* * *
The huge orbital laboratory complex that had earlier been removed from Unatari to the Fia star system had sprouted a number of whole new facilities, laboratories and hangars for starship testing. Samantha ton Kruger, still head of the combat drone laboratory, came out to meet me, informing me that there were currently over thirty thousand individuals of six different races living and working on the station. In fact, it was already a whole space city, specialized in studying Alien technology.
We began by looking over the new stuff in the combat drone laboratory.
"Your Majesty, this is my pride and joy: a next-generation drone assembly line! We have practically totally reverse engineered Alien drone technology, and would be capable at this point not only of producing copies, as we were nine months ago, but also significantly improving their combat characteristics. And we have also learned to create totally new weapons based on our new knowledge. First of all, I would like to present you with a super-heavy combat drone model we’re calling Barbarian," the woman pointed at a ship the size of a five-story building.
I gave a respectful whistle and walked up closer, craning my neck to see the drone from every angle.
"It is the same concept behind the Alien Sledgehammer cruiser. In fact, many of the technologies used in it were reconstructed based on fragments of ruined Sledgehammers. It has huge firepower from the Sledgehammer’s conjugate plasma blasters, which are capable of destroying any ship from the frigate, destroyer, or even corvette classes in just one shot. It is highly resistant to damage, as it's shields can recharge themselves fully in just two seconds. Basically, this is an unmanned Sledgehammer. Unfortunately, we were also not able to avoid its predecessor's drawbacks, though. It's effective firing range is no more than 45 miles, because of its high-energy plasma rounds, the drone's low movement speed on the battlefield, and, most importantly, the cannon's low rotation angle. The Barbarian is intended for destroying slow or motionless targets, but it is practically useless for firing on smaller, more maneuverable ships."
Here I interrupted the report, demanding a more in-depth description of the cannon's characteristics and those of the drone itself. Would the Barbarian be able to hit small targets like frigates trapped under stasis web? Would a group of Barbarians be able to coordinate their actions amongst themselves and, for example, shoot at the same target in simultaneous volleys from multiple drones? The answers left me completely satisfied. Before me was a unique weapon with huge firepower that required some preparation before it could be used. Also, I held in mind what Samantha ton Kruger had said, that a group of three Barbarians would be able to take down one Alien Sledgehammer every twenty seconds.
The large dimensions of the heavy drone made it impossible to use with light-class ships. It would be possible to attach Barbarians to the external suspension rods on Flambergs or Katanas, though. I could fit two drones per cruiser. I would also be able to attach two Barbarians to the Iseyek Legash heavy cruisers past generation four. But the main purpose of the heavy drones was increasing the firepower of the battleships and carriers. I would be able to install eight Barbarians on Tyrant, Monarch and Meresh battleships, in addition to the weaponry they already had. On carriers like the Uukresh or Quasar, I would be able to use the heavy drones both on the external suspension rods, thirty per ship, as well as inside, replacing the light ships currently in the hangars.
In the next hall over, I had two light drones demonstrated for me. First, the improved Alien combat drone, distinguished by its increased endurance, speed and maneuverability. Also, with its fully rewritten programming, it was able to change its tactics autonomously depending on type of enemy, working together with other drones and starships in a group, carrying out rocket evasion maneuvers and getting out of range of a turret, as well as firing specifically at enemy ships' weak points.
"We have found replacements for most of the necessary metals and materials that we had a deficit of, reducing the production cost of each unit to one hundred eighty thousand credits. This new drone has been given the name Razor for its ability to slice through armor, and a certain physical resemblance."
And in fact, the thin drone did look somewhat like a thirty-five-foot-long razor blade, or even better, a dart with thin flights. I familiarized myself with the characteristics of the model, and nodded in approval, giving the order for mass-production of these "little razors," hoping to completely change out the light combat drones of the Unatari fleet with drones of this new generation.
