Exodus: Empires at War: Book 05 - Ranger

by Doug Dandridge

  Grabbers: Also known as Aether Paddles. Propulsion units made of artificially manufactured supermetals in an alloy that allows the gripping and pulling of the fabric of space itself. Grabbers are used for space drives, allowing ships to accelerate at hundreds of gravities. They also function as inertial converters, turning the inertia of the moving vehicle into heat, which they are uniquely suited to radiate. Grabber units are also used for many military vehicles, recoil systems for particle beam weapons, and the fight systems of heavy and medium combat suits. Civilian aircars and most military atmosphere only craft do not use grabbers due to the cost of supermetals, using ducted fans instead.

  Human Life Span: At the time of the Exodus from Earth, the human life span had been expanded to about one hundred and twenty years on average, with an outside range of about one hundred and forty, mostly due to advances in medical science. Plans to manipulate the human genome were already in place prior to the Exodus, but had yet to be implemented with the exception of some test subjects. These manipulations occurred via nanotech to the crew, passengers in cryosleep and all human genetic materials (eggs and sperm) during the voyage, and there have been minor improvements since. Basically the Human Being Mark II has a faster nervous system, is stronger, smarter and has increased organ functioning. Average gains were about twenty percent over baseline on all factors, though there are some exceptional genomes with increases up to fifty percent. Genetic disorders such as most of the mental illnesses, retardation, diabetes and others were completely eliminated. The human life span was also significantly increased, which also shifted the developmental stages of most humans. Two hundred years is now the low end of expected lifespan, two hundred and forty is the average, with three hundred standard years being the extreme. For some reason the human genome does not seem amenable to extension beyond this range. Science has not been able to figure out why, and this fact has led to the resurgence of religious beliefs in human space. Pregnancies take an average of ten months, while childhood developmental stages pass at a rate of about fifty percent longer than pre-genome augmentation. Children reach the old school age of six at about eight standard years. Puberty starts at fifteen to sixteen years, while adolescence lasts until about twenty-five, the legal age of adulthood on most planets. Humans age very slowly for the first one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five years, looking much like preaugment adults did prior to thirty. After that they tend to age at about one third the preaugment rate, appearing forty at 130 to 150, fifty at 150 to 180, and sixty for the remaining years, up until the last decade, when rapid aging and dementia takes place in all but a small percentage of the population. Women become fertile about once a year, and remain fertile until they reach two thirds of their absolute maximum age. Due to the increased human life span, most citizens of the Empire undergo extensive education before entering the workforce. Most people work a career for from fifty to one hundred years, then try something new.

  Laser Weapons: Also known as Light Amp Weapons, using a beam of photons in the electromagnetic spectrum, from gamma rays to infrared, to burn through a target. Often used as heavy beam weapons for light infantry, or as standard or heavy weapons for medium and heavy infantry. Advantages include almost instantaneous transmission and the ability to penetrate a variety of materials. Weaknesses include the ability of some materials and electromagnetic fields to deflect the beams. Light Amp weapons make up the main close range weapons of warships, with their ability to switch frequencies at short intervals.

  Mag Weapons: Short for Magrail weapons, guns that use magnetic push pull technology to propel a metallic pellet through a barrel to a target. Mag rifles and pistols are the standard of civilian weaponry, used for both self-defense, law enforcement and hunting purposes. Mag weapons can be set for variable velocities to match the target, from a hundred meters a second up to several thousand meters per second. Military mag rifles are common equipment for light infantry and support personnel, and are carried by many medium and even heavy infantry troopers. Military weapons are capable of throwing up to twenty millimeter rounds at ten thousand meters per second, achieving penetration against all but the toughest of body armors.

  Man in the Loop Laws: Imperial Law specifying the ratio of robots to organic overseers in Imperial industrial concerns, and outlawing the use of robots in a military capacity, with the exception of missiles and weapons that have a limited powered lifespan. Humanity was warned by their neighbors to not deploy robots of war, but ignored these warning, believing they could solve the problem of robotic self-awareness. Unfortunately, as had happened to most other species who had attempted the same thing, battle bots achieved awareness in the seventh century of the Empire. The Imperial Fleet defeated the threat at the cost of six burned out planets and over five billion humans killed. Because of that incident, any large or powerful industrial robots must have one on one supervision, while smaller bots require one overseer for from two to four machines. Housekeeping and lesser robots can be supervised by the owner or operator, limited to five robots to the person. This has also resulted in employment for many citizens of the Empire who would not otherwise have gainful employment.

  Monomolecular blades: Process in which a single bonded molecule is used to edge the blade of a hard alloy weapon. Monomolecular blades can cut through just about any material in varying thicknesses. At times the molecule is damaged in use, and most blades are kept in special sheaths that use nanotech to repair and restore the cutting edge better uses.

