by Saxon Andrew
• • •
Amanda looked at Trevor after viewing the recording Chad and Julie brought back, “Don’t you think that was a little bit of overkill.”
“I was just thinking the same thing; that solid shell pretty much vaporized that ship.”
“It might be that we need to consider switching the uses.”
Trevor’s eyes narrowed, “I’m not sure what you mean?”
“Well, you intend to fire small, solid machine gun rounds in normal space and an obvious planet killer in the void. Perhaps switching them might be a better idea. The small rounds won’t be traveling at light speed because they’ll be fired in normal space.” Trevor looked at Amanda and slowly nodded. “You can also go back to the high explosive charges to fire the large solid DM shells if they’re launched in normal space. That would give them the speed they need to chase those ships.”
“I don’t know, Amanda. Those ships and ours fly at incredible speeds; I don’t know if we can fire them at a fast enough speed with normal propellsants.”
Amanda leaned back in her chair and put her hands behind her head, “Let’s think about this, Trevor. Dark Matter doesn’t react to normal matter around it, right?” Trevor nodded. “Why does a ship need a force field to fly at high speeds in normal space?”
Trevor shrugged, “Because, even though there are few atoms in normal space, the few atoms become denser the faster you move through them. They offer high resistance to the ship’s hull and would cause it to overheat at really high speeds.”
“Dark Matter doesn’t have that issue.”
Trevor nodded slowly, “Perhaps we don’t need a cannon at all.”
“What?”
“We could build a really small missile with its own thrusters and the DM shell will turn it toward anything with a magnetic field. It wouldn’t need any steering mechanism or computer system to guide it. The warhead will just turn and move toward the closest magnetic field. The attraction will also increase its speed.”
Amanda nodded, “You could make a really small missile that way.”
“The thrusters would only have to last for fifty miles or less so they wouldn’t have to be large either.” He paused, “How many could the new pod carry?”
“Not that many.”
Trevor nodded, “It could carry thousands of the small rounds and fire them in the void from rotating barrels using compressed Dark Matter. How do we resolve the missile issue?”
“Have the converter build a missile holder that could be attached under the Pod.”
They both looked up and Amanda said, “It won’t require an entirely new ship, Willow.”
“Remember that the current ships can’t be converted again and it will take an extended timeframe to design and build a new ship. I don’t expect the new visitors will give us enough time to do that. However, a hollow base can be made to attach under our new ships that carry the missile launchers. That base could hold a lot of those missiles. As I see it, there won’t be any wings on the missile because it will only be used in the vacuum of space and the thruster assembly can be fused to the solid DM shell so that the warhead is wider than the thrusters pushing it. They should fly out of the launch tubes nicely.”
Trevor sighed, “How will they be targeted on single ships? Hundreds of them may lock on the same ship.”
Amanda raised her left shoulder, “That means we’ll have to spread our fleets out so that each ship is firing at one area of the enemy’s formations. I know this looks like a liability, but this new missile will have the advantage of being a ‘shoot and forget’ weapon. Just fire them in different trajectories and the closest enemy ship should be destroyed before the second missile arrives. It will break that lock and go after another active magnetic field.”
Amanda and Trevor looked at each other and they both shrugged at the same moment. Trevor smiled, “Let’s do this.”
“Will the small rounds take out a ship?”
“Probably, I neglected to compute speed and mass. Even a small round traveling faster than light will hit with a huge impact.”
Amanda nodded, “E=MC squared. Even a small round will knock the bejesus out of anything it hits.”
“We’re going to need some time to make these changes.”
“Let us pray those Orange Ships give it to us.”
Trevor was silent for a moment and then said, “You know, energy beams won’t stop the missiles we’re talking about building.” Amanda blinked several times and then her eyes went wide. Trevor shrugged, “Normal matter and energy move through Dark Matter without affecting it. We don’t give up anything doing this and we can use the reactors for the other systems and not power the disruptors.”
“Should we remove them?”
Trevor shook his head, “You just never know when you might need a good disruptor.” Amanda laughed and hugged him.
• • •
The Welken Royal sat on his throne and knew his planet was being watched. He couldn’t get his mind off it no matter how hard he tried. He had discussed what was happening with the Johan Royal and he was also greatly disturbed by the information.
“Are you sure they are being honest?”
“I sent a scout out and it was able to see that conduit from two light years away in the void. It moved no closer and came back before it could be seen.”
“What are we going to do about this?”
“I find it interesting you say, ‘we’.”
The Johan had stared at the Welken for a long moment and finally said, “You’re different. I know we are forced into an agreement but I sense you take it more seriously than you need to. I consider you an ally. I hope you feel the same.”
“I do. You’ve been straightforward in your dealings with me. I’ve also decided that my forces will no longer be used to attack other fellowship members. I intend to use them strictly for defense and I’ve ordered a change in our social structures. I guess I’m going to pattern my Confederacy along the same lines as your former possession.”
