OMEGA Destiny

by Stephen Arseneault

  Joni waved her hand. "I understand, Mr. Carson. I'm just letting off a little steam due to boredom. Certainly there is something we could be doing."

  Jack smiled. "Keeping me alive is a good start. Watch for that dumb move that I occasionally try to make, and put a stop to it before it happens."

  Joni crossed her arms, slumping back in her chair.

  Our sweeping campaign quickly dropped from five ships per sweep to three to one. Directional changes soon dropped our success rate to a small fraction.

  The colonel returned from his assault on the AI factories a half hour later. "Both were destroyed and will not be rebuilt. We followed up with catching the latest group of fifty ships leaving the factory, and then the next five previous groups going all the way to the outskirts of Doomlight. Eight hundred ships were parked and waiting for orders. We caught most of them while bunched up."

  The Baldi admiral opened a comm. "Mr. Beutcher, you were right, the level of data you have provided us with is staggering. It will take us weeks to gain a full understanding of it all. And we have watched the colonel with fascination. What a powerful tool this portal technology is. You have managed to destroy countless AI ships without ever risking your own ships in battle."

  I said, "I wish it were that simple, Admiral. The AI have countered that strategy with simple maneuvers. With more than a hundred ships we are now only able to successfully sweep away a single ship every five minutes. With only sweeps, we won't be able to stop that force before it reaches the Kergan worlds."

  The colonel joined the conversation. "Admiral, it's been this way with almost every major encounter. We attack, they change strategies and tactics to minimize our effectiveness. At this point, we're only a day away from having to go head to head with them. We aren't certain how many of those ships our Yacabucci tech will work on. Our defenses are much stronger than theirs, as are our weapons, but the battlefield has a way of taking away advantages if you rely too heavily on them."

  "Agreed, Colonel," replied the admiral. "We have seen the same. Our primary goal is always to go in with superior numbers. If we can't do that, we attempt to delay the fight as long as we can. I wish we could offer our help, but our ships are months, if not years, from your location."

  The colonel smiled. "I asked you before if you could spare ships, Admiral. Now I'll ask you again. If we could bring them here, what could you spare?"

  The admiral turned and paced in thought. "I have a fleet in reserve. They are seasoned veterans. The ships number eight thousand strong. I would have to run this by my superiors first."

  The colonel nodded. "Please ask them, Admiral. We have about sixteen hours before this fleet reaches our current location. We could sweep those eight thousand here in about twenty minutes, now that we have more portal ships. That would give us time to plan for their use during the battle, keeping them as safe as possible, while getting the best use from them. And, Admiral, I won't lie, this may be a one way ticket for them. That AI fleet is huge."

  The admiral stopped, cocking his head back in question. "And if we are successful at stopping this fleet? What then?"

  The colonel replied, "Then we send your ships home and we begin our hunt for any other AIs. This fleet has been building for a long time. If we knock it down, they won't be able to regenerate anything that size without having access to resources. We can check planets, moons, or even asteroid belts far faster than open space. With a victory here, we can change our strategy to simple search-and-destroy missions."

  The admiral closed his comm. Twenty minutes later we had our answer. Six thousand of the eight thousand reserve ships would be made available. Five hours were required for preparation before any would be ready for a portal sweep to our location. Communications with the Baldi fleet admiral were established and planning was begun. Our time was ticking down.

  After a long initial session with the reserve fleet admiral, the ships were swept through portals to an area just behind our fleet.

  The Baldi admiral opened a comm. "Colonel Harper, where are your ships?"

  I replied, "We're here, Admiral. We have our own version of stealth technology."

  I gave the order, and for a period of fifteen seconds the sentinel ships and the Garmon set their sodium skins to inactive.

  The admiral remarked, "Those are some beautiful ships, Colonel. Where's the rest?"

  The colonel replied, "That's it for this type of ship, Admiral. One hundred forty-seven of us. We'll be sweeping in the rest momentarily. We have another eighteen hundred and twelve ships from our Talisan fleet."

