by S. H. Jucha
The unexploded NNEMP should have taken out a portion of the lead drones. It was the more critical weapon in that the drones behind the leads might have sailed into the expanding energy waves. Instead, thirteen drones escaped the multiple detonations that eliminated the other drones from space.
The Tridents achieved enough distance to escape damage from the blasts — the weapons and the drones.
Captain Draken jumped up, her decorum forgotten. She stared at the controller’s analysis of the event. The weapon that didn’t detonate had been launched from her ship. As a result, thirteen enemy drones sailed toward the Freedom. She was sick to her stomach, and too angry and too upset to even utter expletives.
The crew chiefs had closed the bays after the NNEMPs were released and pressurized them. It allowed the crews to open the faceplates of their environment suits. Now, the chiefs reviewed the same information that every captain observed.
“Black space,” Teddy muttered.
“What?” Neffess inquired. Nata and she had been in the bay for the weapon’s launch.
“Our device didn’t detonate,” Teddy replied quietly. He intended to keep the discussion private, but Nata overheard the exchange.
“Ours didn’t explode?” asked Nata, her face pained.
Teddy could have kicked himself for not keeping his mouth shut. Nata was under enough pressure. She didn’t need the ugly specter of blame that might fall on her for failing to have adjusted the weapon properly.
“Don’t jump to conclusions, Lieutenant,” Teddy directed. “During your adjustments, we were linked. Your changes matched the required steps.”
“But you couldn’t see the last one, Chief,” Nata objected.
“True,” Teddy replied.
“But the weapon passed the controllers’ tests,” Neffess pointed out.
“It couldn’t test the rate of energy release without the weapon firing,” Teddy replied. “That was what the last adjustment would have accomplished.”
Teddy’s crew learned of the weapon’s failure, and they balefully eyed Nata.
Teddy’s message diverted Petite from the Trident captains’ planning. They were querying their controllers to determine if they could do something. Unfortunately, the conclusions were no. The drones were too far ahead and traveling too fast to interdict.
When the crew assembled, Teddy noted that they’d left a space between them and Nata. “You’ve heard the news,” he said. “Five detonations and one gift to the void. I’ve received the captain’s report. The controller ran an analysis on our weapon before it got out of range.”
Then Teddy laid a comforting hand on Nata’s shoulder. “It was an arming circuit failure. It happens, and it’s nobody’s fault.”
“But the weapon passed the tests,” a crew member objected.
“What have I always said?” Teddy asked in his instructor’s voice.
As one, the lieutenants and the crew repeated, “Testing is preventative, but it doesn’t guarantee performance.”
“That’s correct,” Teddy said. “It should never be forgotten. The captain is busy now. When it’s appropriate, she’ll announce the finding to the ship. For now, you know the truth about what happened. I expect you to share it.”
Teddy eyed each and every crew member until he had their nods or mumbles of assent.
As the crew returned to duties, Teddy, who’d never released Nata’s shoulder, turned her toward him. “For a while, you’re going to feel unsettled,” he said. “Don’t let that temper of yours get out of control. When you’re asked about what happened, you tell your shipmates that you’ve been requested to wait for the captain’s announcement. Am I clear?”
An objection formed on Nata’s lips, but Teddy’s eyes commanded her to obey.
“Understood, Chief,” Nata replied.
“Good,” Teddy said, patting Nata’s shoulder. “Neffess and you are excused from duties.”
25: Thirteen Undamaged
The Deloy was incensed, and she stomped around the salon.
Vyztram had kept her apprised of the drones’ flights. She yearned to witness the destruction of the leader’s ship, hungering to see it turned into space debris and knowing that bits of debris would be Omnians.
“What happened?” the Deloy exclaimed, when she saw the brilliant flashes of light.
The AI knew exactly what had been launched. Although the Omnians hadn’t communicated the fact, the ship’s telemetry had recorded the energy signatures of the five blasts. Of concern to the AI was the sight of six attacking Tridents but only five detonations.
“Show me,” the Deloy demanded, returning to the monitor. “Are they enough?” she asked.
The Deloy fumed. A detailed explanation didn’t mollify her. A simple answer was expected. She couldn’t do anything now but wait and hope. Those were two characteristics that she possessed in limited amounts, and seconds later, she was asking more questions.
“Vyztram, can the warships return to help the leader’s ship in time?” she inquired.
