Retreat And Adapt (A Galaxy Unknown) (19 page)

"So we have to devise a way to attack them in which their missile barrages are rendered immaterial. We can't depend upon finding them in a relaxed mode as we did with the Uthlaro armada. Right now, our DS ships are scouring the region at Light-9790, searching for the enemy ships. Once we locate them, we'll need a weapon that will forever end their attacks on ships in GA space. This next fight will not depend on who has the biggest gun or the most missiles, but who can deliver the first swift, killing blows.

"Here're my thoughts for the weapon. I'm hoping you can make it a reality. This is, of course, a rough drawing composed by my computer from verbal instructions. You are the first to see it, other than myself. Computer, Carver Gazebo One."

An image appeared on the large monitor behind her and Jenetta stepped to the side so everyone could see. There was silence for several minutes as the knowledgeable audience studied the diagrams.

Finally, Captain DeWitt said, "Admiral, I don't see a delivery system. It appears to simply be a bomb."

"Yes, Captain, that's correct. It's a simple bomb. At the front is a hemispherical piece of Dakinium. Behind that is a nuclear device in a cylindrical casing. The rearmost part of the cylinder contains the delivery mechanism."

"It hardly seems like a challenging weapon to manufacture. The Dakinium face will be the only component that may present some difficulties. How powerful a weapon are you proposing?"

"Large enough to destroy the enemy ships you've seen in the high-resolution images provided by the
Yukon
. Building the bomb is not the challenge here. The delivery is the challenge. The bomb is simple because passing through a ship's temporal envelope would destroy any electronic information. Once deployed, the bomb must detonate using strictly mechanical means."

"You intend to simply drop the bomb like a wet navy ship would drop depth charges on submarines and underwater installations?"

"Essentially, yes. But it's far more complicated than that. I want a weapon we can plant inside an enemy ship using Transverse Wave technology."

The hangar was so silent that one could hear the proverbial pin drop.

"With all due respect, Admiral," Captain DeWitt said, finally breaking the silence, "that's impossible."

"Why? It's been amply proven that when traveling at Light-9790, our ships pass through any solid matter. The bomb cylinder will be secure inside a Dakinium cradle until released. When that happens, air pressure jets in the rearmost bomb cylinder will push the bomb away from our ship. We simply eject the bomb while we're inside the enemy ship. As soon as the separation distance is enough, the envelope surrounding the bomb dissipates and the bomb is back in normal space. The bomb cradle inside the SC ship will be surfaced with Dakinium, so the envelope will instantly re-form and remain intact once the bomb is released."

"There's nothing simple about it, Admiral. At that speed, you can't determine where the bomb will wind up. You could be a billion kilometers away by the time the envelope around the bomb dissipates."

"That's what makes this project a challenge. Anyone can build this bomb. Placement is where your section's expertise will come into play. If you need additional expertise, just tell me who or what skills are needed, and I'll assign them to you for the length of the project if they're available."

Captain DeWitt stepped closer to the image and studied it again. "We can't shape Dakinium. That level of manipulation can only be accomplished at the Jupiter foundry."

"The cap need not be hemispherical. I only drew it that way because it would allow visual confirmation that the bomb had released if we mount vid devices near the bomb placement area. We only need to provide an almost unbroken Dakinium surface so the ship can build the double envelope. But it does require that the cradle be surfaced with Dakinium.

"This hangar is yours for as long as you require it. When you're ready to modify a ship, the
Winston
will provide you with concealed workspace where no one can see what you intend. The ship to be used for this project is the scout-destroyer
Tigris
.

"Once the basic work on the bomb and ship is complete, we can begin testing to see if this is feasible or not. We'll use dummy bombs and cargo containers for the tests."

"The chances of placing a bomb exactly where we want it are probably about one in ten trillion," Captain DeWitt said.

"Back in World War I on earth, pilots dropped hand grenades over the side of the cockpit walls because they hadn't developed bombs yet. It took time, but by the next war, twenty-five years later, they had precision bombsights that used the aircraft's ground speed, direction, and altitude when computing the drop point. With the computers and instrumentation we have these days, we should be able to cut that time down by a wide measure."

