“Yes, Sir,” replied the Officer in a crisp respectful voice. “I have just now received the orders.”
Durack was impressed. He knew how Rutgar was feeling but he showed no evidence of how he felt about having his command taken away.
“I realize that the Vice-Commander has no experience of ground combat but even so I would appreciate it if you would afford him the honor of leading from the front during the attack?”
“Very well, Sir. The men and I will be right behind him all the way,” he said. He did not turn fast enough to disguise the smirk on his face. Durack knew his meaning was understood. Durack was happy he would get rid of a pain in the neck and get promoted all at the same time.
21
HSS Zenon
The HSS Zenon sliced through the universe at C8, twice the maximum speed of the Orion. Colonel Anatoly Barisniki was impressed but his pilots mind was struggling to grasp the kind of calculations needed to safely navigate around billions of dangerously large floating objects at eight times the speed of light. At dinner with the Senior Navigating Technician, Jon Beels, he had expressed his curiosity. The technician was happy to explain.
“It’s simple really, we just point our nose in the direction we want to go, ignite the after burners and hope we don’t hit anything.”
The Navigator studied the Colonel’s face for a moment then burst into laughter. The Colonel was not known for his sense of humor so he just smiled at the Navigator’s joke.
“Sorry Colonel, but I don’t often get the chance. OK, everything in the universe moves in a mostly predictable manner. Our ship’s Information System knows where everything around us is in relation to time; every Galaxy, every planet, and every Moon. There are very large gaps between the Galaxies and between the Systems within those Galaxies. We are a very tiny ship in comparison so if we know where everything is and where it will be our navigation system just puts us in the right place at the right time. However, the faster we go the more difficult it gets as I am sure you appreciate.” The Navigator paused to refill their bowls.
“How do you deal with unknown objects or large meteorites shoved out of their normal path by collisions?”
“Our pulse beam search system is much faster than we are and will find and alert us to any anomaly way ahead of us and provide recommendations. The Captain will decide on what kind of evasive action to take.”
Anatoly looked askew at the Navigator.
“I know what you are thinking. With all that our ship’s system can do why do we need a Navigator? Hevinian Service regulations require that a Human Navigator like myself monitor all decisions made by the system. If I do not concur, I can advise the Captain to override. Doesn’t happen often, thank goodness.”
Jon suddenly turned his head to one side. “The Captain requires us immediately.”
They exited the quarters to find a crewmember waiting in an antigrav vehicle. They boarded and were whisked away. Two minutes later, after picking up Commander Balechek they were entering the Captain’s quarters.
“Come in, gentlemen. We have made better time than planned. Our sensors have picked up the Kaedian fleet on the extreme edge of our search parameters. They are moving in two groups two hours apart. If they remain on their current course, we should intersect them 800 million miles from Altis-5 in 8 days.”
Beels spoke up, “The Kaedians usually attack in line abreast formation allowing them to concentrate their combined firepower. With the support vessels trailing the combat ships, an opportunity presents itself. The Zenon could pass shrouded between the two groups. As she passes behind the Kaedian combat vessels we debark the shrouded Barques and they form up behind the attacking Kaedian ships. The Zenon would then make a wide loop around and come in behind the supply ships and transports. When our Barques and Jaguars attack, we will unleash missiles at the transports.
“The only problem I see would be communicating with the Orion and the EDB to apprise them of the plan without the Kaedians intercepting the message,” said Anatoly to Captain Acheron. The Captain lowered his head slightly and began accessing the ship’s Information System. Anatoly recognized the movement and waited patiently. Seconds later the Captain raised his head.
“The Orion was carrying the new Karnat search and communications system for the colonists; if they have it installed we can send a pulse of information directly to it. Unless the Kaedians are in direct line they will not even be aware of it.”
Commander Balechek spoke up, “There is one other thing we can do; we could send the message in Basque. We have personnel with both units who speak the language.”
“Who would that be Commander?” asked Barisniki.
“Myself, as my wife is from that region. And one of the 1st Brigade’s space walkers, a Major Wallace. I served with him before and we used to practice together whenever we could. I doubt that language is known to the Kaedians.”
“Excellent idea,” said the Captain.
22
Altis-5’s Moons
James Wright put the last of the tools in the case and stepped back for one last look at the equipment. The lunar surface of Porthos was dry and lifeless. Much like the Moon of Earth, he thought. As he stared across the surface Altis-5 began to rise up.
“OK, I think we are done here,” James turned as Joshua Barnes came over. “The equipment is in place and all hooked up. All we need is for Orion to run the tests and we are out of here.”
James could see his smiling face through the transparent visor. Joshua turned and walked over to the Barque. They had done well. A week of training onboard the Orion under the watchful eye of Sande, then a week of orientation on dissecting the equipment, followed by three days of installation with help from a couple of space walkers on Athos followed by two days on Porthos. The team moved away from the equipment and turned on the particle beam screen.
