Waking the Sleeping Giant: The First Terran Interstellar War 2 (Founding of the Federation Book 5)

by Chris Hechtl

  He realized that the process relied more on unskilled labor and speed than time-honored traditional methods. They were not as good, some had quality control issues with burs, but the point was to get them out in large numbers. They could do something about teething issues later … if there was a later.

  He realized in the middle of a brainstorming session that was one of the tricks of the Terrans. Quantity over quality if necessary. His people relied on the charge, on short-ranged brutal fire to overwhelm an opponent so the Terrans had figured out how to stand off and fight to keep the range open and stay well outside of the herd's main guns. He passed on such observations to the Alpha bull in a short missive he hoped was coherent enough to understand.

  Fortunately, the Alpha bull was flexible to consider their latest battle as proof of Dreamer's point. He threw his support into building answering weapons.

  Since the herd was built for rail gun rounds and not to launch the robotic craft, they would have to launch them from cradles attached to the exterior of the hull. He worked out how to set them up and run lines to the ship's weapon stations to control them. Finding places to mount the cradles were a problem as was finding a way to build defensive turrets. Wherever possible he introduced the refit to an area that had lost a turret or section of hull anyway, since there was work to be done there. The weapon and sensor techs complained about the firing angle obstructions, and it took time to explain that once the craft were expended they would no longer be a hindrance.

  He still continued to reverse engineer the alien coding projects. He had turned over a lot of the concepts over to the coding bulls. They weren't stupid; they were not used to doing things or thinking of doing things in a different way. Coding bulls were methodical. But once shown the basic concepts and how to code scripts and bots, many took to the ideas and were able to take them a step further. Those few had stepped up to the point where he could give them an outline of what they were trying to achieve with a given project and then leave it to them to code what was needed within a ship's day cycle.

  Some had learned the art of copying and pasting files. Others were exploring more automation to make their tasks and other tasks easier.

  Upon the communication bull's urging, Dreamer and a young technician built a radio jammer out of junk parts. They rigged it to function but not as powerfully as the alien hardware. The communications bull had gleefully latched onto the hardware and had it installed in a shuttle in order to have the sensor techs practice with it.

  Everywhere that Dreamer saw such things he took heart. The herd was adapting, changing, evolving now that they had seen a new method of doing something. How much evolving they would do and if they could match the enemy's abilities remained to be seen.

  He was both curious as to see what else the aliens had created and dismayed since he knew they were evolving as well.

  (@)()(@)

  After the second resupply mission was a success, the Alpha bull ordered everything Dreamer and the engineers turned tinkers had accomplished be downloaded into a dispatch ship before he sent it to the newly-colonized world, and from there, to the home herd worlds. His concern over the Gamma bull's forces continued unabated, but he tried to put such thoughts out of his mind.

  The dispatch ship would refuel at the colony world and then head to the home herd worlds to warn them and keep them up-to-date.

  (@)()(@)

  He knew that there was some intense relief when the task force herd of defenders—one great defender, one cruiser, two dispatch ships, and three support ships—arrived the day after he sent the latest dispatch ship off. They had made good time, coming north through a series of jumps, past the colony the Delta bull had conquered and then to their location.

  The ship's herd leader had reported no activity at the conquered colony world. His sensor techs had said something was odd about a couple of the planets they had passed on their fast march north, but he ignored such babble. It wasn't important at the moment.

  He unleashed Dreamer's engineers on the ships to bring them up-to-date with his latest changes. There was initially some resistance, but once the ship's Alphas had time to read the briefs on the changes and why they were necessary, they ordered their herds to stop resisting and pitch in.

  The ship's herds had made a few of the changes that the first dispatch ship had carried, but only a few, and many were the simplest changes. But they were a start. The herd Alpha bull was almost as eager to see the support ships as he was the defenders. The support ships carried fresh parts, full stocks, of fuel and provisions, and fresh crews for his herd to utilize in their repairs and updating.

  Chapter 19

  Sol

  President Camp nodded to Admiral Lewis and Generals Taylor and Si. He was still getting used to General Si taking over the Marines from General Taylor. He knew both men were getting on in age, but Roman seemed to be weary.

  “Gentlemen,” the president's chief of staff said, inviting them in to make a cup of coffee. The president hid a smile as Admiral Lewis took advantage of the offer, but General Si went for tea instead.

  Once all three men were settled, he nodded to them each in turn, studying them. “So, the plan is in motion. What has changed?” he asked.

  Admiral Lewis shrugged once. “I think none of us realized how effective the new weapons would be. They are game changers. We're ramping up production now. As you know though, we're not waiting for them to get into full production.”

  “I know,” the president murmured. Admiral Lewis had convinced him to allow the offensive fleet to be kicked off earlier than planned, taking half of the remaining antimatter weapons with them.

  “We've got them on the ropes, and I intend to keep them there until we can build enough of those weapons for a true KO. The further we push them back, the more breathing room for us.”

  “It shortens their supply lines. But destroying their ships faster than they can build and replace them is vital,” General Si murmured.

