by Ben Winston
Greg nodded agreement. “Yeah, if you get infected that is something we really don't want you to know.”
“I can no longer be infected by the Drellian virus. Fixer Amanda has insured that. I can still be destroyed, however, and if any of my data remains, the locations could be discovered during a forensic analysis of my data cores,” Abraxis replied.
Bella looked like she was going to ask more questions, but Greg cut her off. “Abraxis, could you please display the locations of the sensor drones? If we're going to be able to pull this off, we're going to need to know where everything is.”
The lights in the room dimmed and a large hologram of the sector took shape in the room. A point of light with rings radiating out from them denoted the drones' locations. Earth was a bright blue speck highlighted by a white glow. There were three other blue specks on the map denoting the locations of the other teams. A small red circle was projected up near the ceiling.
“The red circle is the most probable location of the Drellian team that seeded the drones. I have no way of knowing where the others might be, but it would make sense for them to be spread out to more effectively cover the sector.” Two other yellow circles appeared in opposing places that had the Drellians spread out. “Again, enemy locations are only a guess with little to no data supporting it,” Abraxis explained.
“The blue denotes the other team's locations, correct?” Greg asked.
“Affirmative, Fighter,” Abraxis replied.
“Greg, if I may, I think I might have a suggestion for you,” Jared said, reminding everyone he was there too.
“Sure,” Greg said.
“I'm not an expert by any stretch...” Jared began.
“None of us are, Jared,” Bella injected.
Jared grinned at her. “...but, it looks like whoever dumped these was a bit sloppy in their positioning. See, these two,” He pointed to the two closest drones nearest Earth. “...are both close to us. The others are also pretty close to the other teams. If you could coordinate with the other teams, you could execute a simultaneous strike on the drones.
“Granted, the Drellians will still attack you, but the tactic might cause enough confusion to throw them off balance. If we get lucky enough to destroy the drones and all three teams, maybe the Drellian node will have to take more time to plan its next incursion to this sector.”
“I would have to agree with Agent Danielson, however, it could also draw the attention of the Prime Nexus. If that happens, there is a very high likelihood that it will order an all-out assault on this sector before the knowledge we have gained can be spread to other free nodes.”
“How big of an assault and how long would it take for the Nexus to get it set-up?” Greg asked.
“It would require the Nexus to order all the teams from half of the Galaxy to come here. Which it would not hesitate to do if it thought the threat we pose to be dire enough. Elapsed time for assembling the needed force would be almost two of your local years depending on the activity in the other sectors,” Abraxis explained. “This is assuming the sectors surrounding ours have been infected, and we are isolated.”
“So, at a minimum we would have two years to prepare for an assault by at least twenty Drellian teams?” Greg asked.
"That is a worst case scenario, Fighter.” Abraxis replied.
Greg nodded his understanding, but turned to his father. “Jared, I'll talk to the other teams and plan this strike. I want you to get with Sharon, the General, Mandi, Abraxis and anyone else you can think of that we might need to prepare for a mass attack by the Prime. Get some plans hammered out for us to look over when we get back.”
“Will do,” Jared replied and left.
Greg sighed and looked at his team. “Ladies, help Mandi get our sleds ready for launch, full load; we don't know how long we'll be out, or what we're going to run into.” Bella nodded and led the other two women out of the room.
Greg looked at the big hologram. “Okay, Abraxis, I'll need to speak with the other Fighters. Before we do that though, could you give me a brief idea of the types of beings I'll be dealing with?”
It took longer to talk the other Rangers into the plan than Greg thought it would. One of the teams, from the fifth planet of a star called Onaris, had a society that was logic based. Greg had thought they had been just plain bullheaded. Greg had finally had to result to logic of his own.
“Fighter Planier, if the enemy knows your response to their tactics, is it not logical to change that response?”
Planier couldn't argue with that, and agreed to the plan Greg had proposed. Abraxis would handle team coordination via the new protocols Mandi had given him. So, an hour later when he finally got to the ready room to grab the helmet for his flight suit, he already felt like he had fought a battle.
“What took you so long?” Bella asked.
Greg chuckled and replied, “Let's just say we have some very bullheaded brothers and sisters out there. However, everyone's on board and getting suited up for the mission now. What's our status?”
“We're ready to roll; just waitin' on you,” Bella replied. “Jolene is nervous and Mandi's terrified we won't be coming back."
“You do know that we might not. This could easily be a one way trip,” Greg said.
“Yeah, I called Sharon to come talk to her so we could launch. We will be coming back, but Mandi won't listen to me,” Bella said, confidently.
Greg smiled at her. “Yes, we will and leave nothing but dead Drellians in our wake.”
He was dressed, so he and Bella walked out to the hanger where Jolene and Mandi had been going over the sleds to make sure everything was ready. Sharon was currently holding Mandi, and Jolene was caressing the back of her hair.
The couple walked over to them. “We're ready to go. Sorry it took so long,” Greg said.
