The destroyers were the first to be overwhelmed and in less than a minute they disappeared into the event horizon. Next the cruisers were lost in a hard fought attempt to escape. They were holding their own until the tremendous pull began to strip away the atmosphere of Eldred. The new mass entering the black hole only worked to increase its powerful pull.
The Waffen all perished in less than a minute as a storm like no other swept across their planet's surface, vacuuming up everything that was not physically bound to the planet's mantle. My ship’s bridge was silent as my crew watched on with mouths open and heads turned down... stunned.
The Moscow’s commanders pushed hard, shutting down all systems including their shields in an attempt to divert all power to the BHDs. As they began to make forward progress the Mantle of Eldred began to show cracks. I stood and yelled over our comm links for them to get out of there, but my terrified pleas were of no help.
The more matter the unconstrained black hole consumed the more powerful it became. With much of the crust gone the hard rocky mantle soon split open. The orange molten core streamed out as if being poured from a jug in slow motion.
As the stream of molten core disappeared into the void the pull of the black hole became too much for the battleship's drive. I shuddered with a chill as I watched the video feeds from Boota's ship as the three battleships carrying nearly half a million humans perished in an instant. It took every ounce of my determination to not break down and sob. I could not afford to lose it, not in front of my crew and any others who were watching my reactions.
In less than three minutes the remainder of the planet was gone, devoured, pulled into the void of nothingness. Next were the two Transit Pulls that aligned with Toleda and the next planet in the Frekkin Empire. Minutes later, with no new matter to consume, the black hole began to collapse in on itself.
When the collapse finished there was a tremendous out-gassing of all that the black hole had consumed. A stream shot upwards and another stream downwards for hours as the matter within escaped. When the out-gassing stopped our science vessel reported that there was nothing left but empty space. The black hole had not survived long enough to pull in the other planets in the Eldred system... or its sun.
The twin streams of ejected matter would continue outward on a journey to oblivion. They would eventually speed into the voids of space between galaxies... likely to never again be a part of anything collected.
Four billion Waffen citizens had perished in seconds along with our second fleet. Nearly 508,000 fellow humans, 450,000 of them BGS Marines, were lost along with 36 valuable ships. The power contained in a black hole only a meter across was astonishing. If it was any indicator of the technology the Frekkin possessed we would certainly be in for a hard fought if not impossible war.
There were three Sodium hauler ships in transit to Waffen when the Transit Pulls were destroyed. They were each given orders to turn back as the Sodium would be needed to power the rebuilding of Toleda, as well any new worlds that were to be colonized.
With the Waffen gone there was no other record of who the next people in the Frekkin Empire were or exactly where their home-world was located. We had a rough estimate that had been calculated by using the positioning of the Transit Pulls before Eldred had perished. But the results were not precise and we were soon given six possibilities to explore.
A destroyer was immediately dispatched to the nearest target which was 374 light years distance from Toleda. With our drive system the journey would take over a month. Time was something that we had and something that we needed more of. Things were not going well with the Kurtz refugees.
The Kurtz population on Alvin had rioted several times due to the overcrowded conditions. Riots were soon quelled by their politicians when the alternatives were brought to their attention. They could cope with what they had and be patient or they could die as there was nowhere else to go.
On Earth things were not much better. Our atmosphere was unpleasant for the Kurtz with its lack of sulfur. That coupled with a near 20% increase in gravity and the four billion Kurtz being housed in makeshift quarters were suffering. Our foods also lacked some of the nutrients the Kurtz were accustomed to and the taking of supplements was highly frowned upon in their culture.
Tensions only heightened when the exploratory vessel returned information on the first suspected location of the next Frekkin world. We had one strike against us. The star in question had two gas giants in close orbit and no other planets to speak of. The team soon departed for the second star on the list... another 6 days and 80 light years distance.
The second star was also a bust with the third being 32 light years beyond. Three days later the team reported that we had found the next system. The star was 411 light years distance from Toleda and had three habitable worlds circling it. Each world with the same orbit, but spaced equidistant from one another around their sun.
Our destroyer parked at one quarter light year distance and began to observe. The three worlds in question were 60%, 70% and 90% in size as related to Earth. Initial long wave sensor reports showed many ships traveling between the three worlds. The system was heavily populated.
Back on Toleda the gravity beam's devastation had ended and with it our teams of terraformers had begun the task of cleaning up the Kurtz planet. Ship after ship of robot terraformers were unloaded on its surface, massive filtering ships began to fill its skies and two months into the process we got the bad news.
Numerous earthquakes had been reported by the teams on the ground of Toleda. After an extensive investigation the science teams came back with a heart-wrenching conclusion. Due to the effects of the gravity beam, Toleda's core had become unstable. The planet was uninhabitable.
News soon leaked of the discovery causing massive Kurtz riots on both Alvin and Earth. We had a population of nearly 8.5 billion citizens who had no planet to return home to. I had to order in troops for a lockdown. The infant HE was in chaos and struggling to survive.