  “Right,” the admiral replied with a tight nod to his colleague. “I think we've all realized that the war effort has sparked new research and development and a lot of advances. It's making up for twenty-plus years of nothing after the A.I. war I suppose.”

  “I know. It has certainly sparked a lot of changes in the civilian side. And the economy is going strong despite the cost of the war,” the president stated. “We've even authorized another colony to be started, one here in the core worlds. And colonization trips have been reinstated.”

  “Which is going to cost us something in manpower and in a division of resources since we'll need to defend an additional star system,” General Si pointed out.

  “But the manpower cost will be negotiable,” General Taylor pointed out. “We're talking a hundred or so thousand people. I admit picketing another star system will be a pain,” he said, turning to Admiral Lewis.

  “We've got plenty of destroyers now, so I'm not worried about that. I understand Cape Suzzette's shipyard project is getting underway?” he asked. The president nodded. “I'd like to send some people over to take a look. It might be a good place to set up shop. Have a resupply and repair yard there over time.”

  “And thus, putting more money into the economy. The local economy, while tying them to the Confederation.”

  “Exactly. But I was thinking more along the lines of logistics for the navy,” the admiral replied with a small smile. “But however you want to sell it, it’s fine with me, sir,” he said.

  “Gracious of you,” the president murmured as he picked up his cup and took a sip of tepid coffee, brown eyes studying the admiral.

  “The aliens, sorry, Taurens, they are going to be running hard for home. Or will they stand and fight on the other end of the hyperbridge?” General Si asked. “Sorry, I'm not as caught up to speed on their psychology as I'd like to be.”

  “None of us are. That is a good question. Along with that is how fast they are in hyperspace. We know they are slow in real space, but does that translate
over?” Admiral Lewis shook his head as he picked up his own cup of coffee. “We have a general idea of their speed based on the time of Speedwell's encounter and when the ships arrived in Sol, but it is a wide one. Narrowing it down is important.”

  Which means he needed to consult the experts he thought.

  “We've got their star charts. I understand translating them is an issue, but from that you can guess how long it will take for their ships to get word to their home civilization and for reinforcements to arrive?” General Taylor asked.

  “Yes, sir. It's an important question, one I intend to get an answer to tomorrow when I speak to the experts,” he stated.

  “Okay, moving on, the budget. We've got the latest numbers proposed by Congress. Your thoughts, gentlemen?” the president asked, changing the subject.

  (@)()(@)

  Doctor Lorelei was a bit put out over being called in to the admiral's office to make a presentation. She leaned on Doctor Irons to help her translate what she was working on.

  If Admiral Lewis was a bit put out over the addition of the doctor, he didn't say anything. He listened politely as the hyper physicist presented findings on Tauren drive systems. When she realized his eyes were glassing over and she was losing him due to the graphs and charts, she stopped. “Okay, for the layman, it boils down to this,” she said. She paused as she got his attention once more. “Their hyperdrives are slow. They are inefficient, both in power, and in hyper capacitors. They cannot go above the Alpha band.”

  “That is hard to believe, Doctor. They've been in space far longer than we have,” the admiral said slowly.

  “Believe it. They lack proper software refinement and proper sensors, sensor resolution, and range to handle such speed. Also, their command and control is substandard to our own. They also do not have the touch that water dwellers have when it comes to helming a ship in such high stress situations.”

  “Okay … and that means?”

  “It means we can run rings around them both in subspace and hyperspace,” Seanex interpreted for him.

  The admiral glanced at him and then pursed his lips thoughtfully. “I don't want to take anything for granted. Obviously, they hacked our databases.”

  “Ah, that. They captured a ship obviously,” Doctor Lorelei replied. “But we also found a copy of their own navigational database. Interestingly enough, their star charts include part of the core sector.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes. We don't know why or how they got them. Obviously, we would have known if they'd come by sooner.”

  “Given that they've been in space longer, it would have been the last thing we'd even known,” Admiral Lewis replied.

  “True.”

  “Some of the concepts the scientists and engineers have shown us are seemingly alien to the Tauren thinking models we've established,” Doctor Irons stated.

  “Which means the models are wrong,” Admiral Lewis said, giving Doctor Irons a long look.

  “Actually, we are theorizing that they adapt by seeing something done. And that they can reverse engineer other tech and put it into their own tech base. It explains some of their curious designs. Sometimes an innovation sparks a new field it seems.”

  “Any proof of this?” Admiral Lewis demanded.

  “Yes, as a matter of fact, we've found references to encounters with other species, including bugs. They also interact with a greater species known as the Forerunners. They apparently run the hyperbridge network. There is some sort of reference of a toll to use it. The mechanics are beyond us at the moment however.”

  “Interesting,”

  “Fascinating, but also worrying,” Doctor Lorelei stated. All eyes turned to her. “Think about it. We theorized that the hyperbridge network was natural. Now they are saying it is artificial and run by another species, one they obviously get along with. And a species that can create hyperbridges? Maintain them?” she shook her head. “That's a civilization level well beyond our own. We'd be like ants,” she said.

  “Not a nice thought,” Admiral Lewis murmured.

