Earth II - Emergence

by Ray Jay Perreault

  “Yes, all of our data streams are in sync, and each ship has current data.”

  Joan noticed the admiral’s ship lift off and streak into the sky.

  “It’s our turn; let’s head for the Chevesky.”

  “Aye, aye, Captain,” responded SIMPOC.

  SIMPOC’s response caught Joan a little off guard, and she looked at him for a second. Then she moved on, realizing that she had more important things to worry about.

  “How long before we reach the ship?” she asked.

  “At maximum acceleration and deceleration, it will take 33 minutes, 42 seconds after we leave Earth’s atmosphere.”

  Monson heading for his ship

  Admiral Monson’s ship had already cleared the atmosphere and was accelerating to the EDF

  “Ensign check in with each of the ships and make sure they are aware of the Terest entering the solar system. I want them to deploy all of the frigates and battleships into the spherical configuration and begin moving at .2 c. Tell them we’ll catch up after I’m onboard.”

  “Message passed sir,” responded the young ensign who was the admiral’s pilot.

  “Ensign check in with the Mars Laser platform and determine their status.”

  “Yes, sir,” was the quick response.

  Hollister on Mars Laser

  “Captain Hollister. There is an incoming message from Admiral Monson; they are asking was is the status of this ship?” announced Beta-5.

  The small woman walked around the 3D visual command table in the middle of the command area phrasing her response.

  “Put me on the com channel.”

  “Captain, the mike is hot,” replied the Beta unit.

  “Admiral we are just finishing the static check out, but we haven’t run a functional test yet.”

  Given the recent news of the Terest ships entering the system unannounced, she was sure that her reply was the best one.

  Admiral Monson responds to Hollister

  “Admiral, we are receiving Captain Hollister’s response,” announced the admiral’s pilot.

  After he heard the update from Hollister, the Admirals’ response was quick.

  “June, finish up the static test to make sure that it should work, then move out to Lagrange point 5. Be prepared to change course at any time. Current data hasn’t given us a vector yet. So, if you reach the Lagrange point, you can sit there in a low gravity point until we figure out what’s happening. We haven’t determined their intentions, so I want you in position if we need the big laser.”

  “Sir, there is an incoming message from Captain Herl.”

  “Admiral is it wise to move the fleet towards the Terest? We don’t know what they want yet?”

  “Joan, they entered our solar system uninvited, until they convince us they are here on a friendly mission, I’ll assume otherwise.”

  “Sir, I understand. I’d like to accelerate faster than the others and reach them first. I’ll try to figure out what they’re up to. They might be more willing to talk with me.”

  “Accepted. Go ahead and check them out. As soon as you have an intercept time, let me know.”

  “Roger.”

  Joan Intercepting Terest

  After Joan spoke with the Admiral, she didn’t feel any better about the situation. The Terest just showing up in the system with more than one ship wasn’t a friendly maneuver.

  Joan considered her options until SIMPOC landed the shuttle inside the shuttle bay onboard the Chevesky. She didn’t say anything as the hatch opened and she walked into the command area.

  “Beta-Prime, max acceleration towards the projected position of the Terest and pass the intercept time to Admiral Monson.”

  “Acknowledged,” the Beta unit responded.

  “Captain, there has been an unusual impulse from the arriving Terest ships. After the first two groups entered the system, I just received a different pulse. The characteristics imply that the recent arrival might be considerably larger than the earlier ones,” SIMPOC announced to Captain Herl.

  “I know that the raw data is passed to each of the ships but go ahead and pass your interpretation also. They need to know that it might be a larger ship,” cautioned Joan.

  “Captain, I should also point out that there is a 135-minute delay from the entry point. The data we are seeing is old. They may already have a sizable fleet in our system.”

  “Yes, SIMPOC. I’m painfully aware of that.”

  “Sergeant Robles, can you report to the command section?” Captain Herl transmitter.

  “Yes, Captain. Be there in two,” came back the response.

  “Captain, Sergeant Robles reporting as directed,” the sergeant said as he came to attention and saluted.

  “Please Paol, I’m not military. You’re part of the ship and part of the crew.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “My name is Joan. Only call me Captain, when anything else might embarrass us. Okay?”

  “Yes…Joan.”

  “I wanted to bring you up to speed. Have you had a chance to go over our history with the Terest and Izod?”

  “Yes, my crew and I have read it all.”

  “Good, now you might get a chance to meet the Terest. SIMPOC picked up signals that multiple Terest ships have entered our solar system, unannounced.”

  “Ma’am, that can’t be good.”

  “Please, Joan.”

  “Yes, it might take me a while. So, please bear with me? A group of aliens entering our system without an invitation and with our past history with them, I doubt they’re here for a Thanksgiving Feast,” said Paol, pointing out the obvious.

  “Good point. Stay close to me, and we’re heading in their direction to see what they’re up to. I don’t have a clue, how you’ll fit in, but I suspect that you will.”

  “I’ll go and brief my team. We’ll work up some scenarios and check our equipment.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Captain Herl responded.

  Sergeant Robles almost saluted Joan, and she smiled. Then he smiled and left the command area.