"Your Highness, no need to rush with that order now," the leader of the laboratory stopped me. "There's another model of specialized light, high-speed drone, with thrusters copied from the alien Meteors. We figured out how they worked, but were not able to figure out how to apply them to Pyro or Warhawk frigates. When carrying out maneuvers at such high speeds, no matter how many gravity compensators you put into it, there are huge G-forces that make it impossible for human pilots and crew to survive. The second problem is with cannon accuracy. At high angular speeds, and when maneuvering, the intelligent ship-tracking and targeting systems are compromised. As such, we tried using high-speed thrusters in special drones made for capturing targets. The energy draw of the system allows for the installation of either warp disruptors for blocking enemy warp drives, or stasis webs for slowing a target down. New models have been given the name Leech-B or Leech-C for drones with warp disruptors and stasis webs respectively. The speed of the drones makes them more than capable of catching up to and overtaking any ship in existence, including Alien Meteors. Or, instead of target-capturing equipment, the drone could also be equipped with a cannon capable of launching bombs up to a megaton, which is model Leech-A."
"So you're saying that these drones would allow any fast enemy ships to be captured, then subsequently hit by cannons either from cruisers or Barbarians, or even special models made to destroy a bunch of minor ships with nuclear cannon rounds?"
Samantha ton Kruger nodded in silence, confirming that I was not mistaken. I stroked my forehead in contemplation. What does that mean? A cloud of Leeches released by my ships could capture anything moving toward my fleet. Battleships, cruisers and heavy Barbarians can shoot the immobilized targets from a safe distance. No little ships could get near mine now. Meanwhile, we were already capable of holding heavy ships. I was reminded of the term "imba" from computer games, used to describe a badly imbalanced mechanic. As such, it would have been stupid not to order an adequate number of such drones for the Unatari fleet.
The next couple laboratories from the science complex left me disenchanted. No one had even made a step forward in understanding the concept of how the Aliens were moving around without the warp beacons familiar to humanity. They also hadn't come any closer to understanding the system of mobile warp-beacon delivery. Producing antimatter to use in cannons taken from the ruined Behemoths was also at a stand-still. Their successes were limited only to having created individual atoms of anti-lithium and anti-beryllium. Alien Meteor thrusters, as I'd already been told, had not been able to be adapted to human frigates. They could put loads of up to 30 G's on ship crews, which was a guarantee the crew would be killed. Reducing the speed, or increasing the mass of the frigates with more advanced gravity compensation systems made using the new thrusters pointless.
New technologies for quickly restoring energy shields, applied in the Barbarian drones, it turned out, were impossible to use in small class ships and, conversely, on heavy battleships and motherships as well. They could only be used on light or heavy cruisers, though that was pretty cool in and of itself. I ordered all Thrushes, Curses, Umoyges, Legashes, Katanas and Flambergs modernized with the new systems. Now, anything that couldn't destroy a cruiser right away would be totally harmless to it.
The biology division had had slightly more success. They had managed to grow the "bush" aliens under laboratory conditions, though the specimens that resulted were not intelligent and basically were hardly different from the random primitive life forms found in
the cosmos periodically by scout ships on asteroids and comets. The key to understanding the structure of the Alien societies was not found through them, though these "synthetic Aliens" were good enough for testing out the best method of killing them. Herbicides, defoliants, various wavelength laser beams, infrasonic waves, microwaves, cyanides, ions of heavy metal... the list of tested approaches was seventy screens long. The most effective was found to be high-frequency resonator irradiation, which destroyed the intermolecular bonds of the "bushes." Now, the technicians were working on modifying standard Imperial infantry resonators for effective combat against the Aliens.
I was already getting ready to finish my excursion around the orbital science city, thinking that I had heard everything new they had, but Samantha ton Kruger suggested I also see the experimental combat explosive laboratory. In her words, this group of scientists had something worth showing me. And I did not regret going.
"Your Highness, before you are bombs of a new type, for cloaked ships." The Chameleon in charge of the laboratory led me to some thirty-foot-long cylindrical objects, approximately twelve feet in diameter. "To the right, is a working model of an electromagnetic bomb, capable of causing serious failures in enemy electrical systems. It can turn off navigation systems, overload tactical computers, temporarily disable automatic thruster synchronizers, destabilize energy shields and..." here the scientist made a pause, drawing my attention, "temporarily disable antimatter storage systems on Behemoth-class battleships."