  “But no less accurate,” Doctor Irons stated. “Another thing we need to keep in mind.”

  “Joy,” the admiral said sourly.

  “So, what else have you been working on, Doctor Lorelei?” Admiral Lewis asked, looking at the woman directly as Seanex opened his mouth.

  “You haven't been reading the briefing papers I take it?” the hyper-physicist asked carefully.

  “I do so much reading I think my eyes are going to bleed. Sometimes I wish I could just download it all, but then it'd be there,” he tapped his head. “But I'd freak out about it. So, what is up? Just the highlights please.”

  “Well,” Doctor Lorelei glanced at Seanex and then took a deep breath and took the plunge. “We're working on improving hyperspace sensors and speed. It is incremental though, we need changes in a lot of ship's systems in order to get to the higher octaves and eventual bands. Each jump upwards takes an exponential amount more power than the previous.”

  “Okay, so minor changes there,” the admiral replied with a nod.

  “We've also started working on a student hypothesis on two ships communicating in hyperspace. It is in the modeling stage at this point, but the theory is intriguing.”

  “Communicating in hyperspace?”

  “Yes. We can't send anything in the electromagnetic spectrum. One it is outside the bubble around the ship, it drops to real space or is absorbed by hyperspace.”

  “Okay, so, you say someone found a way around that? A student?” he asked.

  “Yes. Sometimes the best ideas come from fresh minds,” she replied with a small smile. He nodded again. “What she's proposed is fluctuating the shields in hyper. The gravitational changes can be seen by the ship's sensors.”

  “Isn't that inherently dangerous, Doctor?” the admiral asked carefully.

  “Oh, we're talking minuscule changes. Enough to send a ripple but not enough to divert the ship's course. We're obviously going to need to test the hypothesis once the modeling is completed and checked.”

  “I'm not looking forward to being on those ships,” the admiral muttered. “Is that it?”

  “We're working on the first ansible over interstellar distances. I helped with some of the modeling.” She turned to Seanex.

  Seanex shook himself in surprise. “Which is where I come in.” The admiral nodded. “As you know we did the first successful test in subspace with the ansible project a few months ago.”

  “If by success you mean getting a half a muon to spin at incredible cost,” the admiral said sourly. “A lot of people have been making whoop-de-do signs, Doc,” he said.

  “Well, it took a lot to get those muon halves to stay stable as we moved them from point A to point B. We started with a hundred, only two survived the trip.”

  “Okay.”

  “But it did work. They transmitted a signal by laser and by the ansible. We received the signal and processed it faster than the time it took for the laser to get to its destination and be decoded.”

  “But I read it took time to send the data, Doc.”

  “Well, we have to spin the muon halves up, stop them, and then start again. That takes time. And we have to read that spin, which is fortunately easier. But moving the muons is a bottleneck I admit—that and transporting them.”

  “Two bits isn't a lot of bandwidth,” the admiral stated.

  “No, but if we're talking between Sol and Cape Suzette, or say, Sol and Pyrax?” Seanex asked. The admiral nodded slowly. “Some information is better than none.”

  “True,” the admiral admitted.

  “And remember, Admiral, this is the first test. Undoubtedly, the process will be refined and improved over time,” Doctor Lorelei interjected.

  “Also true,” Seanex replied with a nod of thanks to her for her support.

  “Doctor Hillman was the real breakthrough person here. He dug up some old physics articles and some work that was done with the Lagroose parti
cle physics team. Getting it out of the company had been tough, but it helped accelerate the project to where it is now,” Seanex stated.

  “I see,” the admiral stated. “How is Doctor Hillman?”

  “Not good,” Seanex said as Doctor Lorelei sent a brief expression of compassion and regret his way before she looked down and bit her lip. “He's still hanging in there, but …,” he shrugged helplessly.

  “Well, for his sake I hope his project works,” the admiral said softly.

  (@)()(@)

  Trevor Hillman knew he was running out of time. His doctors were trying everything to save him. Their most recent effort involved trying to use microlasers to remove scar tissue on his nerve endings. There were too many and they were too fine to do them all. There was also the problem of the lasers sometimes cauterized the wound causing even more damage.

  He had to make the Transcendence project work. It was all that he had left.

  “I don't understand. People have lived with shrapnel, bullets, metal, anything in their bodies for years,” Cassie said.

  “I'm not most people,” Trevor replied through his artificial voice system. “And we're talking scar tissue. And yeah, for the record I have lived with them in my body all my life.”

  “Oh.”

  “I don't know why the cloning won't work. It did before. There is a theory that when we age to a certain point our bodies start to shut down. That our biological clocks run down and the body stops making replacement cells over time. I didn't buy into that. Now I am not so certain.”

  They had managed small success due to the help of the A.I. in the computer sciences department. They had managed to move up the animal chain from simple-minded brains to more complex ones after they had reverse engineered some of Maestro Gepetto's concepts.

  With each case, they compared the artificial neural network created to what they knew of the original and then to artificial networks created by scientists over the past two centuries. But the more complex the brains became, the more problems they ran into.