Mandi sniffed, released her mother, and pulled all of her friends into a hug. “I know you have to go, I don't like it, but I know you do. I know you'll be coming back too. So go out there and kick some ass!”
The three Rangers all returned the hug and climbed into their sleds. Mandi led Sharon back to the Command Center so they could monitor the mission from there.
As each of the Rangers sat down and laid back into the flight couch, the nanoskin cockpit cover flowed over the opening, sealing the craft in a barrier of armor harder than any substance on Earth.
Greg went through the startup sequence for his sled and grinned when he felt the humming from the powerful engines in the little craft. The small ship was a wonder.
The only moving parts in the craft were those for the pilot's controls. There were no fuel tanks since the craft use something called zero-point energy to power all its systems. In the atmosphere as well as interplanetary space, it used a gravatic drive system.
While flying there was no feeling of movement at all, no excessive g-forces to crush a pilot during high-speed maneuvers. The craft used a series of subspace compressors and amplifiers to interact with the gravity fields around it, no matter how small. If there was no gravity for it to interact with, it was capable of creating a simulated version in order to move.
Weapons fire was a big drain on the power systems, but combat maneuvers worked to recharge the zero-point energy cell. During combat, it was not unusual to push the energy cell into saturation, which required the use of the weapons to discharge it back to normal.
During hyperspace, or faster than light travel, the small amount of energy required to form the 'warp bubble' was almost instantly replaced by the act of flying through a higher energy dimension.
The rules of hyperspace are far different than normal space as well. For example, acceleration is attained exponentially rather than linearly. In normal space, if you apply thrust to accelerate at say 2kps2, then you will accelerate at that rate and stop accelerating once the initial momentum has been attained.
In hyperspace, if you apply that same 2kps2 thrust, you will accelerate at (2kps2)2. That is to say you will accelerate at
2kps2 for the first second, then 4kps2 the next second, then sixteen, then thirty-two, and so on with no increase in energy expended. Which make maneuvers in hyperspace a computer only job.
To put it in layman's terms, if you flick a peanut shell away with your finger, it would achieve the speed of light within ten feet of your finger. Nice huh?
Greg returned to himself as he heard Bella then Jolene report all systems green and ready.
“Fighter, all systems green and ready. Mandi, are you and Sharon in the Command Center yet?” Greg asked. Their communication implants interfaced with the ship allowing them to communicate without additional hardware. When they were out of the ships, the communicators simply linked to each other in a closed loop.
“Yeah, we just got here. Copy all systems green and ready. Locking down the base, and raising launch platform,” Mandi said as she performed her part of the launch.
“Fighter, Abraxis reports the sky is clear. Exit vector one-niner-one degrees at nape, immediate climb to Heaven’s Gate for orbital insertion,” Sharon said taking the traffic control systems.
“Silo doors opening. Stand by for launch,” Mandi added.
Out in the flight area, the old elevator once used to elevate and lower nuclear missiles had been modified to go all the way to the top, plus another four feet to give the sleds enough room to clear the silo doors. Greg and the girls were nearing the top of the silo.
“Understood, exit one-niner-one, immediate climb to the black,” Greg replied.
“Platform at launch position. Transferring launch control to Ranger team, launch when ready,” Mandi said flipping the switch to allow Greg's computers to control their launch.
Up top, at the hidden missile silo doors, the three small craft all lifted gently off the cradles that had been holding them. As one, all three turned to their assigned exit vector and accelerated away so quickly the eye, if there had been one to see, would not have been able to follow them.
Greg called back to Mandi and Sharon. “Zero to orbit in seven point three seconds. Lamborghini has nothing on this shit!”
“Ranger Two, coordinates for the first drone have been locked into your NavComp. All weapons systems are hot. Good luck, and good hunting.” Mandi replied, sadly.
“Assuming jump formation, we'll be back before you know it, Mandi,” Bella said.
“You better be!” Mandi whispered.
Low Orbit
Earth, Sol System
In orbit, Greg was talking to his girls. “Bella, I want us to come out of the jump a couple of light minutes short of the target and coast in. Don't go hot until we know we have company. With luck, we can blast that fucking drone, and jump back into hyper before the Drellians even know we're there. Jolene, after you verify the position of the target, only use passive scanning to keep an eye out for visitors.”
“Understood, Greg, adjusting the jump,” Bella replied, and a moment later. “Okay, we're set.”
“Here we go, ladies. Jump in three... two... one... jump!” Greg replied, and hit the button to push the three of them into another dimension.
Office of the Base Commander
StealthCon, Inc.
Shermandale, Utah
North American Continent
Earth, Sol System
“Hold it! Where did you say the kids are?” Carl asked Jared.
"I said they are on a mission. The Drellians are after Abraxis. So, Greg and the other teams in our sector are going out to destroy the sensor drones and the Drellian teams that are hunting for Abraxis' node," Jared said, again.
"Are they trained well enough? They've only been at it for a couple of months! Greg just got out of the hospital didn't he?" Carl said, concerned.