The Council of Governance voted to speed the terraforming of the two planets orbiting Adebaran. After conferring with the Kurtz High Council the first of the worlds to be terraformed would be named Toledus and the second Mabia. But initial colonists would not be heading there for another year. I ordered a propaganda machine to be setup to feed the Kurtz people with continuous progress reports in an attempt to quell the uneasiness.
Mappings of the planets were given to the Kurtz leaders along with the authority to assign property rights to individuals. It was thought that if the Kurtz people had a sense of what was coming to them they might instead turn their thoughts towards how to make use of that property instead of stewing about their current situation. When reports came in of the first terraformers from Toleda landing on Toledus the riots subsided.
My attentions were soon turned back towards our next potential threat. We had a new language to learn. Our teams of cryptologists were working non-stop to get a full understanding of the language of the new Frekkin worlds. Audio and video communications were monitored and soon decoded, giving us a first look at who we would be dealing with. Their species was not tall and thin like the Kurtz, but instead were short at only a meter tall... and very rotund.
Their bulbous heads went straight down into their bodies and the bluish tint to their skin made them look like giant blueberries. But their teeth appeared razor sharp giving them a nasty looking grin. They had deep-set dark eyes and long white hair. My first thoughts were of blueberry trolls.
From the variety of shows being broadcast over video it was soon determined that they were a gluttonous bunch that was consumed with eating. That was at least our first impression.
Within a month our teams had deciphered several names. During a briefing I was told that the people were the Borten and the worlds were Trephin, Login and Pelvic. I laughed out loud when I heard the names, but I soon checked my outburst when I noticed a concerned look coming from my staff. The information we had gathered concerning our enemy was a
nything but funny. The briefing continued without my interruption.
The Borten were builders with nearly every square inch of each planet covered with buildings. Each world had the look of a Manhattan being spread across its globe. On Trephin the buildings were largely white while on Pelvic they were blue, Login was a mixture of many colors.
There were also numerous massive floating platforms orbiting each planet with ships large and small traveling between. The one thing that I took note of was the lack of any oceans. Our scientists guessed that they must either have massive underground reserves or a spectacular recycling system. We were sure that life would not exist without the precious resource we called water.
I thought about how dreadful an existence living there would be for me. I was a farm girl and these planets were nothing but massive cities. It had been many years since I had been a farmer, but deep down it was who I was. If things got tough or too confusing I would find my thoughts back in East Alabama, harvesting corn or feeding livestock. It was a simple life that I could only dream of once again living.
Two months into our observations an aid approached with an idea. The commander of the fourth fleet, Admiral Beth Collins, wanted to know why we were not sending another scout ship further on. We had a physical location of where the next Transit Pull in the Borten system was aiming and she reasoned that we should explore further. The order was soon given and a destroyer dispatched.
The data showed the next system to be another 170 light years distance. The destroyer Chennai was sent with orders to stop at three light years distance and observe silently until further notice. Soon after, I ordered a second ship to follow with the task of determining the next system again, followed by it moving on to observe.
With recon missions in full swing my attentions were once again turned back towards the Kurtz refugees and what we could do to speed up any terraforming efforts. Those with manufacturing know-how were given jobs at the factories on Earth, but their hours of work had to be shortened due to gravitational fatigue. They were grateful to contribute where they could.
The terraforming of Toledus and Mabia moved along quickly and estimates for the first colonists to be sent there had been updated from nine months to seven. Great buildings were being constructed that would initially house the Kurtz refugees before being dismantled and reused in the construction of their own cities. I marveled at the work a few hundred million utility robots could perform when running at a non-stop pace.
Earth itself had made great use of the robots automating food and construction needs as well as terraforming vast lands that had before been largely ignored. Every citizen was well fed, clothed, housed and educated. It was amazing that those who had been so dissimilar in the past were somehow living side by side in harmony. There were no longer any have-nots to be coaxed into war over what someone else had... Earth was a peaceful place.
Data was soon streaming in on the second and third systems that were under observation. The second system was a small red planet with a number of spaceports dotting its surface. Our analyst’s best guess was that whatever inhabitants there were must be subterranean. The sun in the system was particularly bright and the atmosphere of the planet was thin.
The third system had two worlds in synchronous orbit around its smaller blue sun. Midway between the worlds there were two massive ships or stations under construction. From the framing that had been laid our engineers guessed that they would be about 800 kilometers in diameter when complete. Construction appeared to be progressing at a rapid pace.
With our progress seemingly on track I took several days leave to visit the farm. When I arrived it was unrecognizable. The gentle rolling hills of the western acres were flat and the corn planted there grew taller than I could remember ever having seen. I was a little disheartened that the house and the barn had been replaced by modern pod-like structures. To me it took on a cold and utilitarian appearance.
