Countdown Amageddon (The Spiral Slayers Book 2)

by Rusty Williamson

  The shuttle docked and Adamarus disembarked. Leewood, who would be in command of all four of the fortresses, was there to greet him.

  “Adamarus,” Admiral Patrick Leewood said, “it’s been a while.”

  They shook hands, “Too long, Patrick. How’s Lorraine?”

  “Up to her neck in alligators—Wicker wants her with Woodworth in the History Station.”

  “History Station?”

  “Yes, that’s what they're calling the Observation and Recording Platform now. I, for one, am all for her being on it.” The History Station would sit silently above the plain of the elliptic, recording the encounter. “If worse comes to worst, it will depart in an attempt to warn others and maybe she, Woodworth, Jan and three others will get away.”

  “They’ll attempt to meet up with the arks?”

  “Yes. They’ve just started on the History Station’s design so construction is still a few years out.”

  Leewood then gave Adamarus the tour of the fortress. It was impressive. Afterwards they ate dinner and then Adamarus wished his friend well and lifted off from the fortress. He would next inspect the ground defenses, then it was back out to Hideaway to meet up with Burnwall and Radin and depart for a final round of war games.

  Chapter Eleven – Three Water Bottles

  “Murphy’s law, a universal constant? Yes, I suppose it probably is. Furthermore, I bet every intelligent species has their own name for it. What did you call it? Probability folding away from your favor?”

  Conversation between Howard Dawn and Bugs

  Just before Howard Dawn’s death

  Source: The Archive

  T-Minus 021 Years

  So much was going on that the inner-circle had not had a monthly meeting with all members in attendance in half a year. However, they had all gotten together for this one, although every person was teleconferencing.

  Wicker was saying, “All the moons of Aster and Serena have been destroyed, except for six moons around Serena, which we’ll use in our encounter with the alien at Echo Charlie Seven. The grav-bombs have been planted on them so that they can be vaporized if needed.”

  “Except for the high yield maser cannons, two of the orbital fortresses are operational and ready to start weapons testing. The new maser cannons won’t be ready for another year and will be installed and tested then. The other two orbital fortresses will await the outcome of tests before resuming construction, but then should be operational in two years.”

  “Hideaway has completed about half the parts for the star cannon and I’ve decided that Brandon Eden should oversee the assembly as he’s been in the loop on its construction from the beginning. I discussed this with him last week and assembly will begin in about a month.”

  “As most of you know, construction on the History Station was started three months ago and it goes well.”

  “What testing can be done on the Jumper project has been completed and has gone well—without a black hole they just can’t be fully tested. Also, I’ve decided that Admiral Maximus will lead the Jumper mission. Testing on the new fighters that will be used for the Jumper mission is in progress, and outside of a few minor issues, is also progressing well. Maximus will be test flying the new bird over the next few months.”

  “The new Battleships needed to fill out our four battle groups will be ready on schedule, which is around nine months from now. Space trials will commence as soon as possible, and I’m told that integration into the battle groups should be completed by the end of next year.”

  “Construction on the arks out at Trinity is wrapping up on schedule and selection of the crew and passengers should wrap up in three or four months. At that time, they will depart with full crews for shakedown trials.”

  Wicker paused and took a sip of water. The people on the screens around him looked tired, and well they should, he thought. “Finally,” he laughed, “you guessed it, there has been no change in the status of the Blackship. Course, deceleration and the shrinkage of its event horizon remain unchanged.”

  ---

  Amular’s nights were no longer dark—the Loud Nebula was now four times the size of the Larger Moon and there were normally shadows at night now. However, tonight it was cloudy and dark and he was very thankful for that. The last time, besides the nebula, both moons had been full and he had been scared shitless when he had stood to make the throw. Still, he crawled toward the 18-foot perimeter fence and the brightly lit compound with great care.

  The ground around the fence was lit up for 12-feet on both sides. Cameras rotated on 30-foot poles. The slight dip in the ground they had him using was ridiculous and wouldn’t hide a snake.