  The admiral scowled. "Less than two thousand ships against eighty thousand? Why wasn't I told of this before?"

  The colonel replied, "Your superiors were aware of that fact, Admiral. You will be fighting AIs. Does it really matter if it's here and now or six months from now in your own space?"

  The admiral huffed. "I don't like being in the dark, Colonel. Are there any more surprises I should know about?"

  The colonel shook his head. "None that I know of."

  The first of the Talisan ships was swept into place.

  The colonel said, "Jack, you and the other pilots join our command comm channel. We'll keep this one open throughout the conflict."

  Jack passed the colonel's image to the holo-wall. "Admiral, commanders, captains, we will be going in with a main attack plan and two contingencies. Our first order of business will be to move the Talisan and sentinel fleets into position to activate our Yacabucci generators. Admiral, as we discussed earlier, we will leave four avenues open through the AI ships. Stay in those lanes and you should be free to move and fire. Stray into the web and you'll be held there until those generators are shut down. Stay in the lanes.

  "While the Baldi ships are moving through the AI fleet, our Talisan and sentinel ships will be moving in with boarding parties. We will move ship to ship for as long as it takes to finish them all off. When a ship has engaged, the friendly fire alerts will be active. Admiral, please reinforce this with your crews."

  The admiral replied, "They will be informed, Colonel."

  The colonel nodded. "If the main plan fails, we move to the first contingency. The sentinels will engage directly, while the Talisans and Baldi harass the sides of the fleet in an attempt to bunch them together. As the sentinels fight, they will be sweeping away as many ships as possible. So do what you can to get AI ships to group together. The tighter they pack in, the more we can sweep away.

  "The fallback position from there is an all-out firefight. This is of course the least desirable, as it puts the AI on somewhat better footing than us, given their numbers. In this case, Admiral Ronduval will be commanding the Baldi ships using their normal tactics. Admiral Kutlue will be leading the Talisans, while I command the sentinels."

  The admiral asked, "And if that is failing?"

  The colonel gave a stern look. "If that fails, Baldi are the first to retreat. Talisans will move second, and sentinels last. A secondary rally point will be established and the sentinels will be sweeping ships to that point. If we fall to that scenario, remember, keep your ships bunched up within the areas that will be designated on your nav displays. We will take as many as we can, and those who aren't fully within the specified zone run the risk of being cut in half by the portal. There won't be any survivors if that's the case. If you can't make it inside the boundary line, wait. We'll sweep again."

  The major parts of each plan was practiced in simulators, giving the commanders a chance to get their orders nailed down. With ten hours to go, the word was given for all except for shell crews to stand down, eat, sleep, or just get general rest. The battle before us would last for many hours, possibly days on end. I programmed my BGS suit for a six hour sleep. The medications provided by the suit quickly had me in dreamland.

  Chapter 8

  * * *

  The colonel woke me from my slumber. "Beutcher, let's go. We're moving up the timetable. A second fleet of four thousand ships just showed up at Mayanis. W
e're tackling this fight here before we move back there."

  The stimulants from my suit had me wide awake in seconds. I walked back to the bridge from the mess hall, where I had taken a side chair for my rest. The colonel was barking commands to each of his captains. The Baldi admiral was showing on the holo-display and was noticeably nervous.

  The colonel said, "We are attacking in five minutes. Commanders. Have your boarding parties ready. Captains, have your gun crews ready. Given the enemy ship totals, this battle is likely to run for some time. Swap out your crews for rests when you get a chance. And, everyone, this is where we show what we're made of. This is where we show why sentient beings are smarter and better than AIs. If you have doubts, well, you shouldn't be involved in this fight. We will have victory here today, and we will eliminate the AI threat. Make your final preparations. In four minutes, we start sweeping ships in!"

  I looked over at Joni, Garrett, and Go. "Here comes the hard part for us."

  Joni half frowned. "Yeah, I can't say I like sitting and watching. Wish there was a way for us to get in the fight."

