The Blunt End of Oblivion (The Blunt End Series, Book 2)

by L. J. Simpson

  James fed in the commands and waited as Val initiated the necessary course and speed changes. Five minutes later the manoeuvre was complete.

  “Do we have a visual on the target?” asked Savage.

  “No,” said Chuck in no small surprise as he gazed out across space from one of the portholes. “I thought I’d be able to pick it up at this range.”

  “It’s not as easy as you might think – not with the naked eye, anyway. An inky black asteroid blends right in against the inky black background of space. It would be easier if it was down sun but at this angle the most you’ll see is a faint reflection off some of the surface features.”

  “Which is why we are fitted with the very best cameras the taxpayer’s money can buy,” said James. He nodded to Angus who tapped at the controls and a few seconds later a real time image of GR-850Z appeared on the main bridge monitor. Oddly shaped, it appeared reddish brown rather than inky black, with a surface that was almost entirely covered in pockmarks and craters, a legacy of its five billion year odyssey around the Atlas sun.

  “It’s quite poignant,” said Savage. “That asteroid has been here almost since the birth of the system. It’s older than anything you can find on Atlas. The history of this corner of the universe all bound up in a few thousand cubic meters of base metal.”

  “And now we’re going to blast it to bits,” said Chuck. “Doesn’t seem quite right, somehow.”

  “On the other hand,” said Penny. “Given half a chance that lump of iron could wipe out Atlas Central and the surrounding districts in the blink of an eye.”

  “Which is why we’re here – to make sure that this particular rock and others like it never get the chance,” said Savage. “Initiate a detailed scan of the target.”

  “Already done,” said Angus. “Val has surveyed the target and is determining the optimum aiming point.”

  “Very good. Any target spin?”

  “The target is rotating at a rate of one revolution every six hours.”

  “I always imagined asteroids to be tumbling crazily end over end,” said Penny.

  “The smaller ones often do,” said Savage. “Rotational speed is one of the factors that determine the eventual size of all asteroids, which of course are formed when the parent system is in its infancy. Objects with high rotational speeds get ripped apart by centrifugal forces before they have a chance to grow to any appreciable size. Only objects with a low spin rate get to grow as big as this one. Or larger, of course.”

  “We have the targeting data,” said Angus. “Overlaying data on bridge monitor.”

  Chuck glanced up at the screen to see that Val had positioned the crosshairs of a target reticule on a point at the centre of the asteroid.

  “Over to you, James. Turn the ship to face the target and bring the rail gun on-line,” said Savage.

  Val initiated several bursts of the thrusters and turned the Artemis through ninety degrees so that she was flying sideways through space with her nose – and the muzzle of the rail gun – pointed directly at the asteroid.

  “Generators are online,” said James. “Capacitors are fully charged, projectile feed engaged… we have green lights across the board.”

  “We’ll begin by calibrating the rail gun targeting system. Slave the system to Val’s targeting scanners and fire a five round burst.”

  “Yes, sir,” said James. “And if it’s all right with you, may I invite Lieutenant Poulson to do the honours? Seems only right we have a genuine military officer fire our primary weapon.”

  “Actually,” murmured Angus, “I thought the laser was our primary weapon.”

  “Yes, but it doesn’t go ‘bang’, does it, Angus?”

  “In fairness, James,” said Savage, “neither does the rail gun. But by all means allow Mr. Poulson to initiate the firing sequence. Go ahead, Mr. Poulson,” he said, looking over at Chuck. “It will give you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the controls.”

  James moved aside and Chuck sat next to Angus at the main console.

  “There’s nothing to it,” said James, leaning over his shoulder. “The console is multi-functional so you can access flight, nav, coms, and anything else you desire from the menu on the left. Right now we’re looking at the flight control screen but with Val handling all that for us just tap the rail gun icon in the menu and… yeah, there you go.

  “The window in the top left corner holds the controls for adjusting the power settings. For the time being there’s no need to touch any of those. Right now we’re interested in the window below.”

