Star Freedom

by D. R. Rosier

  I frowned, ultimate expression? And then my eyes widened.

  Myra laughed delightedly, “Why didn’t I see that?”

  Telidur asked, “Someone want to explain that?”

  I shook my head, “I’m an idiot. The ships need the orbs, to make the in-system wormholes work as well as for spoofing, not to mention personal protection, precision wormhole extraction for the crew, and perhaps most importantly as missiles. The probe sensor network however needs none of that. It would also save a ton of credits and use a hell of a lot less energy.

  “All we need, is a ship level reactor, and the sensors, along with dimension technology. That’s it. It’s simple, and saves even more credits than my idea. We don’t need any physical probes at all, or drives, or cloaking emitters, or shields, or anything like that. All we have to do is open a microscopic dimensional port in every system, from the home ship, and route a sensor blister through each one. There’s no need at all for a physical terminus on the other side.”

  Jillintara smirked, “Exactly. The orbs also help with pinpoint precision, because it’s a two-sided dimensional port connection. We can’t hit a spot exactly when opening a one-sided port between star systems, but we can come within a million kilometers or so, which is more than accurate enough to get readings in every system, as well as readings in subspace for five light years around the target.”

  I nodded, “That’s why a ship needs to be in the same system to accurately target our plasma weapons, a few A.U. distance from an enemy vessel represents no problem to opening the one-sided port to eject the plasma from the one-sided port in the blue giant. But, it would be impossible to aim that at a ship in another system, even if we had military grade sensor readings, targeting is problematic at those ranges.”

  Vik frowned, “But it would work with orbs right, the missiles I mean?”

  I nodded, “The scout destroyer could open a wormhole near the target, and send through fifty orbs. At that point, the orbs would be local to the enemy ship, and so would our sensors scans, so yes. With the orbs, we could destroy a target from across the galaxy. But for basic scan data to keep an eye on all the systems and who was doing what, we don’t need probes at all. Shit, I wished I’d seen that a long time ago. I’ll design it when we have a final iteration of DE sensors. Or maybe, Jill should design it.”

  Jillintara blushed, “I can’t earn credits, so you design it, and give me control of half the credits we milk from the crown.”

  Solyra gasped in mock surprised outrage.

  Everyone laughed, even Dessia chuckled.

  “Right, so let’s get back to the more important conversation.”

  “Which is?” Myra asked.

  “Where we’re doing on our days off, of course.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  It felt good to get back to the ship.

  Our days off were a lot of fun, and we did go to a resort as well as take in several shows. Not to mention a hot night with each of my lovers.

  Solyra managed to join us for some of it, along with Dessia, Myra, and a cadre of royal guards. Cyntariel spent most of her time with us as well, though she did disappear a few times to take care of business matters and meet with Solyra as well.

  It was a good mini-vacation. Equally relaxing and invigorating. We also made plans for our visit to Earth, but given the Suateran threat we weren’t sure when that would actually happen. Worst case, the scout-destroyers would be ready in eleven days, which would render the risk moot. At least until they seriously upgraded their ships as well.

  The DE sensors were up and running, which was a relief. If I’d failed an attack like the Suaterans had, I’d have just sent one cloaked ship on a hit and run destroy mission. The Suaterans hadn’t considered it, or at least hadn’t done so yet, and now it was too late, we’d see them coming. Maybe they feared if they did it, we’d do the same to their home system infrastructure without confronting their fleet.

  The seven to ten days, were now three days to a week. Whatever the Suaterans decided, it wouldn’t be long before we found out. Based on their scouting, they had to know our new ships weren’t far behind theirs for a finishing date. I wondered what they made of our new much smaller ships but doubted they had a clue just how powerful they were, or how big a leap in technology they represented. The scouts had probably seen them in action, but they hadn’t seen the extent of what was possible yet.

  Vik asked, “I didn’t want to bring it up on vacation, but what about our defensive plan if they choose to move against us again. Does the cloak detection give us cause to change anything?”

