Virago One: A Hard Science Fiction Technothriller (Ace of Space Book 2)

by John Triptych

  Herbert nodded as he could see the automated fueling lines begin to attach themselves onto the side of the Virago. It was late at night, and there were no maintenance crews in the enclosed launch bay. He marveled at just how efficient the AI was when the status report updated in front of him. Turning to look at Kate, he could see that she was somewhat stressed. “What is it?”

  “We were supposed to have met our contact at the Ready Room near the launch pad by now,” Kate said. “If that damned thing was just partially fueled, we would be only minutes away from liftoff instead of hours. This isn’t over yet.”

  Vlad gulped while staring at the console. “There’s another problem.”

  “What?”

  “Once fueling is complete, someone has to manually enter passcode to disengage support struts and open outer doors,” Vlad said, pointing up at the video feed of the launch bay.

  “Couldn’t you just program CAIN to do it remotely?” Kate asked.

  “Nyet,” Vlad said. “It has been hardcoded into core architecture. If I am to change it then would take many days to code it all from scratch. This system was designed so there have to be ground approval before monster spaceship can lift off.”

  “So you’re saying one of us has to stay behind,” Kate said. It was another complication she had failed to anticipate.

  “Da,” Vlad said. “We need to sabotage ground based CAIN too. I have created bot script that will begin deletion of all core blocks and modules after ship is fueled. Once we are in space, they will have no chance to regain control. The only advanced AI will be on ship along with us. And you need me for that, so I cannot be left behind.”

  Herbert’s chin started trembling. “Please, not me. You need me up there! I’m the only one who can maintain the reactor and that drive!”

  Kate held her hand up to calm him down. “Take it easy, we’ll deal with it later. In the meantime, let’s keep our heads on straight and get this fueling thing done.” She then turned to Vlad. “Have you given instructions to the tanker yet?”

  Vlad grinned. “Da, already done. She will be waiting for us at rendezvous point.”

  Hearing a small beep on his earpiece, Colonel Ruthven tapped on the frame of his smartglass and read the message in its entirety before deleting it. He got up and stretched before heading to the door. He was already wearing his skinsuit underneath his battle dress uniform, and it made him look somewhat bulkier, but since there was only a skeleton staff present at this time of the night, he wasn’t expecting anyone he encountered to be suspicious of him. His pressurized gloves and boots were already stored inside the spacecraft along with his helmet, and so he could proceed directly towards the launch level of the complex if he needed to.

  Walking along the deserted corridor, he made it to Vince Lawson’s quarters within ten minutes. After knocking twice on the door, he let himself inside. The room lights had been turned off, the only illumination coming from the half-ajar bathroom door. Ruthven had a snub pistol tucked underneath his blouse, and he drew it out, expecting trouble. “Vince?”

  Lawson walked out into the living room. He was naked, and had just completely shaved his body, with the exception of his mustache and the hair on his head. “Is it time, Colonel?”

  Ruthven nodded solemnly. “It’s time, Vince. Suit up.”

  Chapter 15

  With half the population of Los Angeles having moved away over the years, the rebuilt, sprawling freeways of the metropolis were now largely free of heavy traffic. The ACE Corp limousine was fully automated, and Stilicho instructed his AI to commandeer the vehicle’s autodrive and use maximum speed for the trip towards the company’s Torrance facilities in the South Bay area. Ever since he was given permission by NASA to meet up with his corporate contacts, Stilicho had gone on his own, leaving Darian and Tyler to await word from their supervisor with regards to getting immediate clearance to head over to the USAF base in China Lake.

  A beeping noise in his earpiece made him activate the phone app. “Hello.”

  It was Darian. “Jones, I just got an affirmative from my supervisor. The Air Force has given us preliminary clearance to head over to a classified base called Argus inside China Lake. Is this the place that Maia told you about?”

  Stilicho nodded. “Yup, that’s it. Maia crosschecked all potential sites for a secret Air Force fusion project, and she says this Argus Base has got the highest probability to be the one.”

