by J. K. Mabrey
Dani waved her hand to cut Zavik off. “Not if we could regroup the fleets at one central location and launch an assault from that planet. Imagine if we could send ships through all of the portals at one planet and they would travel directly to the Chokmnd home world. There’d be no way they would expect that, and their defenses would be unprepared for such a quick invasion.”
“Are you saying you want to reroute all of a system's portals to connect to only Chokmna?” Brax asked. “That’s not possible.”
“It is possible,” Dani said as she moved to an open terminal and began typing. “You have to rewrite the code for every portal you’re going to warp through. The code is different for each one since it is in a different location in space-time. Then the portal has to be shut down and rebooted. Once it is rebooted the connected portal will automatically reboot, linking the two together. It should be undetectable from the other side.”
“Why does this sound too easy,” Zavik said.
“Because it’s all theoretical,” Dani said honestly. They suddenly began grumbling and arguing for a real solution. She tried to calm them down. "Listen to me. It’s a theory that, to my knowledge, has never been tested. Typically, if you are going to reroute a portal, you need to shut them both down, link their codes together, and have a hard reboot so they can become synchronized. What I’m proposing skips the linking part altogether. We alter the portals we’re going to travel through to send us to a different location, but the portals on the other side won’t be calibrated to send us back to our base location, they’d still be linked to their original system.”
“That sounds dangerous,” Brax said.
Dani was quiet for a moment and then said, “There is this theory that you could warp to the new location, just to immediately warp to the other location in its link. And there’s this theory that being linked to two places in space-time could destroy anything passing through the portal.”
“And let me guess,” Zavik said, “we won’t be able to test any of this before initiating the invasion.”
“No. Typically when you reboot a portal it goes through weeks of testing to make sure it's safe. If we did that it would tip them off to an attack.”
“Obviously, simple’s just not our style,” Brax said. "What location could we set up from?"
"Iriquim," Alberan said. "We have almost as many portals as the Chokmnd do, and we do not wish for this conflict to continue."
"I'll contact Greda and Conchu and get their thoughts on the matter," Ambassador Hains said. "Dani, how long will it take to reroute the portals?"
"I'd estimate it would take at least a day to reroute twenty portals if we forgo all tests."
"Then a day is what we have," she said. "We need to condense the fleet at Earth first, so we can attack at full strength.” Seeing the face on Brax she added, "Don't worry, they’ll just be there for intimidation, hopefully. We need to make the Supreme Emperor listen to our message. Once the portals are rerouted, we'll begin launching through to Chokmna, surround the planet with the fleet and negotiate an end to hostilities."
"We'll need something to distract the Chokmnd fleet while we do this," Brax said.
"He is correct," Alberan said. "Perhaps we can convince the Farlins to launch an assault on Dracona. It is a planet controlled by the Chokmnd that is a great source of raw materials for their fleet. If they think we are trying to cut them off from their long-term supply, they may believe we are settling on a long, drawn out conflict. It will blind them to the possibility that we could end this quickly."
"That's a good plan," Zavik said. "Alberan and Brax, will you go to the Farlins to try and enlist their help?"
Alberan glanced at Brax, and nudging him said, "We will be glad to."
"Of course," Brax snarled.
"Dani’s got the portal reroutes, and I'll help Mike with coordinating the fleet," Zavik said.
“Lieutenant Colonel Snyder will need to consult with Admiral Hansen about our plans,” Ambasasador Hains said. “Remind him that you have the full support of myself on the matter.”
"Great,” he said sarcastically looking at Zavik, “cause I really wanted my career to end now.”
“Good luck with that,” Zavik said to Mike.
Portal
Ambassador Hains radioed for Greda once the space around Earth was fully secured. She thanked her for the assistance in repelling the Chokmnd fleet and informed her of the plan they had concocted. Greda was intrigued by the plan but needed to confer with Conchu in order to give the okay. Conchu was disturbed by what Varin had revealed about Paquiko’s death, but the evidence Greda presented eased his fears. He immediately authorized the Iriquios fleet to go to Earth to help defend the system. Now he would need to allow Earth to tamper with the Iriquios portals. This request would be more difficult to get approval from his government.