Well then! The Chameleon had my rapt attention. The impenetrable Alien Behemoths were a very serious problem for my fleet. Alien battleships either had to be boarded, or I had to risk my ships and go for close combat, draining energy with neutralizers, and losing starships in the process. I was being offered a way of doing some damage to these giants, taking their electronic systems out of commission for a time. And, by some trickery of the devil, I was even given the chance of blowing them up from the inside! As if reading my thoughts, the Chameleon scientist continued:
"The bomb to the left is gravitational. It creates a short-duration, but very strong gravitational disturbance, damaging large construction elements, knocking living creatures off their feet, and causing severe injury, even to those inside armored starships. If applied simultaneously with the previous bomb..."
"It would destabilize the energy fields holding the antimatter in place, destroying the Behemoth," I said, finishing the Chameleon’s sentence.
"That's exactly right, your Majesty." The Chameleon bowed in a totally human fashion in respect at my prescient guess. "Both types of round are difficult to manufacture and are very expensive to produce, approximately fifteen million credits each."
"No matter how much these bombs cost, I need them as fast as possible! If I could deprive the Alien armada of their Behemoth backbone, we could easily wipe out the remaining enemy ships!"
For the first time since the beginning of the war with the Aliens, I saw a real chance to change the course of the unfortunately-developing standoff. I ordered fifty gravity bombs and fifty EMP bombs manufactured, spending one and a half billion credits in the process. I then spent another two billion to complete the Quasar-class carrier. The former monarch of the Fastel system had already sent me detailed diagrams of the giant. For six hundred million, I planned the construction of one hundred fifty Curse-class light cruisers. This former ugly duckling, taken out of production in the Empire for its low effectiveness, seemed brilliant to me in light of the new conditions. I spent another three hundred million buying electronic warfare ships. Thrushes, already having proven their high effectiveness, became even more attractive with the new energy shields. Finally, another three billion credits went to buying drones of all kinds for the Unatari fleet, and modernizing all cruisers. From the eight billion credits and a bit that I had at the beginning, there was just one billion remaining. Yes, it was a big expense, but it was worth it for the ability to defeat the Aliens once and for all!
Useful Connections
"Your Majesty, the Fastel fleet has arrived to the Fia star system, with Duke Valesy Unatari at its head," Ayna told me, just as I was sitting down for a meal in the science complex's cafeteria in the company of Admiral Mike ton Akad and Bionica.
"Excellent, tell Duke Valesy to have his people land the Quasar at dock five. Everything there is ready to receive it. Then, invite the Duke to join me for dinner. You would be welcome as well."
A few minutes later, confirmation arrived that the Duke had accepted the invitation and would soon be arriving at the Fia orbital science station. I ordered another place-setting made up for our honorable guest, but just then Florianna's alarmed voice rang out in my head:
"Crown Prince, wait! I sense potential danger! Duke Valesy is now on the large landing ship Skinflint. Approximate time to docking at the scientific complex: seven minutes. The Duke has five thousand armed assault troops ready for combat. Half of them are wearing heavy exoskeleton space armor right now, and the others are equipped for support. I sense that their general emotional state is one of anxious waiting. The Duke ordered them to prepare for possible active measures."
"An attempt at overthrowing the government?" I clarified out loud, and my companions at the table instantly perked up their ears.
"Duke Valesy has yet to decide, actually. On the one hand, he wants to rule the new Unatari State himself. On the other though, the Duke is not sure that he will be able to deal with that role while at war with three Great Houses. Also, the Duke isn't even close to understanding the magnitude of your Majesty's forces here in the Fia star system. But, if your former relative thinks the time is right, he could easily give the order to his soldiers to arrest or even kill Crown Prince Georg royl Inoky."