  Nanotech: Robots of nanoscale measurement, able to disassemble and reassemble molecules at the atomic level. Nanotech is the most ubiquitous technology of the human worlds, used in everything from material construction to medicine. Humans are born with nanites in their systems, transferred from their mother’s bodies. Internal nanites are used to clean up wastes, perform maintenance on organ systems, and fight foreign invaders, including other nanites. They also repair physical injuries such as stress fractures and cuts, and internal cellular damage from radiation. They are used to construct the implants almost all humans have attached to their brains to interface with planetary com and data nets. These implants also coordinate the organization and functions of the nanites in the human system. Some injuries require manipulation by means other than nanites, such as compound fractures or major artery damage. Nanites also make humans almost impervious to biological and chemical agents, making explorers all but immune to unknown contaminants on new worlds. Nanites are used to keep vehicles and machines in perfect working order, or to upgrade such vehicles and machines. Nanites are used in the limited terraforming of alien worlds to sterilize soil areas where human crops are to be grown. Human colonists are equipped with nanites in their digestive systems that allow them to derive nourishment from proteins and fibers not normally digestible by humans, or even those that would be deadly under other circumstances, though foods intended for human consumption are still best.

  Particle Beam Weapons: Weapons that use a beam of charged or uncharged particles in a fast moving beam to impart kinetic and thermal energy into a target. Most deadly of the beam weapons, able to penetrate most armor and cause vaporization of the flesh underneath. Infantry weapons use protons that are spun up to very fast speeds before being guided through the magnetic field of the barrel. Hand weapons can develop velocities of up to ten thousand meters per second, moving a minute amount of material at this speed and into the target. Heavy weapons can develop velocities of up to five hundred thousand meters per second, and control recoil through the use of mounted grabber units which act against the force of the recoil. Ship weapons can develop velocities of up to point nine five c. Ship borne weapons usually use neutrons, stripping the charge off of the protons through the transmission field, as neutrons are not repelled by electromagnetic fields, nor do they repel each other over space. Anti-protons can also be used in ship mounted weapons, though they are normally avoided in troop carried weapons due to the threat of collateral damage.

  Recoverable Dead: Those living cr
eatures, human or otherwise, capable of being revived after the secession of life functions. Humans and most aliens are capable of being revived if the brain is not destroyed and life functions have not been absent for more than one hour, on average. Due to nervous system deterioration some two to ten percent of memories may be beyond reconstruction, so though the person is essentially returned to a living state, there are gaps in mental functioning. Because of regrowth technologies almost the entire body can be regrown with the exception of the brain, which, due to legal constraints, cannot be replicated (see cloning and laws against). Because of this technology, casualties of battle or accidents are divided into injured, recoverable dead, and dead. Recoverable dead are placed into cryostasis as soon as possible to prevent further deterioration prior to the regrowth procedure.

  Excerpt From Exodus: Empires at War: Book 6: The Stand

  High Admiral watched the main viewer in anticipation, literally sitting on the edge of his command chair. Around him the bridge of his flagship bustled with activity, males manning the boards that ran the twenty-five million ton warship, and connected him to the rest of his command. The other eleven battleships of his command were nestled in close, within light minutes by com. A half dozen of his supercruisers were ranging deeper into the system, while the other ten and his escorts surrounded the star system in a bubble, ready to snap up any human ships that might try and escape.

  “You’re sure this is what you want to do?” asked another male, the captain of the ship. “The Great Admiral left implicit orders that non-human aliens were to be allowed to live.”

  The High Admiral looked at his subordinate and growled. I should be in command of this conquest, thought Kellissaran Jarkastarin, who was a third cousin of the Emperor. Not that lower born lout. All knew that Miierrowanasa M’tinisasitow was the son of a common officer, raised to nobility. To the High Admiral’s way of thinking, birth should always take precedence.

  “What would you have me do, Captain?” asked the haughty male, gesturing to the main viewer. “Even if I sent an abort signal it wouldn’t get there in time.”

  The other male gave a head nod of grudging acceptance, then turned to look at the Tactical Officer. “How long till impact?”

  “Another five minutes, my Lord,” said the lower ranking officer.

  And we’re forty-eight light minutes away, you dolt, thought the High Admiral, glaring at his Flag Captain. And you knew it.

  The High Admiral continued to sit in his chair as the timer clicked down. When it hit zero he knew the job had been done. There would be no life offered to the aliens who had thrown in with the humans, if there had been any on that planet.

  “Orders, my Lord?” asked the Captain, walking back to the High Admiral’s chair.

  “We sit here and enjoy the show,” said the High Admiral, again glaring at his subordinate until that male dropped his eyes. The High Admiral pointed at the screen with both right index fingers. “I have waited all my life to pay these humans back for their treachery.”

  “There is nothing else of interest in the system, my Lord,” said the Captain, raising all four hands palms up. “Wouldn’t it make sense to order the force to start decelerating so we can leave this system.”

  “I want to see it up close,” said the High Admiral, a feral grin on his face. “I want to revel in their destruction.”

