The holo showed another ship transiting the wormhole without mishap. As soon as the ship was through a hatch opened in the side of the vessel, and a wormhole gate expanded. A missile came flying through.
“So we repeated it, and then had another five trials of disaster before the next success.”
“But it’s not random?” asked Sean, wanting the answer that he wanted.
“We don’t think so,” said Dr. Boutros. “We think we are getting close to the solution. Maybe another two months. Maybe two years.”
“Well, keep on working at it, Doctor,” said the Emperor, looking back at the now frozen holo that showed the explosion midway through. “You’ve done marvelous work so far. I have every faith that you will accomplish the goal.”
“I can think of one use already,” said Grand High Admiral Sondra McCullom, her bright eyes staring at the holo.
“And what is that, Admiral?” asked Sean.
“It makes a hell of a bomb. Maybe even a planet buster.”
Not that we want to bust planets, thought the Emperor with a frown on his face. Planets were precious commodities. But the species is even more precious, at least to me. Maybe we would blow one up if it took enough of the bastards out. But definitely not yet. Not until it becomes hopeless.
Later that day Sean was in yet another meeting, this one discussing production. And again the news was mixed.
“We have increased antimatter production by fifty percent,” said Admiral Hiedoki, the officer in charge of Fleet logistics. “We’ve been able to do that by converting civilian intra-system production into antimatter conversion sets. Unfortunately, we have run into a bottleneck. There is still a need for insystem production for the building of new space docks.”
“I understand that,” said Sean, frowning. “But we need that antimatter. And negative matter. How are we doing on that?”
“We have increased negative matter production by twenty-five percent,” said the Logistics Chief. “I know that’s not where you want it to be, your Majesty. But that’s the best we can do for now. It just takes a lot more energy to make negative matter than it does for antimatter.”
“Any chance that we might be able to make the process more efficient?”
“That’s up to the scientists,” said the Admiral. “We can reroute materials and build the means of production. But something that involves scientific innovation is beyond me and my people.”
“We need that negative matter,” said Sean, slapping the table. “Isn’t there a natural source we can use?”
“Not in our space,” said Admiral Galligher of Exploration Command. Even though his command was now being shorted of new people and materials, it had been decided at the highest levels that the specialized ships of the command, battle cruisers, light cruisers and destroyers, were more valuable doing what they were trained to do, discovering things that might be of use to the Empire, than in scouting enemy dispositions.
Sean sat there looking into space while the conversation went on around him. It all hinges on negative matter. A ship gate needs ten thousand times more to keep it open than a passenger gate, which needs several hundred times more than a com hole. We can open forty wormholes a day now, it taking the same energy to open a basic hole which is then expanded up to size with, again, negative matter. So that’s the bottleneck. And then we’ll need negative matter to let wormhole equipped ships traverse wormholes, if they actually solve that problem. And then there’s the inertialess fighters, which need negative matter for their bubbles, at least a couple of hundred kilograms each. We could lose this war without that resource.
Sean became aware again of the conversation, which had taken on the aspect of an argument as fingers started to be pointed and blame assigned.
“I will talk to Dr. Yu about this, see what she can do to form a team. But I will tell you this, gentlemen. We need negative matter, in much greater quantities than we are making now.” He looked over at the Army Chief of Staff, Grand Marshal Mishori Yamakuri. “Is your service getting what it needs, Mishori?”
“We could use some more supermetals for grabber units,” said the diminutive Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army. “I am forming new heavy and medium infantry units, but don’t have the suits to fully equip them.”
“We’ll see what we can do, right, Admiral Hiedoki?”
“We’ll have three more supermetal production facilities open in the next two months,” said the Logistics Chief. “Then another three before the year is out.”
Sean raised an eyebrow at that. He knew what was involved in building a supermetal facility, which really took up most of a medium sized planet or moon in the cold zone of a star system.
“Of course we’ve lost the facility at the Garth System,” continued the Admiral with a frown. “So we will actually have less of those strategic materials for the next couple of months.”
“So we will have two more net production facilities, and the metals they bring, within the next two months” said Sean, looking over at the Grand Marshal. “But I suspect most of those materials will be going to ship building. We’ll see if we can get you some for your battle suits, and for the Marines,” he finished, nodding at Field Marshal Parker, the Marine Commandant. “What about the special ops soldiers?” At least they don’t need scarce resources. Just nanotech, and that we have an abundance of.
“They’re volunteering by the hundreds of thousands,” said Yamakuri. “Both veterans and new recruits. They want to fight the Cacas, and this really is the only way most of them are going to do it until we start a counter push.”
And giving up years of life to become enhanced, thought the Emperor. That is truly a sacrifice, but necessary. Until we counter the Cacas. And without more negative matter that is not going to happen. It all comes back to that.
“We’ll meet back here in a week,” said Sean, standing up. All of the assembled officers came quickly to their feet and saluted. “Try to have some good news, if possible.”
Sean walked out of the room, Samantha at his heels, his guard detail falling in around him.
“I think you have surprised everyone,” said Samantha after they were closeted in the back seat of the airvan.
“How so?”