  “Munitions,” said Chuck.

  “That’s right,” said James. “At present we are only carrying one kind of projectile – a synthetic polymer encased in an iron jacket. It’s designed to flash to plasma on impact. We can choose single shot, multiple round burst or fully automatic, in which case the gun will keep firing until the magazine is empty.”

  “How many rounds?” asked Chuck.

  “About twenty five thousand. If we ever need all of them I should say we’re in big, bad trouble. But for now just tap the multiple round icon and then punch in five on the keypad.”

  “Done,” said Chuck.

  “Now, on the right of the screen you can see the camera feed of GR-850Z with the optimum target point overlaid. All you need to do is drag the cursor over the target point and then press the fire icon... That’s the big, red one labelled ‘fire’,” he added helpfully.

  “Got it,” said Chuck. “Firing in three, two, one…” He brought his finger down on the fire button and was rewarded by a distant whup-whup-whup-whup-whup.

  He gazed at the monitor in expectation but… nothing. The polymer rounds sailed high and wide and handsome and GR-850Z continued unmolested along its path.

  “What happened?” he said.

  “Congratulations, Chuck,” said James with a grin. “With the target completely at your mercy you managed to miss… completely.”

  “Oh, fine shooting, sir,” said Penny, fighting to suppress a smile. Angus was fighting a similar battle, one that he soon lost, a trademark chuckle soon erupting from deep within.

  “I’m afraid you were rather set up to fail,” said Savage. “The rail gun was thoroughly tested before we left Atlas but the targeting software has yet to be calibrated, which of course is one of the reasons for this test. We fully expected the rounds to be a little off target.”

  “Didn’t expect to miss altogether, though,” said James. “Not to worry – we tracked the trajectory of the shells on their way out and Val will soon make the necessary adjustments.”

  Chuck waited as the AI adjusted the targeting software and within moments the ready to fire message appeared on the screen.

  “Perhaps a single round to begin with,” said Savage.

  Chuck brought his finger down on the fire button and with another ‘whup’ the round streaked across the void to strike the asteroid precisely in the centre of the target area, the projectile and a small piece of the asteroid annihilating each other in a flash of incandescence that was clearly visible on the monitor.

  “Bull’s eye,” said James.

  “Excellent,” said Savage. “Now let’s see if we can stay on target. Give me half a dozen five round bursts and we’ll take it from there.”

  Chuck fired the first volley of projectiles, all of which landed within inches of each other. The flashes from the second volley overlaid those of the first, as did those from the third, fourth and fifth volleys.

  “Right on the button,” said James. “No drift at all. According to the scans, all thirty rounds impacted within a meter of the target.”

  “Good work,” said Savage. “Right then, let’s see exactly what this thing can do. Angus, take another fix of the target’s course and speed. Once we’ve got it locked in, we’ll initiate a one hundred round burst.”

  “Aye aye, sir,” said Angus.

  “Chuck, I’m afraid I need my chair back,” said James apologetically.

  “No pro
blem,” said Chuck as he relinquished the seat. “Have to say I rather enjoyed that.”

  “Not half as much as I’m going to enjoy this.”

  “Target’s speed and heading are logged,” said Angus.

  James programmed the firing sequence and with a nod from Savage he thumbed the button. A stream of shells immediately impacted the centre point of GR-850Z, each round flaring in a burst of plasma until a small fountain of molten iron and nickel began to erupt from the surface. The fountain soon became a continuous stream of liquid metal as the projectiles carved a small crater into the surface of the asteroid, the blast spewing the rock’s innards out into space. By the time the gun fell silent, GR-850Z was sporting a glowing, ten meter wide crater.

  “Fastest gun in the west... Well, the quadrant, anyway,” said James in satisfaction.

  “Have we altered its course any?” wondered Penny.