  Suspended from his helmet were two mirrors that allowed him to see both cameras at once. He waited until that brief five-second window when both cameras pointed away and then he inched forward for five seconds then stopped. Over and over he did this until he was barely a foot from the lighted area around the fence. For many minutes, he lay there preparing himself, and then he reached down and took the heavy ‘water bottle’ from its holder attached to his belt. He waited for the next five-second window, then he jumped up and hurled the ‘water bottle’ over the fence and immediately fell flat on the ground again.

  He lay still for many minutes, then he backed out the way he had come.

  Thank God, he would only have to do this one more time.

  ---

  Ted Desman hopped out of bed at 5:00 a.m. and put on shorts, a t-shirt and running shoes. Then he strapped on a canvas belt holding a water bottle. Stepping outside, he was ready for his customary morning run. He had just enough time to get in five miles before getting ready and reporting for work. He hit the dirt road and started running.

  To the east, a false dawn lit the sky. In the west, the Loud Nebula was setting. He could barely make out the shapes of the three mammoth ark ships running end to end down the deep valley. The Sanctuary, The Protector and The Guardian—the ark ships that would carry selected people out of harm’s way to save their race. He knew that wouldn’t happen…not if Radford’s plans worked out.

  The recent claims that Dr. Radford was dead were a laugh. If true, the dead man sure had many things going on.

  He ran down past the mess hall, then across the motor pool and as he headed across the end of the runway, was thankful that no planes were taking off or landing. The sound left a ringing in his ears.

  He proceeded down the embankment toward the perimeter fence and saw the first flat rock. As his foot landed on it, he looked up at the camera on top of the 30-foot pole and noticed he was a bit ahead of schedule, a schedule that he had painstakingly worked out over the last eight months. He shortened his strides as he approached the second larger rock and timed his arrival for just when the camera was pointed directly away from him.

  He had to speed up a tad, but his foot hit the second stone right on time and he turned north and ran along the fence. He watched the cameras out of the corner of his eyes as he ran to keep his timing. He didn’t take this route every day—that might be noticed—only enough to get the timing down, and now, only when there was a pickup to be made.

  As he neared the area, he searched for it and hoped that it wasn’t too far off his path. He spotted it. Like the others, it was one of those decorated in camouflage—shades of green in random shapes and spots. It made it hard to see, almost impossible for the cameras, but not really too bad if you were looking for it.

  It was a little off to the right of his path. He drifted out away from the fence and just as he approached it, he glanced up—perfect, the cameras had swung away from him. He reached down and grabbed the camouflage water bottle, then straightened and shoved the water bottle into the holder on his belt, right on top of the phony one, which was made of a lightweight plastic-like material and empty. As always, the phony water bottle collapsed beneath.

  He ended his run outside his room and stood in the dirt catching his breath as the sun rose. After cooling down, he went inside his room, the
n to the corner of the bathroom where he kneeled down.

  He took a screwdriver, a bottle and a brush from their hiding place under the sink. With the screwdriver, he pried up the tile in the corner. Underneath, it was a hollow. It held three of the camouflage water bottles. He took one of them out—another lightweight collapsible one. Then he took the one he’d acquired today and placed it in the hollow next to the other ones. He then took the crumpled plastic from the bottom of the water bottle holder on his belt and disposed of it in the toilet. While the toilet flushed, he carefully replaced the floor tile.

  He did not know or care what the water bottles contained—did not know each contained a miniature atomic bomb and radio detonator. He had his orders and he followed them. That was all.

  Two down, just one more to go, he thought, as he quickly got ready for work.

  Before heading out the door, he strapped on the belt he’d been wearing every day since he’d started—it held four water bottles—two on each side. His response to the kidding he’d first gotten over it was to say he had to drink eight bottles of water a day, but eight containers were just too heavy.

