interrupted Silvi. "What is it going to focus."
Stan swallowed, "Anti-matter. It's an anti-matter beam."
Silvi drew a deep breath. "Well it must have a dispersal limit otherwise we would all be fried by now. Any idea how far the kill ratio might extend?"
"I have no idea Commodore, this is way beyond my pay grade, I mean my level of education. You need to talk to someone who knows this stuff and that is not me."
Silvi stood. "Write up your conclusion. You have five minutes. Broadcast it to all ships and to Holgata Station. Oh, and also to Wu. Ask them for anyone who might understand focused beams of anti-matter to come foreword. Or for that matter anyone who understands anti-matter at all. "
Silvi left Stan sitting at her office desk and returned to the bridge. "How do I stop a beam she wondered. It's not like a torpedo I can hit with caster," she found herself speaking.
Toni received Stan's analysis moments after it was broadcast. She found herself stunned by the concept of an anti-matter beam of some kind. However she was relieved that they now knew what they faced in the Great Maw. Stan's note that it must have some distance limitation made sense, otherwise it would just enter the system and begin obliterating everything. On the other hand it just might be a one shot weapon. How does one control that amount of energy in that tight space. No, this new Megra Great Maw had some very serious limitation and now the OCN needed to figure out what those limitations were and needed to do this quickly.
Toni stepped onto the bridge. "Mr. Ulf. Send out a broadcast message to all ships, crews, and citizens of Wu station. Include our refugees as well. Ask for anyone with a physics background in anti-matter, or for that matter optics as well, to report. I am not picky here, anyone who can help will be welcome. Also search the background of all our crew looking for anyone who ever studied anti-matter."
"Aye aye, Sir." responded Lars as he set to work drafting a message and then broadcasting it to the entire system. Toni realized that the Megra might be listening but at this point it did not matter. She needed information and the Megra fleet was still a good 30 hours away at their best speed. Then again they might not be listening, or might not understand standard English. Or, for that matter, even care that the OCN had a hint about their new weapon. Who could fathom the alien mind?
The hours passed and still the Megra did not move.
&
nbsp; Toni was sitting in her bridge seat when Lars interrupted her worries about the new weapon.
"Commodore, I have six names who might be able to help. One is the equivalent of a PhD from Diana named Olszewski, Leopold Olszewski. He says he is a weather modification expert who has a background in anti-matter which the Diana folks used in their equipment to attenuate storms. Then I have a grad student, or was a grad student at the Collegium, who joined the OCN last year as an astrogator. Says he has some understanding of the stuff. Then there are another four all claiming some knowledge."
Toni thought a moment. "What is the astrogators name?"
"Markham Paris, I think he is the brother of Sal Paris. You know Farn's old pilot on Mist."
Toni pulled out her inter-tab and looked up the records on Markham Paris. She read quickly and realized that his claim to some understanding of anti-matter was understatement. Anti-matter and its' properties were the subject of his dissertation, but his degree hunt had been interrupted when Abel convinced him to join the OCN and train as an astrogator. His current assignment was on Göndul, and he would have left the ship upon her return to Holgata Station for another ship assignment, but had remained on board as Göndul rushed to join the fleet upon its return from patrol.
"Mr. Ulf, get me Kata Park on Göndul. I'll be in my quarters."
Toni immediately returned to her tiny quarters and her small private work station.
Soon she was speaking to Kata and Markham Paris. Markham had reviewed the scan data from the probes as well as Stan Daugherty's conclusions. He thought that with additional work he might confirm Stan's thoughts. But Tony was not interested in confirming any conclusions. She needed a plan and she needed it now.
"I have five other names of people claiming knowledge in this area. One of them is the Diana equivalent of a PhD named Leopold Olszewski. There are four others. Now get them on a vid conference and see if they know what they claim to know. Throw out those who don't know or don't know enough."
Toni continued, "I want answers and I want them yesterday. What is the range of that beam? Is firing the beam a one shot play, or can multiple shots be headed our way. Is there a likely cycle time. And answers to any other questions you might raise as a group as to the use of this thing as a weapon."
Toni could see Markham nodding. She continued. "You have thirty minutes to form a working committee on vid. I want a report in 29 minutes. And then another report every 30 minutes progress or not. Now get to work." Toni terminated the vid conference and slumped back into her hard uncomfortable steel chair. Well she thought at least we will know what killed us.
Toni sat at the bridge and watched the clock on the bulkhead wall. Occasionally she glanced at the Megra fleet disposition. The fleet had moved only slightly as if dressing up their positions for a parade before the high Muketymuck of the Megra. Toni found herself smiling. I wonder if the Megra have a high Muketymuck? They must.
The Megra fleet disposition was odd. The Megra dumbbells were rather tight to each other but formed a flat disk like a coin standing on edge. And slightly ahead of the disk stood the Big Maw. Strange she thought.
Moments later her vid-com pinged. It was Markham Paris. Toni looked at the clock it was 22 minutes since she had spoken with him.
Toni thumbed the vid-com open. "Go Markham."
Markham looked a bit confused at the abrupt response of Toni, but began. "Olszewski is the real deal. He is an expert. Knows a lot, I mean, really a lot. One of the others is a math whiz and can help with some calculations we are running. The other three are a wash out, one a faith healer who claims to know everything, and the other an old woman with dementia. Then someone so injured they cannot retain consciousness."