  I thought that through for moment, and in truth had already tossed it around in my head a bit on vacation. I couldn’t help it.

  “I don’t think it changes our plans at all. It will give us advanced warning so we aren’t on edge and wondering just when they’ll strike, but it doesn’t call for a change in the plans. Our trap is our trap. Yes, we could attack first, but surprise is surprise, we’ll already have the edge that way.”

  Vik nodded.

  I asked, “What do you know about the Suaterans, did they ever make contact with the empire, or send ships to visit?”

  Vik said, “Very rarely. Why?”

  I frowned, “I’m not sure, except they’re different from us. Both Isyth and Earth have an understanding of capitalism, and work to lower costs for everything. We also value the individual, though that varies highly on my world, it’s there.

  “We have a… conspiracy theory, or legends about alien grays, who reportedly looked remarkably like the Suaterans. Stories of experimentation, abduction, and scientific endeavor.”

  I paused until Vik and Telidur nodded. I didn’t wait on Jillintara, it wasn’t necessary, she could think far faster than I could talk.

  “I’m thinking that the legends were true, and I wonder if they didn’t do something similar here. They seem driven by xenophobia, and collect information and data in an effort to understand the dangerous galaxy around them. They probably have links into Earth’s internet, and the Isyth public data-net. I wouldn’t be surprised if the rumors on Xulia and Kaprorix wasn’t one of the reasons they rejected the offer.”

  Vik frowned, “Okay, so they don’t care about credits? How does that help us?”

  I shrugged, “They care about racial survival, paranoia, and a need to know, much more than they care about credits.”

  I sighed, “My point is, maybe we offered the wrong kind of reparations. They don’t care about money, they just want to know about and be safe from the horribly scary universe and races that are around them.”

  Telidur nodded, “I think I follow your thought process, though it’s filled with guesses and conjecture, so what are you proposing?”

  “Simply this,” I said, “Offer a different type of reparations to return to our old peaceful relationship. Information and knowledge. The trick is not to give them an advantage with it, or any hints on how dimensional technology works. We could even hint about having scans and knowledge about the two giants that surround all of us. I wonder how much value that the scan data on the Alirann and Kruterran vessels and fight demonstration would have for them.”

  Vik frowned, “It’s a shot in the dark, and I don’t know if we’d want to share those scans. They’d get no hints on the dimensional technology, except that it’s possible. But they might get a lot out of the Kruterran’s subspace technology scans.”

  I nodded, “It might be worth it, if they backed off. If all we can do is get them to be cautious out of fear, they’ll be attacking us every twenty years, or whenever they advance technologically. We’ll have no choice but to maintain superiority, and the one time we don’t we’ll get crushed. Much how the Alirann are constantly putting down the Kruterran every time they advance in their technologies. Do we want that, to follow the example of the older more powerful races around us, or do we want to go back to true peace?”

  Vik shrugged, “We may not get a choice, it’s up to the Suaterans, and the Stolav
ii for that matter. Also, arms races between cultures is fairly common, not sure we can stop that no matter what we do.”

  I nodded, “Yes, it’s up to them, but we can sweeten the pot if we know their motivations. It’s just an idea, would it hurt to try and just make the offer? If we scare them, just think how much the two large empires around us must scare the ever-loving crap out of them. That might sway them, against our lesser threat.”

  Vik grunted, “Jill, package up this conversation and send it to the empress. We’ll see what she thinks of it.”

  I had to admit it was a risk. Seeing what was possible might inform their development strategies, and speed up their advances. Of course, it would do the same for us, and was already doing that. We just needed to stay ahead. There was always more to learn, and boundaries to break. Of course, I wasn’t suited to that kind of work, but the scientists in the empire seemed more than competent. I was best in taking those breakthroughs and applying them to inventions that pushed the limits of knowledge to their furthest extent.

