From the wormhole generator control room, Elias established the near wormhole mouth. Once it had solidified into a crystal-like sphere he cast the far wormhole mouth smaller but to the same location. The crystal darkened and shapes and waves moved beneath its surface. Elias knew that the mouth within mouth structure had been established. They would wait for the first attack to see how it responded to the rebel Aggies' plasma weapon.
They hadn't long to wait.
Elias was resting in his quarters when his Emmie announced the call.
“Elias this is Captain Rosen, can you come to the generator control room.”
“On my way.”
Elias made his way along the corridor of the spinning crew wheel to the room. As he went in he saw several people including the men he had trained and the Captain. He noticed at once the jumps in the readout of the power meter.
“We believe the barrier is being hit by a wormhole generator.”
“Put the barrier on the screen,” said Elias.
The Captain was surprised they hadn't already thought to do so.
The wallscreen showed the barrier. The churning sub-surface had intensified. And it wasn't at all like an inky black fluid now.
“Can you get me a temperature reading of the barrier please?” asked Elias.
The technician put the temperature reading in one corner of the wallscreen. It showed the surface temperature of fifty-eight hundred Kelvin and climbing.
“Ten thousand degrees Fahrenheit,” said Elias interpreting for the others. “Nine thousand degrees above its quiescent state. I'd say it's absorbing the energy of the rebels wormhole generator as they are trying to establish a wormhole mouth Captain.”
“How long can it hold up Elias?” asked the Captain.
“Quite awhile Captain. We are nowhere near its limits. I expect they will shut down their generator when they figure out there is something blocking the wormhole mouth's formation long before we reach the barriers limit.”
“I hope so,” said the Captain somewhat worried.
A wormhole mouth appeared on the other side of the barrier and was unseen by the ship generating the barrier. The emerging ship was of Terran Federation design but piloted by Aggies. The ship moved to a point where it could view the other side of the barrier.
The attending ship, not generating the wormhole mouths of the barrier moved to intercept.
On Elias' ship, the alarm rang. Elias, in the generator control room observing operations, immediately went to the ship's control center.
“Elias,” said the Captain. “We have a Terran Federation vessel on the screen. The Alliance is moving to intercept.”
On the wallscreen, Elias could see the Terran Federation ship outlined. Into view came the Solar Federation ship Alliance. The Terran Federation ship fired its wormhole weapon. The concentration of generated plasma crossed the intervening space in milliseconds. The large communication dish setting midship of the Alliance and high above the long girder connecting the rear fusion engines to the crew wheel exploded. Pieces flew in all directions some hitting the ship itself.
Almost immediately the Alliance fired its wormhole weapon in an effort to disable the Terran ship. The attacking ship was sitting almost broadside and had a much larger profile to the Solar Federation ship's weapon. The plasma caught the Terran ship just in front of the fusion engines causing a tank of fuel for the attitude reaction system to explode and send shrapnel in all directions.
A large piece of the shrapnel, about two meters across, slammed the rim of the crew wheel ripping through its command center and demolishing the hardware holding the Aggie pilots. The Terran Federation ship was now an unpiloted derelict that would continue its present course away from the barrier without command to alter its direction.
The Alliance came up close to Elias' ship the Starway 4 and signaled a request that the Starway ship uses its undamaged communication's dish to request a replacement for the Alliance. The Alliance would stay in the area until the replacement arrived and then would make for an Earth repair depot.
On Belenos the message was received from their ship through the wormhole channel. The picture showed two ships, one of which was generating what looked like a black wormhole mouth. The message indicated that this was the cause of the blocked wormhole mouth formation. The Belenos ship signaled that it was attacking the two ships and shortly afterward communication was lost.
Belinus demanded answers.
“Sir we believe our ship was destroyed by a Solar Federation vessel.”
“Do we have the designations of those two vessels?”
“Sir the Solar Federation vessel was the Alliance. The other ship was a Starway Corporation ship the Starway 4.”
“Starway Corporation? From Centauri?”
“Yes sir.”
Chapter 29
It would take a few hours for a relief ship to arrive. Meanwhile, the Alliance was keeping watch from a high vantage point. Unfortunately with its communications dish destroyed there was no continuous contact with the Starway 4, they could only signal.
Then the crew aboard the Alliance saw it. A wormhole mouth had started to form. The Captain called for an immediate roll maneuver so that the wormhole weapon would have an unencumbered shot at anything emerging from the mouth. The wormhole weapon was readied.
The wormhole mouth shimmered and brightened. It had grown to a size big enough for a fusion ship when out came a Terran Federation cruiser at speed. It rolled and opened fire on the Alliance. The Alliance had gotten off a shot at almost the same time. The swirling column of plasma looked like a pillar of fire against the darkness of space.
The shot hit the Alliance in the front shield. The heavy metal shield that along with an active magnetic field protected the fusion-powered ship when it was underway. The metal shield protected against uncharged particles and the magnetic field diverted charged particles at speed, like a boat in the ocean the bow splitting the water and leaving a wake.