  Chapter Twelve – The Ice Cloud

  “For centuries, both our species struggled to find gravity within the sub-atomic world. To understand the problem with detecting quantum gravity takes an example one-step removed. Let’s say that you can view a small section of a stream and you want to prove that the stream is moving due to the downward slope of the land. Taking samples and studying the individual microscopic substances and organisms contained within the water or the streambed beneath would never provide any kind of clue.”

  The Loud Named Bugs

  Opening Speech, 23rd Amular Symposium on Quantum Physics

  Source: The Archive

  T-Minus 010 Years

  Out near the gas giant Serena…

  As he looked out the forward view port at the gas giant, Serena, Adamarus thought of Rick Willard, the admiral commanding Battle Group Three. At this moment, Rick’s battle group was approaching the sun, Iceis. He would slingshot around Iceis to build up speed before heading toward the world Adamarus now looked at. In about four years, Rick would slingshot around Serena and then Aster to continue building his battle group’s velocity.

  The advanced fighter he was now in would have to pick up almost as much speed, but due to the Jumper Squadron’s weight—exponentially lighter than Rick’s battle group—his ships would only need two years of rev-up time.

  The training he and his crew were undergoing for their mission seemed almost like a joke. They didn’t have to do that much—or rather, there wasn’t much training they could do without a black hole.

  He turned to his first officer, “Ready for another run?”

  “Aye, sir, always.”

  ---

  Near the Iceis sun…

  Admiral Richard Willard sat down in the Admiral’s seat on the expansive three-level bridge of Battle Group Three’s flagship Night Hawke. Behind his ship followed 99 other Leviathan Three Battleships, 32 Carrier Supply ships and six Kinetic Cannons. Ahead of Night Hawke sat the huge and much modified smelting factory, Smelter-One, the third largest object Amular had ever built. It would serve to clear a path ahead of Battle Group.

  Battle Group Three approached the orange dwarf, Iceis, and was so close now that the sun would not fit within Night Hawke's huge main viewport. They were a million miles closer than Cinder.

  Willard studied his battle group on the central holograph floating before him. His ships were aligned in single file and they formed a very long line. To fit within the holograph and be visible, the scale of his ships had to be increased a thousand fold, and even then, they appeared as barely visible dots next to a representation of a small part of Iceis whose curved surface looked almost straight. Computer-generated lines denoted longitude and latitude on the sun and they moved at a good pace, indicating the speed of the battle group.

  Within the holograph, the Admiral pointed out a gap in the battle group’s line using a small handheld controller. To his left sat Captain MacAfee in the captain’s seat. To his right and one-step down sat his aide, Major Penmen.

  “Major Penmen, kindly close up this gap.”

  Penmen got on the com and ten minutes later, the gap disappeared. Willard grunted then said, “Reduce magnification a hundred fold. Use a standard marker to denote Battle Group Three’s location,” he ordered.

  The order was repeated and the holograph changed. Now, a quarter of the sun was visible and a small arrow crept across its surface.

  “Captain MacAfee, is Night Hawke ready for diving speed and maneuvers?”

  “Yes, Admiral, awaiting your word,” the captain said.

  “Major Penmen, have Battle Group Three execute dive maneuver alpha, on my mark.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Three, two, one and execute.”

  A deep roar and vibration erupted under their feet, but there was no feeling of acceleration. On the holograph, the ships dived downward toward Iceis’ boiling orange surface.

  Willard zoomed the holograph back in to watch his ships. Their speed was increasing within parameters. Their spacing remained perfect. He looked out the main view port at Smelter-One. She appeared steady and exactly where she should be. After a minute, Admiral Willard looked up at the overhead readouts. Several more minutes passed and then, “Major Penmen, prepare Battle Group Three for breakaway maneuver…and…on my mark…and three, two, one and breakaway.” He watched the ships change course on the holograph, rechecked the overhead data readouts. Finally, he said, “Nicely done, Major Penmen,” he nodded at the major and then turned toward the captain. “Captain MacAfee, nice job.” He stared forward again, “Steady as she goes.”