  “Telemetry is coming in now,” said Angus. “Speed is unchanged as expected. Deflection from original course is estimated at 0.02 degrees. We’ll have more accurate data later on.”

  “0.02? Is that all?” said Chuck.

  “It doesn’t sound like very much but over astronomical distances it can make a huge difference,” said Savage. “Put another way, if we intercepted that asteroid a million kilometres from Atlas – and in astronomical terms, that is very close – 0.02 degrees would be more than enough to push it onto a safe trajectory. Any issues with the gun?” he asked James.

  “None at all, sir. No overheating and the projectile feed performed flawlessly.”

  “Good. I think that concludes a successful first test. Take the rail gun offline, James. We’ll take a break and then repeat the test using the laser array. If the rest of you would like to get a bite to eat, Lieutenant Poulson and I will look after the bridge for a while, if that’s all right with you, Mr. Poulson?”

  “Yes, sir. Of course,” said Chuck, who was pleased just to be asked. Pleased, though not very surprised. During the few days since the Artemis’s departure, Lt. Commander Savage’s military persona had disappeared virtually without trace and in its place an almost fatherly demeanour had appeared. Perhaps that was to be expected for in truth he was almost old enough to be the father to any of them.

  “So what do you think of the Artemis?” asked Savage once he and Chuck were alone.

  “Never seen anything quite like her,” said Chuck. “To be honest, most of my space faring days were spent on bulk carriers – lumbering giants of the space-ways. You’d think that on ships of that size they’d have decent crew quarters but compared to the Artemis they were all pretty austere – even the last one I served on and she was brand new.”

  “Artemis is what you might call a special case. There are pictures of her plastered all over the front of newspapers and magazines everywhere. Perfect for boosting recruitment into the fleet – not that many recruits will ever get to sail in her – and at the same time she’s ideal for showing off to the taxpayers – make them feel they’re getting something worthwhile for their tax dollars.”

  “From what I just saw, I’d say they are,” said Chuck.

  “True,” said Savage. “But only up to a point. I’m confident we can stop just about any asteroid or comet that poses a threat… provided we get there in time, of course. That is always the important part, which is why I’ve been lobbying for more investment into the mapping and cataloguing of celestial bodies that might one day pose a threat, whether it be here in Atlas or in one of the outer lying systems. Artemis is only one part of the equation. Without an adequate warning system we’re just a fancy ship with an excellent chance of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, as usual, the politicians balk at the extra costs and then produce any number of graphs and diagrams that show the probability of a catastrophic event to be low in the extreme. And of course they are right, or will be until that day comes when they are wrong, at which point they’ll claim that there was no way they could have foreseen the calamity about to unfold. And in the meantime they’ll spend the taxpayer’s money on something more visible, like a fancy new metro system or space-port.”

  “It could have been worse… They could have used the revenue to knock a few cents off the price of a bottle of beer. It wouldn’t be the first time, especially with an election coming up. At least we now have the Artemis at our disposal. It’s a big step in the right direction.”

  “Yes. She’s a huge improvement over any of her predecessors. There’s no doubt in my mind about that. I’ve been involved with the Artemis for more than ten years, you know – since she was but a concept. Overseeing the planning stages, watching the designs evolve, and then finally moving to construction… Truly, it’s been the most satisfying period of my career. I confess I never expected to be in command and if it hadn’t been for the advanced AI we have on board, I don’t suppose I would have been. I’m not really a line officer, as I expect you already know.”

  “Some of us think you the better for it,” said Chuck.

  “You may be right,” said Savage with a philosophical nod of the head. “I’m a scientist, first and foremost, or maybe even first and last. If I’d worked in the private sector I expect I’d have retired by now, but the one good thing about the science directorate is that they keep giving me wonderfully interesting things to do. We definitely need that improved early warning network, but that’s a battle to fight another day. For the time being we just need to make sure the Artemis is as ready as she can be. Tell me, how are you getting along with the list of diagnostics? I apologise for the length of the list, by the way.”