  We were also studying all three sciences, something no other known race was doing, except maybe earth. I wondered if the Isyth Empire, like the Alirann, would discard subspace technologies once we advanced far enough in dimensional physics. I wasn’t sure, both seemed to have their uses, but both were also limited in development right now.

  If the Suaterans didn’t back off, we’d have to go after them next, and destroy their ship building and other infrastructure in space. I wouldn’t be happy doing it, but what choice did we have? It was up to them, if they didn’t stop attacking, it was our only viable choice.

  The Stolavii were still a danger as well, but a lesser one, and one I wouldn’t feel a bit of guilt about removing. So far, their remaining fleet hadn’t moved. I seriously doubted they’d move again before our ships were built, and by then it would be far too late. Ironically though, I thought peace with them far more likely, even if they were evil and the Suaterans weren’t. They were like bullies, and bigots. A good punch in the nose always backed that sort down. Bullying and bigotry was always born from fear, which meant they were cowards at heart. With our probe network, they simply couldn’t get away with preying on other ships anymore, and it wouldn’t take long to teach them that lesson.

  Of course, we’d have to repeat that lesson every generation until they changed, but we could do that too.

  The next few days I worked on the sims a little to keep myself in top form, and I also built the new fabricator design for the new empire wide sensor network, that had no probes. It wasn’t finished, it just needed the final touch of adding the new DE sensor to each sensor blister, something that could only be accomplished when the technology was deemed completely ready and the scans covered as much area as possible with our current scientific understanding. Still, it wouldn’t take more than a few minutes for that integration, and it would be ready to submit and be built.

  I also took the time to spar with Jillintara several times. Nothing would keep me in better shape, and sharper than sparring with someone intrinsically better at it than I was.

  It was at that point, when our probe in the Suateran’s build system picked up the ship’s launching from the shipyards, and running through shakedown maneuvers. Whatever they were going to do, it would be soon.

  As far as my idea to stop this insanity, Solyra had sent them a message, to open up talks about peace, and a treaty to share information about Isyth culture, and all information we gathered relating to other races. So far, they hadn’t bitten. Of course, this offer was appended to the message she’d already planned to send. We knew their ships would be done any moment, and it had been time.

  It was a desperate suggestion anyway, a last ditch effort to avoid more death and destruction. I hated it, but I also knew it was necessary and wasn’t going to change. Every race that reaches space are the apex predators of their planet. That means bumping heads was unavoidable. At least I felt good about being an Isyth citizen, and working for people who pursued peace first, and fought only in defense or as the last option.

  I supposed I was also thankful the Alirann empire was similar in nature, or we’d have all been enslaved thousands of years ago. If not by them, the Kruterran empire.

  It was just one more week before our scout-destroyers were ready, but I seriously doubted it would take them that long to make their move. It wasn’t even close to a week, just hours later in fact.

  Jillintara reported, “Fifteen Suateran vessels have headed out-system of their home system, and then cloaked. Twenty of the fleet in their build system have joined the forty-five others, and they too are headed out-system and cloaked. It looks like they’re leaving seventy-five vessels in their home system fleet, and a fleet of seventy in the build system they believe to be a secret from us. Their protection fleets.

  “That will make their offensive fleet eighty vessels strong, assuming those fifteen vessels do meet up on their way here. As far as we can tell, there’s no new technology, so they must believe they’ve come up with a tactic that will prevent us from repeating our almost one-sided victory at the last battle in the Isyth system. Assuming consistent travel time from last time, they’ll be here in about thirty-six hours, we should see them on our sensors in approximately thirty-three hours.”

  Vik said, “Damn, alright. Get the word out, recall all crew on leave, and get the trap set. Then for the next twenty-four hours I want intensive simulation training on your battle plan, then they’re to sleep eight hours, and relax for four, until we meet the enemy.”

  Jillintara nodded, “Yes, sir, orders are going out now.”