  The ship began to vibrate as she accelerated into the sun's gravity. After a few minutes, the vibration vanished. Their speed was still increasing.

  He dreaded the years in space he’d have to endure—even with hyper-sleep and a small amount of time dilation, it worked out to two-and-a-half years. Then he smiled fleetingly at the thought that he was at the helm of the battle group that would take both the rate of acceleration and speed record for a manned flight.

  Actually, someone else would wind up beating his rate of acceleration, but he couldn’t have guessed that.

  ---

  Amular, The Loud Compound at Hillcrest…

  A year passed and Adamarus had returned home for a year. Assigned to what amounted to a desk job, the intent was for him and Grace to spend a lot of time together before the alien arrived. The time passed quickly.

  One day, two months before he’d have to leave Amular again, he came home and found Grace crying.

  Concerned, he quickly sat beside her. “Hey,” he said, “what’s going on?”

  “I’m so sorry, Adamarus,” she whimpered, “so sorry…and I don’t know how it happened, but…”

  “But what, honey?” he asked, taking her hand.

  “I’m pregnant,” she said, and started crying again.

  Adamarus was stunned. Now was not really the time to bring a child into the world. Then he thought better of it and decided it was actually perfect. Grace would be leaving on the arks while he and Nero stayed to fight the alien. What could be better than Grace having a new baby to take with her? A big smile formed on his face.

  Grace looked up and caught it, “What?” she asked.

  “It’s perfect,” he said, “absolutely perfect,” and held her.

  “You really mean it?” she asked between tears.

  “I do, my love. I do.”

  ---

  The Ice Cloud…

  The ice cloud, alone and unseen in the total darkness of deep space, slowly rotated around the distant sun and around themselves in an endless complex dance dictated by micro gravity.

  All comets came from this dark place. Every now and then, something happened that upset the delicate balance and one of the ice chunks would be nudged just enough for it to leave the cloud and beg
in to fall toward the distant sun. This trip would last many thousands of years. The comet would slowly pick up speed as it approached and, after eons, when it finally reached the inner system and passed the planets, the heat from the sun would begin to melt the ancient ice. This would create the tail thousands of miles long that would make the displaced chunk of ice visible. Most assumed that the tail trailed the comet, but this was not the case—the tail, pushed by the solar wind, always pointed away from the sun.

  Finally, the comet would circle the sun, picking up tremendous speed and be hurled back into space. Eventually, it would be pulled back, and in this way, orbit the sun, coming back and showing itself at regular intervals.

  At some point, men would see these displaced chunks of ice, these comets, and give them names. Although some comets would take thousands of years to return, their passage would be recorded and handed down through the ages and this would make their return predictable and allow their orbits to be calculated.

  By the time the black hole reached the ice cloud, its event horizon had shrunk considerably. It was now ‘only’ the size of a gas giant. The ice cloud was half a light year thick along the elliptic of the star system, but its thickness averaged only about a million miles elsewhere. Fortunately, although the black hole was aligning itself with the elliptic plane, it entered the ice cloud well above it.

  As it moved through the cloud, its gravitational force was beyond anything the chunks of ice had ever encountered. Most of the chunks of ice within thousands of miles of the object’s passing were ripped apart and their remains formed a swirling disk around the black hole as the matter fell into it. However, beyond a certain limit, millions of ice chunks were pulled toward the object as it approached, and then, as the object flew by, many were pulled along behind it. Many flew out away from the star system. However, many more were pulled in toward the inner system and the orange dwarf sun and planets.

  ---

  The Cameron D-2 Tachyon Scope in Amular Orbit…

  Almost everyone was gathered at Cameron D-2 to watch the exit of the object—the black hole—from the ice cloud on the Tachyon scope. Adamarus, Leewood, Harrington, Shelly Winters, Woodworth and Jan were all there. Even President Wicker and Secretary of State Ed Fisher were there in person. Bugs’ avatar was there. Those in the inner-circle who could not be there—Radin and the Edens—were hooked in via Tachyon com units.