"Dakinium splinters?" Blade said. "What the heck kind of weapon is that? We need to destroy an enemy we're bombing, not make him run in search of a needle and a pair of tweezers."
"The splinters aren't the weapon, Major," Colonel Dennier said with a chuckle. "That's just how the developers refer to the way the extremely thin outer skin is constructed. What they call splinters are extremely narrow strips of Dakinium foil that remain in contact with one another to present a continuous covering until detonation. When we fire the missile, enemy radar can't detect it because its surface is Dakinium. As the weapon reaches its target and detonates, the silicon-like adhesive bonding the foil-like splinters to the missile casing disintegrates, at which time the splinters simply fall away. Since the Dakinium foil isn't one piece, it can't dampen the explosive effect of the weapon at all, as would be the case if the missile housing itself was made from Dakinium. I heard the idea was taken from weapons developed back in the twenty-first century called cluster bombs. The outer casing on such bombs would be ejected over a target, releasing numerous bomblets. The area below would then be carpeted with those small explosive devices. They would explode on contact with the terrain and would effectively carpet an area with death and destruction. The payload of our new missiles doesn't break into small explosive devices, and I only repeat that example to explain how an outer-covering material can be used on missiles for different reasons. The enemy never detects a missile with the Dakinium splinter covering and therefore never has a chance to react to the weapon coming at them. Another benefit is that their radar can't track the trajectory and identify the location of the ship that fired it. And since the coating is made of thin, foil-like splinters that flake off at detonation, no enemy can collect chunks of Dakinium for their scientists to use in reverse engineering efforts."
"Having the tiny spy satellites also sheathed with Dakinium," Sydnee said, "means the fighters will remain completely cloaked from electronic surveillance as they carry out their part of this operation. Of course, visual identification is always a potential problem, but their size and black color negates most of that. Colonel, you already have a copy of the satellite distribution, positioning plans, and documentation. Do you have any questions?"
"Negative, Captain. My only comment is that I'm delighted we're going to begin this stage of the operation."
"As are we all," Blade said. "I don't know why it took SHQ so long to make the decision to deviate from the original schedule, but I'm tired of sitting around on my six. I'm glad we're going to be working towards the completion of this mission even if my team won't have an active part."
"Be careful what you wish for, Major," Sydnee said. "You might get more than you want. We are pretty far out, so I'm sure the message transmission time was a primary factor in hearing from the Denver. I'm as pleased as everyone else that we'll be busy again. SHQ indicated that we should give priority to positioning our satellites around Yolongus as soon as an opportunity presents itself. I'm sure the information they'll potentially collect from those satellite locations will be of far more value than from any other planet in the Empire, but I've hesitated to undertake that part of the operation until the fleet moves away from the planet. With so many warships in orbit, there's a high chance of visual identification, so we'll depart this area in just under one GST hour and be on our way to the first of our other designated planets. Are there any questions?"
Sydnee glanced around the table, but no one gave voice to any issues. Mostly they just shook their heads as she made eye contact.
"Okay. Dismissed."
*
"Navigation, is our course plotted?" Sydnee asked.
"Aye, Captain," Lt.(jg) Olivetti said, adding, "And it has been forwarded to Helm."
"Very good. Helm, is the course laid in?"
"Aye, Captain. We're ready to go as soon as you give the order to build our envelope."
"Very good. Engineering, is everything go?"
"Aye, Captain. All systems are operating at peak efficiency."
"Very good. Tac, is the DeTect board green?"
"Negative, Captain. A ship has just appeared on the DeTect screen."
"Well, it doesn't really matter. We'll be within a double envelope, so if they're in our path we'll pass right through them without them ever being aware of us. Uh, is it a warship?"
"Negative. It appears to be a large shuttle."
"A large shuttle? Out here? Is it heading towards a larger ship?"
"It appears to be headed directly towards us."
"No one should be able to see us."
"And I believe that's still the case because they haven't slowed or altered course. If they could see us, they would have taken one action or the other by now."
"Helm, build the double envelope."
"Aye, Captain. Envelope building."
"Tac, how long before the approaching ship reaches this location?"
"Approximately four minutes eighteen seconds at their current speed."
"We're fine then. They'll pass right through us."
"Aye, Captain."
Two minutes later, Lt.(jg) Caruthers, manning the helm, said, "Our double envelope is built, Captain. Engage?"
"Negative. Hold at this location. I want to see if the approaching shuttle stops or alters course. If someone can see us with an electronic system, I want to know about it."
"Aye, Captain."
"The ship is altering course, Captain," Lt.(jg) Templeton said.
"So they can see us?"
"I believe it was just a slight course correction to better facilitate their approach to Yolongus. They will still pass just inside of a hundred meters of us. That's closer than any ship wants to come to another ship while traveling at its maximum sub-light speed."
"Good. Let's see what they do."
All eyes were glued to the front monitor as the small ship passed the Justice with just ninety-two meters to spare.
"Tac, give us a single frame image of that shuttle."
"Aye, Captain."
A second later, the shuttle image appeared on the large monitor.