The portals are vital to the systems' economies. They’re needed for trade and to procure resources not readily available on the planet. Without the portals, Earth would revert back to an unsustainable ecosystem. Thousands would starve within weeks. Other systems were sustainable without the portals, but their economies would suffer and the lifestyle they had grown accustomed to would suffer. Conchu had to convince their government to allow a human to tamper with, and reroute a majority of their portals. They would be out of commission for many weeks, putting current operations and businesses at risk. He presented the decision as a means to end the uprising quickly and prevent the conflict from devolving into a drawn out battle throughout the galaxy. That would prove to destabilize Iriquim far more than rerouting their portals for a few weeks.
The Iriquios government reluctantly agreed to let Earth proceed with their plans, provided that three portals of their designation would remain untouched. That was acceptable.
Dani had already been writing the code to reconfigure the portals. They had relocated to the Rinada once Earth was secure. This code would need to be pushed to all of the portals at the same time, and had to be done just before the attack, or else it could alert the Chokmnd of their plan. She held off on initiating the transfer until they received word that the Farlins had attacked Dracona.
Brax and Alberan had a simple time convincing the Farlins to aid them against the Chokmnd uprising. The Farlin councilor, Racklera, had never been fond of Varin to begin with. Earth’s plan to end the uprising appealed to the Farlins and they were happy to disrupt their supply lines when called upon. Acquiring some materials from Dracona that the Farlins were lacking was just a consolation prize for their efforts.
The Earth fleet received word that the two races were engaged in a battle over Dracona, and Dani pushed the code transfer to all but three of the portals surrounding Iriquim. One by one the portals dimmed and the ruptured space bubble allowing the remarkable travel collapsed upon themselves like mini black holes no longer able to sustain their own weight. It was with bated breaths everyone waited to see if the code realignment would initiate the portals to reopen and establish a connection with their new points. In the same order they were extinguished, the portals relit and the metallic rings were once again filled with an expanding bubble of obscurity. They were back online, though there was no telling if the reroute had worked. The only way to be sure would be to traverse the portals.
Dani radioed Mike to tell him the process was complete. It was now the Admiral's call on what to do. Admiral Hansen took in the gravity of the situation. If successful, this operation would squelch a rebellion a size the galaxy had never before seen. If it didn't, it would plunge the galaxy into a full-blown war with little hope for a peaceful solution. He gave the order for the scout ship, the Rinada, to make the jump through the portal.
Zavik looked at Dani and reached for her hand. He held it as the ship drifted closer to the portal ahead of them. The Rinada passed through the space bubble and the outer shell collapsed upon the ship. They erupted out of the other side. Dani turned to Zavik with a face of relief. They were alive and the reconfiguration had worked.
The planet, Chokmna, was one hundred thousand miles away from their portal. It was sprawling with activity near the surface, but the portals were relatively lethargic. The planet had a lush surface, covered mostly by land. Isolated oceans spotted the surface, presenting a cratered terrain, evidence that long before an atmosphere manifested, large asteroids routinely hit the planet. The system Chokmna was in contained a large belt of asteroids located not far away in astrological terms, only twenty-five million miles. The planet was still threatened by wayward meteors on a constant basis. The portals were kept at a much greater distance than most systems to provide more maneuverability should a potential impact be detected. The space stations of Chokmna were decidedly much closer to the surface than most planets. This presented a shield around the planet to deflect or destroy threatening asteroids. It was also especially helpful when defending against attacks.
Once in Chokmna space, Dani sent back the signal that they had made it safely to Chokmna. Within seconds more ships began pouring into the system. Nearly every portal was flashing in rapid succession, like the light from a quick-triggered cameraman. The sudden influx of ships would alarm the Chokmnd, but they would have no answer to the surrounding invasion.
