by Doug Farren
There was a murmur of agreement. They had all heard this before during their daily briefings. The Commander was obviously excited about something so everyone continued to listen. “We have always looked at things from the side of defense. We wait until we are attacked and then we defend ourselves. The Chroniech are secure in the knowledge that they can attack our worlds and we will use our resources to defend them and not take the war to their own people. It is time we changed that.”
There was a loud rumble as many people started side discussions with those around them. A Saulquin sitting near the back row stood up and loudly addressed the group. “Attempting to take the war to them would seriously reduce the resources available for defense. We must continue to defend our worlds and once the Chroniech fleets are stopped only then can we consider attacking them.”
“But what,” Jim replied to the now silent room, “would happen if we could develop a single automated weapon capable of being deployed directly against a Chroniech world? An unstoppable weapon so powerful that it would force the Chroniech to consider halting their advance.”
“Such a weapon does not exist,” the Saulquin replied. “If it did we would have used it by now. Even if such a weapon was theoretically possible it would already have been developed.”
Commander Cross turned to face the giant viewscreen. “Such a weapon does not yet exist – but it can be built and the technology to do so is there!” He ended his revelation by pointing toward the screen.
Everyone in the room stared at the screen but nobody could figure out what the Commander was talking about. All they could see were several unrelated ideas that seemed to add up to nothing.
Jim manipulated his remote and one of the partial windows of data expanded. “This is Falnath’s jump drive,” he explained. “A technological achievement with unbelievable potential. It is hampered by the fact that it is lethal to all life. It works and it is being deployed as we speak to make life more difficult for the Chroniech. By itself it will not allow us to end the war. It is, however, the first component of an incredibly powerful weapon.”
Another window expanded. “This is a relatively new technology developed by the Rouldians and employed on their Mishpa class interceptors. It gives that class of ship the unique ability to anticipate the relative velocity it will possess when dropping out of stardrive. A good chunk of the ship’s navigational system is devoted to the ultra-accurate tracking of the ship’s position and relative velocity as well as its absolute orientation no matter where it is in space.”
Jim manipulated the keyboard on his podium and more data appeared. “Here is another recent development. This gives a ship the ability to adjust its navigational data if it finds itself traveling at very high speeds. Due to the shifting of a ship’s normal-space frame of reference while traveling at relative speeds above 10% light speed navigation can become difficult. Since most ships generally avoid accelerating to this speed the technology has had little application – until now.”
Commander Cross turned to face the assembled scientists. “Taken individually, these technological advances are good but they don’t result in any appreciable help towards the war effort. Combine them, however, and you have a nearly unstoppable delivery system.
“Consider this: Mount a Falnath jump drive on a Mishpa interceptor. Install an AI tactical system in place of a pilot. Accelerate the ship to a very high speed – say 15% light speed. Jump that ship into an enemy system close enough for the ship to analyze the target’s relative motion yet far enough away to prevent the enemy from reaching it before the jump drive is recharged. Initiate a second jump to a point as close to the target as possible and positioned such that the relative velocity of the ship will take it toward the target. That is the essence of a nearly unstoppable weapon delivery system.”
The auditorium’s background noise picked up significantly as people discussed the proposal with their neighbor. Jim allowed the discussions to continue for nearly five minutes before calling for attention. Once the room had gotten quiet he asked, “Can anyone find any objections to why this delivery system cannot be built?”
Jim waited but nobody raised any objections. “Very well. Now that we have a delivery system, we need a weapon.”
“I thought you just described the weapon,” an unidentified voice yelled out.
“Not quite,” Jim replied. “It is true that a Mishpa interceptor traveling at 15% light speed would make a very good kinetic energy weapon, but, we would run out of interceptors rather quickly. We need to increase it's destructive potential by several orders of magnitude. We need a warhead; an unbelievably powerful warhead; something so dreadful and so destructive that it will turn the tide of the war. This weapon has been proposed before and has been rejected as impractical.”
The screen shifted again this time revealing an old project file that had been marked for archival purposes only. There was a moment of silence as people read the data. “Such a device cannot be built,” someone said aloud. “That’s why it was rejected.”
“It can be built,” Jim replied, “with the help of the Kyrra.”
“The Kyrra would never allow it,” another voice spoke out.
“Given the alternative, which is the death of hundreds of billions, if not trillions of lives, I think they will,” Jim replied.
“Have you asked them?”
“Not yet. I intend on doing so right after this meeting. Even if they refuse, we can arm it with the largest thermonuclear warhead in our arsenal. In the meantime, I want a team put together to implement the delivery system as I’ve just laid it out. I want a working prototype built as soon as possible. If you need a Mishpa interceptor I’ll get you one. Dismissed!”
As the meeting broke up, Falnath approached Jim. “Even if the Kyrra agree to help,” she said as soon as she was within hearing range, “do you actually think the Alliance will agree to deploy such a weapon?”
“I don’t think they have much of a choice,” Jim said. “You don’t think they will?”
