by JD Clarke
“Move them over to the western side. Build up the outer walls or clear a space to hide them deeper inside the factory if you need to, but we need them close to the action.”
“The eastern side is also a good location for an attack. It provides good cover and is not defended by as many guns as the strongest side, the southern side. If I were a Unity leader, I would consider attacking the eastern perimeter. Putting the vehicles on the western side places them too far away from the eastern side.”
“Legion, I know the Unity and how they think. Put the vehicles on the western side. Do it quickly, Legion. No more discussion.” I stormed off to check on Klanton. What did Legion know about the Unity? Why couldn’t he just follow orders?
I found the sergeant in what appeared to be a large holding area for finished warships. The warships were stocked here, waiting for delivery to their destination. A dozen androids were moving about the ships, loading pulse cannon ammunition. A swarm of maintenance robots busied about, loading the warships with missiles. It was a hive of activity, and the sergeant was in the middle of it all, shouting instructions to an android across the way.
“Impressive, Sarge! Looks like we get a new fleet.”
“Hi, Jason. They won’t have jump gate capability until we get them back to the Defiant to modify their engines, but they’ll do for defense of the local system. Besides, if we need to, we can open jump gates with our existing ships.”
“Good, have you started repairs on any of our ships yet?”
“No, not yet. Just now got these damned robots coordinated. I have to give all the orders to the android Lacey over there. She, in turn, relays my instructions to these half-wits. I’ll get the repairs started as soon as I check out the other landing pad and hangar on the east side.”
“Get the repairs started on our lead warships right away. We may have to make a quick trip out of here if the Unity show up before we’re ready, and I don’t want to be riding in a warship with only half its shields in place.” I waited while the sergeant barked some more orders to his android assistant.
“I’ll get right on it, Jason, as soon as I’m through here.”
“Get on it now, Sarge. I want it done yesterday.”
“Yes, sir,” the Sarge snapped back.
The Sarge was a little curt in his response, but I let it go. I had to get Sybil on a new project. Things were just moving too slowly. And what was keeping Mako? I hadn’t heard anything from him. Did he find enough power to operate his shield or not? I headed back through the factory, looking for Sybil along the way. Thankfully, there was enough room to maneuver the runabout above the rail system. That is, as long as there was not a robot train running along the rails. I had to occasionally dodge down a side rail. But I did locate Sybil without crashing the runabout. I then went over new orders for production, and she began programming the factory to produce androids—millions of androids.
Shields Up
The next three weeks were hectic, and I had to push everyone to get the results I wanted. Tempers flared, but they got the job done. Mako set up the time shield, and it was operational. Fortunately, there was more than enough power in the base to run it and the factory. Legion had his troops stationed and had fabricated bunkers outside the factory as defensive strongpoints. Sergeant Klanton had completed repairs to the Tempest and the Cyclone, but the other warships were still being worked on. All of the Unity members had accepted our offer to provide them with android bodies in exchange for their sworn allegiance. Sybil was instrumental in their debate among themselves as to their possible alternatives and what was best for them. I set up a headquarters along the western perimeter; constructed hastily, it was semicomfortable with sleeping quarters for the humans and a command center with computer displays and enough space for a dozen people or androids. It also housed our mess hall and stored food supplies. The mess hall, as always, provided a natural meeting place for us to discuss progress and review our plans.
“Any sign of Unity ships, Sasha?” I asked her. She rotated out of her defensive station above the planet with Sergeant Klanton relieving her for eight hours out of every thirty-two. There was enough space aboard the warship to sleep and eat, but she had requested the breaks, and Klanton had convinced me it would be better if she could get planet side for reports and interaction with the rest of us.
“Not a peep, not so much as a scout ship or a probe.” She filled her plate with more fruit. The fresh fruit was running out. We would soon only have dried and frozen food from the cargo ships we had brought along with us. “And nothing has left the planet since the Unity’s cargo ships of raw materials have stopped coming and going.” Those had stopped two days after we had captured the planet. The Unity obviously did not want to continue sending supplies of valuable raw materials to us. There were hundreds of mining operations on the planet that sent raw materials to the factory by a mag-rail system, but many rare materials were brought in from other planets. It was a resource-rich planet, and the factory had large stores of all the materials needed to keep production going for months.
“We have more than adequate supplies for the production of android bodies, although the supply of dermatological coverings is lagging behind production of android chassis production,” Sybil reported. “I have ordered nonessential areas to be left bare until production can be increased.”
“Skin for the androids is proving to be a problem,” Mako confirmed. “We don’t have the genetic and organic facilities here that we had aboard the Defiant. We are fabricating new facilities for skin generation, but it will require another few weeks for them to catch up.”
“How are the Unity members responding to their new bodies? Are they concerned with having bodies with only partial skin coverage?”
