Nemesis (First Colony Book 2)

by Ken Lozito

Noah pressed his lips together. “I’m not sure—”

  “You just worry about the technical steps and I’ll worry about how to get it done once I make sure you won’t blow us up,” Kara said. “I was kidding,” she followed up quickly.

  “That was a long time ago,” Noah said, getting a bit defensive.

  He’d made a quick update of the power relay systems when he’d first arrived and nearly destroyed one the subsections of the space station. He’d only been trying to help, but he’d thought Colonel Douglass was going to ship him back to New Earth before the cargo carrier left. Noah hadn’t been particularly enthused to be assigned to the space station, but Connor insisted that they could use his help. It was only supposed to be for one six-month rotation, but he’d requested to stay when his six months were up, which was in no small part due to the work being done and meeting Kara. He’d even sent a vid to Lenora telling her about Titan’s lead engineer. Though they weren’t related, Lenora Bishop was like a big sister to him and she was as close to family as he had here on the colony. He looked forward to introducing Kara to Lenora one day.

  Noah spent the next few hours finalizing the process required to modify the HADES IV missiles. The best thing about his proposed process was that it required very little in the way of fabrication. They could feasibly get away with the supplies they had on hand. When it came to work, Kara Roberts was all business, and just because she happened to be in a relationship with Noah didn’t mean she took it easy on him in the slightest. She went over his proposed process with a fine-toothed comb and refined the areas where it was lacking.

  “This should be good enough to present to Colonel Douglass, but we’ll likely adjust it more as we have more people analyze it,” Kara said.

  “Only if they want to break what I’ve done,” Noah replied.

  He’d had some engineer jockeys go through his work for other projects and try to improve on them, only to break the system entirely. If they’d just followed his process, things would’ve worked out fine.

  “We’ll see,” Kara said and climbed out of her chair.

  She arched her back, and Noah couldn’t help it as his gaze took in the sight of her.

  “Eyes up. We don’t have time for that now,” Kara said.

  As Noah complied and turned toward the door, he felt Kara’s hand squeeze his shoulder and her breath tickle his neck.

  “Perhaps tonight, if you’re lucky,” she said in a breathy tone.

  Oh god. If she kept that up, he’d have trouble walking down the hallway. Kara darted ahead of him and Noah had to run to catch up to her. One thing he definitely didn’t like about the space station was that the corridors were so small.

  He wondered if he could convince Kara to come back to New Earth with him, not that he’d have much time on the planet. He had a feeling that Connor would send him to help work on the battleship carrier being constructed with the last section of the Ark, but he should be able to make a decent argument that his next assignment be planet-side instead of in space. He missed the good old days when he was simply dispatched to different parts of the colony to set up systems and fix things. Once Connor Gates showed up, that all changed. The CDF founder and general had snatched him up and would only share him with Lenora, at least for a time. Lenora and Connor hardly spoke to each other anymore, which was a shame because he liked them both and thought they were a good pair.

  They waited for the elevator that would take them up to the Command Center level. He checked the elevator’s location and noted its steady descent. A cluster of CDF personnel approached and waited to get on the same elevator. Suddenly, the lighting in the area went out and the emergency lighting came on.

  The station’s AI chimed and then spoke: “Power consumption exceeds the usage designated for this area of Titan Space Station. Mandatory power rationing is in effect.”

  Noah looked at Kara and rolled his eyes.

  “Apologies, folks on E deck. We’re testing the failover system for the power relay between the upper and lower decks. The power should be restored momentarily,” a man’s voice said over the nearby speaker.

  Noah glanced at Kara. “Next, we’ll hear Butters screwed up the assembly again and what should be a five-minute fix turns into a five-day nightmare for the rest of us.”

  “You really don’t like that guy,” Kara said.

  “I’m sure he’s a great guy who works awfully hard to make stupid mistakes. Makes me wonder if he was sent out here as some kind of punishment,” Noah replied.

  Kara grabbed his arm and guided him toward the ladder shafts they could use to climb to the upper levels. She started climbing first and Noah followed.

  “Too bad they didn’t put in stairs,” Noah said as he climbed.

  “Wouldn’t work well here,” Kara answered.

  “Why not? Certainly would be easier than climbing a ladder,” Noah said.

  “Stairs are fine when there’s gravity, but when there isn’t, you’d be glad for the ladder instead of the stairs, trust me,” Kara replied.

  “Great. Maybe they can get Butters to work on the artificial gravity fields next,” Noah said.

  Kara didn’t reply and they continued to climb. Noah glanced down and wished he hadn’t. Beneath him was a dizzying view of a ladder shaft that was eight decks long. He swung his gaze in front of him and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. He should have waited for the elevator.

  They got out of the ladder shaft a few levels above and took the elevator the rest of the way. The Command Center for Titan Space Station was a large open space with many workstations that rivaled the bridge of most ships. Titan was more of a space port than merely a station, given the size of the place. Most of it had been converted and retrofitted with missile tubes and various types of heavy cannons. There were plans for another hangar bay to be added to support a squadron or two of small attack spacecraft.