“The Alliance has always treated civilians and military as distinctly separate targets. It’s one thing to destroy a military base or engage enemy warships in combat. It’s something else entirely different to think about attacking large civilian population centers. Your weapon cannot discriminate between targets.”
“The Chroniech are on a mission to wipe us out. They have intentionally targeted civilian populations.” Jim’s voice trembled with anger as he continued. “They killed over six billion people on Tortanathut! Winterhaven was completely defenseless and they casually exterminated over a billion lives there as well. We need to strike back at them in such a manner as to get their attention. This war must end. If we have to wipe out a few of their planets to do it then so be it.”
“Would you push the button to exterminate the lives of an entire planet filled with Chroniech civilians? Could you live with yourself afterward? Wouldn’t that make you just like them?”
Jim took a step toward Falnath. “I would not hesitate to push that button if I thought it would help end this war. My brother was on Winterhaven.” Jim turned around and walked away without giving Falnath a chance to reply.
The Commander wanted to slam the door to his office but fortunately there was none. He sat down hard in his chair and immediately hammered out an urgent message to the Kyrra. He took the time to reread it, made a few corrections, then sent it on its way. He knew it would take some time before an answer was received.
He was still worked up but fatigue was once again beginning to make itself felt. He wanted to stay awake until he heard back from the Kyrra. He walked to his room, took a cold shower to wake himself up, then laid down on the bed to relax for just a moment. His body, however, had had enough and within ten minutes he was fast asleep.
Wolf Pack
“Long range sensors have detected a single warship,” the Chroniech tactical station announced. “It has apparently detected us and is altering course to evade.”
The Fleet C
ommander punched in a command and the long range tactical display appeared on his main monitor. After looking at the statistics for a moment his brow knotted up in thought. “The drive wake signature is odd. Do we have a match?”
“The computer thinks it might be Kyrra but it is not an exact match. The drive field appears to be fluctuating and is not stable. Perhaps they are having problems.”
A quick set of keystrokes brought up the list of ships in the fleet. It was a huge list as this fleet was destined for Almaranus. The Chroniech realized that the system would be very well defended and had planned accordingly. A few more keystrokes grouped the ships by class and a couple more caused six to be selected. Another command opened up a communications link to them. The order was given to intercept and destroy the unknown ship. Seconds later, six heavy cruisers broke formation. The rest of the fleet slowed down slightly.
On board the lead vessel assigned to intercept the Alliance ship, Captain Brantick kept an eye on the fleeing ship as his faster warships closed the distance. “Keep alert for additional ships,” he ordered. “It is unlikely, but it could be a trap.”
“Unknown vessel is slowing,” the tactical station announced. “Its drive field is fluctuating. I think they tried to push it too hard.” A few seconds later he added, “The vessel is sublight.”
“As soon as we are within range, drop to sublight and engage,” Captain Brantick ordered.
The group of warships slowed as they approached the ailing vessel then dropped out of stardrive. “Tell me what type of ship that is,” Captain Brantick said.
The tactical station operator’s eyes grew wide when the computer’s automatic identification appeared on the screen. “It’s an Alliance heavy cruiser designated as the Komodo Dragon,” he replied. “That’s the ship Captain Zatch is searching for.”
The legend of the Komodo Dragon was well known within the Chroniech military. Every Captain dreamed of being the one to destroy it. But now there were standing orders from the Supreme Fleet Commander himself not to destroy the ship. They were allowed to engage it in combat but were to attempt to avoid destroying it completely if possible.
Captain Brantick was sorely tempted to ignore those orders. Sitting in space well within weapons range was a prize worthy of any Captain’s dreams and he was not allowed to blow it to bits. “Hold fire,” he reluctantly ordered. “Weapons, target weapon arrays only. Fire until those arrays are destroyed.”
“Ack… ”, the weapon’s station did not have the chance to complete his reply before the ship shook with the unmistakable vibration of a weapon hitting their armor.
“Weapons fire from cloaked vessels!” the tactical station yelled. “Energy signature is Kyrra. Targeting the source and returning fire.”
Captain Brantick’s ship never managed to return fire. Four Kyrra ships had his cruiser in their sights and had opened fire. His shield was instantly breached and his ship’s armor penetrated. The beams burned through bulkhead after bulkhead with unstoppable fury. The other ships of his fleet were also under attack. In less than twenty seconds not a single one remained.
Their mission accomplished, the wolf pack engaged their stardrives and headed off into deep space.
* * * * *
Stricklen sat in his command chair thinking. Commander Tobunga made his way to the bridge from CIC and stood next to him. They were both wondering the same thing. Stricklen looked up at his XO and asked the obvious, “Why the hell didn’t they fire on us?”
Commander Tobunga shook his head and replied, “I was wondering the same thing. Perhaps they were trying to figure out why a lone ship was out this far from an Alliance base.”
“I don’t know what the hell to think at this point,” Stricklen replied. “What did you see from CIC?”