“Most of the people I have talked to thought you were going to be lost in the position of Emperor, that you would be completely out of your league, due to age and lack of experience. I think many are pleasantly surprised that you have taken charge so decisively.”
“And the others?”
“They are shocked. And knowing the people I speak of, that in itself is a pleasant surprise.”
Chapter Six
Every soldier must know, before he goes into battle, how the little battle he is to fight fits into the larger picture, and how the success of his fighting will influence the battle as a whole. Bernard Law Montgomery.
SECTOR IV SPACE, SEPTEMBER 8TH, 1000.
Commodore Mei Lei paced the deck of her flag bridge, something she had seen the admirals in the holos do many times. Her force was ten light years forward of the fleet, and to the side, in a position to pick up the enemy before they came within sensor range of the main force. She had the four ships in her squadron, plus a half squadron of light cruisers and a squadron of destroyers. Enough force to find the enemy and get its information back to the fleet, without being destroyed. Or so it was hoped.
Of course her ship had something that the enemy knew nothing about, or again, so it was hoped. Every ship was equipped with the new subspace radio, which really didn’t help them in hyper, since it wasn’t much better than a transmission through normal space, and something they couldn’t pick up in hyperspace anyway. Jean de Arc, Count Serano and one of the light cruisers were also equipped with a wormhole com, which gave them real time communications with the Flag, routed through the Donut commo center.
The same two battle cruisers that carried the coms were also equipped with a new weapon. And Mei had orders not to use it unless there was no other choi
ce to ensure her survival. The Fleet hoped to use it at a time when it would have the greatest effect against the enemy. Which didn’t mean they didn’t want to use it. It was a new toy, and the higher ranked children couldn’t wait to play.
“We’re picking up hyper emissions ahead, ma’am,” said the Task Force Sensor Officer. “Estimate it’s two of their supercruisers. They’re running their grabbers full out.”
“My assessment is that they are trying to change their trajectory and run away,” said the Force Tactical Officer. “They have to know that we out mass them by a factor of six, and that they don’t have a chance.”
“Order the light cruisers and destroyers to fall back and to the side,” ordered Mei, her eyes fixed on the holo. “Serano and Jean de Arc will forge ahead. Unless something else comes along I think it’s time to try out the new weapon.”
The Commodore linked into the Fleet net and got in touch with Admiral Lenkowski.
“As long as you think you can take them both, go ahead and do it,” said the Fleet Commander. “But only if you make sure they don’t get away. None of our other scouts are picking up anything, so you might just have picked up a hunting pair looking for merchies.”
“Then I guess this is going to be a really bad day for them, sir,” said Mei, smiling. “We’re boosting for them now.”
The Commodore watched the tactical plot, then switched her attention back to the holo. The Fleet Commander would be seeing the same thing she was. There were not enough ships equipped with the wormholes to suit the high command, but it still was a great help to command and control. And something they knew the enemy didn’t have.
“They’re not going to get away, Commodore,” said the Force Tactical Officer. The plot showed the enemy starting to curve away, but the distance was closing as the battle cruisers took a straight line approach. “They’re launching,” said the Tactical Officer, just after icons appeared on the plot, picked up through the hyperdrive emissions of the missiles.
Soon there were hundreds of missiles on the plot. Each Ca’cadasan supercruiser carried more missiles than two normal Terran hyper VII battle cruisers, their missiles being smaller but more capable than the human variety. Still, they had not fired enough missiles to saturate the defenses of the human ships, though hits were a definite possibility.
“Open fire,” ordered the Commodore, and the human ships started on the trial run of a new weapon system.
Each battle cruiser fired two missiles at a time, much less than was normal for the ships that generally carried sixteen tubes. The tubes they did carry were very special, not leading to magazines, but to wormholes. Each wormhole led to an acceleration tube that was two hundred kilometers long, and fed by a magazine containing thousands of weapons. On a signal from the launching battle cruiser the acceleration tubes started to load and fire missiles, one coming through the wormhole each second. In one minute there were two hundred and forty missiles on the way. In three minutes seven hundred and twenty. At a thousand the missiles stopped coming. They staggered their acceleration until they were all on a profile to hit the enemy within seconds of each other, an overwhelming swarm.
Now the acceleration tubes shifted to a different load, and moments later the first of the hyper capable long range interceptors were being launched. Normally ships only carried relatively few of the missiles, which were about half the size of an offensive weapon. In five minutes there were twelve hundred of the interceptors in space. The wormholes had solved one of the biggest problems with hyper VII warships, not being able to carry much in the way of missile armament.
Very few of the enemy weapons made it through the interceptors, which were also of a new design, releasing a swath of antimatter plasma that damaged the seeker heads of the Ca’cadasan missiles without necessarily destroying them. Only a score of enemy missiles made it through, and these were easily taken out by the laser missile defenses.
The Ca’cadasan ships had no such luck with the human weapons, taking only a third of them out before they acquired their targets. In the end it didn’t matter. Two hits, or two hundred, the plasma from the supercruisers quickly dropped out of hyper.
“Good job, Commodore,” said Lenkowski over the wormhole com. “Maybe a bit of overkill, but we can work on that.”
