Why was it that we could not wrap a Defender in BHD rings allowing us to turn instantly in any direction? It would certainly add to my ability to pilot the ship during battle. The alien vessels outmaneuvered us in every way except for speed.
Pop reasoned that it was because of the power it would take to keep all the rings running. The reactor on the Defender was already being taxed at full capacity. We would need a second or third reactor and they were in short supply... as were the BHD rings.
Pop was up next with his previous Sodium feed idea. He thought it would be possible to increase the Sodium throughput into the reactor thereby increasing its output by as much as 15%.
It would not be enough to power another set of rings but it would give us some headroom if we came up with a need. I asked Pop to check back with the scientists and techs in the power research area to see if they could possibly work up a prototype.
I then moved on to Bigg. He and Whip had put forth the idea previously of the possibility of using the gravity shield to push a black hole out away from the ship. We had concluded that the gravity wave did not react with black holes in the manner one would think. The wave was instead absorbed by the black hole leaving no trace behind.
Bigg and Whip had been discussing a new variant of that idea. Would it be possible to put a single ring BHD into a small pod powered by a nano-reactor and then launch that pod with its one black hole towards an alien craft?
The hope would be that the BHD would pass through the alien gravity wave and then cut through the ship. We all sat for a moment soaking that one in. I soon flagged it as our number one prospect and then asked Bigg and Whip to make a priority of researching the idea on our next free day.
With our audio implants we each had a recording of the conversation that we could play back at will. I forwarded my flags to each of the others before we headed off to our personal quarters. After my sonic shower I lay down on the anti-grav mattress and wondered if I would be able to sleep given the day’s events. What I didn't know was that Paige had set my suit to administer a small sedative that would automatically be dosed when 10PM arrived.
She reasoned that a rested pilot was a more alert pilot. I was soon dreaming of some nonsensical argument with a childhood friend. Paige knew I would be in need of a full rest for our continued level-nine training.
The following morning we were again teaming up with four other crews. The first mission of the day was against a single medium sized ship plus its escort of four fighters. A winning scenario was one that inflicted any significant damage. Crew A1 had been in on the only time in this scenario when an alien fighter had been destroyed. DSim losses were always heavy.
The medium size ship was about 500 meters in diameter. The gravity wave that it could muster was much more powerful than that of an alien fighter. If we came within 15 km we would take severe damage.
I consulted Red on what we were allowed to do in the DSim when it came to modifying our equipment. He told us we could try to do just about anything, but the program was fairly strict on what it would actually allow. If it was possible in the real world we might be able to do it in the DSim.
Before the mission began, I talked with Pop about modifying our reactor. If he could simulate his reactor feed idea we would have a 15% power boost available to us. I asked Bigg and Whip if there was any way to modify one of our missiles with a nano-reactor and a single BHD ring. We only had 20 minutes to work with but they were both very good at improvisation.
When we lifted off, Pop was still at work at his console while Bigg and Whip had managed to remove a missile warhead to make room for a reactor and a BHD ring. Whip was busy at her console trying to program the single sensor on the ring as a guidance mechanism.
We reached a rally point just outside of the atmosphere when the squad commander of A26 began giving orders. We were to proceed to the right flank of the big ship from our current position and harass the fighters.
A29 had been given the same orders for the left flank. A26 and A22 would be going straight in attempting to fire whatever they could at the big ship while trying to keep their distance. Pop then gave us the go ahead with his reactor mod. We put the extra power towards our gravity wave shield.
When we reached our waypoint we were given the go ahead to commence harassment. As the first fighter rapidly approached I began my evasive maneuvers. With the reactor gain we were seeing that our shield would be working at 180%. I did some quick calculations which showed we should be able to pass within a kilometer of an alien fighter without sustaining significant damage.
On our first pass we managed a two kilometer pass with Bigg working the shield while Whip fired off two missiles and a salvo from the coil guns. The missiles were easily destroyed but to our surprise the alien craft had difficulty with the coil guns.
We swung around and attempted a second flyby and this time came in just under the kilometer barrier that I had calculated. The result being that we lost one of our ring sensors to the alien gravity wave.
But, there was benefit to the close pass. The alien fighter had taken a deflected hit to its right side. It briefly exhausted gas and debris of some sort before seeming to recover.
One thing I was able to pick up on the sensors was that it had chassis tripods attached that had immediately begun repairs. It was an unfair advantage that the aliens had over us. We had to return to base if we were in need of having anything external repaired.
We made another pass at the alien fighter and again managed another hit although with no apparent damage. Another sensor was lost from that engagement. Whip then announced that the missile modified with the reactor and BHD was ready to fire. I hoped that at a minimum it would be a good distraction.
Whip touched the holo-display in front of her and the BHD guided missile was away. On its first pass it came too wide to be of any threat but it quickly circled back in. The alien fighter turned directly towards it and used the full force of its gravity wave to attempt to destroy the missile. The BHD cut right through the gravity wave.