“No, Jason. They are so enticed by the freedom of mobility and the new sensory input that they are not concerned with the visual aesthetics. It may become a factor as their programming becomes more integrated with the additions we have made concerning mate selection and emotional responses, particularly the male androids.”
“What about the male androids, have you detected any problems with them, Sybil?”
“No, Jason, but I would expect conflicts to occur in the near future. Their programming almost certainly guarantees it.”
“I do not trust them, Jason. I think we should keep Warriors guarding them,” Legion growled.
“We don’t have the resources, Legion. We need all our Warriors on the perimeter ready for action.”
“I agree with Legion, Jason. I think keeping the male androids here is a mistake. We programmed them to be jealous, territorial, and enjoy a sense of domination. They’re a time bomb.”
“Mako, that’s exactly what I want. A time bomb we can deliver to the Unity. We’ll begin shipping them out to other Unity outposts and planets today if it makes you feel better.”
“It would. They make me nervous, and Sergeant Klanton nearly came to blows with one that wandered into the repair area and tried to lure Lacey away from her duties.”
I had to laugh at that. “I’m surprised the sergeant didn’t blow his head off.”
“He showed remarkable constraint, for the sergeant,” Legion noted, and I got the feeling Legion would not have been so tolerant.
“Sybil, begin loading the male androids onto a cargo vessel and as many of the inactive android bodies as possible. Ship them to the nearest Unity base. Tell the male androids they are to present the android bodies to the Unity as a peace offering from me personally. Instruct them to relay the following offer: We will cease conflict with the Unity if they relinquish control of this planet to us and cease any and all military operations against any organic life. In return, we will provide Unity members with android bodies. Their members can inject their consciousness into the android bodies and use them in any way they see fit.”
“Commander, I do not expect the Unity to agree to such terms.”
“Neither do I, Sybil, but it will give them something to consider when w
e successfully defend this planet. And they will assume we intend to conquer other planets as well. If they know that we are willing to negotiate, it may buy us more time.”
“Assuming we can defend this planet,” Legion snorted. “Without Dr. Tanakai’s shield, we will not be able to. It had better work.”
“It’ll work. I have already tested it. Sasha fired missiles and cannons in a test. It held up well. I had to cover a larger area than I had planned on, but the power output of this facility is enormous. The shield is up and operational.” Mako was proud of his accomplishment.
“Jason, we’ve got bogies on our screens up here,” Sgt Klanton interrupted. “Looks like fifty Unity warships approaching. They will be within weapons range shortly.”
“Thanks, Sarge, get your ships back down here and under cover of the shield ASAP,” I ordered. “Well, Mako, looks like we’ll see just how effective that time shield is.”
Mako, Sybil, Sasha, and I went to the command center. Sergeant Klanton would join Legion with the ground troops. I sent for Noomi and Claire to join us in the command center. I wanted them to help monitor the Unity members’ reactions to the coming battle. If there were any indications of sabotage or rebellion among the base’s Unity members, I would send the fast assault vehicles in with orders to destroy any and all computer processors that were in the trouble area. The threat alone would be enough to keep order, I hoped.
“Shields active, and all systems are 100 percent,” Mako reported. He would monitor the shields. Sybil would be responsible for monitoring the base’s defensive weapons, missiles, cannons, and lasers; and she would actively target enemy threats as needed.
The sky above the station went dark. The time shields stopped everything, even light. They were totally black. Mako initiated the pulse sequence, a random sequence of extremely short lapses in the shield. This allowed our sensors in the base to gather information on what was happening on the other side of the shield. Unfortunately, it would also allow some energy from lasers and particle cannons to penetrate the shield. These would be dealt with by launching missiles or firing projectiles to intercept the beams of energy before they struck the base. The trick, of course, was to anticipate the laser and cannon fire before they occurred and launch the defenses in time. Once the enemy warships had fired, it would be too late to get off a missile or even a high-velocity projectile. Only Sybil had the computing power to perform that function, and we had brought along her holographic computer processor so she would have her full abilities.
“Sixty-four enemy warships, courses plotted and indicated on front display,” Sasha reported. “Looks like Sergeant Klanton’s sensors only picked up part of the enemy formation.”
“Some of the enemy ships may have been hiding behind the lead ships. They’re learning some of my tricks,” I noted.
“They are well within sensor range now. They will be able to discern that there are no defensive warships around the planet,” Sybil said.
“That will have them scratching their little transistor heads,” Sergeant Klanton commented from his station on the perimeter. He and Legion would be monitoring our conversations in order to stay informed of the action.
“Any problems, Noomi?” I asked her, referring to the Unity members in the base.
“No problems. There is much discussion in probable actions by the Unity Fleet and by us. They are only partially aware of the time shield’s capabilities.”