I spent the days with my parents and Zack's father. The memories of Zack and all that had transpired came flooding back as the visit progressed. There were so many things that I had not had time to think about since my return. Was I happy? I didn't know as the thought of being happy somehow seemed no longer important.
I wondered if I had lost a large part of my humanity. The endless hours I had worked and the complex issues I had faced had kept my mind well occupied since my return from captivity. When I left the farm, heading back to my command ship, I had the feeling that a part of me had died. I wished that I had not gone.
My parents were in good health, but the farm was no longer the sanctuary that I had kept in the back of my mind. The ordinary dull quarters on-board my ship and the high-back leather captain's chair were my new home. Their familiarity and their comfort was all I had to cling to... all that kept me sane.
When I arrived back on the ship and took my place in the chair I immediately got to work on the day's problems. Plans had to be approved, orders given and disputes settled. I had an empire to run.
Chapter 8
After nine long months of preparations the first groups of Kurtz colonists were being transported to Toledus. It had been decided that those who had endured the hardship of heavy gravity would have the first crack at the land disbursements that were to follow. Those on Alvin would be heading to Mabia. The land was plentiful so disputes were few and far between.
The cities that were under construction had the advantage of everything being new, new designs where layouts were geared towards a more efficient life. Transportation was top-notch, manufacturing and farming were mostly automated. The Kurtz were on a three year plan to make the best use of the resources they had been given. They were an industrious people and I had no doubt their worlds would be the envy of many on Earth when construction was complete.
With the Kurtz issue subsiding, our own factory efforts were soon changed back to the business of war. The Borten had a massive fleet and we could only speculate that they had technologies that were superior to the Waffen and the Kurtz. We needed a build-up of our fleets if we were going to eventually take them on.
Everything had changed so dramatically for so many on Earth that we were starting to hear rumblings from those who thought we should stop the expansion. They reasoned that since the Frekkin had not responded to our last assault that they had decided to leave us alone. I knew better.
From what little evidence we had of the Frekkin, I was sure they were planning a massive strike. I often wondered what the two globe-like structures they were building were. Weapons? Attack ships? Colonization ships? Or, perhaps the doubters were right, and they had nothing to do with the HE.
I also wondered if the Frekkin were aware of Earth's existence. We had no way of knowing what information had been sent forward by the Kurtz that had then been sent forward again by the Waffen. Many of the records were destroyed when the gravity bubble made its way through Gurthead on the Kurtz home-world. Many of the record keepers had perished as well.
I often paced the area surrounding my command chair while deep in thought about what may lie ahead. I knew the best we could do was to plan and to build defenses that would best cover whatever war scenarios we could dream of. We were pushing our technologies hard for any advantage we could gain.
Our science and engineering endeavors had been advancing with our newest drive systems capable of 8,400 SOL. The speed of light was a mere ten seconds away from a standstill. Along with the drives the shielding available to our BGS suits had essentially doubled and our pulsed gravity handguns had variable levels. The levels allowed minimal settings that would only knock a person down, up to the maximum setting that would stop a large vehicle.
With the Kurtz moved off Alvin, our robotic terraformers were hard at work preparing it for eventual Human habitation. Our population continued to grow. The Earth itself was a more spacious place with the terraforming being done at home. Our three and a half billion citizens had room to expand.
Every citizen had land rights that could be pa
ssed down to their children. With the promise of a new world opening up, those who were more adventurous had lined up for a lottery where they could trade all or part of their land on Earth for property on Alvin.
As the situation stabilized at home the reports began to trickle in from the Borten system. We had a mini-fighter in orbit around Trephin relaying high definition data back to our command centers. It seemed the Borten were undergoing a massive shipbuilding exercise of their own. I had a nervous feeling that those ships were meant for us.
After a year of spying on the Borten we had a good understanding of their language, our monitoring of their audio and video broadcasts was paying a dividend. I assembled a team to investigate what it would take to make the Earth silent from the same type of reconnaissance. I wanted to know if we could go dark.
In addition, ideas were thrown around about how to disguise the Earth so that it did not look habitable. One of the proposals was to build a gigantic Sodium skin that surrounded the planet. In the case of an imminent attack we could activate the skin and poof... Earth would disappear.
It was an ingenious idea, but the resources needed for such an undertaking were staggering in scale. If it was at all possible, as our engineers suggested, it would take 15 years to construct and the power needed to activate it would be five times that which we currently had powering the entire planet. I ordered more studies to be done with a focus on lowering those requirements.
On the offensive front I had teams working on ship designs. If there were other black hole lensing structures out there we needed a way to attack them without them destroying everything in their vicinity. Smaller, heavily shielded assault vessels for our BGS Marines were a high priority.
With so much of our daily lives taken care of with automation, we were beginning to have trouble keeping our citizens focused on the all important tasks at hand. Our historians reasoned that it was the same syndrome that had befallen almost every empire in our history.
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