“They had a hard weapons lock on us. The lead ship then retargeted its weapons from dead center to our weapon arrays. That was when the Kyrra took them out. I don’t get it.”
“And neither do I.” Ken shook his head as if to clear it.
“You do realize sir,” Tobunga continued, “if they had fired as soon as they had a lock we would most likely not be here.”
Stricklen nodded in acknowledgement and replied, “The Kyrra took their sweet time in firing. I was wondering how reliable they would be when it came time to fight. They are, at heart, a peaceful people and warfare is not something they are used to. I guess the art of shooting first and asking questions later is a lesson they will never learn.”
“We got lucky this time.”
“There won’t be a next time with that trick. The Chroniech won’t fall for it again.”
“Agreed. Have you checked that fleet’s course?”
Stricklen’s face darkened. “They’re making a beeline for Almaranus,” he replied. “That explains the size of the fleet. They know what they are up against.”
“Perhaps the wolf pack can whittle them down to size,” Tobunga said with a sly grin.
Stricklen nodded his head and smiled. “Now that we have a fleet to harass, let’s see if we can’t take out a few more of them. Any ideas on what to try next?”
“A couple.”
“Well, let’s hear them.”
* * * * *
Shavact had originally been discovered by the Tholtarans prior to the formation of the Alliance. It had been used by them for many decades as a far supply outpost and repair facility and it had remained largely unpopulated until the Humans came on the scene. The planet’s ecosystem was stuck in what Humans described as the Jurassic era.
Most of Shavact had a tropical climate and life abounded in many forms. Giant animals resembling the ancient dinosaurs of Earth roamed the vast continents. Volcanism was prevalent bringing vast quantities of heavy elements to the surface. The oceans were teaming with life. Plants also flourished with one tree in particular, the Urbo, having quickly become one of the most sought after trees in the Alliance. Its wood was dense and richly textured.
The planet had become quite popular for a number of reasons. The rich deposits of uranium, gold, platinum, iridium, and other heavy elements close to the surface made the planet a veritable gold mine for the mining companies that dotted its surface. The harvesting, selling, and replanting of the Urbo had also become a major industry for the planet.
Several species enjoyed visiting Shavact in order to hunt or just to watch the magnificent life forms the planet had produced. Not long after the formation of the Alliance, Humans had learned of the world and the population quickly increased. Other races followed and within a decade the population had grown from a few thousand Tholtaran military to 2.7 billion.
With the increase in population the Tholtarans had expanded the military base and its accompanying defenses. Shavact had become not only a major exporter of rare wood, exotic meats, delicious plant products, and inexpensive heavy metals but it had also become a major military outpost. Taking advantage of the easy supply of heavy metals, the Alliance had built a large shipyard in orbit. These shipyards built not only military vessels, but civilian ships as well. Some of the most luxurious private space yachts were built here.
All this, combined with Shavact’s proximity to the Chroniech border, caused it to rise to near the top of the priority list of planets to receive extra protection. It now had 123 high capacity multiple-launch missile platforms in place. Extra ships cruised the area and its location had been pinpointed and programmed into the newly modified defense stations waiting on standby deep within Alliance space.
The Alliance had been working furiously to produce the new Falnath jump drive and to get them installed in as many defense stations as possible. Shavact had also been supplied with one of the new hytrans transceivers. It was the first planetary system the Chroniech would encounter with the new Alliance defenses.
Chroniech Fleet Commander Eshka Kartvack was proud of his fleet’s accomplishments so far. Two Alliance planets lay in ruins and a third was quickly approaching. This one would be more challenging considering the size of the sh
ipyards that intelligence said were orbiting the planet. In order to account for the increased defenses, his fleet had been enlarged with additional ships.
Eight hundred and twelve Chroniech warships cruised through space with a single goal in mind – the absolute destruction of all Alliance life. “We have been scanned by an Alliance monitor post,” the tactical station reported.
“Continue toward our primary target,” Commander Eshka ordered. “All ships to battle stations.”
The large tactical display started to show some details of the defenses surrounding the target world as they approached. The tactical computer chewed on the data and generated its suggestion for the attack. Commander Eshka did his own analysis and agreed with the computer. Orders were given and the fleet shifted to a slightly different formation.
Turning to his tactical officer Commander Eshka said, “This target is heavily defended. Over three hundred large defense stations and six hundred heavy warships have been detected. The planet could be very useful to us in the future. In your opinion, should we accelerate and sterilize the planet with a missile bombardment and ignore the defenders or should we engage their fleet?”
The tactical officer gave the situation some thought then replied, “The planet itself has a population of nearly three billion yet it is not as important as the orbital shipyards. The Alliance has concentrated a large number of ships here giving us an opportunity to destroy a sizeable portion of their combat forces. Ignoring them would give them the chance to fight us in later battles. I believe we should engage their military and target the planet later.”
“I agree. The elimination of their military is a higher priority than the elimination of their population. Prep the fleet accordingly.”