  Vik looked at me apologetically, and I knew then he’d been hoping my desperate plan for peace would work as much as I had been.

  Sometimes there wasn’t a way to find peace, and all that was left was shitty choices. But… that didn’t stop me from feeling like a failure…

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The battle plan worked perfectly, to a point.

  Thirty-six hours later the Suateran fleet approached weapons range of the ten ships. Then de-cloaked and fired.

  Our ships immediately accelerated away, while simultaneously the missiles powered up at point blank range. Some were so close to the ships, they actually hit and exploded, but the majority missed as the fleet blurred, and skipped before they could close the short distance.

  That’s where the plan went off, by quite a bit. They didn’t skip forward and try to surround the ships in a sphere, they skipped a light minute laterally and started to pick off the missiles.

  Well, almost all of them.

  Jillintara reported, “Three ships skipped two light minutes forward, and are accelerating toward the shipyards.”

  Vik growled, “Use the orbs, stop them. Also, cut power to the missiles. They’re worthless against the Suaterans but not the Stolavii, let’s not throw them away.”

  Normal missiles were a little more powerful than the orbs because of the mass of them. But plasma itself had mass, and the orbs could radiate a containment field almost ten feet in diameter, which made up for the difference, and then some. The orbs stayed cloaked until they were a mere second away from the ships, and then became visible as just under a hundred cubic feet of blue star plasma was quickly pumped through many dimensional ports. The containment field wasn’t strong enough to last longer than a second or two, but that was plenty long enough. The sphere itself was consumed, right before the plasma impacted and splashed against the Suateran ship’s shields.

  Multiply that by twenty orbs, for each of the three ships. Just sixty orbs, out of the thousands protecting the shipyards. It was beyond overkill, and past definitive as the Suateran’s surprise attempt to destroy our yards came to nothing but death and failure as their ships exploded into minute pieces.

  On the good side of being forced to reveal the orbs, it was more than possible they’d think they’d simply run into a cloaked minefield, even later when reviewing the scans. What they’d seen wouldn’t reveal the fle
xibility and full abilities of the orbs.

  Vik ordered, “Accelerate toward the enemy, and de-cloak. I want them to see us coming for them. Be ready for anything.”

  Due to their skip direction, we were at least ten minutes away from them at maximum acceleration, and that was only if we didn’t decelerate for the second half.

  Jillintara said, “Orders sent, sir, and de-cloaking our vessel.”

  The Suateran fleet seemed frozen for a moment, as they stopped firing at the missiles. They were very hard to see unpowered, if not completely invisible. There were still just over a few thousand left.

  Jillintara frowned, “They cloaked sir, and are moving away, out-system.”

  Vik grunted, “So their fleet was just a distraction for their real plan. They didn’t come up with a way to beat our defenses, or at least not one they liked. The mission was all about those three ships, and our shipyards. Suggestions?”

  I looked at the plot, “We can’t catch them sir, we could destroy them with the orbs if we’re willing to reveal their wormhole capabilities, but otherwise they’re getting away with it. Of course, it’s still a win, they lost three ships and who knows how many lives, we’ve lost none.”

  While he was still deciding, Jillintara reported.

  “Sir, light damage on the ten ships, estimated full repairs in under ten hours,” then in a surprised tone, “Umm, sir… the Suaterans are hailing us.”

  “Open the channel, hologram,” Vik ordered.

  A Suateran appeared on the bridge, it was the same admiral from last time, though without the uniform’s collar insignia, I wouldn’t have been able to tell. I felt a little guilty at the thought, but I really couldn’t tell them apart. They all had gray skin, black eyes, and no hair or distinguishing features. At least, no distinguishing features where a human or Isyth would expect to see them.

  He didn’t even say hello.

  “My people will contact yours in two weeks, to discuss your empress’s proposal. If you’re still interested, after our latest attack. If you do as you suggested, and attack us, peace will be off the table forever more.”