“There has been an attempt at communication with the Unity Fleet by a group in the logistics section of the factory. It was unsuccessful as I have limited access to communications systems,” Claire reported.
“Turn off their cooling unit’s supply and leave it off as a warning to the others.” I had to make an example of what would happen if the rules I had imposed were broken. The computer units would overheat and burn out, leading to the death of the individuals.
“Yes, sir. Turning off all cooling to the holographic computer units in that section.” Claire obeyed without question.
“That’s a little harsh, Jason,” Mako objected.
“I gave them rules and warnings. Now they know I mean business.” I let the order stand.
The enemy fleet circled the planet at a distance. No doubt they were puzzled by the black umbrella that covered their former base. We waited in the command center, waited for the Unity’s next move. Our shield was a defensive measure only. It would stop anything that came into contact with it. Stop it, frozen in time. It would stop incoming enemy fire, but it also prevented us from firing outward as well. We did not have enough warships and pilots to make an assault on a large Unity Fleet, so we waited, safe behind our shields.
“The Unity Fleet is forming up for an assault.” Sasha monitored the action above the planet. I could monitor it as well, but allowing her to handle it freed me to act quickly in case of the unexpected. Since the shield only allowed brief glimpses of what was happening above the planet, it was kind of like a strobe effect. Things seemed to happen in a jerky unreal motion.
“I am plotting possible approaches and firing positions of enemy ships on the display based on their current course and velocity,” Sybil reported.
“Shields at 100 percent. They’re ready, Jason,” Mako said.
“Here they come!” Sasha was getting excited, and I had to admit to holding my breath, waiting to see if the time shield would withstand a full barrage from the Unity Fleet.
The enemy formed up in two waves of thirty-two warships each. They came in with particle cannons and lasers blazing. I expected the worst. Sybil responded by sending a counterfire of projectiles from the base’s rail guns. Our projectiles struck the shield first, stopped, and then began exploding as energy from the alien assault weapons leaked through during the momentary lapses in shield integrity. The shield was set up to flash off and on in only certain areas at certain times—never the entire shield at once. Some of the projectiles just sat, suspended in air, touching the shield until that area of shielding blinked off, and the enemy weapons suspended on the opposite side of the shield made contact with them; others exploded in a brilliant flash of light as they intercepted the enemy fire, the thunder from the explosions reaching us long after the destruction.
“Shield still performing at 100 percent,” Mako announced.
“They are targeting our heaviest weapons first, using their knowledge of the base. It makes it simple to compute the intercept for their weapons discharge. They will realize this shortly and begin a random fire upon the base. It will be more difficult to anticipate trajectories.” Sybil was calm in her assessment. I was confident in her ability. After all, she had plenty of time. Only a small portion of the energy from the enemy’s beam weapons had a chance to penetrate the shield during its pulses. The majority of the energy was trapped in the shield’s time matrix. This gave Sybil time to launch defensive weapons to intercept the threat.
The intensity of the Unity’s fire increased as they drew closer and then stopped as the first wave completed its run. The second wave fulfilled Sybil’s prediction by firing randomly against the shield. The airborne explosions were no longer confined to areas above our weapon towers and turrets. It now spread across the sky. Brilliant flashes of light with balls of vaporized metal forming little puffs of cotton above us and then the constant rumble as the sound reached us. The shield held, and the second wave broke off its attack.
“They are changing tactics,” Sybil reported, and indeed, they were. Both groups now joined together and approached the shield. We watched as the lights on the display tracking each enemy ship moved around into a single formation. They took up equidistant positions from one another; there was a long silence, and then the barrage began.
Our own rail guns were working nonstop, sending projectiles up to impact the shield on the inside surface, while packets of energy from the enemy’s weapons were frozen in time on the opposite side. Eventually, a momentary lapse in the shield occurred in that small area, and the two came together in a flash. In o
ther areas, the two came together almost immediately as the Unity got lucky and hit a small area of the shield that was open, but Sybil had always anticipated the strike and covered the opening with projectiles of hardened titanium alloy. The rumble of explosions became a constant roar as the Unity increased their firing rate, and Sybil matched them. The time delay was on Sybil’s side.
Then a single burst of laser fire penetrated without interception and impacted on a section of the factory not far from our command center. The sound of hot metal vaporizing and sending shards whining through the air caught our ears. A minute later, another blast penetrated and struck the southern end of the factory, then another.
“Enemy fire is successfully penetrating the shield at approximately one instance per 135 seconds.” Sybil’s report was just a confirmation of my assessment.
“Noomi, assign maintenance robots to repair the damaged structures. Give me an estimate on repair time,” I ordered. “Mako, can the Unity Fleet determine the extent of damage they are doing?”