Through it all, the supreme-master’s excruciating pain and personal suffering was apparent, but he offered no complaint… declaring it just retribution by their god for the sins of the Raknii people and his own role in allowing and promoting those sins. He expressed regret for his role in thoughtlessly bringing down the wrath of their god and these unstoppable ultimate predators on the Raknii people, and bringing them to the crossroads of potential extinction, if Dol and these demonic aliens could not be placated in some way.
But then Xior offered his people hope. He showed them The Book of Revelations... a new apocalyptic revealing of Dol’s divine will for the Raknii people that would soon be distributed in uncounted billions, to teach and guide them, and establish a new code of ethical conduct and thought — a new moral compass for the entire Raknii race.
And then Xior introduced them to the author of these new revelations… the chosen one… the one sent by Dol to deliver the Raknii people from the consequences of their narcissism and their twisting of nature by inflicting thoughtless death and subjugation upon others of Dol’s creatures, without need. He introduced them to his heir and successor, the fruit of his body. He introduced the Raknii people to Drix, their next supreme-master, to his infamous mate N’raal and their cub Eryx, who mysteriously appeared to be climbing thin air, in the background.
* * * *
The final portion of that unprecedented video was profoundly tragic. After ending his speech, declaring his unending love for his cub Drix, his grand-cub Eryx and the entire Raknii people — for the first time in Raknii history, the dominance combat required by racial tradition for a change in monarch prior to a naturally occurring death was recorded for posterity, when Supreme-Master Xior gave his heir a direct imperial order to execute him and assume the supreme-mastery of the Raknii people. A dozen Dolrak females surrounded the two to bear solemn witness, as Xior lifted his head high, exposing his throat to Drix and commanded him to strike.
Shockingly, the heir… the chosen one, did not follow established ritual by using a mercifully sharp fang-blade to quickly cut his sire’s throat, but instead followed much more ancient ways, when he grabbed the his sire’s arms and roared as he sank his fangs deep into Xior’s throat. When Drix’ head again lifted, Xior’s throat was revealed to the camera as a bloody ruin... his head lolling at an unnatural angle. Obviously, the ferocity of Drix’ bite had broken his sire’s neck.
The entire Raknii race watched the terrible drama continue to unfold, as six of the Dolrak kneeled over the fallen supreme-master to removed his rank-stones. They watched as those rank-stones were then given over to the remaining six Dolrak, as the first six then hefted Xior’s limp body and carried it away in preparation for the sacred rites of passage into the afterlife. They watched as yet other Dolrak surrounded the heir and the remaining six sacred priestesses with a curtain, so the details of the sacred rites of ascension which would remove all hypnotic restrictions from the new supreme-master’s mind remained a hallowed secret between them, and Dol.
And the entire race watched as the Dolrak then removed the curtain to reveal their new Supreme-Master Drix, resplendent in his sire’s massive diamond center-stone surrounded by a diamond sunburst. And the entire race watched in silence as the chosen one solemnly addressed his people as their new supreme-master, for the very first time:
“The violent shedding of blood required by our ancient traditions is accomplished,” said Drix. “All of the ancient requirements for my legal assumption of the supreme-mastery of our people have been met. For the first time, the entire Raknii race has borne witness to that fact.
“For those of you whose blood was stirred by the violence of my act, in taking the life of my sire, I extend to you my deepest pity, for you know neither the heart, nor the mind of your god. If you would be reconciled with Dol to thrive in this coming new age that he has promised, humble yourselves. Cover yourselves in sackcloth and heap ashes upon your heads, as a public display of remorse for the savagery which rules your souls. Turn back to the god of your ancestors and his ancient ways. Read the book that follows and learn again, respect and reverence for all of Dol’s creatures. Repent and turn away from the wickedness that has brought Dol’s mighty wrath down upon us, lest we survive only as slaves to the human aliens, who take our systems at will.
