“Photon wave impact in thirty seconds.”
“How are you, Beata?” asked Sean, feeling guilty at taking her time at this moment, not able to help himself.
“Powering up shield, now,” called out the fleet commander, the stress in her voice palpable. “Get those ships online, dammit.”
Sean held his tongue. She was in charge of what was going on at that end, and it was obvious that she didn't need any interruptions.
“Shield is up. All ships electromag projectors at full. Oh my God.”
There was a moment of silence, followed by nothing. Just the image of the star flaring, an event that had had happened ten minutes before and whose image was only just arriving with the photon wave.
“Get her back,” shouted Sean, the feeling of dread about to overwhelm him. “Get her back now.”
* * *
Grand Fleet Admiral Beata Bednarczyk flinched as the view-screen showing the star flared. For an instant she could see the star ejecting its unimaginable weight of matter. Then the brilliance was just too much, even with the viewers stepped down to protect the eyes of the organics using the system.
I'm dead, she thought. But she felt no pain. Nothing seemed to be happening.
“The shield is up and holding, ma'am,” said Admiral Chin, his face appearing on a holo that hung in the air beside the fleet commander. “I'm afraid unit six has sustained some exterior damage. Crew still aboard was able to shelter in the inner vault. I'm hoping they can still get her up and running before the particle storm.”
Beata shook her head in disbelief, staring at the screen that was pointed toward the star. It was still overly bright, but with a thought she stepped it down even more. To see the shimmering wall between her fleet and the deadly star. Not everything was stopped by that field. Some was getting through, and the wall of ships, their own electromagnetic fields touching, were throwing of sparks as the fields bent the light and sent it away. The ships were running reactor hot, maximum power. Every laser ring had been disconnected from its power runs, which were now feeding the hulls. The power was flowing along to the external electromag projectors each ship had been equipped with for this fight.
The field in front of her was made up of gravitons, actually bending the fabric of space much as a black hole or neutron star would. Bending most of the photons up or around, sending them off in a halo effect. Saving the ships and the planet from the fury of the photons. Protecting them. But for how long?
Thank you, Chan. You magnificent bitch, thought Beata, eyes wide as she stared at the cosmic event that should have killed her and all her people.
The field was similar to what the ancients who had attacked the Donut had used. Not as compact, probably not as impenetrable. But solid enough. The Empire didn't have the compact power systems of those ancients, but what they did have was the most powerful dynamo in human history. That and the experimental graviton projectors it was hoped would someday help them move planets when needed. Instead they had been modified to project their gravitons into a curving field.
“The Emperor is on the com, ma'am.”
“Admiral? Are you okay?”
“We're fine, your Majesty. We're...”
The admiral took a quick moment to check on the status of her ships and all the others. Romulus had sustained some minor damage to her hull, including about three percent of her electromag projectors. Other ships were reporting in, some with more damage, none serious.
“Nothing major, your Majesty. My fleet is still here, and ready for the next act.”
“Particle wave estimated in seven minutes, ma'am.”
“We're taking some of the generators out of the loop for a moment, Admiral,” said Director Yu over the com. “We need to cool them, but they should be ready by the time that next wave reaches you. Photon wave should be through in another couple of seconds.”
And then the real fun begins, thought Beata as a grimace set on her face.
* * *
“Well, that was intense,” said Sondra McCullom, shaking her head.
“No more than being on the receiving end of a Caca missile storm,” said Duke Taelis, smiling. “In fact, if it had been such, she would have suffered many more casualties.”
Sean nodded as he looked over those figures, sent by the individual ships and collated aboard the flag. The great majority of the fleet had sustained no serious casualties. Maybe a few injuries. Some broken bones and such. Some ships had lost a crewman or two as power leads flared out and flooded rooms with electrons or superheated gas. Overall they had suffered thirty-one deaths, which among such a massive fleet being hit by so much energy was amazing. Only they hadn't been hit by much of that energy. The graviton shield, as they were calling it, had worked as well as expected.
Now, we just need to develop a portable one for our ships, he thought. That would be the dream, and almost impenetrable shield against matter and energy. Something out of science fiction. Only until they solved the zero point energy problem they wouldn't be able to power something like that. The experts were saying a century to solve the problem, though at the moment they had no idea even where to look for the solution.
“Now comes the real test,” said Admiral Chan after letting out a deep breath. “The photons were mass less particles. Of course they had momentum, and a hell of a lot energy. The plasma wave, or particle wave if you will, is carrying mass, along with more heat energy than the photon wave. And it's going to last a lot longer too.”
“But they should make it, right?” asked the alarmed monarch. He was wishing that he had just given up on this planet. It had seemed like a nice enough world, but what did it really offer to humankind?
More than a billion years of distinctive evolution. Along with billions of sentients. That's what it has to offer. He still wasn't sure if that was worth the lives of so many imperial and allied spacers. But it was the decision he had made. Maybe the ships could have been unmanned, maybe only skeleton crews. Only they would have a battle to fight at the end of this.