  The colonel came over the comm. "Beutcher, as a precaution, you should all activate your BGS suits to the maximum level you can while maintaining your position on that ship. As I've said before, sometimes the battlefield brings surprises. Those BGS suits can keep us fighting in the event something goes wrong."

  I nodded. "Thank you, Colonel. I think we are set up for that already. If called for, we are each willing to power out to fight ship-to-ship. We're all kind of feeling like wasted resources at the moment."

  The colonel leaned close to his comm. "Just be vigilant over there. I need the lot of you with me when the fighting here is done."

  As the colonel turned away, a feeling of foreboding came over me. We were going into battle against more than eighty thousand ships. It was an enemy that couldn't be reasoned with or bought. An enemy that had no conscience. And I, the warrior that I had become, was to sit and watch. As I leaned back in my chair, invisible to the others except over their comms, I knew they each felt the same way.

  The Talisan ships were swept in first to a location that was five minutes distance from the AI fleet. The Baldi ships followed with the sentinels sweeping themselves in last. Our fleet of just under eight thousand ships stood at the ready for the approaching machine-based horde. I took a deep breath.

  The colonel barked commands and the ships spread out into their ready formation. The Talisan and sentinel ships powered up their Yacabucci generators as the Baldi ships prepared for their lane assaults.

  As the first of the AI ships entered range, the colonel held up his hand. "Wait for my signal."

  Several ultra-quiet seconds passed before his hand dropped. "Let's go, people! This war won't fight itself! Engage the Yacabuccis!"

  We watched as the green grid signifying the Yacabucci webs spread out over the nav display. The first AI ship to encounter our trap slowed to a stop. The colonel let out a half smile. As the web grew in size, more ships entered and slowed. Three minutes later, the order was given to move in. The Talisan ships were the first to attack. Boarding parties were marched to the breach tubes as our ships neared their targets.

  Lieutenant Jefferson said, "We have thirty thousand ships in the web. The remainder have stopped just outside the controlled area. The lanes are open to the Baldi."

  All six thousand Baldi ships raced in. The nearest AI ships took heavy damage, without offering return fire. I glanced at the holo-display of the colonel's face as the first Talisan ships connected their breach tubes and their Marines stormed aboard. He was all grins.

  The sentinel ships were the next to engage, powering forward until they parked beside their targets, extending breach tubes of their own. As Marines stormed off the sentinels with blasters blazing, the portal gates were used to sweep away groups of AI ships from outside the web's reach. Everything we had planned for was coming together perfectly. Jack maneuvered the Garmon toward our first target.

  We powered close to a battlecruiser, a breach tube was extended, and a hole was cut in the side of the AI ship. Sixty Talisan Marines moved through the breach and engaged the bots on the other side. Resistance was weak, and the battlecruiser was marked as clear and swept away to a rally point—the first of what we hoped would be many.

  After seven minutes of fighting, we closed on our third target. The colonel's expression suddenly changed. The AI ships being boarded by our Talisans began to explode with a bright fury. Ship after ship detonated, taking our ships with them. Within seconds, twelve hundred Talisan ships and their crews were vaporized by extremely powerful fermium bombs. One hundred twelve of our sentinels suffered the same fate, with a dozen more taking damage. For only a moment after, the battlefield was quiet. However, the AI surprise was far from over. The AI ships seemingly trapped in the Yacabucci web began to move. Green laser pulses pounded the remaining Talisan and sentinel ships from all directions. In the ensuing chaos, blue ion bolts were returned.

  Jack pulled the Garmon from the fight with a short portal jump. He followed with attempts to sweep out every friendly ship he could. The battlefield erupted into further chaos as thousands of fermium missiles were launched from the other AI ships. When detonated, another three hundred Talisan and twenty-six sentinel ships were out of the fight. The fermium explosions were powerful enough to overwhelm the active skin of the sentinels, leaving them with layers of damaged tantric armor as their only defense.