With the magnetic shield off the entire ship shook and recoiled when the plasma hit the metal shield. The plasma dissipated against the shield converting a good portion into a molten drop of metal with some flying away from the ship and the majority rippling until it cooled into some fantastic metal sculpture.
Meanwhile, the shot from the Alliance caught the other ship in the rear where the fusion engines were firing. The plasma quenched the fusion engine's own plasma flow and did other minor damage. The Belenos ship was still somewhat maneuverable but unable to stop its momentum. It continued to sail away but took one more shot at the Alliance which missed.
The crew on the Alliance were just about to celebrate their crippling of the Aggie ship when yet another and then another cruiser emerged from the wormhole mouth before it blinked closed.
The Alliance was suddenly outnumbered. The two ships from Belenos split, each taking an arcing path on opposite sides of the Alliance. The Alliance opened fire on one of the ships but missed. The Alliance started to maneuver but before it had moved far both of the Belenos ships opened fire with their wormhole weapons.
One plasma shot hit the Alliance in the framework that connected the crew wheel to the fusion engines. Just ahead of the engines the frame started to buckle. The other shot hit the crew wheel. Pieces flew away including what looked like human bodies.
The engines firing, the frame buckling the applied force vector was such that the Alliance began a tight spin. Apparently, control of the fusion engines from the control center had been severed. With the engines firing the Alliance was spiraling out of control.
Aboard the Starway 4 the frightening sight of the out of control Solar Federation ship caused the Captain to take action. Elias was standing next to him.
“Elias we've got to get out of here.”
“But Captain that's what they want. They'll resume their attacks if we leave. Wait for the relief ships please.”
“It's my call Elias and I have to protect my ship first and foremost.”
The Captain then gave the order to the generator room to drop the wormhole. Elias watched the wallscreen as the blackened sphere shimmered and rippled before collapsing.
Then the Captain gave the order for full speed. He would turn the craft after he got some speed up.
The Belenos ships seeing the barrier down and the Starway 4 fleeing immediately sent a situational report to Belenos. Belinus, upon reading the report, immediately ordered the attacks on the Centauri habitats and against the Earth's Aggies resumed.
Back in the Centauri Two habitat before the attack on the Alliance had begun Burgess was beginning her day.
She was thinking about how the barrier had made Elias a hero again. The case against him and Arn and the others was dropped and a complete pardon was forthcoming along with an apology.
The turn of events had lifted Burgess' spirits. She would never let Elias know but the thought of her babies being born with their father in prison had weighed on her mind.
She was just making breakfast when she heard the alarms. She raced to her Emmie to see the news. A warning had been issued. The barrier was under attack.
What about Elias?
Then she heard the boom in the distance. Then another and a third.
Explosions?
Turning to her Emmie again she saw a civil defense message that all citizens of the Centauri Two habitat should seek immediate shelter. The government's emergency powers had been invoked. All civilians were to shelter in place. Then the message started to repeat.
Burgess turned to get her emergency kit. Elias had told her that after rebuilding to withstand any more accidents the laboratory would be the safest place for her to go during any emergency. She grabbed the kit and put some food and drink in a small cooler and headed out the back of the house.
Outside she could hear more explosions in the distance. They were coming from the direction of the nearby town of Mecklenburg. She rushed to the lab, her Emmie dialed the door code and Burgess went inside.
Burgess had been in the lab building for some time. She had made herself comfortable in Elias' office, looking through his books. All the while she could hear the booms and feel the vibrations of the habitat. There was still nothing on her Emmie except the government alert.
As it got closer to evening and she began to think about how she could make up a bed she noticed for the first time that she hadn't heard nor felt anything for some time. Requesting news from her Emmie she was disturbed by the reports.
The destruction of Mecklenburg was almost complete. No building was left standing downtown. The destruction had worked it's way out from there. The ruins were smoldering which made Burgess wonder. She went to the small window and indeed she could see the smoke that she hadn't noticed before drifting across the lawn between the house and lab.
Before she had finished she saw something else. Elias, running from the back door of the house towards her and the lab. She ran from the office to the lab door and had just opened it when Elias ran into her arms.
“Elias isn't it terrible?”
“Yes honey, it's unbelievable.”
They were talking while holding each other tightly. Elias pulled back to arm's length looking at her.
“You're all right?”
“Yes I'm fine. I was just preparing to make my bed in your office for the night.”
Elias smiled and pulled her close again.
“That's my Burgess, always practical no matter the situation.”
“What is the situation Elias?”
“The habitat was attacked by the Belenos.”
“Why Elias?”
“I think they found out that ships from the habitat were helping with the barrier. Mason decided to hit back at targets like Centauri Two.”
“They've stopped now?” asked Burgess.
“Yes I suspect they've gone back to attacking the Earth. Ships from Belenos came through a wormhole and attacked our support ship, knocking it out of commission. The Captain of the Starway 4 made the decision to leave the area before they destroyed us too. With the barrier down I'm sure they went back to striking the Earth.”