  The Captain gave another head shake and moved away. The High Admiral stared at the screen which showed the blue and white globe of a living world. But not a natural world, thought the High Admiral, a low growl in his throat. They had learned from the human prisoners, just before they killed them, that the world ahead had been terraformed from a dead body. Nothing was more revered in the religion of the Ca’cadasan Empire than a life bearing world. And nothing was more reviled than a world that had been artificially imbued with life. That is only for the Gods, thought the High Admiral.

  At forty minutes the viewer showed the first flash of what the High Admiral had been waiting for. It was a bright flash, an eye hurting impact on one of the blue sections of the world, an ocean strike. He didn’t see the object that had come in, which wasn’t surprising, considering that the missiles were moving at point nine c on impact. The first flash was followed by others, until over twenty had appeared on the screen.

  The High Admiral watched as each pinpoint turned into a tiny red circle, the magma coming through the penetrations of the crust and rising high into the air. The cloud patterns changed radically as the blast waves radiated out from each hit. In the oceans the clouds were pushed back from the circle at supersonic speeds, while the ocean floor became visible as massive tsunamis moved at almost a thousand kilometers an hour away from the strike. Any islands and coastlines those waves hit would be inundated, probably to the high mountains. On land the ring was not made up of water, but of fire, as forests and grasslands were consumed to ash by the fast moving flame.

  The High Admiral sat there for hours, watching the death of a planet. He sat there for half a day, until the other hemisphere was visible, and further missile strikes killed the few small areas that had not been destroyed by the death of the opposite side of the world.

  * * *

  “So,” said the Emperor Sean Ogden Lee Romanov, taking his seat at the head of the table so the others could take their own seats, as dictated by protocol. “Give me some good news.”

  “I’m afraid there isn’t any, your Majesty,” said the small woman sitting across from him. “At least not militarily.”

  “And that is not the news I wanted to hear,” said the Emperor with a grim smile, looking at the Chief of Naval Operations, Grand High Admiral Sondra McCullom.

  “I know it isn’t, your Majesty,” said the woman who had replaced Grand High Admiral Gabriel Len Lenkowski, who had been demoted to command of the battle fleet, which had taken a beating under his command.

  Not that it’s his fault, thought the Emperor, picturing the face of the man who had been CNO under his father. I gave him a no win situation, and he has made the best of it.

  “Battle Fleet, which includes the remnants of the Sector Four Fleet, has been reduced to fifty percent of its original strength,” continued the woman who was only one rank below the Emperor himself in the military chain of command.

  “Any way we can bring it up to strength?” asked Sean, pretty sure of the answer.

  “Not really, your Majesty,” said the CNO. “Oh, we can keep stripping other fleets for units, and the new production is starting to come off the yards, though not yet at the level they will by this time next year. The Crakista fleet will help, but they won’t be fully deployed in our space for some months, and we have yet to see any units from Elysium. The bottom line is that battle fleet is being bled to death from a thousand cuts.”

  “And it’s that, or let it be annihilated in a decisive battle,” said the Emperor, looking down at the table top, not really wanting the others in the room to see the doubt in his eyes. And that decision is mine alone. We can’t beat them in a stand up battle. We can only snipe at the edges, and pick our battles carefully, which brings up the other problem.

  “We have lost over six hundred worlds in Sector Four,” continued the CNO, as if reading his mind. “Add to that three core worlds. Estimated civilian losses are now on the order of over forty billion.”

  “And that brings up another problem, your Majesty,” said Grand Marshal Mishori Yamakuri, the Army Chief of Staff, through the silence left by McCullom’s last statement. “I have reports of desertions on many of the worlds the Cacas have taken. The people are losing heart, especially now that the Cacas are not landing forces for them to take on. The soldiers would rather run into the wilderness and survive than hold their positions.”

  “That shouldn’t be too much of a problem then,” said Sean. “If they aren’t landing, then we really don’t have much need of ground troops.”

  “Except it will become a problem when the Cacas get enough infantry into the Empire to start ground operat
ions again,” said the Army Chief of Staff. “And many of the desertions have been among the troops who man our planetary defense artillery. They see their units taking a pounding for seemingly no return, and they take off.”

  “Any more bad news?” asked the Emperor, looking at his Prime Minister, Countess Haruko Kawasaki.

  “There is brewing trouble in the Lords, your Majesty,” said the tiny woman, bowing her head. “I am ashamed to say that some of my political rivals are discussing a vote of no confidence in your running of the war.”

  “What kind of numbers do they have?”

  “The entirety of their own block,” said the Prime Minister. “That in and of itself is not enough, but they are starting to gain traction with some others. And there is also talk in the commons. The scholars are firmly in your corner, but if two houses vote no confidence.”

  “Then I become a figurehead, and nothing more,” said Sean, slamming a hand down on the table. “And some idiot takes your place to run the war. Some idiot who will bang our heads against the military wall of the enemy.”

  “People are starting to panic,” said the Prime Minister. “They do not see the small victories that bleed the enemy. They only see the big losses, and wonder when it will be their turn.”

  “So we need a signature victory,” said McCullom. “Something to show the people, so they will not continue to lose heart.”