Galaxy of War II Read online

  “I might be able to help with that, if we have the hardware to send the transmission,” Elizabeth said.

  “We’ll work that,” XC22272 said, “but let’s make the royal channel the priority, shall we?”

  “Yes, that should be the priority,” Ecason said. “I’ll be ready to test in a couple hours if I push it.”

  “You’re exhausted,” Elizabeth said.

  “Don’t worry, I always work this way when I’m trying to solve a difficult problem. I’ll rest when the job is done. Promise.”

  “Great, I’ll leave you two alone, then. Thank you.” XC22272 left the lab.

  “Well, what do you think?” Elizabeth asked.

  “I’m hopeful,” Ecason said. “Who do you know who can get to Chairman Vermillion?”

  “It’s a longshot. Venera. A fellow biologist who knew Simone and Vermillion, back when they were all at University. Simone and Vermillion were an item at one time, you know.”

  “Yes, I knew about that, but aren’t Simone and Vermillion enemies now? Which one was she closer with?”

  Elizabeth laughed. “She said both, and doesn’t believe they could really be enemies.”

  “Well, worth pursuing, I suppose. Wish I understood what was going on back there. I’ll have to rely on your info.”

  “Which is also out of date. It is what it is. I’ll go talk to her. Call me if you want anything. Even some comfort. Remember what I said earlier.”

  Ecason nodded, not making eye contact as she walked away.

  ***

  Deacon stood back, checking out the retrofit to the radiation shielding in the Zephyrus cargo bay. “Looks pretty good, even if I do say so myself.”

  “Yes, that should do nicely,” Barney said, getting up to take a closer look. “When do we test?”

  “We’re waiting on the revised shield programming from Nolan and JJ,” Deacon said.

  “Nolan just checked with me,” Caraway said. “They’ll be ready by mid-day tomorrow.”

  “Already?” Deneuve asked. “Those two are amazing.”

  “That they are,” Deacon said.

  They heard footsteps coming towards the bay. Captain Clarke came around the corner.

  “Cappy, what brings you down here?” Deacon asked.

  “I needed a walk,” he said. “We’re waiting for Aeon’s reaction to shooting down his probe.”

  Barney smiled. “Ah yes, the thing that caused us to do this job.”

  “That’s true,” Captain Clarke said. “How are you, Barney?”

  “I’m great, sir,” he said.

  “Deacon sent me your proposal for dedicated Boron movers. Interesting idea. We’ll have some discussions on that after we get past this current crisis.”

  “Is it really a crisis?” Caraway asked.

  “No, not really, but it’s got most of my team occupied. It’s okay.”

  “Somebody’s looking out for us, Cappy. If not for the Razor ships, we wouldn’t have seen the probe. Might have been going back and forth to Amberis right in front of one.”

  Captain Clarke nodded. “Yeah. Wonder how many other problems like that are waiting to attack us in the dead of night?”

  “Depressing thought,” Caraway said.

  “Well, Cappy, that’s why they pay you the big bucks.”

  Captain Clarke laughed. “I suppose. You’re already finished with the retrofit, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah, we just finished,” Deneuve said, pointing to the section around the door.

  “That’s all you had to do?”

  Deacon laughed. “I kinda over-built this. Remember how nervous I was about it?”

  “I remember,” Captain Clarke said. “Seems like so long ago.”

  “Yeah, we were afraid Simone was going to kill us back then,” Caraway said.

  “Well, I’d better go, guys,” Captain Clarke said. “Nice job, as usual.”

  “See you soon, Cappy.”

  “Good luck with the crisis,” Barney said.

  ***

  Captain Clarke was almost back to the bridge, by way of a lunch stand.

  Central Authority mines on the way.

  How far out?

  Believe it or not, they were launched from the Devonia Axxiom Space Dock.

  Interesting. I’m on my way back to the bridge. Guess I’ll skip the snack.

  No, get the snack, your blood sugar could be better.

  Okay. I’m sure all the fat and empty calories will help me.