“Theoretically, it should, your Majesty,” said the diminutive woman, shrugging her shoulders. “I was willing to bet my reputation on it. My life?” She shrugged again. “There's a reason I'm not aboard any of those ships.”
And you would be if I had ordered it, thought Sean. The admiral would go where he told her to go, but losing her would be too great a blow to the empire.
“One minute to impact,” called out the stellar scientist who was the voice of the working crew in the control room.
“Resume the lasers through the wormhole,” ordered Yu, staring at the view of the planet and the blocking fleet with intense concentration. “Start the generators.”
The light show started up on one of the viewers, while the whole station hummed slightly. Massive energies were again on the move, replenishing the batteries before they could fully drain, beaming power to the multitude of sats, switching off as the station orbited. Then feeding power into the laser rigs.
“All is up and running, ma'am,” called out one of the control room engineers. “Everything nominal.”
* * *
“We're picking up massive graviton emissions from near the planet, my Lord,” called out the sensor officer, looking back at his admiral.
Mrastaran had been pacing the deck, back and forth, for the last twenty minutes. He hated this waiting to see what had happened. The Graviton emissions from the star had shown that the detonation had occurred, the outer layer of the star blown off and speeding toward the target. By all estimations the photon wave, the initial strike of the nova, was just about to hit the planet. And Mrastaran would be responsible for the death of a planet and its total genetic diversity. The greatest sin of the religion he no longer really believed in. What if it were true, though, and he ended up in some terrible afterlife for his actions.
Then at least I will see this Emperor, eventually, to keep me company.
“What is it?”
“It's like nothing I've ever seen, m
y Lord,” said the wide eyed male. “It's massive. And I'm running it through our data banks. Which...” The male looked down for a moment, then up, his eyes even wider. “We have nothing like it in our data repository. It's a new phenomenon.”
“Which means the humans are up to something,” said the chief of staff.
“How big a graviton emission are we talking about?” asked Mrastaran of his sensor officer, the only one on the bridge with the knowledge to make such a estimate.
“Astronomical, my Lord. More than ten thousand battleships could generate. More.”
“Maybe we should consider a strategic retreat, Great Admiral,” said Admiral Trostara, an expression of terror on his face.
Mrastaran knew the other male was brave enough, but what they were seeing was enough to send a chill of terror down his own spines.
“Are they the kind of emissions a boosting ship makes?” asked the great admiral.
“I don't think so,” responded the sensor officer. “They're unlike anything we've ever seen. And the photon wave has got to have hit them by now.” The male looked confused. “That fleet should be plasma, but whatever they're using is still just as powerful. And, it's stopped.”
“Estimation on the first missile wave?”
“Two hours, ten minutes, my Lord,” called out the tactical officer.
Mrastaran did some math in his head, something he was very skilled at doing. That would put the missile storm at the planet in eight hours and fifteen minutes. They would pass the photon wave at just over four light hours out from the star, far enough, with a deep enough spread, that the raising of their own electromag field for a few seconds would get them through. A half an hour later they would pass through the particle wave. That was more problematic, and most would not make it through. Some would.
“Next wave?”
“Two hours later, my Lord.”
And those missiles would make it through and to the target. Still, that would give the enemy, if there still was one there, ten hours. He could wish he could get them there sooner, but physics were physics, and there was no getting around them. Unless they made a jump in and launched from three light hours away. And give their position away to whatever enemy was waiting out here. Maybe the majority of their fleet.
And the nova would have disrupted the fabric of hyperspace in this region. Not as much as a supernova. They would still be able to jump, but the hyper barriers would have moved a bit. Mrastaran looked over at his navigation officer.
“Calculate the rebound of the hyper barriers due to the nova. I want to know when we can make a jump and come out right outside the I barrier.” He looked over at the tactical officer. “I want the numbers on collapsing our gates and redeploying them right at the barrier. I want this timed so that the next missile wave through launches as close to the enemy as possible.” He turned back to the navigator again. “And then, once they are through, I want another jump to get us out of there before we get a stream of wormhole missiles in our lap. With a few scout ships left in place.”
That might doom those ships, but it would give him information he needed. He could track those missiles back to their origin, at least the vector. With some luck he could pinpoint them, and then he would have them. A hyperspace jump and he would be on top of them. He knew he could win a fight in hyper.
“The graviton wave is back, my Lord.”
And I need to find out what that is that's sending our sensors into an uproar.
* * *
Henri stood behind his sensor officer and watched in disbelief the sine wave of a massive graviton emission. Unlike anything he had ever seen, ever heard of.
“What in the hell is it? And is it ours, or theirs?”
“I have no idea, sir,” said the sensor officer. “I'm just damned glad that we are near whatever it is.”
Information had come down minutes before that the enemy was going to nova the star. And that their force by the planet was going to do something to deflect. The com hadn't stated what, but this massive emission of gravitons, more than any fleet could generate, had to have something to do with it.
“Orders coming down from the force commander, sir,” said Lt Jg Kenyata from his com board. “The force is going to change vectors at low acceleration.”