“Good,” the Deloy replied, satisfied with the response. Then she asked, “What about the leader’s ship? Is it armed?”
More conditionals, the Deloy thought. She longed for the purity of time with her patriarch and matriarch. Back then, she had no concerns. Her life was worry free. The thought occurred to her that perhaps their early demise was a mistake.
“How much longer?” the Deloy asked.
“Can it get away?” the Deloy inquired.
“If it does disappear into the beyond, then I want you to target those ungainly transports. Am I understood?” the Deloy demanded.
During the conversation between the Deloy and the AI, the three attendants on duty had tried to minimize their presence. When the Deloy was on a rampage, it was good practice. More than one attendant and her family had been relegated to the core for displeasing the Deloy.
Of course, the dismissal of a family to the core required the uplifting of another to the arches. It was a matter of maintaining the balance of the populations.
The senior attendant on duty recognized the signs of a possible emotional eruption, if the drones failed to accomplish what the Deloy hoped to see. The fear that was writ
ten large on the faces of her companions urged her to action. She nodded toward the privacy screen, indicating her intention to seek help, and they motioned to her to go.
While the Deloy was entranced with the monitor’s display, the senior attendant slipped out and hurried down the corridor to the residence of Kofroos and her family.
“Gedram, we need your matriarch,” the attendant said on encountering the offspring.
“Is the Deloy in trouble?” Gedram asked in alarm.
“Not physically,” the attendant replied. “I believe she is close to an emotional tantrum. She’s been watching the drone launch.”
“The what?” Kofroos queried, entering the family’s shared space.
“I’m probably revealing things I shouldn’t,” the attendant admitted. “The aliens retrieved their fighters. When the Arcus was no longer menaced, the Deloy ordered the launch of every drone. She wants the leader’s ship destroyed. If that doesn’t happen, I think the Deloy might do something foolish.”
“How has the Omnian fleet responded?” Gedram asked.
“Running away,” the attendant replied. “Or so that’s how it appears.”
Gedram frowned at the thought of the Omnians retreating.
“There is something odd,” the attendant added. “The warships were fleeing faster than the leader’s ship. It appeared certain to the Deloy and us that the leader’s ship would be destroyed. Then there were blinding flashes and most of the drones disappeared.”
“Most?” Gedram queried.
“Thirteen survived and are now racing after the leader’s ship,” the attendant explained.
Kofroos knew well the female who had come to their quarters. She was good at her job, but she wasn’t the personality that Kofroos might need in this situation.
“Come, Gedram,” Kofroos said. “I require your assistance.”
That Kofroos hadn’t donned her costume before exiting their shared quarters astounded Gedram and the attendant. After a brief exchange of startled glances, they hurried after Kofroos.
The three attendants quietly entered the Deloy’s quarters and were pleased that their arrival went unnoticed.
While the final encounter between the Freedom and the drones was pending, Vyztram ran scenarios on probable data points. The AI had the population’s count, but the timing of its announcement was critical. Much depended on the outcome of the drone attack against the Freedom in concert with the Deloy’s reaction to that outcome. Vyztram calculated that there was a significant probability that the avatars wouldn’t be forthcoming, and the Arcus would continue to ply the stars until its service systems collapsed.
* * * * *
As Cordelia had walked with Julien belowdecks, she’d sent,
Julien replied.
Sitting in a darkened traveler, Cordelia was unable to guide the controller. She’d left it with a set of parameters and potential guides to suggest outcomes. To her, the offerings appeared meager, but there was no choice but to rely on Méridien technology and Omnian programming.
The Freedom’s controller identified the expected detonations of the NNEMPs, determined that one weapon had failed to explode, and that thirteen drones were inbound. Further calculations identified the amount of time before the drones were within striking distance.
The drones’ characteristics were in the data banks, and the controller identified the ships as lethal, whether from their energy or their detonations, if too near the city-ship.
The choice of transit was not available to the controller. However, the ship offered many other options, and the near sentient device examined the possibilities and reviewed the directives that the captain had defined.
Unexpectedly, there weren’t specific steps. The controller examined the guidelines and the ultimate goals. The goals were simple — take any measure necessary to defend the ship, except for transit, and protect the entities aboard.
A swift headcount by the controller found male humans clustered on one side of the ship at its greatest width. Every other entity was unavailable. A review of security vids showed them entering the bays and the travelers.
