“It seems that the politicians think just like the military for ones.”
“Well they have to lose just as much as everyone else. They all saw the reports about our enemies. They know what awaits us if we fail.”
They both kept silent after the last comment. They all knew the consequences of failure and that it was their task to make everything that that doesn’t happen. Even if that means that everyone under their command and they them self, have to die for that to happen. No price was high enough.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
2 March 2019 15:30 hours
Asteroid Belt Ceres Sol System
Anthony Le Blanc looked with eyes that looked tired and fascinated at the same time. The observation room on board the Tanteroga, the Helix class mining ship, one of the two that his company got to use when he got the contract gave him a fascinating view of the space around him. Helix was in orbit around Ceres the largest body in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The dwarf planet first discovered in 1801 by the Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi always fascinated the scientific community. The results that the Dawn space craft sent in 2015 raised the interest. The probe confirmed most of the speculations but it also proved the presence of water on the dwarf planet and the presence of a rocky core and richness in metals. The dwarf planet was always considered as the stepping stone in the colonization of the solar system and in the prospect of mining the asteroid belt. Since the first moment when he got the chance to join that effort Le Blanc placed the chance of starting to mine and at the same time set up a permanent residence on the dwarf world as a priority. He used the support of the US government and NASA for getting that chance. NASA was interested in the exploration and if there is chance, the colonization of the dwarf world. In that he agreed with them. Ceres was not just the largest body in the asteroid belt it was also in the best position in the prospect of the mining of the belt. It was the best place to store the mining material before launching it towards Earth for now or the Moon, Mars and Venus in the future if they get colonized as it was always planned. And in case they colonized the Jovian moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and the world they all named Nibiru, the dark gas giant that orbited on the far edge of the solar system. The forty two large moons attracted the interest of every astronomer and the Intrepid was already scheduled to make a trip to that world. The space exploration was just starting and it was already looking really exciting and moving with a speed no one expected. More and more enthusiasts were joining the effort and giving their support. This was the new frontier and everyone wanted to see it.
Even with the support he got from the US government he knew that he will never be able to rival the largest mining consortiums that also joined in the mining of the belt.
He started looking for other partners, small independent mining companies like the one he had. The search lasted for almost two months, two months that were the most difficult in his life considering that he was searching and launching the mining operation at the same time. The Kalus the other mining ship he got and that he was sharing with NASA was already mining the 4179 Toutatis and two other metal rich asteroids. He launched his first mining operation on an asteroid that wasn’t really far from Ceres always keeping close to his real goal. The K 1888 was a kilometer long asteroid that had rich deposits of tungsten, iron, nickel and aluminum, and small amounts of noble metals, as well as silicates, carbonates and water. The mining was going hard especially since he had three death cases in the early stages of the project, which made him to increase the security and safety measures and to start rigorous training of all personal. It took a lot of time and initially slowed the work but it saved lives and more importantly it meant that when the workers started working they were fully aware of the dangers and ready for them.
The process of searching for partners that would share his idea brought him a lot of partners both from the US and from Europe, Africa and Asia.
The largest partner came from Macedonia where several mining companies with the support from the government united themselves in to the Macedonian Mining Company or short the MMC and approached him. They became the most valued partner as they offered experienced miners, and a relatively cheap work force. Together with them and with the others they formed the Terra Nova Mining Company. The TNMC
Got the support from both the US and the governments of the other countries from which he took his partners to the anger of the large mining corporations which hoped that they would continue to have the dominant hand here as well. That gave him the chance to compete with them on an equal level and both he and his partners planned to use it to the best of their abilities.
And for their plans to succeed Ceres was the key.
He turned towards the other three men in the room, Dejan Petrovski from the MMC, Anatolij Davidov a rich Ukrainian independent miner and Rene Gales a representative of a group of miners from South and Central Africa. He was representing the interest of his colleagues from the US.
They were all experienced miners like him. The Macedonian was the youngest one. He was forty eight, and the Ukrainian was the oldest with sixty years. But just as him they were all in a way enthusiasts, all except the Macedonian who was the one who was most interested in the job as in a way it was expected considering the hard situation in his country about the people in this profession. The mines were working but thanks to the corruption in both the government and the mining companies the miners worked for scrapes and were at a total mercy of the companies they worked for. It all changed thanks to the man that was standing here now. Immediately after the news and the truth about the attack reached Dejan who had degrees in both Geology and physics it seemed came to the same conclusion that Anthony did, that the mining of the asteroids is a necessity, something that has to be done now not in some distant future. He started organizing with other miners even lost his job but he was persistent and grabbed the chance when it opened. As soon as Anthony started searching Dejan and trough him the miners form Macedonia contacted him. What they offered was simple, experienced workers and partnership. The struggling new government of Macedonia saw a chance in the project, a way to relieve the huge unemployed workforce especially in the mining industry, industry that was totally neglected by the previous leadership, and what was left was drowning in corruption they were struggling to destroy. It gave the government a perfect tool to strike at the corrupt officials. They gave their full support to the miners, helped them in the forming of the new mining company, helped with investment that gave it a share in the company and Le Blanc got his partner.