"Admiral, at Light-9790, actually Light-9793.48, the ship will be traveling at almost three billion kilometers per
second
. The chances of depositing a bomb inside the enemy ship are about the same as dropping a pebble from fifty kilometers above the earth and expecting it to land in Admiral Moore's coffee cup on his desk in the Admiralty Board Hall."

"If you could calculate drift from all wind currents, and there's a hole in the ABH roof, even that's possible. Here, we don't even have to consider wind drifts. It's all a matter of timing. I have confidence in you and your team, Barbara. The people that gave us a ninety-five percent kill rate with the Phalanx system can do almost anything."

"Okay, Admiral," Captain DeWitt said in seeming resignation. "We'll make it work, somehow."

"Wonderful." Picking up her data ring, Jenetta added, "It's time for me to go. Let me know if you need
anything
. You have top priority for all available SC resources."

When Jenetta turned towards the hangar door, someone shouted, "Attention on deck," and everyone in the hangar jumped to their feet.

As Jenetta walked towards the entrance, Captain DeWitt watched her admiral's back and shook her head almost imperceptibly as she muttered, "One of us is definitely certifiable— and I'm really afraid it's me for saying I could do this."

As the fighter climbed to minimum altitude, Jenetta smiled. She had alerted her protection detail and was now planning her course back to the SC base. She would definitely take the long way around.

Once clear of land and oh-gee traffic, she dropped down to the deck and skimmed across the ocean's surface. Her instruments showed no other aircraft or watercraft ahead, so she punched the throttle and wave-hopped all the way back to the base.

* * *

"We picked up some chatter in a bar about a ship headed out 'to the black' in a few days," Nelligen said as the team of agents sat down to dinner aboard the
Scorpion
.

"What's the cargo?" Vyx asked.

"Mainly food, from what we gathered."

"That can be significant or insignificant."

"We've listened to hundreds of conversations between Uthlaro freight haulers, and they always mention a specific destination— either a planet or a base. This is the first time I've heard one use the term 'to the black.'"

"It
is
unusual for a freight hauler to say it like that. Anything else?"

"No, that was the only interesting tidbit we heard all day in the bar."

"It's more than we got," Byers said. "Vyx and I spent the day in what I believe to be the foulest-smelling bar on the planet and got nothing but nauseated."

"The question is," Brenda asked, "do we spend months and months tracking a freighter simply because someone used the term 'to the black?'"

"He might have simply been referring to traveling in space," Kathryn said.

"Perhaps," Vyx agreed, "but space is where they spend most of their lives and spacers don't usually refer to it like that. That's a sod-lubber term."

"Do you want to make the decision," Nelligen asked of Vyx, "or do you want us to vote on it?"

"Uh— let's vote. All in favor of following a freighter hauler 'to the black,' raise your hand." A second later he said, "Okay, we're heading 'to the black.'"

* * *

"My Lady," the image of Chamberlain Yaghutol said, "I'm pleased to announce that the Azula Mum's speech at the Harvest Festival was very well received. She talked about the great strides we've made in restoring the quality of life on the planet and encouraged everyone to work harder so that all might enjoy a better life. I'm glad you were able to redirect her— spirit— along a more traditional path.

"Here is my monthly financial report…"

As Chamberlain Yaghutol rambled on with facts and figures, Jenetta leaned back in her chair and smiled. "One potential disaster averted," she said, "just a thousand more to go."

~ October 12
^th
, 2286 ~

"We could be out here for years, Captain," Lt. Commander Jasson Lister said to Commander Marc Hodenfield during their morning briefing session aboard the scout-destroyer
Rio Grande
.

"Yeah, we could, but let's hope not. If the enemy ships have left GA space, we'll still have to search every cubic light-year, but I dread finding them more than not finding them after reading the damage reports about the
Yenisei
and the
Salado
."

"Admiral Carver will find us an edge."