The analysis enabled the controller to define the portion of the ship that needed maximum defense. If necessary, it left the majority of the ship available to be offered to the drones, providing an electrical cascade could be prevented.
The controller had signaled the engines for maximum acceleration. It would prolong the encounter, but ultimately, it would happen.
An inventory by the controller identified the primary asset that fit the present circumstances. The controller opened bay doors and launched the drone travelers. They exited the far side of the Freedom from the approaching Elvian drones. Then they circled the city-ship to face the Elvian drones and pace the ship.
Determining that the safe distance from the attacking drones would soon be breached, the controller made some swift calculations. It followed the captain’s directive to be suspect of outcomes and to test suppositions.
Two travelers were launched toward the oncoming drones. Then another pair was sent. Finally, two more followed. The remaining travelers were held in reserve.
The Omnian squadrons had one and only one opportunity to destroy the drone waves, but they hadn’t been entirely successful.
Vyztram had been limited to identifying a target and selecting a routine from the drones’ menu before launching them. Afterward, the drones were autonomous. When they completed their tasks, they would return to the Arcus.
Inherent in the process was the creators’ purpose that Vyztram would be denied the ability to give the drones commands that the creators’ considered inappropriate. No one aboard the Arcus knew that but Vyztram. It was why the AI chose the simplest of directives for the drones when they were launched at the Freedom.
Unfortunately, that directive was no longer in force. The near destruction of the waves had activated evasion routines.
The controller directed the first pair of Omnian fighters to target the foremost drones.
When the drones detected the oncoming fighters, their formation changed. They spread out along two dimensions, creating a wall.
The controller shifted the first travelers’ priorities. They were sent after the peripheral drones.
The Elvian drones evaded the travelers’ attack, but as the fighters slid past the drones, they swiveled and fired their beams. It was mutual destruction. Two travelers were destroyed but so were three drones.
The controller registered ten targets.
The remaining drones repurposed their formation. They could have spread wider, but the controller was pushing the Freedom’s massive engines to maximum output, which was slightly more than safe operating standards. This meant the drones were prevented from deviating too far from their general trajectory, lest they fail to catch the fleeing ship.
Ahead of the Freedom, the fleet’s commanders watched in horror as the city-ship tried to outrun the last ten drones. Discussions flew back and forth as to whether they could help. Controllers calculated the opportunity and denied the commanders’ hopes. Instead, it was decided to fall back and protect the freighters until they could gain transit velocity.
The contro
ller shifted the priority of the second pair of fighters. They twisted and wove, as they approached the drones.
If the controller was sentient, it might have smiled at the operations taking place inside the drones, as programs attempted to produce a solution to the attack that satisfied the goals.
Nine drones decelerated, and one shot forward. A traveler shot clear of the lead drone, and the second impacted it.
Before the remaining nine could shift formation again, the other traveler detonated a drone, causing more destruction.
Seven targets, the controller counted.
The drones formed an extended arrowhead, with two drones in the lead, as the third pair of Omnian fighters came at them.
The travelers obeyed their new commands. They split apart, curving above and below the ecliptic, and then arcing down in the middle of the arrow’s blades. Two travelers and four drones disappeared.
Three targets, the controller enumerated, but it had only two fighters remaining.
The final three drones had spread even wider apart, and the controller ran through sequences that would eliminate all three. It didn’t find a solution.
With the drones approaching the safe distance barrier, the controller performed several actions. First, it sent the travelers directly at two of the drones. Second, it rotated the ship slightly to provide maximum protection to the sentients it was duty bound to defend. Third, it retracted every rail gun pair but one, and it closed the bay doors. Within the Freedom, emergency decompression doors were shut and confirmed closed.
One of the final three drones decelerated, while the other two raced ahead to confront the approaching fighters. The result was predictable. Four ships disappeared into the dark.
At maximum range, the controller fired the twin beam guns at the remaining drone. Calculating enough energy in the power banks for fifteen continuous shots, the controller initiated rapid fire.
The fourth pair of beam shots destroyed the drone. With its engine containment lost, the drone detonated in a flash of light, and the energy blast struck the Freedom.
The controller had chosen to take the impact in the side of the ship. Records indicated that the type of energy release couldn’t be directed at the engines. Flaring the city-ship’s massive engines wouldn’t deflect the energy, and the controller determined that the engines were essential.