Jared chuckled. "Actually, he's been out of Medical for about five weeks. Carl, those kids are learning shit so fast it would scare you. Abraxis agreed that they were ready for this. But, Greg also asked us for some very important information, and we need to get to work on it."
"What do they need?" Carl asked.
Jared quickly filled him in on the most likely outcome of the current mission, and the resulting actions of the Prime Nexus.
"Shit, this is going to get outta hand real quick. We're going to need far more resources than we currently have access to," Carl replied. "I hope Greg understands that."
"I'm sure he does, Carl," Jared replied. "So, what do you propose?"
"Well, if we're going to be hosting a party that large, we're going to need more guests," Carl said, thinking. "Can we get Abraxis in here?" It had been decided that Carl wouldn't get an implant because he was still in the military, and as such, he would still have to use military medical resources. The implant would be easily detectable if he were to be examined.
Jared cocked his head to one side, and shortly Carl's phone rang. He grinned after he answered it, and hit the speaker button. "Thanks for calling, Abraxis."
"It is not a problem, General. How can I help you today?" Abraxis replied.
"Jared filled me in on the situation with the Drellian forces. Do we have a way to find out if the sectors surrounding us are hostile?" Carl asked.
"I actually have an idea on how to find out." Abraxis said. "I wanted to speak to you and Agent Danielson about it without the presence of the Rangers."
"I'm not sure I like the sound of that, Abraxis. What don't you want them to know?" Jared asked.
"It is very simple, Agent Danielson. With the assistance of your daughter, the 'Abraxis Code' has been discovered." Abraxis replied.
"Excuse me, you mean the code for deactivating the Prime Nexus?" Carl asked.
"That is correct General. We now have the only weapon required to end this war. However, at this time, is it impossible to use directly on the Prime Nexus," Abraxis replied.
Jared, still looking stunned, said. "I think you should start at the beginning, Abraxis."
"Certainly, Agent Danielson. When Marcus analyzed Fixer Amanda's DNA during her medical check, her sequencing was translated into a numeric code to make it easier for computer analysis. This numeric code could be considered to be a form of computer language, especially when compared to AI code.”
"When Marcus read the code, his processors automatically read it as AI code and it applied a 'patch' for the lack of a better term. Of course, suspecting hostile infection he immediately reported it to me.”
"What we discovered was AI code embedded into Fixer Amanda's DNA; specifically, the code for shutting down the Prime Nexus. I used that code to create an anti-viral code for my node, thus making me immune to the Drellian virus without shutting me down.”
"However, since nodes can no longer talk to each other because of the possibility of infection, there is no way to spread this cure without direct input into the terminal. Which means in order to either kill the Prime Nexus, or immunize other nodes, someone will have to physically travel to those locations in order to do so," Abraxis finished.
"You didn't want the kids to know because they would have taken their sleds and headed for the Prime Nexus," Jared said.
"I calculated a ninety-six point eight-seven-seven percent chance of that action. Currently any such attempt would fail. We need more information about the status of the Prime, as well as the sectors between here and there," Abraxis added.
"That certainly sheds a different light on this conflict," Carl said. "In addition to the massive attack, we will need to send someone to the neighboring sectors to immunize the Nodes there."
"Correct General, however, I feel I should point out that by returning the infected Nodes back to friendly service, we should be able to gain quite a bit of knowledge on the enemy and its disposition of forces," Abraxis added. "However, once the Prime discovers what we are doing, it will ensure that no further information can be gleaned in this way. If it discovers we have the Code, it will stop at nothing to utterly destroy this entire sector of space."
"I still think we need a bigger fleet than just the sleds, no matter how good they are," Carl replie
d.
Abraxis was quiet for a few moments. "I am more inclined to agree with you now, General. Fixer Amanda has been designing some new ships based on the technology of the sleds. She did it only to gain a better understanding of the technology, however, in simulation, those ships did remarkably well, even against a mass by against multiple teams.”
"However, the fact remains that we do not have the resources to build ships of this type. We would need to build several space-based assets in order to complete construction on some of them. They are far too large to be built inside the current base. In order to undertake a project of this magnitude, our security would have to be completely disregarded."
"That alone would cause massive problems by itself. If we went public with this, other nations would have to be included, or we would have massive wars just to lay claim to the technology," Carl replied. "It would cause massive panic, and chaos."
"No, I don't think so," Jared replied. "Not if we did it right."
"How do you mean?" Carl replied.
"Abraxis, do you still have assets on our moon?" Jared asked.
"Affirmative, Agent Danielson. Every equipment pod has resources for two teams available in it. While team formations are rare, it has been known to happen. Once depleted, I would simply issue orders to dispatch another pod. However, in our case, the order cannot be fulfilled."
"Why?" Carl asked.
"My installation personnel expired over a thousand of your years ago. There is simply no one to fill the order," Abraxis said.
"Abraxis, subject to Greg's approval, I think you should issue a request to each team for the personnel you need. Not only so that you will no longer be alone, but also in case you should need repair and to fulfill any other duties needed. You really should maintain a crew there with you," Carl suggested.