As the first one to start the process Dejan was elected as a president of the new company and he represented them.
The African representative was a man with a hard history, obvious from his scars. He started with mining as a child for the groups that fought in Nigeria and it took him almost ten years to manage to escape. When he did he joined the resistance for a while helping to restore order to his country. Then he returned to the job he now knew well, mining. He had luck together with some of his former colleagues to strike a rich diamond mine that gave him a chance get rich fast. He used his wealth to open the company that was now partner in the TNMC. After the first contact and the announcement for the asteroid mining he realized that his continent and his people in a way were the ones that were in the biggest danger when the invasion troops would arrive. In difference with the other continents and in a large way thanks to the powerful countries in the world Africa had no real major power. The only one that could be said that it was close to that was South Africa who managed to avoid the civil wars that the other African countries had since the day they got their independence. The same conclusion was reached in several of the democratic countries of the continent. Old rivalries were forgotten and the African Union, a union that so far existed on a piece of paper and nothing else finally started working. The four months saw a massive intervention of the members of the league in the troubled zones on the continent. The large terrorist organizations, rebel armie
s that massacred entire populations were gutted, and in 2018 for the first time in 70 years Africa knew peace. He together with other independent miners that same as him worked hard and in most ways honestly, formed the African Mining Union. They took over some of the mines of the expelled foreign mining companies but they couldn’t take the place from the most powerful ones, who in reality used the cleansing to clear the way for their expansion using their influence in the governments of the African countries. When the need for asteroid mining rose and realizing that the continent had to be represented there Rene saw his chance, he proposed that the AMU take the mining and when Anthony searched for partners he approached him. Using the diamond minds and the reaches they had he managed to get the contract and a large amount of equipment. The support he got from his own country and from the South African Republic didn’t hurt either.
The last man was Anatolij the old Ukrainian was one of the richest people in his own country thanks to the mines his family owned even in the time of the Soviet Union. He was a corporate man but also a huge admirer of the space program, and as soon as the asteroid mining became a necessity he was trying to get the contract alone. But realizing that it would be almost impossible, and thanks to the personal friendship with Anthony he decided to join forces. When he did several other mining companies from Ukraine and Russia went along.
As he saw them he saw that they were watching with fascination as well.
Ceres field the view. The dwarf planet looked fascinating. As they watched they could see the first buildings being assembled and put in place on the Piazzi crater. The crater that was named after the man who first discovered the dwarf planet was chosen after an intense research conducted by the company and NASA.
It was on a stable position for building the surface base for the mining crew and also a good place for storing the material and the next phase of the plan he and his partners had.
“Well we are finally here gentlemen.”
Dejan smiled, and joyful smiles appeared on all their faces.
“Yes Anthony. It took time but everything is proceeding as scheduled. It was a good plan from the start. It will be hard but this might be the thing that will raise us over the competition.”
Anthony nodded at the comment from Anatolij and turned and looked towards the surface. The Tanteroga was almost 200 miles high above the planet, keeping a stable orbit. Most of the ships functions were monitored and controlled by the ships AI Marius. The AI, just the same as the others on the other ships always kept in touch with the crew of the mining ship offering instructions and help. The teaching of the new miners was done under its supervising and Anthony constantly talked with it. He enjoyed those conversations and from the chat he had with the others he knew they did too. It was unnerving at the beginning but as you got to know it the AI became a person and a real friend. Annoying at times but always there when u need it.
“How far are the negotiations for that factory ship that was broken?”
The Macedonian didn’t even turn as he asked the question. He was still watching the view. It might seem impolite but Le Blanc knew the feeling.
“The ship is ours Dejan. It is on its way towards here even as we speak. But considering that the engines are down it is traveling slowly. It will be here in a month.”
“The station should be finished by then and the mines opened.”
“The mining will start by the end of this weak as soon as the first workers arrive from the first site.”
At that moment Marius appeared. The four board members just smiled as the shimmering light appeared behind them. They just smiled as the AI with an image of an old man appeared.
“The base on the K1888 is complete and fully capable of continuing the mining independently of this ship, just as you required. The process will be slower but I must confess that it is surprisingly good considering your technology. You humans…you are a strange bunch…So advanced in some ways and yet still backwards in others.”
The comment brought out a discussion that Le Blanc had several times with the AI. It was new on the other three considering that they spent much less time on this ship.
“What do you mean by that?”
The AI turned toward the Rene.