"That ship has sure seen better days," Sydnee said.
"I'm amazed it's still flying," Caruthers said. "Are those weapons-fire holes in the hull?"
"It sure looks like it," Templeton said.
"The shuttle is named the Patoosch," Com Chief Lemela said. "They just requested clearance to land on Yolongus and received it without delay and without being required to give any special recognition codes."
"So they must be frequent visitors to the planet," Sydnee said. "Tac, can you determine their destination?"
"They haven't landed yet, but if our single sensor buoy is in a position to see, we should be able to identify their location once they do."
"Great. And how about determining where they came from?"
"I'll see what I can learn from the data. There's no guarantee I'll be able to tell you with any certainty."
"I understand. Just give us your best assessment."
"Aye, Captain."
"Helm, cancel the envelope. We're going to remain here a bit longer."
"Aye, Captain," Caruthers said.
"Everyone can stand down. We won't be departing right away after all."
"Captain," the tac officer said a few minutes later, "their point of origin appears to be somewhere on the planet Nugowlo."
"Nugowlo? Is that in this solar system?"
"Yes. It's the sixth planet from their sun. According to the database, there are a number of mining operations on the planet."
"What do they mine?"
"The database doesn't contain that information."
"Okay. Good work, Tac. Anything on that landing site yet?"
"Not yet, Captain, but from their approach, it appears it will be on a part of the planet we can't see."
"Keep watching just in case they change course."
"Aye, Captain."
"Engineering, what would it take to give one of our shuttles the same rada
r footprint as the Patoosch?"
"Our shuttles are sheathed in Dakinium, Captain. We can't make them appear like that old rust bucket."
"Even if we paint the hull?"
"Uh, I guess it would depend on what we used to paint the hull. Since Dakinium absorbs all electronic signals, the paint would have to have properties that cause the electronic signals to bounce off the surface rather than passing through the paint. I suppose it might work, if we had a space dock handy with all the right equipment— and, most importantly, with the right paint."
"Navigation, how far to the nearest planet where we can safely land to work on painting one of our shuttles. A breathable atmosphere isn't necessary as long as the other factors of temperature, gravity, stability, and a lack of dangerous indigenous life forms are within tolerances."
"I'll have to perform a search, Captain."
"And try to ensure it's not too far away. We might be limited to single envelope travel once we cover the Dakinium on the shuttle."
"Aye, Captain."
* *
"We won't begin deploying the listening satellites as early as I thought," Sydnee said to the senior officers in a special meeting later that day.
"Problems with the ship?" Blade asked.
"No, the ship is fine. As we were about to depart, an old shuttle passed us on its way to Yolongus. It wasn't stopped by the fleet and didn't even have to offer any special recognition code after identifying itself. We don't know where it landed exactly, but we have a rough idea. I'm proposing we wait until that shuttle leaves Yolongus, then have one of our shuttles assume its identity and deliver the package before we leave to begin the satellite drops."
"I think anybody who accepts one of our MAT-14s as being a Yolongi shuttle has to either be blind or crazy," Blade said.
"We'll naturally have to alter its appearance a bit so it shows up on Yolongi radar. A coat of paint ought to solve that problem. Hopefully, if we can give it a similar radar footprint, no one will look too closely. And if we can give it a flight path that maximizes the distance from all fleet ships while not looking suspiciously distant, we might have a chance. The Yolongi military has apparently been sitting out here for quite a while, so things might be getting a bit lax aboard those ships by now."
Sydnee sat back and let the officers think about the idea for a few minutes. Finally, Lt. Colonel Dennier said, "It's damned audacious, but it just might work."
"Does paint adhere to Dakinium?" Lt. MacDonald asked Sydnee.
"I don't know. My engineers haven't found anything in the ship's database regarding efforts to paint DS surfaces, although I heard that colorizing the material was a stated primary goal. I also seem to recall hearing that paint wouldn't adhere to the original Dakinium formulation, but I've also heard rumors that Space Command engineers keep tinkering with the formula in an effort to improve it. I guess we'll just have to try it and see."
"Why would Space Command want to change the color?" Blade asked. "It seems they'd want everyone to immediately know they're dealing with an almost indestructible ship and should not start something Space Command will finish."
"I suppose there are other occasions where they wouldn't want to intimidate folks, such as with diplomatic ships or perhaps Quartermaster ships, but would still want the protection and speed that properly formulated Dakinium offers."
"Where will we make this disguise attempt?" Blade asked.
"We've identified a planet twenty-four light years from Yolongus where the conditions are suitable. We can be there in about six hours with double-envelope speed, but the return trip may be limited to Light-480 in a single envelope because the Dakinium on the altered shuttle will be covered with paint."
"Does paint make that much difference?" Kelly MacDonald asked. "It's still Dakinium beneath the paint."
"We really don't know yet. Again, that data wasn't available in the database. A double envelope is owed to the resonance the temporal generator establishes within the Dakinium, not just on the surface. I hope the paint doesn't prevent it, but there's no reference to anyone having tried it. Perhaps, as the Major just implied, no one thought a deployed DS warship would ever want to cover a black, radar-absorbing surface with paint that might destroy its lethal appearance, not to mention its stealth capability."