“For those few of you who were inwardly disturbed by the brutal savagery of what you witnessed this turn, I offer to you my warmest congratulations, for within you lies a spark of compassion. Compassion, has fallen out of favor within our society, disdained as a weakness of character, but I say to you it is not a weakness, but a strength... that should be honored and emulated. Read the book that follows and learn even more of the gentle strengths our god desires, in those who truly revere him.
“I cannot promise you a return to the glories of former days, for Dol has closed the door on that shameful chapter of our history. I can only offer you the opportunity to return to the even greater glories of our ancient days, when the Raknii lived in prosperous harmony with nature, having respect for the precepts of our god and all of his creation.
“I hereby declare that our Great Hunt against the aliens known as humanity is ended. All Raknii attacks against human vessels and worlds will cease immediately, by my order and the will of our god. If you are attacked by humans, do not resist, but immediately expose throats and bellies in submission to those terrible aliens that Dol has created to teach us submission to his will. May Dol bless you all.”
* * * *
Chapter-17
Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.-- Julius Robert Oppenheimer,
slightly misquoting from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita, after witnessing the first atomic explosion on July 16, 1945
The Slithin System, Raknii Space
May 11, 3868
The Raknii world of Slithin was the second planet out from its primary star, having two moons and a massive fortress-like station in orbit around the planet. 35,000 of the old-style Raknii warships also orbited the planet in a stationary orbit, composing a vast circle, along the planetary equator. Tzal placed his smaller Imperial fleet in orbit above the smaller of the two moons, out of the way of regular system traffic traveling between the planet and the various mining facilities on the larger moon.
What, millions of cycles ago, had once been the third planet in the Slithin system was now a thick belt of asteroids, within which Blug had thousands of mining operations, feeding a massive orbital foundry that continually launched molded metal castings of various metallic content towards a gigantic catcher located at one of the system’s Lagrange points, between Slithin and a massive gas giant. It now laid claim to being the third planet in this system since the original third planet’s mysterious demise thousands of millennia ago. Tzal had reinvented the concept of what humans called the combat space patrol. He had several squadrons of fighters aloft and on patrol at all times, generally just outside of the asteroid belt, so they got at least a halfway decent look towards the outer system.
Blug almost soiled himself when he was first told that Imperial Intelligence believed the unstoppable humans really were on their way to his capital. He was terrified at the thought of those indestructible demons attacking here, but in spite of his fear, he could not flee. If he could not or would not defend his own capital, then what kind of region-master would he be? A live one, perhaps? Loss of respect and status was about the only thing Blug truly feared, more than death.
* * * *
CSS Banshee, Confederate Intelligence’s new Penetrator-class light cruiser with heavy cruiser grade weaponry, under the command of Confederate Captain Michael Diamond, used her maneuvering thrusters to gently ease herself down towards the lower surface of the humongous Raknii station/shipyard at Slithin. She then extended and set her magnetic clamps to hold her in place, relative to the station’s outer surface.
Once Banshee settled, an armored titanium door over a foot thick opened with no more than a gentle hiss and a sli
ght hum, and four space-armor suited ratings maneuvered the grav-collar, encompassing a two-foot by three-foot metal container, against the artificial gravity field escaping from the station’s interior. The ratings centered the container into Banshee’s lower hatchway and gently lowered it to the surface of the station, engaging internal magnetic clamps to hold it in position. Three of the ratings then climbed back into the ship, as the fourth paused to activate a receiver set to look for a particular series of complex, encrypted signals.
Once a softly blinking green light showed the receiver was activated, the fourth rating rejoined his fellows aboard the ship, and upon receiving an intercom signal from the four men indicating they were clear, slight puffs from Banshee’s maneuvering thrusters gently lifted the ship directly away from the station, when she released the magnetic clamps that had been holding her down. When the ship’s hull cleared the top of the metallic container they’d just deposited on the under surface of the station, a second intercom signal caused the armored hatch to close and seal once again, as Banshee carefully maneuvered away from the station.