  “Okay,” Darian said. “An agent from the Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations is on his way to meet up with us, so we’re heading for the nearest available landing pad. He’ll pick us up and bring us over to Argus. Check in with me once you get any more information from your end.”

  “That’s good. As soon as I’ve talked to the guys at ACE Corp, I’ll see if I can meet up with you over there.”

  “I’m afraid that’s not going to happen, Jones,” Darian said. “The Air Force doesn’t want you anywhere near their facility. Not even my supervisor could convince them. They consider you as a major security risk.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah, sorry. I’ve got to go. We’re at the landing pad now. I’ll see if I can update you once we get there. Bye.”

  Stilicho frowned as he shut off the phone app and slumped in the backseat of the car. If the Chinese spy and that Russian hacker were out to do some damage, then his access to Maia would have been the best chance of stopping whatever they planned to do in that place. Oh well, if the military didn’t want his help then it’s their loss, he thought. They will probably regret this decision soon enough.

  Maia’s voice came on his earpiece. “Stil, I’m sorry for bothering you, but I think you might want to know this.”

  “Go ahead, I’m all ears,” Stilicho said.

  “Errol Flux and David Conklin are both present in the ACE Corp Torrance facility,” Maia said. “They arrived a few hours ago.”

  Stilicho sat up. “Errol and Dave are both there? What do you think is going on?”

  “Based on the com-link intercepts I’ve been analyzing, it seems they are having trouble with one of their automated tanker rockets,” Maia said. “They have issued a stream of commands, but apparently something has taken over its AI module and has sent it towards an unknown destination.”

  Stilicho could hardly believe what he was hearing. “Jesus, what the hell is going on? Could you calculate where it might be headed?”

  “Its original trajectory was to rendezvous and dock with the USAF orbital facilities in Lagrange-4, but it seems to be heading towards Lagrange-2 instead, assuming it doesn’t change course again,” Maia said.

  Stilicho narrowed his eyes. He remembered reading up about the Air Force’s space station in Lagrange-4, where the bulk of the military’s warships were based at. “What’s over at Lagrange-2?”

  “At this point- nothing,” Maia said. A Lagrange point was the perfect place to park such bases, since the combined gravitational pull between the Earth, the Sun, and Moon created an equilibrium that enabled structures to be placed in permanent orbits between the various space bodies without having to continuously use delta-v to maintain their position. Lagrange-4 and 5 were the most stable of these points, and each one were consequently claimed by the US and Chinese militaries, respectively. These two points were along Earth’s orbit at sixty degrees ahead of and behind the planet, forming an imaginary apex of two equilateral triangles when viewed in a two-dimensional map. To go to Lagrange-2 was to head away from Earth, in between the two previous Lagrange points.

  Stilicho was more confused than ever. “What kind of cargo is it carrying?”

  “It’s classified top secret, but since Errol has given you the master passcode, do you wish me to access the files?”

  He nodded again. “Do it.”

  “One moment,” Maia said. “Done. It is carrying deuterium fuel pellets, approximately one thousand tons.”

  “Deuterium pellets? What could that be used for?”

  “The files that I ha
d accessed all point out to a joint ACE Corp and USAF project called Virago,” Maia said. “There is schematics for a sort of fusion drive, something that is extremely advanced, and designed to fit within a spacecraft. I am afraid I cannot access more information about this without attempting to breach the US government’s military databases.”

  Stilicho blinked a few times when he realized the truth. Ever since the company had built the first fusion reactor in Texas, Errol had been a busy man, and they rarely had time to speak with each other over the last few years. His boss and mentor had been quite secretive of late, and the hints that Errol had given him about creating some sort of limited combat AI now made sense. ACE Corp was now part of the military industrial complex.

  “Oh, I just intercepted another com-link message,” Maia said. “It seems that Trevor Ledwidge- the president’s special assistant and senior director for space defense- is also on his way to the Torrance facility. He will be landing in thirty minutes. Errol and David are on their way towards the landing pad to meet him.”

  “This just keeps getting better,” Stilicho said.