Which meant his ship, and the three others from his squadron, would be among the destroyers leading the way. They were currently eight and a third light minutes from their initial entry point, almost a hundred and fifty million kilometers. They were moving at a snails pace compared to most fleet maneuvers, but even at ten gravities velocities could build to respectable levels.
“It's back, sir,” called out the sensor officer some minutes later.
Which means that our force is still there, near the planet, thought the young ship commander. What shape they were in was anyone's guess. But still there meant the battle was proceeding according to plan, right?
Chapter Eight
When under attack, no country is obligated to collect permission slips from allies to strike back. Charles Krauthammer
For what I'm about to receive, I thank you, thought Beata as she watched the particle wave approach. The wave was moving at near point nine light, fast enough to cover a vast distance but slow enough to announce its presence on light speed sensors.
“Impact in ten seconds,” called out the sensor officer.
Space shimmered once again in front of the fleet. This time all six of the graviton projectors were up and running. Power was feeding into them from the lasers. Everything smooth. That made the admiral wonder when the disaster was going to strike.
As if this isn't enough of a disaster, she thought, bracing herself. The experts had said that some of that particle storm was going to make it through. Slowed considerably, but still moving fast enough to pack a punch.
“Now,” shouted the sensor officer.
The shimmering field darkened, lightning flashed across it as particles were stripped of their charges. Titanic forces played against each other, fighting for supremacy.
The Romulus shook, the hull ringing from impact. The electromag field caught and repelled even more of the particles, but some still got through.
“When is this going to end?” shouted the admiral, engaging her helmet system to shut out the cacophony that was filling the ship. Everyone was in their battle armor, more material, integrated electromag fields, the last barrier between their fragile bodies and the incoming storm.
“Estimating the storm will pass in seven minutes and fifty-one seconds,” shouted out Admiral Chin over the com. “We'll make it. I hope.”
Beata wondered how it was on the smaller vessels of her fleet. Romulus and her sister were the heaviest, the other battleships giving up twelve millions tons to their superiors. And the older battleships in the Klavarta order of battle, along with the human battle cruisers, were even smaller.
“We're getting a com request from Admiral Klanarat, ma'am.”
That poor son of a bitch must be near to shitting his britches, thought the admiral, a tight smile on her face. That was fair enough, since her own bladder was fighting her to release.
“Put him on.”
The terrified face of the other admiral appeared on a holo that kept fading in and out. Beata knew the Alpha was not a coward, no matter what she thought of his judgment. Everyone in the fleet had to be terrified to the edge of a panic, but she couldn't indulge any of them.
“We need to get out of this, Admiral Bednarczyk,” shouted the Alpha.
“And where would you suggest going, Admiral Klanarat. Leave the defensive formation and you're dead, along with all your people.”
“Then what?”
“Hold on. We're....”
“Power feed is down on projector three, ma'am. Covering with remaining projectors.”
“Get me Director Yu.” Beata didn't know what was going on, but with only five projectors they were getting hit even harder. If more went down they were doomed.
* * *
Captain Xferd Canara stood in the hatch of the command APC he had been assigned, looking up at the sky. Ten of his warriors sat in the body of the vehicle, hoping to use its armor as protection from the hellish storm. Canara didn't see the point. If the storm reached them, they were all dead, unless they had kilometers of rock and soil overhead. And all of those places were already occupied, while the experts argued over whether there was any safe place on the planet.
It's beautiful, thought the warrior, looking up at the shifting patterns of auroras playing across the sky. The planet had its own auroras, but the unit was stationed near the equator, where such phenomenon weren't seen. These were caused by sleeting particles entering the atmosphere.
I don't feel like anything is amiss, thought Canara, watching as the auroras intensified. He would start feeling ill if he was taking too many rads, wouldn't he? Though the Warrior subrace of the Klavarta were more resistant to radiation than most, there was no creature made of carbon based protoplasm that could handle what was coming at them. So whatever the Imperials were doing, it was working.
So, when does this stop? he thought, wondering how long those ships up there could keep up their protective fields. Long enough? There was nothing he could do about it either way, and it was a helpless feeling he didn't like.
* * *
Sean gripped the arms of his chair, wondering when it was going the stop. The entire station, what was supposed to be the most stable man made platform in space, was shaking like a shuttle blasting into an atmosphere. It had started several seconds before, a slight shudder that had quickly built up to the teeth rattling shake.
“Did you expect this to happen?” asked Sondra McCullom, holding on to her own chair arms for dear life.
Kind of overdoing it, aren't we, Sondra, thought Sean. Of course, the CNO hadn't recently ridden a warship into battle. She had been a combat commander at one time, but upon her promotion to fleet commander she had taken over Home Fleet. Supposedly a cherry assignment, it was one most high rankers, dreaming of glory, would pass on. Then had come the shuffle with Len, an officer who really didn't want to be CNO, and she had been moved to that position, one that suited her disposition.
Exodus: Empires at War: Book 16: The Shield. Page 9