  As the colonel's ship attempted to jump, a fermium explosion happened nearby. In an instant, the active skin of the Dauntless was offline. The rear starboard quarter of the ship erupted in small explosions as bulkheads failed and generators overloaded. Nearby AI ships pounced on the damaged vessel, shredding her port side before she could move away.

  Jack attempted to lock onto the colonel's location for a sweep. "I can't get him! His ship is moving and he's moving as well!"

  Seconds later, a third set of fermium explosions ripped into the remaining Talisan and sentinel ships. Jack managed to sweep out two damaged sentinels. As a Talisan ship was swept out, it was consumed in flames. With our ranks devastated, the AI fleet turned their wrath on the confused Baldi. Without targeting, the Baldi ships were elusive, leaving countless fermium explosions as ineffective. The numbers, however, were overwhelming and the Baldi ships began taking heavy damage.

  I yelled to Jack, "Locate the admiral's ship and bring him out!"

  Jack replied, "I can't! They're all changing directions erratically!"

  We watched in horror as the AI fleet enveloped the Baldi warships, cutting their numbers in half after only a few minutes of fighting. Twenty-seven minutes into the battle, the last of the Baldi ships succumbed to AI laser fire. I looked at the nav screen, at the paltry seven ships we had saved. One was in the process of being abandoned. I wondered how it was that such a well-planned fight had gone so wrong.

  Jack said, "The fleet is turning this way. We have about fifteen minutes before they reach us. Where would you like to go, Mr. Beutcher?"

  I hesitated to answer, still in deep thought about our demise.

  Jack again asked, "Give me a target, Mr. Beutcher."

  I said, "Take us to Adicus and then to Effica."

  Go stood. "We still have a video feed from the colonel!"

  I opened a comm. "Colonel? Are you there?"

  The colonel replied, "I'm here. Just about to board one of these ships. I'll take down every one manually if I have to."

  Joni stood. "Jack, sweep me out there. I'm helping the colonel!"

  Garrett and Go each stood and chimed in. "Us too!"

  I said, "Jack, sweep the other ships here back to Effica. The rest of us are joining the colonel."

  Jack replied, "Give me a few seconds... OK, ships are away. Now, I need to match the speed of those battlecruisers before sweeping you out there or you'll never make it aboard."

  Jack entered a set of coordinates. "Are you certain you want to do this?"

 
; I replied as I looked at the helmet view of each of our faces. "We're sure. Sweep away when ready. And keep yourself out of range."

  Jack half frowned, "Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I'll be jumping out of their sensor range once you're away. The Jack doesn't have a death wish."

  The colonel came over the comm. "Scratch another battlecruiser. If you come in from the back and settle just in front of the main ion generator, you can blink in and out on the conduit coming out the front. The stream coming from there will rip the ship apart while only sending your BGS to 12 percent. Do that and move on to the next."

  A portal window opened over the four of us. As the window closed I powered toward the nearest ship. Three minutes later, I was following the colonel's suggestion, scattering a trail of debris in the direction the AI battlecruiser had been headed. The feat was repeated on another half dozen ships before the AI adjusted tactics and spread their fleet wide. What had been three minutes of powering to each ship had turned into fifteen. And with the added random movements of the ships, our portal sweeps were useless.

  A disheartened colonel came over the comm. "I think our work here has come to an end. Jack, sweep each of us back aboard the Garmon. We can't stop these ships from reaching the Kergans."

  Five sweeps had us aboard. The bridge was quiet as we all reflected on what had just transpired. A well-armed, well-trained fleet of close to eight thousand ships had been sucked in, chewed up, and spit out. I could see the colonel was in need of support.

  "Colonel," I said, "we couldn't have foreseen that."

  The colonel shook his head. "Not true. We had the fermium bomb detonated on Earth staring us in the face. That was the first time they used technology like that, and we should have been prepared. Instead, we charged in there and got our asses kicked. We might have to completely abandon the Yallux."