  “We have arrived at the facility,” Maia said. The vehicle stopped in front of the gate. An aerial security drone hovered just five meters above the limousine, briefly scanning the transponder on the roof of the car before signaling the gate to open. Within seconds, the vehicle was now inside the compound as it drove towards the main entrance.

  “Take me to where Errol is,” Stilicho said to the car’s AI.

  The limousine swerved to the right, went past the administration building, and drove down an alleyway before moving out to where the hangars were located. Looking from the rear passenger side window, Stilicho saw that Errol and David were walking towards an open hangar, just a few hundred paces from the private landing strip. His vehicle pulled up in front of them and Stilicho got out. Both men stopped in apparent surprise as he walked towards them. Stilicho smiled, extending his hand out in greeting.

  Errol recovered his composure first as he shook Stilicho’s hand. “Stil, what are you doing here?”

  Stilicho gave him a wry smile. “I know what Herbert Eng Wu is up to.”

  Errol raised a single eyebrow as he fished out the monocle from his pocket. “Oh, what is it then?”

  Stilicho shook David Conklin’s hand while continuing to look at his boss. He spoke just two words, and he said it nonchalantly for the full effect. “Project Virago.”

  The two men standing in front of him looked at each other. Even though Errol was quite tall, David Conklin was at least a shade taller. The lanky, bespectacled spaceflight director was a former NASA astronaut, and he had briefed Stilicho before during his abbreviated spaceflight training for the Martian incident. David was a man who kept his cool at all times, but Stilicho’s utterance of what was supposed to be a closely guarded secret made him stagger a few steps backwards in shock.

  Errol narrowed his eyes while staring at his troubleshooter. “You’re using Maia, aren’t you?”

  Stilicho’s reply was cool and collected. “Yeah, I figured it would make things easier.”

  “Why are you asking about Virago?” David said.

  “Because it just about ties in with everything,” Stilicho said. “So tell me, what is it?”

  Errol drew in a deep breath. The night skies were clear over the entire state, and it looked to be a long time before dawn would break. “To put it quite simply, it’s a fusion powered battleship.”

  “Well I’ve ridden in an atomic rocket already with the driveships we use, so how fast does this one go?” Stilicho asked.

  “In excess of about one hundred kilometers per second,” David said.

  Stilicho coughed several times. He remembered that the NERVA driveships could go as fast as sixteen kilometers per second at the most. “You’re kidding.”

  David shook his head. “You know I don’t kid around when it comes to these things, Stil.”

  “Jesus H Christ,” Stilicho said. “This changes everything.”

  “What changes everything?” Errol said. “You need to update me on what’s going on. I’ve got the president’s national security adviser about to land and I can hardly figure it all out myself.”

  “Okay, the long and short of it is that I believe Herbert Eng Wu and this Russian hacker have teamed up,” Stilicho said, “along with a killer redhead, and probably a few others too.”

  Errol was losing his patience. “Teamed up for what?”

  “They are either going to sabotage or steal this wondrous ship of yours,” Stilicho said. “It’s in Argus Base, isn’t it?”

  Errol and David looked at each other again, only this time their eyes were as wide as saucers. ACE Corp’s CEO quickly took out a throat microphone, turned around and walked a few steps away while activating his com-link, leaving David and Stilicho by themselves.

  “This is very bad,” David said softly while shaking his head. “No wonder the tanker got hijacked.”

  “So I heard,” Stilicho said. “Tell me about this tanker.”

  “It’s supposed to rendezvous with the Virago near Lagrange-4 so it could refuel the ship,” David said softly.

  “So if this tanker is heading off somewhere else, I’m assuming it’s going to the Chinese?”

  “That’s what we’re afraid of,” David said. “We’re trying everything we can to regain control of the shipboard AI, but it’s locked us out. We are thinking of sending a discreet inquiry to the Chinese about this, but we haven’t decided on it yet.”

  “But the Chinese orbital base is in Lagrange-5, not Lagrange-2, and that’s where your tanker is going, right?”