  Command Center had a large observation area with a clear view into the great expanse of space. Noah glanced over and, even from this distance, still saw an ocean of stars beyond the station. He often took some time to go and take in the view from the observation decks on the station. They weren’t constructed specifically for the station but had, in fact, been repurposed from the Ark. The view was spectacular and humbling at the same time.

  They found Colonel Kasey Douglass standing amidst a throng of CDF personnel. He was speaking to them and gave Noah and Kara an acknowledging nod as they closed in. Then the colonel dismissed the people around them.

  “Good, I was wondering if you two were going to make it on time. Walk with me,” Colonel Douglass said.

  The colonel was a tall man, trim and extremely professional. Kasey Douglass had been part of Connor’s infamous Ghosts special ops team that had been shanghaied onto the Ark by Admiral Mitch Wilkinson. The soldiers of the Colonial Defense Force had their roots in the NA Alliance military and aspired to the same level of professionalism that people like Connor and Kasey exuded. Once given an objective or committed to an objective, they worked toward it, leveraging all the resources at their disposal. Noah had found it interesting that the old Ghost Platoon still supported Connor in his belief that an extinction-level event had happened in Earth’s solar system. Noah still believed as well and didn’t care for the wavering loyalty that the current political climate fostered in Sierra.

  “I think we’ve got it, Colonel,” Noah said.

  “You’ve increased the accuracy of the HADES IV?” Colonel Douglass asked.

  “Yes, with modifications to the existing missiles we were able to increase their accuracy substantially,” Noah said.

  “But,” Kara interjected, “there’s a potential impact to the range of up to twenty percent, Colonel.”

  Colonel Douglass’s gaze darted back to Noah.

  “That’s right, but based on the simulation variables for an engagement, you get a fifty percent gain in accuracy over what you had before,” Noah said.

  Colonel Douglass pressed his lips together in thou
ght. “How do these changes affect the field envelope for potential targets? Is the fifty percent gain persistent regardless of the distance, or does it waver the farther out we go?”

  Noah took a moment to think about it. “It really depends, and I know you hate that answer, so please bear with me for a second.”

  They headed to Titan’s Central Command cradle, which was the heart of all the space station’s activities.

  “It’s better if I show you,” Noah said and went over to a vacant terminal. He powered it on and expanded a blank canvas so he could draw freestyle. “Let’s say that this circle here is us and these guys way over here are the enemy,” Noah said and pointed to his rough drawing of a ship. “Right now, we launch our missiles and update their targeting systems while the missile is traveling at near relativistic speeds. If the enemy detects the incoming missile, they’ll launch countermeasures and decoys that can effectively blind our missile so it will most likely miss its intended target. This is why a barrage of missiles is sent—in the hopes that at least one of them will detonate its warhead in proximity to the intended target.” Noah drew multiple lines from the space station to the enemy fleet.

  Colonel Douglass arched an eyebrow. “Get to the point. Tell me how you increased the accuracy.”

  Noah swiped his hands to the side, clearing what he’d just drawn. “What I did was modify the missiles with secondary and tertiary targeting systems that are shielded respectively. The missiles are launched in groups and are networked together so they can receive a signal from us, as well as communicate with each other. As each sensor array is blinded by countermeasures, the secondary systems are engaged and so forth for the entire group. So, if we sent twenty missiles to target a battleship cruiser, or anything really, the missiles would get new eyes on the target and adjust their trajectory accordingly and then communicate the most up-to-date information within the group; thus, giving you a higher chance of hitting your target,” Noah said and finished his drawing with the decimation of the enemy fleet. He added a smiley face for good measure.

  Colonel Douglass rubbed his chin in thought and then glanced at Kara. “What are your thoughts on this, Major?”

  “We’ve run the numbers and all the simulations support it, Colonel,” Kara replied.

  “How long would it take to modify the HADES IV missiles for proof of concept and”—Colonel Douglass elevated his tone before Noah could quickly answer—“will this work on smaller, mid-range missiles like the HORNET IIs?”

  “We could work on that,” Noah answered. “My first thought for the smaller missiles is to only have a secondary targeting system and lose the tertiary. That way, even if our sensors were blinded for some reason, they could still target an enemy ship.”

  Colonel Douglass nodded. “Okay, you’re cleared for the second phase of this project. Since you’re using existing technology, the test bed can be larger than we normally would try. How long would it take you to modify a hundred HADES IVs?”

  Noah’s eyes widened and he glanced over at Kara.

  “If I assign a few teams to it, it should only take about six hours for the group. We have a process written out. We just need to go over it with the teams; otherwise, the timeline would be much shorter,” Kara said.

  Colonel Douglass smiled. “Excellent work, you two. I’m really quite impressed, or I will be if it works as well as you say it will. So, I guess I’m hopeful.”

  Noah swallowed hard. “Thank you, sir.”

  “Colonel, has there been any word from New Earth regarding the additional power generator?” Kara asked.

  The lines of Colonel Douglass’s face became grim. “Our request was denied for a further twelve months.”

  Noah’s mouth hung open. “Twelve months!”

  “I can assure you that General Gates had quite a few more colorful metaphors to describe what he thought of that decision,” Colonel Douglass said.

  “I bet, knowing Connor,” Noah said.