"I love your optimism, but this problem might be beyond even her incredible talents. Before the
Yenisei
incident, I believed nothing could damage Dakinium. It goes to show you that there's no such thing as an impregnable hull. I can't help but wonder if the
Yenisei
and
Salado
went down because their crews put too much faith in their ship's ability to survive any attack."

"If anyone was arrogant or overconfident before, you can be sure they aren't any more."

"I guess…"

Hodenfield stopped when his com sounded an emergency signal from the third officer who had the bridge whenever Hodenfield wasn't there during first watch.

"What's the emergency, Third?" Hodenfield said.

"Captain, we just passed something off our larboard side."

"What was it?"

"Unknown, sir. It was at our maximum Detect range and only on the screen for a second."

"It's not in the celestial database or the navigation hazard database?"

"They show nothing located in that area, sir."

"Is the
Mekong
still in the search lane off our larboard side?"

"At last report, sir."

"Ask them if they ID'd the contact."

"Yes, sir."

Several minutes later, Lt. Sardani, the third officer, comm'd with his report. "Sir, the
Mekong
didn't see it. They believe the contact was just outside their max range. They want to know if we'll investigate or if you'd prefer them to do it."

"Tell them we'll take a look. Have the com return to the location. But— pass it at three billion kilometers and Light-9790. If it has an energy signature, we'll know right away and still have a decent amount of information without alerting them to our presence."

"Aye, sir."

As Hodenfield clicked off the com, his XO said, "Three billion kilometers probably won't enable us to determine if it's one of the enemy ships we're searching for or simply a small freighter."

"Perhaps not, but I want to take it one step at a time. I intend to treat the aliens with all the care and respect for their weapons ordered by R2HQ. First let's determine if it's a ship or a rogue asteroid. After that we'll make a decision as to how close we go."

"Captain," Lt. Sardani said via the com, "you should see this."

"What is it, Third?"

"I don't know, sir. That's why you should see it. It's— it's— massive."

Commander Hodenfield immediately activated the bulkhead monitor in his office. His eyes opened wide at the size of the object on the DeTect channel. "I'm coming out, Third."

Seconds later, Hodenfield and XO Lister emerged from the captain's office. The Captain relieved Lt. Sardani and took his seat in the command chair while Lister sat in his First Officer's chair.

"Tac," Hodenfield said as he stared at the DeTect image on the front monitor, "is that accurate?"

"That's what the DeTect monitor is reporting, sir."

"And it's emitting a power signature?"

"Yes, sir. Off the scale."

"How large is it?"

"The longitudinal dimension of the object appears to span one hundred twenty-six kilometers with a breadth of eighteen kilometers and a depth of seven kilometers."

"Good Lord. Is it stationary?"

"Yes, sir."

"Could it be a natural celestial object with spacecraft on the surface?"

"Possible, but unlikely from the power readings, sir."

"We'll have to take a closer look, sir," Lister said. "We can't determine its composition and construction from three billion kilometers away."

Hodenfield released a breath, but didn't actually sigh. "Com, notify the
Mekong
that we've spotted an oblong object one hundred twenty-six kilometers in length with a beam of eighteen kilometers and a depth of seven kilometers. The shape is smooth rather than rough and does not appear to be natural in formation. It's emitting a sustained power signature. Inform them that a first pass didn't provide the detail we need to make an assessment of its origins, so we're making another, much closer pass. Helm, take us past the unidentified object again. A distance of one million kilometers should be adequate. Tac, at Light-9790 we should appear as just a momentary blip on their systems, but I don't want to have to do this again, so check your equipment before we start the run."

"Aye, sir," all three crewmembers said.

A minute later the helmsman said, "We've completed a one-hundred-eighty-degree turn and are ready to begin our run, Captain."

"Tac?"

"All equipment verified fully operational and active. At one million kilometers, we should get sufficient detail to clearly identify the target."

"Commence the run, helm."

"Aye, Captain, commencing the run."

A few minutes later as the image of the unknown object jumped into clarity on the front monitor, someone uttered, "Oh my God."