  What were you going to eat?

  This stand has good corn dogs.

  Gross. Have some kale.

  Barf

  I heard that. Butch is right. Get something decent. It doesn’t have to be kale. That stuff sucks.

  I’m being managed. Okay, I’ll figure out a compromise. How about a Danish with about half an inch of frosting?

  You’re impossible. Better hurry, those mines aren’t that far off. You heard, right?

  Yep. Be there soon.

  Trey ordered a chicken wrap sandwich, and ate it at one of the standing tables, nodding to passers-by who greeted him. He was back on the bridge within ten minutes.

  “Status?” he asked, getting into the captain’s chair.

  Their drives could use some tuning.

  Nolan burst out laughing. “Maybe we ought to offer them the module.”

  I notified the others. They’ve all been watching, of course, but they’ll connect back to us to witness the event.

  “Maybe we should sell tickets,” Skip said.

  I don’t know him.

  Hahahahaha.

  And Fido weighs in.

  “Butch, keep your underlings under control, would you?” Captain Clarke said with a wicked grin.

  “That ought to start some shit,” Skip said.

  Notice that Butch knows better than to say anything.

  We’ll talk about it tonight, baby.

  Klemperer’s face came on the screen. “You guys notice that it’s sixty mines again?” Cyrus came on the screen next to him.

  “Oh, you’re on Animus, huh?” Captain Clarke asked.

  “Yeah, for the moment,” Klemperer said. “If we launch a pursuit, we should do it from here.”

  “I noticed the quantity,” Nolan said. “It might be significant.”

  Simone’s face appeared in a new pane on the screen. “Greetings. Looks like we’re getting close.”

  “Yes, they’re almost there,” Nolan said.

  Here we go. The mines are out of the jump. Boom.

  “What does boom mean, again?” JJ quipped.

  “Massive plasma burst, as we expected,” Nolan said. “Watching their recharge. I can see it. They don’t have reactors; they’re working off storage. That’s good.”

  “Why is that good?” Sondra asked.

  “They’ll probably only get two or three pulses before they have to flee,” Nolan said.

  “Shall I shoot at some?” Klemperer said.

  “Open fire,” Captain Clarke said.

  “How much can one flight suit do?” Sondra asked.

  “I’m using multi-target mode for both the lasers and the railgun,” Klemperer said.

  The bridge was silent for a couple minutes.

  “Slow down!” Nolan said. “No, stop. I need to see the recharge span, remember? You’ve already killed half of them.”

  “Half?” Simone asked. “Wow.”

  “Sorry,” Klemperer said. “Stopped. Looks like there’s still twenty targets left. No, nineteen.”

  “They’re kinda slow to recharge,” Nolan said. “The weapon is only at seventy percent and rising slowly.”

  “Some weapon,” JJ said.

  “Oh, it’s a good weapon,” Cyrus said. “They’re designed to fire and then jump someplace else while they’re recharging.”

  “I agree,” Klemperer said. “The
y can flood an area with these things and do a lot of damage.”

  “Full charge,” Nolan said.

  “Our flight suit is in disk mode again,” Klemperer said.

  The surviving eighteen mines just fired. Oh, this is interesting.

  Captain Clarke shook his head. “Just tell us, Butch.”

  Power level of the plasma burst is twelve percent lower than the initial shot.

  “Shall I kill the rest of them?” Klemperer asked.

  “Kill half of them,” Captain Clarke said, “and let’s watch the survivor’s recharge.”

  “Thank you, Captain,” Nolan said. “Monitoring.”

  “Targeting nine,” Klemperer said. “Bye bye. These aren’t very well protected.”

  “Taking a lot longer to recharge this time,” Nolan said. “I doubt they can do more than three bursts.”

  Not surprising. Wonder how long these take to charge at their base?

  “Judging by the size of the batteries relative to standard fighter batteries, not long,” Nolan said. “This is a nice little system for certain things.”