“What do I mean? You should have been here half a century ago. Instead of that you chose to give up your space program and stay planet bound. And that now brings us to this…racing against time.”
The comment made them all smile.
“Well Marius nothing we can do. That is when you have politics.”
“Bah…it is always the same, you and your stupid politics. It seems that even eons apart you are still the same.”
“We may be Marius but we have other concerns now. That is a conversation for another time.”
“And one, we’ve had many times Anthony.”
“Yes.”
The AI smiled and drifted towards the window. It too seemed to admire the view.
“How far are we with the plans for the base and the shipyard Marius?”
The AI turned and a schematic appeared on the screen on the wall.
The image showed the layout of a vast base that extended through the entire Piazzi crater. Two slips were noticeable placed on top of arches raising two hundred meters up from the surface. Mining lanes for bringing the needed materials from the mines leaded towards two large buildings that represented the factories. They were placed close to the slips. The project looked impressive. A large station on the ice mantle on the far side of the crater represented the station that would produce the much needed air and water.
“As you can see I made some changes to your initial plan. I know that you wanted a closed dome base but for that to be build it will be needed much more time. Like this you will be able to start your operation quickly. When the factory ship is ready the production of your needed parts will be a lot faster. The first products from the factory will have to be for that ship. I made a list based on the information I have about the damages it sustained. It will be best if you land it and use the ship as a complete factory. Considering its size I would advise landing it on this edge right next to the slips. These lanes that you see will connect the ship with the shipyard. They are retractable so that you can retract them when you launch the ship.”
All four men watched the image with wide eyes. Compared with the other factories that were build and with the base around earth this was gigantic. And it was only the starting point. Plans for a far bigger base lay ahead. The plan was to build base with in Ceres, to build it with in the rocks with the material that is mined. But it all depended on the battle. The base would be started now but it would take time for it to be constructed, time that depended on the defense of this system and on the stopping of the invasion. And that was something that they all planned to help with. That is why the shipyard was going to be built as quickly as it can.
“The construction of the shipyard is a priority and then we will immediately start the building of those corvettes you have in your database Marius. They are the easiest to build and I already arranged for the VASIMR engines to be built for them. I hope that we will manage to open a factory that will be able to produce the engines here.”
“That would increase the speed of ship production greatly Mr. Le Blanc. I incorporated those plans and the engines could be produced in the factory ship. I already sent the blueprints to my counterpart on board the Galucasa. By the time he gets here I believe you will have those plans improved.”
“Are the factory ships capable of producing those parts?”
“They produced engine parts and cells for the engines of the fleet during the trip. Compared to those your fusion powered VASIMR engines are simple. They were devised by Anaya based on the engines you devised. I must confess that the system holds much value and in some regards it is even better than the engines your ancestors used. It may be slower but it will provide much more stability and longevity Mr. Petrovski.”
“Thank you Marius. You can start with desce
nding the ship as we planned.”
The AI nodded and disappeared. As it did they all returned to the window and looked out. The ship slowly started descending towards its destination, and as it did the crew on board started preparing for their new job. The mining of Ceres was about to start.
10 March 2019 13:00 hours
EDSF headquarters Washington DC
In the several months that passed since the first ten ships took their place above Earth the fleet increased considerably in both size and power.
Forty seven converted submarines were launched in the last six months and fifty more were to be ready in the next couple of months. Ten Orion class ships were finished too. In difference from the Los Angeles class the Orion’s held considerably more power.
Two main MAC guns that launched twenty tons tungsten projectiles at a speed of 200 km/s were placed on their ventral hull. They went the length of the entire ship and same as on the Los Angeles drew power from the fusion reactors. Six fusion reactors powered the VASIMR engine. The new engine was far more powerful than the previous generation that was placed on the first ten ships.
The battle cruiser was two hundred and sixty meters long, fifty five high, and ninety five meters wide. It was consisted of two parts.
One, the main structure that extended the whole width of the ship and had the coil guns mounted on its ventral side. And the other a wider section that extended to two thirds and was built around the main structure of the ship. To the SF fans the ship really looked like the BC-304 cruiser from the star gate shows. The design was adopted after the debate with the AI’s who after scanning through the offered projects and the TV shows offered several possible designs. The Orion class was chosen.
The main super structure was thirty four meters wide and it housed the crew quarters and main weapons systems. The rear wider section housed two hangar bays that were added on the super structure. They housed forty fighters in total. Beside the larger size and fighters the Orion’s had a lot stronger fire power. Four M-100 plasma cannons were placed on the front sides of the main structure. The plasma weapons were a perfected design of the ones that were worked on in the DARPA program. With the help of the AI and the knowledge that they provided the design quickly became operational.
The Icarian Legacy Collected Edition: Brave Souls - First Strike (Volume 3) Page 27
