by Ira Tabankin
Rhett winched was he looked at the smoke covered planet he was orbiting. The Lincoln’s remaining sensors told him every city with a population over two hundred thousand had been hit by rocks dropping from orbit. 51% of the world’s shelters had been destroyed by the rocks. The Russian leadership bunker inside a hollowed-out mountain had been hit by a half mile long rock and then an antimatter rocket which combined to destroy the mountain and the shelter inside of it.
The Chinese leadership bunker which had been buried under a massive lake was also gone as was the lake. Hundreds of millions of gallons of water had been boiled off when the rocks struck the lake. The shock waves penetrated the ground under the lake destroying the shelter.
The American shelter which was the Cheyenne Mountain nuclear shelter was also gone as was two thirds of the mountain. It had been hit by three large antimatter weapons dropped on it from the enemy’s fleet.
Rhett felt like he’d failed the human race. He next checked Earth’s orbit for the factories and cities that had orbited the planet. All were gone as was three of their moon bases. Rhett was saddened when he noticed that Devil’s Mountain was also destroyed. He had wanted to explore the lab and learn more about his people’s history.
He smiled when he noticed Kalteck’s buried base on the moon had survived as had the orbiting base over Jupiter. I guess God is smiling on us. They didn’t locate those two bases which are the only two left we have, or I have. Only I know where Kalteck’s base is and about the ship he had his AI and nanites build for me. Wait a minute if that ship is armed like his and if I can convince the Neanderthal Emperor to send his ships. He replied twice he wasn’t ready because he needed his remaining ships for his system’s security. He’s pissing me off. We signed a mutual defense treaty and he hasn’t sent his ships yet. I’ll try one more time, I know what I’m going to do. Maybe a little trick will work.
Rhett used his implant to reach out to contact the AI at the moon base, “AI will Kalteck’s ship he left for me travel to the Neanderthal’s system without a real pilot? I want it to carry a message to the Emperor for me.”
“The ship was built as what Kalteck called a life pod for you. It’s supposed to allow you to escape Earth and join Kalteck. I am not programmed to allow the ship to leave without you.”
“If I piloted it, can I take it to the Neanderthal’s system?”
“If you are on board the ship then of course it can fly there.”
“Prepare the ship for travel. Can it remotely come to me in my ship?”
“Only if you are physically unable to come here which, based on your nanites, is not the case.”
“Thank you. I will let you know my decision.”
“I am here to serve.”
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Rhett visited the wounded Admiral Dune, “Are you sure you can handle the remains of the fleet while I’m gone?”
“Of course, I can. Are you sure this will work? Is it worth the risk?”
“The Neanderthals have nothing which can touch the ship. It’s the equal of Kalteck’s. If the Emperor plays silly ass games with me, I will level his little palace with him in it. I give you my word, I will return. I think the enemy will again lick their wounds and change their plans before they return. If we’re lucky the shipyards will be able to complete the two monitors in progress. The good news is the Lincoln and the Henry will be repaired in another five days.”
“What about the Enterprise?”
“Not good. I don’t think it’s repairable. She sustained many hull breaches. We’ve already pulled her remaining nuclear reactor and used it to replace the one we had to eject on the Lincoln. We’re also using her for parts to repair the Lincoln and the Henry so she’s still supporting us.”
“That is good news. I saw the level of damage the Lincoln sustained. How the hell is she going to going to be repaired in five days?”
“I released the AI on the moon to produce around twenty billion trillion. I don’t know the real name of such a number is. Let’s just call them a shit load of additional nanites and fifty thousand robots spread out over the three surviving Monitors. The crews and nanites are repairing the Battleships.”
“My God! Really? I thought only the president could release them?”
“All three Presidents are gone. The enemy dropped rocks and antimatter on all three of three of their shelters. The Fleet AI was damaged so he couldn’t produce the nanites. I used my special access code to program Kalteck’s AI on the moon to make them.”
“Thank you.”
Rhett smiled, “Thank you, here’s a replacement portable terminal. You can watch the nanites repair the Lincoln.”
Admiral Dune looked up with his one remaining eye, “What are we going to do without the President?”
“We, you and I, and the members of the military will do what we always do, our duty. I’ll let the surviving politicians worry about who’s next on the list.”
Rhett padded Dune on his left shoulder. “The doctors are going to give you a special gift in your IV. You’re going to take a nap, maybe one for twenty-four to twenty-eight hours. You’ll be a new man when you wake.”
“You’re giving me nanites?”
“I donated some of my blood for you. The nanites are in the blood. Kalteck’s AI has programmed the nanites to repair your injuries.”
“My right leg?”