  “These things are dangerous,” Skip said. “You aren’t getting something.”

  Sondra sighed. “What now?”

  “There are all these things next to each other, using a 360 degree plasma burst. Why aren’t they killing each other?”

  Nolan pushed his chair away from his station. “Thank you Skip. That’s a big deal. Sorry I didn’t notice it.”

  “How could they do that?” Captain Clarke asked. “They might be able to do that with their battleships.”

  “This is different,” Nolan said. “The surface area of these mines is tiny compared to a battleship. Remember what we saw with the Mark VI LBs? Their front profile is too small to absorb much energy. The plasma burst didn’t touch them.”

  “They didn’t get through the disk-mode flight suits either,” Klemperer said. “These have some limitations.”

  “Should I kill the rest after they fire?” Klemperer asked.

  “I’m more interested in getting a complete reading of the final charge,” Captain Clarke said. “Nolan, finish your recording and then give the word. Commander, if they jump away right after, so be it.”

  “Yes sir,” Klemperer said. “I agree, smarter play.”

  Everybody sat quietly for a moment.

  “Full charge,” Nolan said.

  They fired.

  “Really weak,” Nolan said. “24 percent below the last shot.”

  They just jumped away.

  “Okay,” Captain Clarke said. “Now we’ll see if they send a landing party. They couldn’t see what was shooting at them. They might think we put up quite a defense.”

  “Shall we stand by with flight suits and Mark VI LBs just in case?” Cyrus asked. “We’ve got the assets we need on Animus.”

  Captain Clarke thought about it for a moment. “Yes, let’s do that.”

  { 16 }

  Venera

  T rey Clarke left the bridge with JJ, going for some lunch.

  “No corn dogs,” JJ said.

  “Shucks. I was thinking about a couple martinis.”

  “Now we’re talking,” JJ said. “What did you think about those mines? Are you expecting a follow-on attack?”

  Trey shook his head. “Those mines had a long enough time there to scan the surface of the planet. They know we aren’t there.”

  “They were mines, not probes.”

  “They are eyes and ears with a bite,” Trey said. “I want to see the arrangement of them during the first recharge.”

  “You think they formed an array.”

  “I do,” Trey said. “I’m surprised Nolan didn’t mention that.”

  “He doesn’t always say what he’s thinking,” JJ said. “That’s one thing I’ve learned about him.”

  Nolan wants to chat.

  JJ burst out laughing.

  Trey smiled.

  We’re walking to our favorite bar. Invite him. We’ll get a table in the back.

  Yes sir.

  “Wonder if he knows their arrangement?” JJ asked.

  “Wouldn’t surprise me,” Trey said, walking to the stand in front of the cocktail lounge door. “Table in the back for three, please.

  The attractive young woman smiled. “Of course, Captain. You can pick the one you want.”

  “Thanks.” Trey led JJ to the table in the back, taking a seat facing out from the wall.

  “She was cute and spunky,” JJ said.

  “Really? Don’t be mean. You know I won’t do anything with her.”

  “Uh huh,” JJ said. “You should only be served by men.”

  “Just shoot me now.”

  JJ laughed. “I rest my case.”

  The waitress came over, an older woman with a warm smile. “Captain Clarke, it’s an honor. What can I get for you two?”

  “Martini here,” Trey said. “JJ?”

  “Same, please. Three olives?”

  “Of course,” the waitress said.

  “We’ll have another person coming soon,” Trey said.

  “I’ll watch for them.” She walked away.

  “That’s more like it,” JJ said.

  “Why, because she’s older?”

  “That, and the wedding ring.”

  Trey laughed. “I didn’t even notice that. You’re always on duty, aren’t you?”

  “Hello, you two,” Nolan said. “Sorry to bust in on you like this.”

  Trey smiled. “Hey, we wanted to have more social time, remember? Welcome.”

  “Thank you,” Nolan said, taking a seat. The waitress was back after a moment.

  “Something to drink?” she asked.