I voiced Florianna's message out loud. Popori de Cacha instantly appeared from invisibility and said that there were just twenty of my bodyguards on the station, as well as three hundred local guards, who weren't particularly skilled in combat. In comparison with five thousand assault troops, it was nothing at all. The uneasy admiral turned on his microphone and called the attendant frigate division to the station, though we all understood perfectly well that the ships would not be able to stop a potential landing.
"I could order the androids on Skinflint to damage the docking systems, block airlocks and basically just create chaos in the ranks of the landing ship. Robots listen to me. We could earn a few minutes that way," Bionica suddenly suggested.
I took a shocked look at my secretary. I didn't suspect the modest Bionica could tell other robots what to do. The synthetic blonde had clearly understated her role in the hierarchy of Imperial androids. I made a mental note to talk with my secretary about this under calmer circumstances. For now, though, I told them all to wait and not take hostile action before I had the chance to talk with my former father-in-law. And only when a landing ship appeared from the warp tunnel one hundred and twenty miles from the science station, did I order a call placed to the Duke.
The former monarch of the Kingdom of Fastel appeared on screen. The old man was clearly strained and agitated.
"Greetings, Valesy!" I said with pronounced amicability. "Duke, I thought I had called just you to dinner, not all fifty thousand assault troops from Skinflint. This isn't a very big cafeteria. I don't think it can fit that many people. Order your men to remove their armor, lay down their laser rifles, store them in your armory, and disperse. You should get in a shuttle yourself, like all normal people, without any grandstanding. Otherwise, I'm afraid your intentions could be misunderstood, and your landing ship might not make it to the station."
Three seconds of strained silence followed, after which the Duke gave a deep bow and answered:
"That is precisely what I'll do, your Majesty. I was in too much of a rush to the meeting, and it didn't occur to me that a landing ship docking at your station could be taken the wrong way. Please forgive my forgetfulness. I'm an old man. My memory isn't what it used to be..."
Standing change. Valesy royl Una
tari's opinion of you has improved.
Presumed personal opinion of you: +38 (friendship)
"That's great, Valesy. I'll be waiting for you in the cafeteria."
I signed off and turned to Admiral Mike ton Akad, who had pulled up an image from one of the station's external cameras on his palmtop computer, and was following Skinflint's movement with panic.
"They have stopped the approach. They have turned off maneuver drives and dropped shields. Holy shit, Georg! It worked!"
Standing change. Mike ton Akad's opinion of you has improved.
Presumed personal opinion of you: +87 (completely trusting)
"Sometimes, having a negative standing can work to your advantage," I chuckled. "Many are afraid of you, so they imagine that you might just kill everyone around you in the cruelest way imaginable at the drop of a hat. That makes lying about doing so a bit easier to pull off."
Bionica laughed her frolicsome, completely human laugh, but then the android's mood suddenly changed and sadness appeared in the girl's voice:
"I hope the day will come when androids are also allowed to get implants to express their personal opinion of various humans and factions. I think it would be just. After all, many modern robot models practically equal humans in level of intellect and abstract thinking ability, and in many ways even surpass them."
For some reason, I had no doubt that this sentence wasn't simply out of nowhere. It was clearly intended for my ears, and now the android girl was waiting for my reaction. I mulled my synthetic assistant's grievance over, and immediately found several flaws in her proposal:
"Bionica, those implants help people directly interact with databases and figure out who someone is quickly. But androids can do both of those things already. The other role of these implants is that they allow prominent figures to express their point of view through a system of personal and faction relations, thus forming something of an average idea of what a given group thinks. But nowhere near all people have built-in implants. Only the ones who have achieved something important, or those who occupy a high position in society. The key words here are 'only' and 'important.' And now, imagine millions of androids of the same model. They have identical BIOS and software, so their opinion on an event would not be the same kind of aggregate, but would instead depend on settings and behavior model. Whose viewpoint, then, would these millions of androids be expressing? The manufacturing company's? The Green House's?"
New Contract (Perimeter Defense Book #3) Page 19