“They won’t have time to completely rebuild your leg in that time. As such, your leg will be in a special brace while the nanites grow you a new one. By the way, without the nanites you wouldn’t be able to stand the pain. The nanites will block your pain receptors so you can survive. Don’t overdo things while I’m gone.”
“Admiral…”
“I think you can finally call me Rhett.”
“Rhett, thank you. Go with God.”
Chapter 28
Alarms screamed through the Neanderthal system when Rhett’s ship exited a wormhole. He broadcast to the Emperor. “You’ve broken your word. I am here to either hear you keep your word or I’m going to extract vengeance for my lost people due to your breach of our agreement. This ship is loaded with weapons, ones you know very well. They will destroy your planet and your hope of surviving and leading your race home.”
The Emperor’s face appeared on the monitors, “Admiral, welcome back. Why don’t you land and break bread with me? We can discuss any issues you believe we have between us.”
“I am not here for a social meeting. I am here to remind you of the mutual defense treaty you signed. Am I to believe the Emperor who can trace his line back over a thousand of your years word isn’t worth the ink you signed it with?”
“Admiral, not at all. I was just meeting with my admirals, please join us…”
“Emperor, I want to know how many ships you are sending back with me and if none then I will leave you with something to remember me by. You have fifteen minutes to decide. I do not want to be here any longer than I have to.”
“If you weren’t losing you wouldn’t be here. Admiral, you are welcome to stay here if you’d like.”
“Emperor, we have survived three of their attacks. Our ships are holding their own. You already know we’ve destroyed your old fleet. Our entire plan was based on the fact that your new ships would arrive and strike them in their asses, instead you didn’t send your ships and we lost more than we bargained for. Your lack of keeping your word caused us to many losses, losses I and I’m sure Kalteck will hold you responsible for.”
“What are my options?”
“Release your ships or I will destroy your palace, with you in it.”
“You wouldn’t dare. If you did, our systems would be at war. A war you can’t support right now.”
“Do you really want to test me while I’m in this ship? Remember whose ship this is. Remember how advanced it is. Remember what it’s weapons are capable of, would you like a demonstration?”
“No, I will release my ships to you right now. You can return to your system with two hund
red of the new cruisers, will that be sufficient?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
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Admiral Dune was on the repaired bridge of the Lincoln when the alarms sounded, “Wormhole opening, wormhole opening.”
“Dune said, “General quarters, set general quarters.”
“Sir, IFF codes are friendly, but sir, the fleet Admiral left with one ship and the codes say there are two hundred and one returning.”
Admiral Dune smiled and nodded his head. “He did it, the SOB really pulled it off. Now if only the second half of his plan works as well. I’ll say this for him, he’s got a set on him larger than this ship. Send a message to him welcoming him home.”
Admiral Dune radioed Rhett, “Welcome home, I see you brought some friends.”
“The more the merrier. What did I miss?”
“Well those nanites you gave me are amazing, I haven’t felt this good in thirty years. The Lincoln is almost completely repaired. In addition, the nanites are almost finished weaving a new mesh armor, it’s a design we copied from the enemy’s ship. I ordered all of our surviving ships to be modified with it. I don’t understand how it works or even why it works but it appears to be amazing.”
“I’m happy to hear that. What else is new?”
“We managed to build many hundreds of thousands of mines, these are coated with a new stealth coating we discovered from examining the enemy’s ships.”
“That’s better news than I expected. I brought two hundred of the new Neanderthal ships. I want them to broadcast IFF as if they’re our ships. I believe the enemy has some small spy sensors in our system. I don’t know where they are, but I feel it. It’s the only thing that explains how they knew our ship dispositions. I want us to use the best sensors we have to search our system. I know they have something watching us.”
“I want us to examine one so maybe we can reprogram it, think of what we could do if we could trick their own sensors.”
“I like the way you think. I’ll get right on it.”
Rhett held a virtual conference with all of the ship’s captains. He was explaining his new battle plans when an aide tapped Admiral Dune on the shoulder. The aide whispered, “Sir, here’s the results of the special scan you ordered.”
“Can you quickly summarize it for me?”
“We found two small asteroids which are artificial. They are in reality enemy sensors watching everything we do. Based on the pitting on their outer skin we estimate they’ve been here for a couple of hundred years.”
“SOB knew it. I wish I knew how he knew these things. The Admiral wants to know if we can capture one or move an AI close to it.”
“Sir, I believe moving one close is a better idea. We have no idea how sensitive their sensors are or if they have an auto self-destruct.”
“Excellent.”
Admiral Dune used his implant to tell Admiral McIntire who smiled and thanked him. He replied, “I want to see you at 1900 hours. Can you make it to the flag bridge, or should I come to you?”
“I’ll make it.”