The single black hole driving the ship towards the enemy fighter was absorbing the full force of the gravity weapon. The missile struck the fighter just to the right side of dead on and drilled itself into the hull of the ship.
There was no detonation. The warhead had been removed. The missile eventually worked its way out the back of the ship and began to circle around for another charge. The fighter was now dead in space. Its propulsion system had been taken out.
I came straight in and Whip fired all four coil guns at once. The fighter was able to deflect two of the rounds but the other two found their target. The alien fighter disintegrated and we passed through its debris cloud.
A26 and A22 had not been able to come close to the big ship as they were busy with three fighters of their own. A29 had not been so lucky and had taken a death blow from a fighter. Whip quickly began conversion of two more missiles. We were down to three sensors but all other systems were in perfect working order. I moved out to a safe distance from the main ship while awaiting the conversion.
By the time we were ready, A22 had also been destroyed and A26 was fleeing for its life. I turned our Defender towards the big craft and punched it to full throttle. When we were within missile range Whip let fly the two new conversions along with two of our nukes. She then pulled the first missile up on her holo-display and gave it a new mission. The first missile turned and made a direct assault on the larger ship.
The alien ship made every effort to deflect and destroy the incoming missiles but the black holes worked their wonders. All three mods hit their target and soon disappeared into its hull.
The two nukes were easily knocked from their trajectories and destroyed without detonation. I could not see it but I knew the others had big smiles on their faces. We turned and headed for a safe distance.
It only took moments for the other three fighters to abandon A26 and focus their energies on us. We radioed the secret of our missile mod to A26 and they b
egan immediate alterations of their own.
We could easily keep the three alien fighters at a distance while we worked. As I watched the large alien ship on my monitor I wondered why it was not in pursuit of us. I wondered if perhaps the BHD missiles had done some damage.
It took Whip and Bigg 12 minutes to alter another four missiles which we immediately launched. This time we targeted the alien fighters that were in pursuit. The first two missiles found their targets while the third and fourth were broadsided and destroyed by the third fighter. All three ships continued their charge.
I made a flip turn and headed towards the closest fighter. When we reached the one kilometer range Whip fired all four coil guns. The fighter was able to deflect the rounds but not until it was knocked into a spin.
On our next pass close to the second fighter we again fired all four coil guns at the one kilometer range. The cost was two more of our sensors, but the fighter was eliminated.
Just as I turned to make a run on the third fighter it blew up in a bright flash of glory as one of the BHD missiles had again found its mark. Whip quickly reprogrammed the remaining BHD missile to target the last alien fighter.
We turned back towards the fighter and lined up for another run. This time we weren't so lucky. We lost our last sensor and our holo-displays quickly went dark. The DSim then did a reboot which told us we were dead.
A26 had managed to mod six missiles and launch them towards the big craft. All six hit their marks and drilled their way into its hull. After the first missile exited, turned and came back in the alien craft got wise. The other missiles were easily destroyed as they made their way out the other side of the ship from where they had entered.
The commander of A26 then called a retreat and returned to base unscathed. The scenario had lasted nearly two hours from beginning to end. No other set of teams had made it past 20 minutes.
Red then came on-board to congratulate us. The usually quiet and soft spoken man was grinning from ear to ear. Four DSims had managed to take out four fighters and had done substantial damage to a medium sized enemy ship. We were immediately called to a debriefing with the Battle Tacticians.
The briefing was long and detailed. Every command and action was dissected and questioned. The scientists and their technicians were all over our missile modifications in an attempt to apply them to the real Defenders. When the briefing concluded we were given our third invitation to General Buck's office. This time I hoped for a better outcome than the last.
Chapter 8
General Buck was in a much better mood. He wasted no time in congratulating us on our ingenuity. Our third time around, there were no criticisms of our mistakes. The General went on to say that if a BHD modified missile was possible, we might have our first really useful weapon to take into battle.
It was a simple idea so I asked why it had not been thought of before. The General's response was that there was so much going on at the moment that there had been little time for new ideas. Everything had been focused on getting what we had to work.
He was particularly impressed with Pop's mod to the reactor feed. We then began to discuss some of our brainstorming thoughts from the night before. Again, the General was impressed.
Bigg then asked a question about how much extra room would be needed on-board to add a second reactor. He reasoned that if one was available for only the shields we might be able to get close enough with the coil guns to really do some damage to the alien fighters.
The General replied that he would have one of his aids look into it, but at the moment components were in short supply. A big part of our fighting ability at the moment was tied to getting in close for a shot with the coil guns. He also reminded us that although our "Black Budget" was substantial, there was still only so much money you could print without crushing the nation's economy.