In her computer banks, Banshee carried aboard a unique signal originating from a recording made back on Golgathal. Human fleet surgeons had once assisted Raknii physicians in performing amputations on a Raknii female, who’d had both legs totally crushed in a freakish warehouse accident. The local Raknii physician staff included no qualified surgeons and unfortunately, neither did they have Raknii anesthetics available. Both the Raknii physicians and human surgeons agreed that if the life of the Rak female was to be saved, there was no time to await the arrival of Raknii anesthetics to be delivered from the other side of the planet. Because the uncertain dosage and compatibility of human anesthetics on Raknii physiology were just too risky to make assumptions with, they performed the amputations the ancient, painful way — forcibly holding her down and cutting away her shattered legs, without any anesthetic at all.
When Banshee took position 200 miles above Slithin’s south magnetic pole, she suddenly emitted a broadband signal of tremendous power, over a wide range of frequencies, utilizing various modulation techniques. The raw power of this signal overwhelmed almost every communications frequency on the entire planet and surrounding orbital traffic with the unmistakable undulating, wailing scream of a Raknii female in incredible agony. Although only 30 seconds in actual duration, this totally unexpected and unnervingly eerie Cry of the Banshee seemed to go on forever, and sent icy shivers of supernatural fear down the spines of every Raknii who heard it.
Rak warships and fighters vectored towards the triangulated source of that incredibly powerful and mournful signal, but the virtually undetectable CSS Banshee was long gone by the time they arrived. Banshee was moving away at the best speed her unique gravitic drive could carry her, on a course that put the bulk of the planet itself directly between her and her intended victim.
This strange warbling cry of sheer feminine agony spooked the hell out of several billion Raknii that day, but it had done a lot more than that. Embedded within that high powered invocation of raw terror was a series of encrypted digital signals that caused the blinking green light on the metallic container that Banshee had attached to the outer hull of Slithin Station to begin blinking red. The countdown timer attached to the warhead was activated.
Just as at Golgathal, destruction of the massive station/shipyard orbiting Slithin was vital for the Confederate 2nd Fleet’s impending attack to succeed. Unfortunately, there just weren’t sufficient numbers of the stealthy intelligence vessels available to reenact Kalis’ successful strategy at Golgathal, so a very ancient weapon, all-but banned throughout humanity and not actually used in nearly 2,000 years, was specifically constructed for use at Slithin. No treaties prohibited the use of thermonuclear weapons against aliens.
* * * *
Tzal knew instinctively that the horrific sound that had overpowered almost all of his fleet’s communications systems was either a dire warning directly from Dol, or a sure sign that humans were somewhere close about. Either way, he deemed it vital that he move his fleet immediately and issued the orders within seconds of the time that spectral wailing faded away. Blug naturally ignored Tzal’s communication, which implored Blug to move his 35,000-warship fleet away from the planet as well. But Blug had been thoroughly spooked by the unnatural phenomenon and wanted to keep his relatively useless warships wrapped as tightly around his precious hide as possible.
Blug would set them all in his lap and up his sphincter under his tail, if he could.
Not knowing exactly why he was moving his fleet, or exactly where he should be moving it to, Tzal’s instincts nevertheless told him to move his warships away from the planet at maximum speed, just as soon as he possibly could. Something was about to happen, and Tzal wanted to grab as much open space in which to maneuver as he could get his paws on.
Fortunately, Tzal’s fleet had cleared the planet’s magnetosphere by the time it did. One hour, three minutes and 26.4 seconds after the Cry of the Banshee sent shivers of intense trepidation throughout most of the Raknii within the system, Slithin Station and the hundreds of ships docked at her facilities were vaporized in the blinding flash of a 20-megaton thermonuclear explosion.