“I’ll take overkill any day, sir,” said Mei, smiling. “As long as we aren’t on the receiving end.”
*
CAPITULUM, JEWEL, SEPTEMBER 21ST, 1000.
“And according to Imperial Sources, the Emperor has been keeping his hands in all the war preparations to date,” said the stunning woman on the trivee, the Galactic News Network logo underneath her head.
“It seems like he’s Augustine’s son in all respects,”said the co-anchor, a smiling middle aged man who was identified as the network’s expert on Capital Affairs.
“Damn him,” yelled Theo Streeter, the Duke of Coventry, throwing a heavy glass at the screen. Both screen and glass were of modern materials, and the result was the shatter proof glass bouncing from the unbreakable screen while liquid went flying everywhere.
“We failed, Theo,” said Countess Judy Decker, the former Lords’ Sergeant at Arms, to her former Prime Minister. “Might I suggest we both go to our home worlds and just sit this out. I, for one, am tired of having newsies accost me while their cameras float overhead.”
“So,” said Streeter, turning on the woman. “You give up so easily?”
“What else is there left to do?” asked the woman with a shrug of her shoulders. “Sean is back, he’s in charge, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
And you can’t wait to tell your story to the public, thought the creature that sat behind the fleshy mask it wore. Streeter had been just as hopeless, and so the agent had terminated him. He was now constituent atoms in a biomass tank, soon to be reconstituted into a lump of pseudo-beef, food for the masses who couldn’t afford better.
Things had seemed to be going so good for their cause. Their Knockerman bosses had been on the verge of taking over the government of Elysium. The puppet was about to be installed, and this agent was prepared to take his place when the signal was given. And the contact agent was safe and secure, and ready to advance his part of the plan. Now that agent was dead, and the effeminate Brakakak were still in control of the Elysium Empire. And this agent was now cut off in hostile territory. The Yugalyth did not expect to survive, but it could still carry out its part of the mission, making sure this Empire lacked a competent head of state.
The Yugalyth stared at the holo that sat over the room’s table once again. The image of Sean Ogden Lee Romanov sat in that holo, alongside the portrait of his cousin, Samantha Ogden Lee. He needed to get rid of both of them to ensure that the New Terran Empire was without a head, and the squabbles of a succession hurt their war effort.
“I’m more worried about the Ca’cadasans myself,” said the Countess, watching as the cast switched to the constant drone of bad news about the war. The Yugalyth looked up for a moment. He was not worried about the war. There was nothing of interest to his employers there, therefore nothing of interest to himself.
The Countess turned from the news when the Yugalyth who had assumed Streeter’s identity cleared his throat. Her eyes went wide just before the needler phutted in his hand, sending the tiny dart into her throat. She had time to raise her hands halfway to her throat and get out one strangled gasp, then fell limply from her chair.
The Yugalyth knelt by her body and checked to make sure that she was dead. Normal poison wouldn’t have done the job. Every citizen of the Empire had the nanites to combat the usual poisons. This was a toxin based on nanotech itself, able to fight less advanced nanites while shutting down the biological systems of the victim.
The Streeter doppelganger walked from the body out to the deck in the rear of the mansion, looking from the high hill down on the city. It was still impressed by the view of the largest city in the known Persius arm. They are so industrious, it thought, looking at the
far off megascrapers in the city center, and the arcologies to the north, each a city within itself. And that’s the trouble. They are on the course of complete domination of this region, and that must not be allowed.
The creature made its way back into the living room, then knelt again at the side of the Countess and removed a sample from her arm. It then carried the body into the basement and placed it in one of the two long boxes that had been placed there for one of several purposes. He released the special nanites, the highly illegal nanobots, that would disassemble the body down to the molecular level, leaving not even proteins or DNA to identify it.
The Yugalyth placed itself in the other box, which closed overhead as soon as the creature was situated within. Three days later the Yugalyth arose from the box, no longer in the form of Theo Streeter. Now it was a perfect replica of Countess Judy Decker, ready to begin the next part of its plan.
*
IMPERIAL PALACE, CAPITULUM AND SOUTHERN OCEAN, JEWEL, SEPTEMBER 30TH THROUGH OCTOBER 2ND 1000.
“I wish we could eat somewhere else,” said Jennifer Conway, realizing at the last moment that she sounded like a whiner. Well, too damned bad. I’m tired of being cooped up in this palace. She snorted at that thought. The palace had more interior space than all the buildings on Sestius combined. It was just the feeling of not being free to go where she pleased, when she pleased, without a damned security detail.
“Is something wrong with the food?” asked the Emperor, toying with his own lobster.
And that’s another thing, she thought, shaking her head. He’s been so preoccupied of late. She snorted at that thought as well. First you don’t want him coming on to you. Now you’re bothered that he isn’t paying attention. Make up your damned mind. It’s not like he doesn’t have other things on his.
“Samantha,” said the Monarch, looking over at his cousin. “Cancel all my appointments tomorrow. And I mean all of them,” he said when she was about to protest. “I have been dealing with business every day for the last four months, and I think we all need a break. At least for a day.”
Exodus - Empires at War 04 - The Long Fall (Exodus Series #4) Page 11