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The two Admirals shared a rare beer together and Rhett smiled. Dune noticed there was a new star chart on the wall sized monitor behind him. “I brought back another gift, one more valuable than the two hundred ships. I brought back the location of our enemy’s home.” Rhett zoomed the star chart in to show more detail. “It seems the Emperor knew where his Overlords had come from. He never told me how he knew, only that it was the best kept secret in his family’s line. Here’s what I want to do. This assumes they give us the time to pull it off. I sent a message to Kalteck through one of his relay stations, I hope he agrees, and his council can send some ships to support us.”
“I’m sorry, I told someone you had a set of balls the size of the Lincoln. I that back, I think your set exceeds the size of the moon. You crazy SOB. You plan to attack their home world while they’re attacking us? That’s the most insane plan I’ve ever heard of, I love it. Do you really think we can pull it off?”
“We can, all we need is a little luck and time.”
“How do you intend to pull this one off? We have no intel on their defenses or anything.”
“Yes, we do.”
“Huh? What magic are you pulling this time?”
“Did you happen to notice their damaged command ship is missing from the debris field?”
“Honestly, no. I’ve been kind of busy while you’ve been away. Let me guess, you took their ship to Kalteck’s moon base where you’re going to repair it and reprogram their AI then you’re going to send it to their home world loaded with antimatter aren’t you?”
“Yes, and we’re going to follow up the explosion with all of our ships and the Neanderthal ships the Emperor loaned us. I’m hoping we’re able to pack it with enough antimatter to crack their planet open.”
“I like it, do you really think we can pull it off”
Admiral, it’s worth a try, if we don’t pull something out of the box, we’re going to lose Earth and we’re all going to die to end up as their slaves. Do you think we have any other options?”
“If you can pull it off then I say. I don’t think we have any other options so, let’s do it.”
“Good because the ship is already at the moon and being swarmed over by the nanites and the AI is being updated to take commands from us. I was surprised their AI lacked many of the firewalls ours have. The moon base’s AI has told me he believes he can pull it off. The ship won’t be able to fight, it’ll be a monster antimatter carrier. That ship is a mile long. It’s going to carry millions of tons of antimatter.”
“You’re going to pack it completely full? Where is all the antimatter coming from? We never produced that much. Do you have a secret reactor hidden in your suit back pocket?”
“No, but Kalteck had a mountain of it in the moon.”
“Huh?”
“Sit. It appears over one hundred years ago Kalteck ordered his AI to create nanites to build an antimatter reactor and create antimatter. He never told them to stop. Hence, they’ve been creating it and placing it in magnetic bottles for over one hundred years. To make room for all of it, the nanites have been expanding the tunnels under the surface of the moon.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me, that much antimatter would have blown the moon apart.”
“Yup, but it’s safe in the bottles. It’s safe. The tricky part will be wiring the millions of bottles to blow at the same time, or do we?”
“Will the bottles shatter then the ship crashes?”
“That’s a great question, let me ask the AI.”
“Rhett, remind me to never piss you off.”
It took three weeks to make the enemy command ship flyable, reprogram the AI, and load the millions of magnetic bottles of antimatter into the hull. Dune smiled, “I can’t believe you pulled this off.”
“Now all we have to do is get it to enemy home world and crash it into their planet without them blowing it out of the sky. I’ve gotten a message from Kalteck. I have a recording made in their language which should help us get through their inner system defenses. Since we know where their home world is, I plan to send it through a wormhole which opens right above the Emperor’s palace. If their air defense is too great, then the backup plan is to fly the ship into their star. Kalteck’s AI has projected that much antimatter exploding in a star might cause it to go nova which would end the threat they pose to us and other races.”
“Rhett, I’m sure their defenses above the palace are very thick, why risk losing the ship. If the AI thinks we can make their sun go nova, why not just drop the ship into their star? By the time they realize what’s happening, it will all be over.”
“You may be right, the risks of dropping into their star will be much lower than attempting to drop it onto the palace. I want to make sure we have enough antimatter to pull it off.”
“If there’s any left after stuffing the ship, why not strap on a couple of freighters full? I don�
�t think a planet or star could survive millions of metric tons of antimatter exploding in it at the same time. Talk about fireworks.”
“I agree, we’ll change the target and hope it’s enough to either nova their star or worse case, break their star apart.”
“Maybe we can force it to compact and form a black hole.”
Rhett nodded, “Either way, this is going to be our Hail Mary play.” Rhett sniffed the air, it seems the nanites got some of the scrubbers back on line, the smoke isn’t as dense as it was an hour ago. What we do without those marvelous little beings, are they alive or are they little machines? Since the AIs and computers can manufacture them, they must be micro machines without souls. Either way, they’ve saved our lives more times than I can count.