  Hollister Finishing Static Check

  “Daniel, how far along are you on the static check?” June Hollister asked the chief physicist onboard the Mars Laser Platform.

  “We’re just finishing the alignment check. Everything has to be perfect. The power output will depend a lot on how well everything lines up. Let me remind you; we’ve never fired anything so powerful as this. This ship has so much power we’ve been able to use more booster lasers than ever before. We’ll be able to move huge amounts of electrons.”

  “Are you guys still worrying about ‘tearing the vacuum?”

  “Between you and me I don’t know. Following Einstein’s law to change matter into energy is one thing but changing energy into matter is totally different. If we hit enough free material in space, we might have a reaction we’ve never seen before. Theoretically, it can happen in a perfect vacuum, so the chances of it happening in space is higher. This toy we’ve put together might go to 500 PW. The surfaces, coatings and gem material that the manufacturing process on this ship is far better than anything we’ve created on Earth. Right now, this is the best-built laser man has ever created.”

  “So, basically you’re saying that when we fire this, we might be surprised.”

  “Got that right. We should be done with the static check in about half an hour.”

  “Dan, after you’re done, if you don’t need anything from the surface, we’re heading out. We might get a chance to see what this little thing of yours will do.”

  “Could be good, could be bad,” the professor said as he walked out of the command section.

  Saturday, November 11, 2051

  Pass Fleet to Terest Location

  “Captain, we are stable at .3c, and we have just passed the outermost EDF asset. We are on schedule to arrive at the Terest projected location in 312 minutes and 34 seconds,” announced Beta-Prime

  “Thanks. SIMPOC what’s the status of our vi
sitors?”

  “I’ve been monitoring their arrival pattern and the time interval between arrivals. We have exceeded the last expected arrival time.”

  “And that means…what?” Joan came back.

  “It appears that all of their ships have arrived,” answered SIMPOC.

  “Why didn’t you say that?” Joan questioned.

  If SIMPOC could have shrugged, perhaps that what Joan saw. He didn’t respond, but there was a subtle movement that Joan understood.

  “Okay, they’re all here. What do we have?” Joan asked, out loud.

  “The last count shows 5 larger vehicles with each of them having 25 smaller vehicles. It should be noted that the smaller vehicles appear to be the same size as the one we encountered when they attacked.”

  Joan could only shake her head 130 spaceships. “That can’t be good,” she said aloud. “Those larger ships are probably space stations, like the one we picked up on our sensors.”

  “That is a logical assumption,” SIMPOC responded.

  “Let’s send them a message,” Joan announced with a sound of resignation in her voice.

  “Please turn on my transmitter.” She got a head nod from Beta-5.

  “Terest vehicles, this is Captain Joan Herl of the EDF Chevesky. You have entered our solar system unexpectedly, and we want to know what your intentions are?”

  “Captain, they are not responding,” announced Beta-5.

  Joan almost yelled to herself; I know that. She caught herself when she realized that she didn’t have the same connection with the Beta unit that she did with SIMPOC. Regardless, yelling at a robot wasn’t the sanest thing to do.

  “Captain, I’ve been able to map their locations. Their positions don’t indicate a grouping of ships expecting a friendly discussion. They appear to be in a defensive position,” announced SIMPOC.

  “Put up the data on the 3 D display,” she barked to her crew.

  The image quickly formed over the display table in the middle of the command section. It was clear, as soon as the image stabilized. The larger ships were spread out in a line, and each of them had the smaller ships clustered around them. Joan’s immediate impression was that their alignment wasn’t too different than how EDF was deploying their capital ships and frigates.

  “Do Admiral Monson and the fleet have this data?” she asked SIMPOC.

  “We are at the max range to receive this level of detail. I am passing this additional information to them.”

  “Also pass to them that I’m designating the space stations A-E, from left to right. That way we can keep track of which ones we’re talking about.”

  “Acknowledged,” responded SIMPOC>

  “Open my transmitter again.”

  “Terest ships, this is Captain Herl of the Earth Defense Force Chevesky. I have not received any transmissions from you. You must explain your presence in our solar system. If you fail to explain your presence or take any aggressive actions, we will consider your presence a hostile act. Please respond.”

  Joan looked at SIMPOC, and he showed no response.

  “Beta-Prime, begin to slow, so we match the fleet speed behind us. How far are they?”

  “Captain they are 20 light seconds behind us, and at .2c their distance translates to 100 seconds.”

  “Captain there is a transmission arriving from Admiral Monson,” announced Beta-5.

  “Joan, we just got SIMPOC’s updated data, and I don’t like the way they are arranged. If you get too close, they might outflank you. We won’t be able to get in to save you without taking on the entire fleet. Suggest you slow and let us catch up.”

  “Tell me when we’re in position along with them and tell the admiral we’re slowing.”

  “Captain there is another message coming in from the admiral.

  “EDF fleet, slow to .05c and remain abreast to match their alignment,” directed Admiral Monson.

  “Beta-5, continue slowing until we’re in position,” directed Captain Herl.