As the Earth and Iriquios fleet kept entering the system, the activity around Chokmna began to grow. Sensors detected an outpouring of fighters from the Chokmnd stations and dreadnoughts. Their fleet was large, larger than anticipated.
Dani took an inventory of the situation. The Chokmnd fleet was quickly mobilizing, and Earth was staggering into the space. The fleet needed to hurry and get every ship through the portals if their plan was to succeed.
Admiral Hansen had operational command and linked all radios to his flagship the MaryGold. Just before all of the ships had finished warping in, he took to the radio to open communications with Chokmna.
“This is Admiral Hansen of the United Earth Forces," he announced proudly, as if he'd already achieved victory. "I am here to negotiate an end to hostilities amongst our people. To whom shall I address our conditions of surrender?”
There was no immediate response and the eerie silence of space sent a chill up Zavik's back. Finally, an all-too-familiar voice took to the airways. “You may address yourself to me, Varin Bragko, Supreme Commander of the Chokmnd Forces.” The MaryGold pushed the video feed of Varin to all of the ships in the fleet. He had a menacing grin, as if he was unconcerned with their stunt. “Your presence in my space is amusing. Are you here to surrender?”
“The United Earth Force, along with the Iriquim Consortium, is here to resolve the conflicts started by you, and reinstate the Galactic Council to its rightful rule.”
“Rightful rule?” Varin asked with a laugh. “Listen to yourself. You speak as if you have some knowledge of Galactic proceedings. The Council is useless. They failed to deal with the human problem and the result was the murder of our councilor at the hands of Earth agents. I vowed to avenge Paquiko, and by eliminating Earth as a threat to the other races, I will have completed my pledge. So you are either here to surrender on my terms or to be wiped out, completely.”
Having no tastes for the grandstanding that Varin craved, Admiral Hansen said, “We have surrounded your planet completely-,”
-“Yes, an impressive feat, no doubt.”-
-“and are prepared to assault your planet with the full force of our fleet. We have the Chokmnd and Red Moon fleets outnumbered. Accept our terms of surrender, or doom your people to complete and utter destruction."
"I am not scared," said Varin with little anxiety in his voice. "Your fleet is no match for the combined strength of Chokmna and Red Moon, and I always have an ace up my sleeve."
“Can you find a location where Varin’s broadcasting from?” Zavik asked.
“Give me a minute,’ Dani said. “I’m trying to descramble it.”
“What Hansen’s doing won’t work,” Brax said. “Varin’s not going to just surrender because you’ve got him surrounded. Now he’s a trapped rat, and do you know what trapped rats do? They eat their way out.”
“Here!” Dani shouted pointing at the screen. “Varin’s signal is coming from this ship.” She pointed at a large dreadnought strafing behind the planet’s space stations.
“The coward’s hiding behind his defenses,” Zavik said.
“Wouldn’t you?” Brax responded.
“I’m going to radio the Admiral to let him know,” Dani said.
“No!” Zavik said. “Let them figure it out on their own.”
“Why?” Brax asked.
“I don’t want him interfering with my shot at Varin.”
Brax gave Zavik an uneasy look, but Zavik took no notice of it.
Finally, the Admiral said, “If you will not surrender yourself, we are prepared to strike.”
Suddenly a blast shot out from a station just in front of where Varin’s ship was. The beam glowed with a deep blue hue on the edges but was stark white in the center. It raced from the station towards the portals and caught a U.E.F. cruiser in the bow. The beam ripped through the ship, splitting it in two. It was completely destroyed before the beam even finished firing.
“What the hell was that?” Zavik asked.
“I don’t know,” Brax said.
“That station just fired the most powerful energy blast I’ve ever seen, or heard of,” Alberan said. “Is that what Varin’s been working on?”
“We must retreat,” Brax said.
“No,” Alberan replied. “This is your only chance. We outnumber them two-to-one. You will never get another opportunity like this.”