The Johan nodded and said, “So what are we going to do about this?”
“I’m going to take a hundred of my newest battleships and offer them to the Humans.”
“Why?”
“I think they can make them into something that might help them take on this new species.”
“Are you going to tell the other Fellowship Members about your new structure?”
“I am. I will make it clear that any attack on you, the Myot, or my planets will be met with immediate retaliation. Otherwise, I intend to stop any interference in their activities and will not attempt to take possession of their planets.”
“My ships will be available to you.”
“And mine will also be yours for defense as well.”
• • •
The Royal thought about the conversation and had numerous contacts from other members of the Fellowship who agreed to no longer attempt an attack in the future. He looked up and saw Kyel enter his throne room, “Great one, the ships are ready for transport.”
“Take them and tell the Humans if they need more to let me know.”
“Do you think they’ll accept them?”
“I think they’ll know the spirit that they’re being sent in. I believe they can make good use of them. Tell them that we, the Myot, and Johan are available for them if they need us.” Kyel stared at the Royal and he smiled, “Kyel, your brother was right about our society.”
“Great One?”
“Even the best life here is not worth living when all you feed on is fear. Take the ships and say hello to your brother.”
• • •
“Jinks, we have a large skip trace approaching Earth. There are more than a hundred and twenty large ships moving toward us!”
“Launch Alpha Fleet to meet them.”
“Jinks, what’s going on!?”
“I’m not sure Lukas. There is a group of ships headed toward us. There aren’t enough to harm us but I’m not taking any chances.”<
br />
“Let me know what’s going on.”
• • •
Jinks went to his silo and boarded Jester. He launched and met Chad’s Fleet of Attack Pods at the edge of the gravity limit. Four minutes later, a hundred and twenty Welken Battleships entered normal space a thousand miles out from the gravity limit. “Please forgive us coming unannounced but the Great One has sent you a gift.”
Jinks saw the Fleet Royal on his display and he said, “I don’t think sending more than a hundred battleships is an appropriate way to deliver a gift.”
“They are the gift.”
“What?”
“We’re leaving a hundred of our newest battleships with you to use in your planet’s defense. The crews that brought them here will be boarding the extra twenty ships and going back to our territory.”
“We don’t use ships as big as your battleships.”
Kyel smiled, “I suspect you can take them and modify them to do much more than they are capable of doing in their current state. I’m sending you the list of activation codes for each ship and the Great One said that if you can find a use for them, he will send others if you want.”
“Jinks.”
“Yes, Trevor.”
“We can use them!”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
Jinks looked at his display and smiled, “Thank the Great One for his generosity and thank you for bringing them.”
“Tell Lukas I wish him success and to come and visit if he can.”
“I will.”
Jinks watched the crews leave the hundred battleships in shuttles and board the twenty battleships gathered outside the formation. A few moments later, the twenty warships skipped away. Jinks pressed his panel, “Trevor, what are we going to do with those ships? None of our systems are designed for a ship that huge.”
Lukas appeared on the display beside Trevor. He didn’t say anything as Trevor said, “Do you remember discussing defense satellites around Earth?”
“If my memory serves me right, we decided they wouldn’t be practical.”
“Because they couldn’t be moved around the planet to confront ships moving toward the planet away from their location.” Jinks nodded. “Those ships’ reactors are huge and we can modify them to Dark Matter coated containment vessels and probably more than double their speed. Their force fields will also be stronger than the ones on our Attack Pods.”
“How is that possible?”
“Our Pods have four reactors; those ships have twenty. Think about being able to use ten or more reactors just to power the force field. You’ve also seen the plans for the new missiles we’re building. How many missiles can a ship that size carry?”
Jinks slowly shook his head, “Probably more than we can build.”
“We’ve come up with a way to collect enough Dark Matter to build more than we can use.”
“How?”
“I’ll send you the plans for the new converter we’re sending to the Magnetar but trust me, we can build enough missiles for those ships. And also think about how many of the new compressed DM rotary guns can be placed on the hulls of those ships.”
“But where would we use them, Trevor.”
“Think about those hundred battleships sitting outside the opening to the conduit.”
Lukas smiled, “He’s right, Jinks. If we’re going to stop them, that’s where we’re going to have to do it. Those ships can launch a devastating salvo if we can modify them before they invade.”
Jink’s eyes narrowed and he looked at Trevor, “How do you intend to modify them?”
“We’ll clear everything out from inside the hull and load them with DM missiles and cover their hulls with the rotary guns. The reactors will all be switchable and be used for either the force field or the thrusters. I genuinely suspect that they will be faster than an Attack Pod; significantly faster. If we update its gravity compensators, it might be just as maneuverable as well.”