  “I wonder what the admiral’s plan is,” Joan asked aloud.

  “We will find ourselves in a dynamic encounter,” SIMPOC commented.

  “Thanks for that insight,” Captain Herl replied.

  “I must point out that we are still unfamiliar with their weapon’s capabilities or their tactics,” SIMPOC continued.

  “Feel free to jump in with any suggestions,” Captain Herl said with a little sarcasm in her voice.

  “This conflict will be between two imbalanced combatants. They have 5 powerful space stations, which based on their size, we can assume they are more powerful than our capital ships. On our side, we have 11 capital ships to their five space stations. At the tactical level, they have 125 ships which appear to be more powerful than our frigates. Based on our last encounter, we can assume that our frigates are more maneuverable than theirs. Because of the tactical computer programs that I have written, our ships will act in unison which will increase their effectiveness.”

  “SIMPOC, do you have any contributions to makes aside from dictating the obvious?” asked Captain Herl.

  “I am working on that,” SIMPOC replied.

  Hollister Laser Test

  “Captain Hollister, we have just received a message from the flagship directing us to proceed to their location at maximum velocity,” announced Beta-5.

  “Let’s go,” June Hollister replied.

  “Professor, I don’t want to go into battle having never fired this thing. I know we should have done numerous static firings, but we don’t have time. Either it works, or it doesn’t. Let’s find some empty space and find out what this thing will do,” directed the captain.

  “Captain, I suggest that we don’t fire it while we’re under max thrust. The discharge of energy does have a Newtonian reaction, and we have to be prepared for a major shock to this vessel.”

  “I know that, but we’ve got to test it. As soon as we’re at our max velocity, we’ll let it go. I expect that we’ll be firing it under those conditions and that will be the time to see how it works. If the forces tear us apart then, we’ll know what the limits are, won’t we?

  “Somewhat fatalistic,” pointed out the physicist.

  “Now or never,” responded Captain Hollister.

  “Do the countdown.”

  “Yes, Captain. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, fire.”

  The shock was huge, and the huge Mars Laser platform shook as if it hit a tree.

  “What happened? Did it blow up?” Captain Hollister screamed into her com.

  “Professor, are you there? Are there any casualties?” she screamed again.

  “Betas, what is the status of the ship? Did we sustain any damage?” she yelled to her robot crew.

  “We lost a considerable amount of our forward velocity,” Beta-3 reported.

  “Did the laser blow up?” the captain yelled.

  “It appears that we have no major damage to the hull, but interior damage is unknown at this time,” responded Beta-Prime.

  “Professor, what’s happening down there? You’re too far away for me to come to you. Tell me what’s happening?”

  “Captain, we’re ok. We’ve had some injuries, but I don’t think anything is life-threatening,” answered the professor.

  “What happened?” Captain Hollister asked again.

  “It appears that this thing has more kick than we thought. It fired okay, but we sustained some structural damage from the reaction force. I don’t know how much energy was released, but it was huge.”

  “Can the damage be repaired?”

  “Yes, I think so. The Cow-Robots should be able to handle it. In fact, some of them are moving into the area to make the repairs. I think we’ll just have to beef up some of the supporting structure and we’ll be okay. When I know how long the repairs will take, I’ll let you know.”

  “Thanks, I’m glad that everyone is okay. Get me that estimate as soon as you can.”

  “Beta-1, open a transmission to the admiral.”
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br />   Terrest Spread Out

  “Captain, I need to point out something,” SIMPOC said aloud.

  “What is it?” Captain Herl responded.

  “The alignment of the Terest fleet is changing subtly,”

  “How do you mean?” she answered.

  “We can look at both fleets from a deployment perspective. They will likely operate as five groups, as we will operate with 11 groups. It’s true, that is an assumption on my part, but I think that it is valid,” said SIMPOC.

  “Please get to it,” Captain Herl stressed.

  “Sorry, I tend to explain too much,” SIMPOC responded.

  “Indeed, now go on,” Captain Herl said with some volume.

  “Their five segments are slowly separating. It appears they are trying to spread us out; then they will attempt to flank us on both sides. With space station C in the middle, we can expect station A and B to attempt flanking us on one side and stations D and F to do the same on the other side. If they accomplish that, we will have a difficult defensive position.”

  “What do we do?” Herl snapped back.

  “Let me demonstrate on the 3D display. I should also point out that this is a variation used by a famous tactician in your history named Napoleone di Buonaparte.”

  “Who?” Captain Herl asked as she stood watching the colored dots in the 3D display form into the initial position of the two fleets, then it slowly changed to show the current position. Finally, the configuration of the EDF fleet changed rapidly, and the attack began.

  “I used his Italian birth name. In western history, he is simply known as Napoleon.”

  Joan looked at her computer friend and said, “I hope it wasn’t used at Waterloo. I like it, pass it to the Admiral and tell him I agree 100%.” That’s going to work, and I love it, she passed to SIMPOC through their alien connection.

  “Captain Herl, Napoleon lost at Waterloo due to poor execution of his strategy by his subordinates. Napoleon used the tactic I suggested only in the Italian campaign.”