Besides the shockwave from the blast itself, the nuclear detonation produced a massive flux of gamma rays emitted from the nuclear reactions within the device —gamma rays, which soon collided with approximately 1025 electrons within atoms in the planet’s upper atmosphere, imparting approximately half of their energy to those electrons. These impacts knocked those electrons out of their normal atomic orbits, freeing them to begin traveling in a generally downward direction at approximately 94% of the speed of light... a relativistic velocity causing the mass of these high-energy electrons to effectively increase to about three times their normal rest mass. The inherent negative electrical charges of these fast-moving electrons then quickly interacted with the planet’s magnetic field to deflect the direction of electron flow to a right angle to the geomagnetic field itself. Through a process known as electrical induction, this induced a radiated pulse of intense electromagnetic energy, which rose to its peak value in about five nanoseconds.
Large thermonuclear weapons produce their massive energy yields through a multi-stage process which, although completed within a small fraction of a second, nevertheless requires a finite length of time. The fission-reaction used as the nuclear detonator for the final high-energy fusion-based release is usually of relatively small yield. The gamma rays produced by this smaller first stage leave behind ionized atmospheric molecules in the stratosphere, after the majority of their free electrons have been stripped away by the initial gamma release — a process which blocks the production of further electromagnetic signals by causing the field-strength to saturate at about 50,000 volts-per-meter near ground level. This pre-ionization of the atmosphere causes the even more massive gamma ray emission which follows from the high-energy final stage of the thermonuclear weapon (a fraction of a second later) to be relatively ineffective at producing a large electromagnetic pulse.
But the initial one was more than bad enough. The 50,000 volts-per-meter saturation point still resulted in an electromagnetic pulse near ground level, peaking to a maximum of approximately 6.6 megawatts of electrical power, per-square-meter. The magnitude of this pulse decayed to about half of its peak value within 200 nanoseconds, and ended approximately one microsecond after it began… but the damage had already been done.
At over 6.5 megawatts-per-square-meter, the initial electromagnetic pulse generated by the 20-megaton blast quickly induced extremely high voltages within electrical conductors and electronic components, causing their electrical breakdown voltage levels to be greatly exceeded, shorting them out and destroying computers, communications equipment and control systems, as the rise time of the resulting voltage spike occurred much too quickly for ordinary surge and lightning protectors to provide effective protection against it. Virtually every active electronic componen
t on half the planet Slithin was fried within that single microsecond.
But the Confederacy hadn’t utilized a nuclear warhead of such a large yield merely to destroy the station, nor to achieve the initial electromagnetic pulse that did so much damage to the Raknii’s unshielded electronic equipments. A relatively small 40-kiloton weapon would have produced the same. No, it was the third component of EMP (electromagnetic pulse), whose overall strength was directly proportional to the weapon’s full-yield, that prompted the Confederates to utilize a 20-megaton warhead.
Unlike the earlier short-duration effects, this final component was a very slow, long-duration pulse lasting hundreds of seconds, caused by the sheer power of the fusion detonation literally heaving the planet’s magnetic field out of the way — followed afterwards by the restoration of the magnetic field snapping back into its natural place. This third component produced effects similar to a major geomagnetic storm caused by a very severe solar flare, producing geomagnetically induced currents in long electrical conductors, causing massive damage to components of the Raknii power grid, such as power line transformers. The altitude of the blast caused these EMP effects to induce extensive damage over almost the entire hemisphere of the planet facing the station, which had been in geosynchronous orbit, approximately 23,000 miles above the planet’s surface.
Unfortunately for Blug, the 20-megaton nuclear blast didn’t do his precious fleet of antique warships a hell of a lot of good. About half of his fleet of 35,000 old-style warships still in orbit around the planet were subjected to varying degrees of the expanding shockwave, gamma radiation and EMP effects of the massive nuclear explosion, the likes of which his people had been much too intelligent and civilized to ever build.
Wrath of an Angry God: A Military Space Opera (The Sentience Trilogy Book 3) Page 19