“Then why haven’t we built ships this size before?”
Lukas smiled, “How big of a converter would it take to build one?”
Jinks shook his head and then smiled, “Will we have to slow our production of missile tubs?”
“No, Jinks. Those battleships only need their reactors changed and their force fields converted to using diamonds. That can be done without using our converters. Keep in mind that every reactor on those ships is larger than all four combined on an Attack Pod and there’s twenty of them.”
Jinks nodded, “How many battleships would it take to surround Earth at the gravity limit and cover every approach?”
Trevor thought for a moment and said, “Less than two thousand.”
“Should we ask the Welken for more ships?”
Lukas said, “Perhaps we should ask for twenty thousand.”
“WHAT?!”
“Tell him that if the invasion begins, we’ll send enough ships to defend the Johan, Myot, and Welken Home Worlds.”
“Would we do that?”
“It would be a fair trade, Jinks.”
“Can we convert them that fast?”
“First we’ll convert enough to hold them off at the conduit. Then we’ll start modifying the others for planetary defense.”
“Do you honestly think we’re going to have enough time, Lukas?”
“They’re not invading and it’s been a month since we destroyed their ships. The probe we left also shows they’re still sending just two ships. That tells me they probably think it was an accidental explosion.” Lukas said, “Trevor, how long will it take to make the modifications on those ships?”
“Another three months.”
Lukas looked at Jinks, “Go to the Welken and make the offer.” He then looked at Trevor, “Don’t modify them all at the same time. Get them modified individually so we have some to use quickly.”
Trevor nodded, “I’ll take all of them out to the Magnetar and coat their containment vessels. Then we’ll start making structural changes on five at a time. We should have thirty completed in a month.”
“That would be good.”
Jinks tilted his head, “If it’s alright, I’m taking Sarah with me.”
“That’s fine. She would make a great commander on one of those ships.”
Jinks stared at Lukas and then smiled, “I believe she would, Lukas.”
“Talk to her about it on the way. You need to get moving.”
• • •
The Welken looked at the Johan, “It appears there’s been a development.”
“What is that?”
“The Humans sent their Fleet Commander here to make an offer.”
“That doesn’t sound like them.”
“No, it doesn’t. They offered to send enough ships to defend our Home Worlds if I would send them twenty thousand battleships.”
“Please tell me you agreed!”
“I did. They also agreed to train my crews on how to fight them if the Invaders give them enough time to modify all of them.”
“And if they don’t?”
“I told them to do what they could in the time given them. They did say they would send crews to fight them if enough were ready in the event time ran out.”
“Do you trust them to keep their promise?”
“I probably trust them more than you.”
“Ouch, that hurt but I understand why you say that. How does that affect your inventory? Will you have enough to defend yourself?”
“I have more than a million Battleships between the Myot and my fleets. Twenty thousand won’t be missed. The way the Myot are building ships, they’ll be replaced in less than three months.”
“Do you think the ships they’re modifying will stand up to this new enemy?”
“They seem to think they will. However, I’ve given some thought to the magnitude of the numbers that might be sent against them.”
“And?”
“They seem to think that the galaxy sending those ships is
united and has conquered other galaxies as well.”
“That is not good!”
“No, it isn’t. We’re so far behind that I don’t know if we can catch up in several lifetimes. But at least it’s a start.”
“There is one thing that might work in their favor.”
“What is that?”
“All their ships will be coming through the same place.”
The Royal smiled, “The conduit.” The Johan Royal nodded. “That is where this invasion will kick off.”
“And that is where they are going to use the ships you sent them.”
The Welken nodded and smiled, “I’ve seen that conduit. They won’t be sending large numbers through it. It looked like only one or two at a time could move through it.”
“Unless they have a way of enlarging it.”
“There is that. However, I may have helped them help all of us.”
“Let us fervently hope you’re right.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Sergy, have your ships been completed?”
“The last thousand are being refitted as we speak. Have you noticed any change in your ship’s performance after the modifications were completed?”
“No, the lower maneuvering thrusters had to be rerouted around the tub but they don’t appear to have suffered any delay due to the longer channels.”
“What do you think about the rotary guns?”
“We’re having trouble getting them to hit designated targets. They all head toward the closest magnetic field no matter where you fire them.”
“I’ve noticed the same thing. How are you going to handle that if we find ourselves in the middle of a fleet firefight with enemy ships surrounding you?”
“I’ve been trialing several methods. The good think is that if a round hits a ship, it should have its magnetic field blown apart. However, I’ve been manipulating the shape of the force field to prevent all of the rounds from heading toward the same target.”
Sergy tilted his head, “What do you mean?”
“We’ve designated on reactor to the thrusters and the other three to the force fields. I’ve shaped the force field like a huge V on the sides and bow of my Pod.”