“What will happen now Elias.”
“I suppose we will try to re-establish the barrier for both the Earth and the Centauri habitats if we have enough resources left after this attack.
“Come on honey let's go back to the house and have some dinner and find out what we can about the damage to the habitat.”
The news that came in over the next several days was worse than expected. The town of Mecklenburg was almost completely destroyed. Out of the fifty thousand inhabitants, there were thousands dead or missing. It had essentially been wiped off the map. But the rest of the Centauri Two habitat had escaped the worse of the attack. Not so other habitats.
Hadar the biggest habitat had been almost completely destroyed with millions killed or injured. New Hope had several cities leveled. It became apparent to Elias that with the level of destruction in the relatively short time of the attack, more than one wormhole at a time had to be used to deliver that amount of destruction. The rebel Aggies had obviously upgraded their powers of terror.
As the Centauri habitats picked up the pieces the Aggies of Earth were still under attack. The Aggie-verse was in a state of great agitation. Something never seen before. The latest attacks had gone far beyond the Aggie towers to include the whole complex. Casualties not only included metizens and Aggies but citizens of the complexes that the Aggies were charged with protecting.
“The attacks are coming simultaneously now,” said an Aggie to Aggie Prime. “We have at least three complexes under attack at the same time.”
“Do we have the predicted targets?”
“Yes, the next three will be Paris, Berlin and Vienna.”
“And our countermeasures, have those been prepared?”
“Yes preparation is complete.”
“Very well we wait then,” said Aggie Prime with resignation in his response.
As the Earth turned to position those three complexes in the line of attack from Belenos the weapons were being prepared. From the start of the attacks, Belinus had been pushing for the development of more powerful, more deadly weaponry. The building of the infrastructure for two more wormhole generators capable of casting a far wormhole mouth had been completed and brought online. The power of the plasma weapon had been increased three-fold. At the rate of increase in capability Belinus would be able to finish his campaign of annihilation against the Earth's Aggies and now the Centauri habitats in a matter of days instead of weeks. The absolute power he controlled pleased him beyond reason.
This must be happiness, he thought.
“Are the generators charged and ready?”
“Yes sir,” responded his number two.
“And the weapons systems?”
“Yes sir.”
“Very well start the next campaign and let me know the results when you have them.”
Belinus then turned his attention to the work of building more weapons.
The generators charged and cast the wormhole to Earth. The great plasma weapons which were based on the wormhole generator all fired their tremendously destructive plasma. The damage on the other end would be almost simultaneous.
And it would have been except the Earth Aggies had learned how to create and then modify Elias' barrier. By carefully timing the creation of the inner and outer wormhole mouth the Aggies were able to trap the cast wormhole mouth from Belenos behind the outer barrier surface but instead of allowing it to bounce between outer and inner barriers and dissipate the Aggies caused the mouth to reflect and intensify until they released it back towards Belenos.
All this happened in the split second before the plasma weapons were discharged so that the weapons essentially discharged on Belenos. It was as if the weapons had mysteriously exploded. The resultant destruction spread concentrically outward. Completely disintegrating any infrastructure it came in contact with. Large areas of Belenos were laid waste. Up to one-thi
rd of the support infrastructure disappeared in the inferno of rippling plasma. By the time it dissipated over a billion metizens had been destroyed along with the wormhole generators and weapons.
Belinus upon hearing of the destruction went into a rage almost befitting an Earthly tyrant.
“It is done,” said Aggie Prime solemnly.
Chapter 30
“Attacks Stop, Earth's Aggies Take Credit” - The New Hope Sentinel, 9.28.2395.
“Aggies Say Weapons on Belenos Destroyed” - The Centauri Journal, 9.28.2395.
“Earth's Aggies, Friend or Foe?” - The Centauri Worker's Union, 9.28.2395.
Elias had been impressed with the mastery of wormhole physics shown by the Earth's Aggies. He could imagine how they accomplished the feat of turning his barrier idea into a mirror. But it would be some time before he could work through the physics. And even though they expressed appreciation for Elias' work they were not willing to share their secrets with him or anyone else.
But the attacks stopped and that was the important thing. Enough time had passed so that the habitats that had survived the attack had cleared away the destruction and were in the process of rebuilding. The dead had been mourned and honored. The injured had been treated. The shock was passing but not the memories.
This and other topics were being discussed at Elias' home as everyone had come to see the month old fraternal twins, Ernst and Emily.
“Dag,” said Burgess. “I want you and everyone to know what a great help you've been to me and Elias over the past month. You have made a fine au pair.”
“Thank you Miss I'm glad I could help. I find the small ones endlessly fascinating.”
Burgess's sister Charlotte had tried to help but found she didn't have the same rapport with Ernst and Emily as Dag.
“Elias we will need to secure the baby's future,” said Arn. “We will need to figure out that Aggie trick with the barrier so that Belenos will not consider it profitable to attack us again.”
“I agree Arn. Dag, when he's not sitting with the kids,” he smiled, “and I are already working on it.”
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