We left the meeting all on a high. It was our first sim encounter with a larger ship and we had come away with a minor victory. For us it was at the cost of our simulated lives, but that was a cost we were willing to bear. When we got into live combat I was sure we might feel differently.
The remainder of the week was spent rerunning the same medium ship scenario. Each time we managed to get just that much closer to annihilating it. Each time we came away dead.
On our free day it was decided to once again dedicate it to brainstorming. Pop left with his handler to visit with the reactor scientists. General Buck had set up a special meeting for him.
Bigg and his handler headed off to again visit with his son. This time he wanted to talk tech about the BHD drives that his son was busily installing. Whip left for the Battle Room with her handler to discuss strategies with the Tacticians. That left Paige and I to figure out what we should do. I didn't want to drag her into watching more DSim scenarios, so I asked if she had any interests... she did.
She took me by the hand and led me to a development lab where they had given her a small space for her tinkering. I wondered if she was still heavily involved with her entangled particles ideas and the bench setup she had going told me that she was.
There were all sorts of strange pieces of equipment stacked on top of each other which were hooked up to a set of what looked like BHD rings. Paige flipped on a power switch and then grinned from ear to ear. It was the first time I had seen her usual business like personality change to one of child-like excitement.
She handed me a pair of goggles and a heavy leaded vest. I had no idea of why they were needed, but I put them both on. She turned back to the bench, flipped a few switches and then slowly turned a dial. I wondered if she was about to awaken Frankenstein. She then pressed a button and a series of bright flashes sent me jumping backwards.
She next turned the power off and stepped in with a small hand-held instrument of sorts. Again I jumped back as she raised her arms straight up and let out a howl. Whatever it was that had been accomplished was apparently a big success.
She babbled on about the particles and coupling and about how she had fused three of them together. She said it was a major breakthrough, but I had no real idea of what it was she was talking about. I stood with a smile and nodded my head whenever she looked directly at me.
She then held out her hand and asked me for the audio processor from my audio implant. I wanted to ask why, but I knew the answer would be over my head, so I just complied.
She took the processor and set it on the bench in front of her. Again she powered up some of the stacked equipment and began tinkering with knobs and switches. After 20 minutes of standing and watching I decided it was time to seek out a chair.
I sat for an hour as she babbled away, talking to herself as she worked. I began to daydream. I was soon walking in the soft sand on a secluded stretch of beach. Paige walked with me hand in hand. She would run down to the water just getting her toes wet and then let out a giggled as she ran back to me away from the next incoming wave. It was sappy, but I was surely enjoying it.
I then took her in my arms and we came together in an embrace. We kissed passionately. We slowly dropped to our knees and then rolled onto the wet sand. We continued to kiss as the incoming waves gently washed over our feet.
I was then startled as someone's hand grabbed my shoulder and demanded my attention. It was Paige and she had finished her tinkering. She handed me back my audio processor and motioned for me to put it back in.
As the audio processor came to life I heard the familiar boot-up chirp. Paige then told me to switch to channel 1647. When I did I heard a short warble sound. She said to answer it so I did. What came next was completely unexpected.
Paige stood in front of me looking directly at my face. She had a pursed smile. I then heard her speak over the audio channel but she was not moving her lips. She now had my full attention.
She explained that the audio implant was already wired to accept "thought spoken" commands. That was how we switched channels, powered it on and off and generally used it to communicate.
Normally the s
poken word was needed for a full conversation as the audio processor only handled the most basic of thoughts. The majority of its processing power was needed for the wireless communications that were used to connect to others.
With the quantum entanglement handling the wireless communications part the audio processor was free to fully translate our thoughts into words. She had modified the software to translate and then broadcast those thought commands. Over the implant her voice sounded a bit different, but it was unmistakably hers.
She then went on to explain that she had embedded the fused entangled particles in both her processor and mine, wired to channel 1647. We could have instant thought communication with each other no matter where we were.
She went on to explain that if I were to hop in a real Defender and fly to Jupiter we would still have instant communication with one another over channel 1647. For everyone else it would take 45 minutes for their communication to reach that distance and another 45 minutes for the response to return. This was instant.
My first thought was to go find Bigg, Whip and Pop and see if we could play a few pranks on them. I then had the sudden realization of just how valuable a discovery this was. We would be able to have instantaneous communications between our commanders and our crews as they flew around the solar system fighting the aliens. We knew that they had radio communications similar to ours which took time to travel large distances. This would give us a huge advantage in this area. And we needed all the advantages we could get.
I grabbed Paige by the arms and then planted another big kiss on her lips. Again she was unready for it, but again she mustered a smile. I took her by the hand and quickly led her out the door of the lab.
We were headed to see David Brenner. When we reached the outside of his office, there were two military guards there, our entry was blocked. I demanded to see my Great Uncle, but they were having none of it without an appointment. So I got loud.
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