"We've already wasted so much time sitting out here, I say we give it a try," Dennier said. "Another month won't make much difference, given the length of the mission ahead, and it would be great to have a key part of our task complete."
"It's too bad this isn't a Scout-Destroyer," Blade said. "They have a shuttle bay large enough to accommodate two shuttles. The work could be done without leaving this part of space and the shuttle would be inside the ship so the painted surface wouldn't affect the Scout-Destroyer's travel speeds."
"Yes, that would be great. But we have to work with what we have."
"You're the ship's captain," Blade said to Sydnee. "The decision is yours."
"To save time, we're already underway to the planet where we believe we'll be able to prepare the shuttle for a surreptitious insertion into the Yolongus atmosphere. I wanted to hear your ideas before I fully committed us to the plan, so if anyone can present a convincing counterargument for why this is not a good idea, I'll reevaluate my decision before we finalize our plans."
"Do we have enough paint onboard for the effort?" Kelly MacDonald asked.
"No, but my selection of the planet was made after a review of the information contained in our ship's database and discussion with our four engineers. They're confident we can produce a sufficient quantity of something having the general properties of paint by mixing the reported natural elements available at our destination with the lubricants and other chemicals we do have on board. The final result may not be pretty, but the Patoosch certainly wouldn't win any awards for appearance."
"Surely the energy trail of our shuttle isn't even close to that of the Yolongi shuttle," Dennier said.
"No, but we've computed a possible approach vector which will minimize use of the shuttle engines as we approach the planet and enter orbit. Once the MAT is ballistic, there's no energy trail from its engines. Like us, the Yolongi use Deuterium thrusters for simple maneuvering, so that works to our advantage."
"What's the worst case scenario?" Blade asked.
"Worst case scenario is that the shuttle has to abort the attempt and return to the Justice. If that happens, we may be required to intercede since shuttles are limited to Sub-light speeds while the Yolongi destroyers have FTL."
"That would give away our presence in Yolongi space," Dennier said.
"Yes, it would. But as Major Blade knows, I won't abandon our people."
"We could postpone delivery of the package as SHQ suggested," Dennier said, "until we're confident the delivery effort is reasonably safe."
"As I mentioned at our last conference, SHQ has stated we should give priority to positioning our satellites around Yolongus," Sydnee said. "We can combine part of that task with delivery of the package by having the shuttle drop several units as it approaches the planet. The satellites are pre-programmed to maintain a precise position relative to geographical coordinates on the planet. They operate off solar energy amassed by their Dakinium sheathing and produce Deuterium from collected hydrogen. The production process is slow, and it could take weeks for the satellites to produce the Deuterium needed to maneuver to their programmed locations using tiny thrusters. But in the meantime, they'd still be collecting data and retransmitting it in encrypted bursts to SCI. SHQ has covered our asses by including the word 'safely' in our orders, but I'm sure they'd prefer to have communications data coming in ASAP. Since our shuttles have double-walled Dakinium plating, they're impervious to all laser fire. Torpedo strikes could possibly damage them, depending on the explosive force of the torpedo used, but even that is unlikely from what we know of the Yolongi weapons. Does anyone think the effort is too dangerous to attempt at this time?"
As Sydnee glanced around t
he table, everyone shook their heads when she made eye contact.
"Very well. We'll continue on to the chosen planet to see if we can give one of our shuttles a radar footprint like that of the Yolongi shuttle Patoosch. Dismissed."
* * *
Six hours later the Justice was approaching the selected planet. The SC database identified it as Vucoppi.
"Helm, all stop," Sydnee said from her command chair. "Tac, any ships on the Detect monitors?"
"Negative, Captain."
"Any natural phenomena that presents a danger?"
"Negative, Captain."
"Any evidence of activity or habitation on the planet?"
"Negative, Captain. It appears that we're the only ones out here. It seems to be as dead as Earth's moon before we started building bases there."
"Navigation, do you have a landing site selected, or do you want us to circle the planet while mapping it?"
"I have a tentative site selected, Captain. The planet is reputed to have no fauna larger than ten centimeters in size but abundant flora. Empire mining syndicates have declared that extraction of mineral resources here would be more costly than the value of the resources they could recover. The SC database contains a number of excellent topographical maps and mineral survey reports, but the latest scan is sixteen years old. There're no inhabited planets or moons in this solar system, so it's unlikely we'll run into anyone out here."
"Very good. Send the location information to Helm. Helm, cancel our envelope and perform a flyover to examine the area before we commit to a landing."
"Aye, Captain. Envelope cancelled. I have the location information. We should arrive over the site at an altitude of ten thousand meters in seven minutes."
"Very good, Helm."
Sydnee sat back and watched the front monitor as the image changed. Until then they had been traveling FTL, so the image had been created from sensor data. The new image showed significantly more detail because it was provided by the ship's exterior cameras.
*
"There it is, Captain," Caruthers said from the helm chair.
"Navigation, please tell me you haven't selected a volcano for our landing site."
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