  “Oh, that reminds me,” Colonel Douglass said, looking at Noah. “You’re being recalled back to New Earth. You’ll be shipping out in a few days.”

  Noah felt Kara stiffen at his side. “Back to New Earth? Did they say why?”

  Colonel Douglass speared him a look. “Yes, of course, every bit of the general’s thinking was explained to me in detail. No! You go where you’re ordered to go.”

  Noah straightened his shoulders. “I’m sorry, Colonel, I just thought I’d be here for another six months.”

  Colonel Douglass’s face softened. “I certainly don’t want to lose you and I doubt others are ecstatic with the decision, but that’s the way it is.”

  Noah nodded. While he didn’t exactly love life on the space station, he had reasons for wanting to stay. He glanced at Kara and her face might have been carved from stone for all the information it yielded to him.

  Colonel Douglass dismissed them and they left the Command Center, hardly uttering a word to each other. Kara walked behind him and Noah resisted the urge to turn around since the corridor was hardly the appropriate place for what he wanted to say. CDF personnel were walking to and from the Command Center in a steady stream. Noah felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach. They reached a set of elevators that for once weren’t crowded with people waiting for them, and he pressed the button to summon the car with only a slight shake in his hands. He risked a glance at Kara. Her honey-brown eyes were staring at a fixed point in front of her and her normally full lips formed a thin line.

  Noah glared at the progress indicator that showed the elevator taking about two hundred years to reach them. Eventually the speaker above the elevator doors chimed and they opened. Noah stepped inside and he allowed his shoulders to slump. Kara stood next to him and glared out the open doors. There were a couple of CDF personnel who approached the elevator doors, but upon seeing Kara’s expression they decided to wait for the next elevator.

  The doors closed and Noah felt the elevator begin its slow descent.

  “So, I guess I have to leave in a few days,” Noah said while staring at the floor.

  He glanced at Kara and saw that her shoulders were drawn up near her ears. He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder and she winced. She turned toward him, her eyes intense.

  “Shut up,” Kara said and grabbed his shirt, pushing him against the wall and proceeding to kiss him until he forgot he was in an elevator.

  A few minutes later they reached the engineering level and the elevator doors opened. Kara pulled away from him. “This isn’t over, Barker,” she said and stormed out.

  Noah stepped away from the wall and saw more than a few people grinning at him from outside the elevator. He left them behind and had to run to catch up to Kara. If he’d had any doubts about whether she wanted to return to New Earth with him, they were now gone. All that stood in their way was whether she’d be allowed to come with him.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The next seven hours were packed with so much work that Noah had hardly any time to see Kara. The engineering deck was flooded with teams tasked with learning the process to modify the HADES IV missiles. The actual modifications only occurred after the engineering teams went through and provided their input on Noah’s process. A few of them made some good points, which Noah had to concede. He even got a head start with the modification proposal for the HORNET II missiles, which was going pretty much as he suspected. Due to the size and sophistication of the missile, he was limited in what he could get away with. He could add only one additional sensor array and targeting computer core for the missile. It would help, but they wouldn’t see the improvements they expected to see with the HADES IV.

  Noah was on his way back to the Command Center. They were going to test five HADES IV missiles for a live proof-of-concept test. The high-yield payloads were removed so they wouldn’t be wasted. The purpose of the test was to prove that the modified missiles could retarget an objective after standard countermeasures and point defense protocols were used. Noah knew a
ll eyes would be on him since he’d boldly made the claim that it was not only possible to improve the accuracy of long-range missiles but that he could have it done in a matter of a few weeks. This fed the reputation he had of being a loudmouth and a show-off, but if this worked, it would shut a few of those doubters up.

  Noah sucked in a deep breath as he strode toward the Command Center doors. They seemed larger than they’d been before. He should have gotten something to drink before coming up here. Had they applied the guidance software patch before loading the missile into the tubes? He needed to check that.

  Noah glanced around. He was supposed to meet Kara. She’d been supervising the teams doing the modifications, so they hadn’t had much of a chance to talk. He stood right outside the Command Center doors. It was quiet here, and he knew once those doors opened there would be no turning back. He’d either prove that he was worth the reputation he’d earned over the past seven years, or he’d be a laughing stock who was amusing to those in power for a time.

  The metal doors split open as someone left the Command Center, and the peaceful quietness of the corridor vanished. Noah walked inside with a determined stride and saw that the Command Center was fully staffed, with all teams being brought on deck for this test.

  Noah went straight toward the cradle. Colonel Douglass was pacing with his hands clasped behind him. The colonel gave him a grim nod as he approached.

  “Still confident this will work?” Colonel Douglass asked.

  No.

  Noah met the colonel’s gaze. “Yes, sir. Get ready to be wowed.”

  Colonel Douglass blinked a few times. “Connor warned me you were a bit unorthodox. Alright, take that workstation right over there and let’s see if you’re as good as you think you are.”

  Noah went over to the work area nearest the colonel and collapsed into the chair, although he preferred to stand while he was working. He used his implants to authenticate to the workstation and the holoscreen came on.

  “Colonel, we’re go for Icarus test at your command,” Noah said.