"And?" asked Toni, fully aware of the abrupt nature of her side of the conversation.
"And, we need just a bit more time. Olszewski and I think we understand something but we need to prove it. It's going to take some calculations, but it looks right."
"Ok. But tell me your idea. Now! Then do the calculations."
Markham looked nervous for a moment. "Well we could be wrong. I mean really wrong, and I don't want to be wrong. Too much hangs of this evaluation and ..."
"Markham, out with it."
"Well, It must be a one shot weapon. Nothing could contain that amount of anti-matter and Olszewski thinks that the convex focusing mechanism will only hold for a microsecond and then give way. But a microsecond might be all that is needed."
Toni sighed with some relief at the idea of a one shot weapon that might well eat its' host as it fired.
"What else Markham? I know there is more."
"Well Commodore this is the hard part and I really need Olszewski to do some work."
"Markam, this is an order. What else?"
"You can't focus anti-matter. It does not work like that. The focus will be pure energy. Energy released from the anti-matter detonation. So the beam is like plasma on steroids."
"Like plasma, does it dissipate with distance?"
Markham replied, "Yes. Of course it will dissipate."
"What is the effective range of this plasma on steroids weapon?"
"That we don't know. Could be a kilometre. Could be ten thousand or a million. We need to do the math on the convex surface. We don't know if it is a columnar beam or something broader and a bit less focused. We should know after the calculations are completed."
"How long is that Markham?"
"An hour, maybe less."
Toni was about to terminate the call but then asked. "A columnar beam would be only the width of that convex focusing thing. How wide is it?"
Markham immediately replied, "About 900 meters wide. If it is a one shot weapon then you might take out one ship if your aim was good. That's why Olszewski thinks the beam will not be so tightly focused. He thinks, and I agree, that a broad beam might be designed to take out our entire fleet in one shot. That's why we got to do the calculation on the convex shape."
"Good work Markham, now finish the calculations and get back to me."
Toni terminated the vid-com.
She reviewed what she had heard from Markham. The weapon was a one shot cannon. It was like plasma but with a much greater distance. It would dissipate with distance. When the ship fired the weapon it would either become disabled or destroyed. The beam was likely to be broad to take in the whole fleet, but how broad she did not know.
Toni thought a bit more. "Our fleet is now more than 3,000,000 kilometres away from the Great Maw. We have never been closer than 2,000,000 since she entered. And that thing never shot its' beam. So it is safe to assume the range is less than 2,000,000. Or at 2,000,000 the beam was still too narrow to take out all of the OCN ships. Toni shook her head. Nothing is safe in war or in the void she thought. Nothing.
Chapter One Hundred Fifteen
Jamon System - Habitat, Navy Club - Year 3248 October 17 ET 01:22
Abel and Mia Li were finishing lunch and the noise of the crowded Navy Club subsided as most of the patrons returned to work or their studies.
They had been talking of trivial matters while eating and Mia spent most of her time talking about food on her home world of Xitang. At one point Mia commented that her love of food was probably as a result of never having enough to eat as a child. Abel was most interested in Mia's life and her experiences on Xitang, and he desperately wanted to know more about the strengths and weaknesses of a possible alliance with the Emperor Li Bian. However he felt pressing Mia too early might result in her telling him less than he desired. He chose to bide his time.
As the dishes were cleared away and tea served by the steward, Mia sat back in her chair. "You know Admiral. I find your government here in the Commonwealth rather odd. I simply do not understand how it works or how it can last. This system of talking to everyone and getting agreement seems absurd." Mia reached for her tea and took a sip. Abel waited for her to continue.
"How can you ever get everyone to agree on anything. I don't see how such a system ca
n last. The first crisis and everyone has an opinion and then only chaos can result. Without an authority, a leader, one you call a tyrant or despot, your system will truly fall apart. It's just too slow to respond."
Abel smiled. "Well we have done well so far and that's about 400 years."
Mia Li smiled, "But an instant in time. Our Empire is over 4,500 years old and we have never suffered from the kind of chaos you experienced during the recent revolt."
Abel responded, "Mia Li that was not a revolt. It was what we call a 'coup' and that means a small group of men, in this case perhaps less than twenty, attempted to seize the government. Our people united against them. There was confusion only for a day or two and then everyone agreed to be rid of the cabal that would seize power."
Mia Li smiled as if she had scored a point in a debate. She returned her tea cup to the table.
"Now Mia Li," said Abel. "Any system that has lived as long as the Xitang must have faced government failures, and in your word 'chaos', and taken steps outside its' tyranny or despotism to rectify a wrong. If you had no way of correcting mistakes outside your authoritarian system you surely would had collapsed by now."
"True," she replied. "As when my uncle Li Bian removed my father as Emperor. But we had a remedy built within our system although it took far too long to initiate the 'Arm of the Righteous'.
Abel was now quite interested. "The Arm of the Righteous?"
"Yes. Even our system of despotism, which I feel is superior to your consultative democracy, has institutions and traditions for reining in a despot who is out of control as was my father."
"Can you explain Mia. How does the Arm of the Righteous work"
"When an Emperor looses the Mandate of the Stars, he is relieved of his authority and the next in the Imperial line is chosen to succeed him on the throne."
"Relieved?"
Mia Li reached for her tea but it was now cold. She put the cup down and Abel could see her thinking how much to reveal.