“Orion, this is James Wright. We are ready to begin testing.”
Bill Clark was waiting on Athos in case something needed adjusting. A few minutes later Orion answered back.
“The number seven Photovoltaic panel needs adjusting. Please rotate the panel to 247 degrees and increase the tilt 4 degrees.”
“We got it, Professor,” said Major Wallace.
He and Captain Jerry Weeks shuffled over to the array, turned off the particle beam screen and began making the adjustments. Suddenly, James felt a sharp sting in his back, then another.
“Get under cover quickly,” came a voice in his helmet, “Porthos is passing through a meteor shower.”
“Professor, get over here,” yelled Wallace.
James dashed toward him and as soon as he was close enough Wallace turned the particle beam screen back on. The screen protected them from the millions of tiny meteorites raining down on the planet. It was a strange sight, seeing tiny bits of rock bouncing silently off the invisible screen. Like being under a transparent umbrella in a hailstorm. Captain Weeks looked over at the Professor who was attempting to rub his own back.
“You OK, Prof?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Little buggers hurt like hell, though. Would you check my back to make sure none penetrated my suit?”
Weeks examined his back carefully. He knew that the suits could stand up to that kind of treatment and more but James needed reassuring so he went through the motions.
“You are fine, Prof. You may end up with a few welts to show off but nothing penetrated”
“That Sande was correct when she said the suits would protect us,” said James. “Wonderful stuff they are made of, that’s for sure. Orion, this is James Wright, please make sure the teams on Athos are warned.”
“They are listening Professor and are in shelter already,” replied the Orion’s operator.
We don’t have anyone on Aramis and even if we did it has an atmosphere to protect it, thought James. He smiled, it had been his idea to name Altis 5’s moons after the three musketeers. We really need to give Altis5 a proper name now, he thought, looking through the meteor shower at t
he steadily rising planet. With the screen protecting them from the tiny meteorites still raining down the spacewalkers continued to make the adjustments to the array.
“OK Prof, we are all set. Orion, please recalibrate and retest,” said Captain Weeks.
Orion came back almost immediately, “Retest complete. The system is functioning correctly. Well done! We expect the meteor shower to last for three more minutes.”
“Thank you, Orion. We’ll wait for the rain to stop then head back to the Barque,” said Wallace.
The three of them sat on a packing case and watched Altis-5 ascend. James was still in awe of being in space.
“Where are you from, Professor?” asked Major Wallace.
“Western Maine, and you Major?”
“Spain, actually I was born in San Sebastian so I am Basque. My family emigrated when I was three.”
“Your accent is southern, perhaps South Carolina?” guessed James.
“Good guess, Professor. My family settled in Beaufort.”
“Actually, it was an educated guess. I have a passion for languages and accents.”
The Major looked at him and said, “Naiz hizkuntza ikasle bat ere.”
James looked at him in astonishment then said, “You will not catch me that easily, that was Basque and what you said was, I am a student of languages as well. I didn’t think anyone spoke that language outside of Basque Country.”
“Actually, I said I am a student of languages also. My father was fiercely proud to be Basque and refused to speak English in the house. I also speak Spanish, French, Italian and German with a Swiss accent.”
“I am impressed,” said James. “What about you, Captain Weeks?”
“I speak English with an American accent,” said Weeks rather sheepishly as he stood up. Thankfully the meteor shower had ceased and they could go back to the Barque.
At the weekly strategic meeting, Sergeant Deming was handing out the reports. He had four left over. Kris, Andrew, Sara, and Marcie were not in attendance. He dismissed a momentary flicker of annoyance that he had not been informed and sat at the back of the room to take notes.
Colonel Markham began the meeting by updating everyone on the status of the defenses. They were in good shape. The search equipment was in place and functioning well. With it they had increased their surveillance one hundred-fold. Two thirds of the Moonbased missiles were installed with an expected completion by the next day.
The Barques assigned to the village had worked non-stop bringing down equipment. They had been concerned that the village had no protection and had decided to build a steep berm around the perimeter. The Hevinian earth movers had completed the job in ten days and were now layering the outside with a concrete like material. On the top of the berm they had installed five-foot vertical sheets of 3-inch compound titanium with crenellations every ten feet.
From the outside, it looked like a medieval castle. The turrets of the “tanks” were just high enough to allow the turret to rotate over the top of the metal. It would effectively stop particle beam blasts from hand-held weapons and allow defenders to fire back from a defensive position. Andrew had come up with the tactic of elevating the tanks to the top of the berms; although it exposed the turrets to incoming fire it allowed overlapping fire across the open ground in front of the berms. Additional sheets of titanium were imbedded around the perimeter of the clinic to afford some protection to the staff and patients. The Colonel was just wrapping up his review of the Brigade readiness when Commodore Querrion entered.