  “Hmmm, I don’t drink cocktails very often. How about some whiskey on the rocks?”

  “What type?”

  “The stuff from Kentucky,” he said. “I never can remember the name.”

  “Bourbon,” the waitress said. “Coming right up.”

  “Okay, Nolan, what did you notice?”

  JJ snickered. “I’m betting it’s the same thing Trey told me on the way over here.”

  Nolan eyed both of them. “I feel like I’m being set up.”

  “Go ahead, Nolan,” Trey said. “No guts, no glory.”

  “We can’t trust the recharge time of those mines for tactical situations. I looked at all the data Dojo collected in detail. They were using more of their power scanning the surface of Carringolton than they did on the recharge. They knew there were no battleships nearby. Now they know there isn’t a fuel installation on that planet.”

  JJ smiled. “Well, that’s almost what Trey said.”

  “What did he say?” Nolan asked.

  “I was wondering if they arranged themselves into an array during that first recharge.”

  “Dojo?” Nolan asked.

  Where’s junior and his girlfriend? Sleeping?

  Trey laughed.

  Yes, JJ and I put our AIs to sleep. No minors allowed in the bar.

  You’ll be asleep in a moment, my little friend. Did the mines arrange themselves into an array during their first recharge?

  We didn’t have visual, but I think I can figure that out. I’ll check and get back to you, if you’ll leave me awake for a few minutes.

  Thank you.

  “Can you figure out what the recharge time would be in battle mode based on the data you have?” JJ asked.

  “Yes, that will be easy,” Nolan said.

  The waitress returned with the drinks, setting them on the table, then turning to leave. “Let me know if you want anything else. We have some nice snacks.”

  “Thank you,” Trey said. He took a sip of his martini. “Perfect.”

  Yes, they were in an array. Are you sure you want me to sleep? I’m doing some good work.

  Fine, I’ll let you work, but do not disturb us until I say it’s all right. Understa
nd?

  Yes sir.

  Thank you, Dojo.

  “So there we go,” JJ said. “I’d love to see what Aeon got from this.”

  “We kinda know,” Trey said.

  “Maybe, maybe not,” Nolan said. “Aeon probably knows more about the pilotless flight suits than he did before.”

  “He couldn’t see them,” Trey said.

  Nolan shook his head. “Aeon can put together information he’s gathered and know quite a bit. He’s gotten the profile of the flight suit weapons several times now, and can tune shields against them to a degree. Since we didn’t kill all the mines in our first attack, the untargeted mines were able to study our attack in very good detail. He might have been able to see it in disk mode, after lighting it up with that plasma burst weapon. Heck, with that information, he’ll know that the flight suits have two modes, if he’s smart enough.”

  “That’s right,” JJ said. “He’s got data from the rooftop battle, for one thing. He must know we used those to escape, and we couldn’t do that in disk mode. He can match up the weapons data from the two events and know he’s looking at the same basic vehicles.”

  Trey was silent for a moment. “This isn’t good. He knows we went into disk mode before his mines fired the burst. He’ll try his plasma burst on manned attacks and kill some of our people.”

  “That is a possibility,” Nolan said. “That would’ve happened regardless of what he learned today, though.”

  “You might be right,” Trey said.

  “Are Aeon’s ships still headed for the Clan Zone?”

  “I checked with Butch right before I put him to sleep,” Trey said. “They’re still in their jump, about a quarter of the way through the Free Zone. It’s a long jump.”

  Nolan eyed Trey. “Wonder if this operation has anything to do with Ecason?”

  Trey shrugged. “That’s crossed my mind, Nolan. You have some thoughts on that?”

  “Not really,” Nolan said. “The comments from Pentant Simtar are interesting. Plagues on the royal planets.”

  “It would explain some things,” JJ said.

  “Aeon might be sending those ships because production of new Razor ships has slowed or stopped,” Trey said. “We have a friend in the middle of that.”

  “Stuart Cain,” JJ said. “Boeraton’s liable to kill him for what he did.”