  “I’m a little over half way through,” said Chuck.

  “Is there anything in particular that needs my attention?”

  “Couple of things so far. I’m not getting any data from the air handlers in the aft sections that hold the laser array. I know we don’t venture down there very often on account of the radiation, but it would be best to get it fixed just in case of emergencies. I wouldn’t have thought it’s anything serious – probably just a fault with the sender unit.

  “The other thing is Escape Pod 2. Pod 1 seems to be OK, but Pod 2 has failed just about every diagnostic on the list. It won’t power up, the clamps won’t release and the outer hull doors won’t open. The good news is that each pod can hold up to eight people so even in the event of an emergency we’d all be able to evacuate.”

  “Still don’t like it much,” said Savage. “After we’ve finished with GR-850Z we’ll be heading out to GR-417R, a rocky, carbonaceous body. While we’re en route see if you can find time to check it out. I’m sure James will lend a hand – he’s pretty handy with a set of spanners.”

  * * *

  Camp Stafford, Atlas

  “Hi, Butch. Working late again I see. It’s not good for you, you know. Too much work and not enough play makes Jack a dull boy.”

  “Well you’d know all about that, Daniel.”

  “Of course, I do,” said Jacks. “I wrote the book on the subject. But back to business…You have the information I need?”

  “Your Mr. Poulson is presently serving as an engineering officer aboard the science vessel Artemis. It’s a comet buster – newly commissioned. As far as I know they are conducting trials out in the Atlas Kuiper belt. Exactly where, I couldn’t say.”

  “A comet buster, you say? That’s interesting. Don’t worry, Butch. That’s quite enough to be going along with. You take care and enjoy the retirement. See you around.”

  I sincerely hope not, thought Butcher, cutting the connection.

  It took Jacks but a cursory search to find all the information he needed regarding the Artemis. Built at the Criterion shipyards she was a purpose built comet buster, and although a collaborative project between the military and the Titan Corporation there was nothing particularly secret about either her design or her fittings. As a consequence, everything he needed to know – including her layout and performance – was freely available on the Titan Corporation website.

&nb
sp; The basic design was straightforward enough. The command center and habitat zones were located in the prow. An elegant, flattened teardrop shape, it tapered neatly into the section behind, which, according to the data, housed a three hundred meter long rail gun. The technology was dated but a kilogram of solid shot travelling at five kilometers a second would pretty much ruin your day in any time period. As a weapons system it was almost useless in a fast moving space battle but was nonetheless extremely effective against stationary targets – or one that was incapable of maneuver, such as an orbital battery… or an asteroid.

  Behind the rail gun were the reactors, four WX27 fusion units with an advanced thorium fission reactor as back up. The reactors maintained eight of the largest power cells Jacks had ever seen, all of them attached externally to form a ring around the Artemis’s center section. My, they were big – just one of them would likely power the Reaper for years.

  To the rear of the reactors was the Artemis’s piece de resistance – the phased laser deflection array. The largest laser ever taken into space, its quoted energy output explained the size of the power cells and the number of reactors needed to keep them topped up. Jacks also noted that when operating at peak power settings, the array emitted fatal doses of radiation which explained its location close to the stern. All that lay behind were the jump drive and the main sub light engines.

  A handsome looking ship, considering her size, thought Jacks, but he soon turned his attention to the ship’s technical specifications.

  There was an attached link to a set of tables which described all of the Artemis’s functions in minute detail – her speed at various throttle settings, her acceleration, range and maneuverability, her crew capacity, mission duration estimates and most interesting of all, technical data pertaining to the power grid: the output of the reactors, the capacity of the power cells and the power consumption of the engines and laser array at a whole range of settings.

  He set his mind to identifying the most proficient way to disable her, cripple her, or if needs be, to completely to destroy her, though with power cells that large it didn’t take much working out. Half a dozen armor piercing rounds into one of those cells and she’d go up like a roman candle on the fourth of July.