“Forgive the intrusion but I have just received a communication from the Zenon. It is written in a language I do not have any information on.” He handed them to Tom who looked at it then passed in on to Frulé.
“I don’t know this language either” said Tom. His knowledge of foreign languages was acquired while working at the U.N. He could recognize many languages but understood little of them. “The only piece I understand is this name, Major Wallace.” He turned to Sgt. Deming who was already out the door to get him. Minutes later the Sergeant returned with the Major and Tom handed him the message. “Major this
communication has your name in it. Care to explain?”
The Major scanned the message and smiled. “John Balechek must have had a hand in this. He must be with EDB2. Clever, very clever.” He looked up and realized everyone in the room was waiting.
“Well?” said Tom.
“This message is written in Basque, obviously as a code to prevent the Kaedians from understanding it if they managed to intercept it.”
“Would you care to share its contents with the rest of us?” asked Frulé sarcastically.
“Yes Sir, sorry Sir,” said the Major who read it aloud,
“To - Colonel Thomas Markham, Commanding Officer, Earth Defense Brigade one.
From - Colonel Anatoly Barisniki Commanding Officer, Earth Defense Brigade 2, I am ordered to join your command upon arrival. I bring a full complement of ten Barques with ten Jaguars and 100 Sharks with crews.”
“This is wonderful news,” said Tom. Looking at the Commodore, he said, “If they get here in time.”
“The rest of the message,” said the Major, “says they have detected the Kaedian fleet and calculate they will converge with them 800 million miles from here in 8 days. He has a plan that he thinks will work.”
The Major spent the next few minutes reading the message that described their observations and the plan to split the Kaedian fleet.
“This fits well with our plans,” said Frulé.
James was conferring with his team. Tom looked over at the group. “When I see you guys in a huddle like that you usually have something brewing. What’s on your minds?”
“Well,” said James. “Does the message give a precise convergence point?”
Major Wallace translated the alphabetized coordinates and Joshua entered the data into his handheld device. A few seconds later the device responded. He looked at James and smiled. “You were right Professor, look.” Joshua swiped his device and the screen in Tom’s office switched to a star map overlaid with the Hevinian standardized grid system. Joshua manipulated his device and the view zoomed in. “This is the reference point. The Karnat system is quite impressive. We are looking at a point in space 800 million miles away and the detail is incredible.”
“I assume there is a point to this,” said Frulé.
“Yes indeed,” said James. He stood, walked over to the screen, and pointed his stylus. “There, do you see that Colonel? It is a massive asteroid cluster 142 million miles wide and 65 million miles deep and 12 million miles thick directly in the path of the oncoming Kaedian fleet. The convergence point is actually at the far edge of this cluster. In there are millions of asteroids averaging between one hundred and three hundred miles wide; most are spaced about five hundred to a thousand miles apart but at the edge of the cluster closer to us the asteroids are smaller and closer together, only about ten to twenty miles apart.”
Both Tom and Frulé saw the possibilities immediately.
“The Kaedian fleet must change their formation as they pass through,” said Tom.
“Precisely,” said James.
Tom looked at the Commodore. “Commodore, in your opinion will the Kaedians pass through the cluster or go around it?”
The Commodore lowered his head slightly as was the custom when accessing data mentally, then said, “Given the distances between the asteroids and the overall stability of the cluster, I think it would be relatively easy to navigate through it. I would not waste time by going around. The only issue would be at the edge of the field where the meteorites are closer together. They tend to be unpredictable when so close. I would stop for a detailed analysis before proceeding.”
An idea suddenly hit Andrew and he spoke up. “Is it possible to assess precisely where the Kaedian Commander will stop at the inner edge of the meteorite field to make his assessment?”
“Yes,” said the Commodore. “Well, I can tell you where I wou
ld stop anyway. Why?”
“It would provide an opportunity to use a tactic developed during the Silerinian conflict where we attached adhesive charges to the enemy ships. In this case, we could load them onto Sharks and hide the Sharks within the field. When the fleet halts, the Sharks dart out, attach the explosives, arm them, and depart unseen. There are many risks but as you may guess, the results could be spectacular. I have a working
knowledge of how to build the adhesive charges. They are easy to make with basic machine tools.”
“Sounds interesting why don’t you and the Sergeant Major get together and see what you can come up with,” said Tom. “Any other comments?”
“Yes,” said the Commodore. I intend to move the Orion into a position in front of Altis-5. If they know we are the Orion they will, as you Earthers say, be chomping at the bit to get at us. Such a juicy target will be irresistible to them.”
“Wouldn’t it make more sense to move the Orion to a place of safety?” asked Joshua.
“The Orion will remain on station,” bristled Commodore Querrion, glaring at Joshua.
“My apologies, Commodore,” said Joshua. “I assumed that as a non-combat vessel you would prefer to get her out of the area, but I was obviously incorrect. I did not mean any insult.”
Altis-5: Book #2 of the Sleeper Series Page 20