“Alberan’s right,” Zavik said. “Dani, find out how long it takes to re-fire that weapon?”
“I’ll try.”
“If it can fire quickly we’ll have no choice but to retreat,” Zavik said. “Otherwise our fleet will be decimated.”
“Calculating the temperatures the weapon fired at, estimating the active cooling and radiation cooling involved. Assuming the maximum firing temperature…I’d say it can re-fire in thirteen and a half minutes, but it could be sooner.”
“Damn, that’s not a lot of time. Make sure there aren’t any more of these guns.” Zavik got Mike on the comm. “Mike, Dani estimates it’ll take thirteen and a half minutes for the weapon to cool off enough to refire.”
“We’ve already made plans to withdraw,” he said, “but that’ll help reinforce the decision.”
“What? We can’t withdraw now.”
“You just confirmed that basically ever ten minutes we’d lose a capital ship if we stayed. Our best strategists estimate a full-scale battle would last two hours, at least, and we only might come out on top. If we lose a capital ship every ten minutes, there’s no way we win.”
“Mike, if we retreat now, Varin will escape, and we’ll never have this good of an opportunity to stop this war.”
“But we can’t defend against that thing.”
“They will use it to hunt us down, Mike. Either we destroy it, or it will destroy us.”
“I understand your point, but it’s out of my hands. It’s the Admiral’s decision.”
“Fool!” Zavik shouted as the comm went silent.
“He’s afraid,” Alberan said. “That is a weapon none have had to face.”
Admiral Hansen came on the comm. “All ships retreat to the nearest portal, then rendezvous back at Earth.”
The fleet started to back away, moving away from Chokmna and to the portals. The Rinada sat there. Zavik couldn’t believe the opportunity they were losing.
Varin’s voice suddenly rang out over the ship’s comm. “Leaving so soon, are you? You come to my system to threaten me, then decide to hightail it out as soon as you are outmatched.”
Just then the portals surrounding Chokmna went dim, and the bubbles collapsed. Varin had shut off all the portals surrounding Chokmna. The Earth fleet was trapped.
“I’m afraid I can’t let you go without another demonstration of my new toy. You are outmatched. I will destro
y your fleet. I told you the other systems would fear me. Once the word is out that I destroyed the backbone of the Earth fleet in a single battle, every other system will tremble at my feet.”
“We have no choice but to fight now,” Alberan said.
“Then let’s get started,” Zavik said. “Dani, analyze the Chokmnd fleet, especially around that new weapon.”
“I’m on it.”
“Radio Mike,” Zavik said to Alberan.
A moment later Mike said, “Zavik, the Admiral is ordering all ships to converge on our location. We’re just outside of their stations' range.”
“Not of that superweapon, though,” Zavik said.
“He knows. That thing’s a game changer. He wants to send the ships in to attack it directly. If we eliminate it early, we might have a shot.”
“That’s suicide,” Alberan said. “It’s buried deep behind their forces. It’ll be impossible to get to.”
“We have no choice,” Mike said. “We stay here and it’ll pick us off one at a time.”
“He’s right,” Zavik said. “Brax, you get up on the guns. Alberan, take over navigation and keep an eye on the battlefield. Dani, use everything we have to find a way to stop that weapon. We’re going in.”
The fleet condensed on the outer edge of the Chokmnd fleet’s range. The order was given to attack the planet. The Rinada led a charge towards Chokmna. They were surrounded by three-dozen U.E.F. attack fighters, EF-32 Katanas, capable of holding their own against forces twice as large as themselves. Three StarCruiser class dreadnoughts also accompanied the Rinada.
The Admiral tasked Zavik’s squad with taking out a space station that flanked the right side of the superweapon. As it was now, there were four stations in a diamond pattern around the weapon. Three other groups were sent to eliminate the other stations. With these stations intact, there was no hope of any assault on the weapon. The rest of the fleet formed a barrier to the edge of the battlefield in an effort to hold off the majority of the Chokmnd fleet from defending the weapon.