  David raised his eyebrows again. “How did you know that?” Then he realized Stilicho had access to Maia. “My first instinct was to conclude that the Chinese hacked the tanker and are steering it away in order to intercept it and take it.”

  “Why would they be doing that?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” David said. “From what you just said they’re planning to steal the Virago, and they need to get it refueled once it’s in space. That’s gotta be it.”

  “Well, the two NASA agents that were with me are already on their way to Argus to secure it,” Stilicho said. “Looks like we might have just averted a major catastrophe.”

  David let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God for that. So all we need to do now is to get back the tanker, and all will be well.”

  “Why not have the Air Force retrieve the tanker? They got warships that can intercept it, right?”

  David shook his head. “It’s a bit more complicated than that. Those Orion battlecruisers they have up there have not actually used their drives yet other than for testing only. If they fire up the Orion drives, the Chinese could view it as an act of war.”

  Stilicho rubbed his chin. “You know, I read up about these Orion craft. I know the Chinese have them too, but I just can’t figure out how they work. Can you explain to me what exactly an Orion is?”

  “Long story, but I’ll give you the gist of it,” David said. “When they tested the first atomic bomb in Los Alamos over a hundred years ago, they suspended it on a thirty meter tall metal tower. After the bomb exploded, do you know what happened to the tower?”

  Stilicho sensed it was a trick question. “It vaporized?”

  David shook his head. “Nope. They found the top part largely intact a ways away. Despite being at ground zero, the atomic explosion had apparently propelled it into the atmosphere.”

  It was Stilicho’s turn to be surprised. “Really?”

  “Yeah, really,” David said. “When the first Space Race started, a team of scientists figured out that you can send something up into the sky by putting a bomb underneath it. They did testing with high explosives and scale models. They built a metal plate and kept pumping bombs below it. The series of explosions enabled this plate to move higher and higher into the air. They did the math, and concluded that by using nukes, they could send up huge payloads into Earth orbit.”


  “Jesus,” Stilicho said. “Wouldn’t anyone riding on the top of that ship die?”

  David shook his head. “Using trial and error, they concluded that the plate needed shock absorbers, sort of like giant pistons mounted underneath the spaceship.” He networked his smartglass with Stilicho’s own device to show him what the craft looked like. “So the ship consists of three sections: the pusher plate- with a hole in the middle for the bombs to get dropped through- then you have the shock absorbers attached to it in the middle, which in turn is also connected to the spaceship at the top.”

  Stilicho looked at the virtual model of the ship in the right lenses of his smartglasses. It looked like a giant bullet, the kind they used to fire from old naval battleship guns. Beneath the spacecraft were long, retractable poles all around its circumference. At the bottom was a circular metal plate with a hole in the middle. “Wow, are you saying that this would actually work?”

  “It works,” David said. “Think of it as an anti-rocketship. When one has to engineer chemical propelled rockets to go into orbit, you are limited by how much weight you can bring up there in proportion to how much propellant you need. With an Orion, you can send up thousands of tons into orbit without a hitch. In fact, the more mass you have, the smoother the ride.”

  “What about the Earth’s atmosphere? Wouldn’t all those nuclear explosions create massive fallout?”

  “That’s the drawback of an Orion,” David said. “It roughly takes about a thousand nuclear explosions to send it up into orbit at ten kilometers per second. The Orions we have now are actually put up into orbit using huge conventional chemical rocket boosters in order not to violate the nuclear test ban treaty. The Chinese even built their ships from scratch in their orbital facilities at Lagrange-5. Their Orions are spherical in shape, compared to our bullet-shaped ones.”

  “Whoever thought this up must have been crazy,” Stilicho said. “Why not just use NERVA rocketships for the military?”

  “An Orion’s nuclear impulse beats a NERVA almost every time,” David said. “Our Orions can go to as fast as thirty-one kilometers per second, that’s almost twice the delta-v a NERVA-equipped ship can get up to. The Air Force still has a few NERVA patrol ships flying around up there, but they are obsolete.”