Analog SFF, July-August 2009

by Dell Magazine Authors

  "Yes. I'm in charge of the engineering department."

  Major Hue gestured and a very large schematic of the station appeared on one wall of the courtroom. “Did you participate in the engineering analysis of the actions of those who attacked Franklin Naval Station on 6 July?"

  "I did. I led the analysis team. I also ultimately assumed command in engineering central on the day of the attack."

  "Trial Counsel asks that the engineering analysis be entered into the court record. Captain, what was your conclusion as to the goal of the attackers?"

  Dila paused as if trying to make sure he understood the exact meaning of the question. “Ultimately, they wanted to destroy the station."

  Major Hue nodded. “Were the attackers equipped with weapons capable of destroying the station?"

  "Not directly,” Dila answered with an engineer's precision. “That would have required very large amounts of conventional explosives, which the station's sensors would have surely detected on their approach because of the size and mass involved. Or nuclear weapons, and those would have been spotted by us even earlier due to radiation leakage. No, the attackers intended to create conditions under which the station would destroy itself as a result of free surface effect. They could do that while carrying small enough quantities of explosives to remain undetected on their approach to the station."

  "What exactly is free surface effect?” Hue asked.

  Dila took on the expression of an engineer explaining to lesser beings how the world works. “In laymen's terms, it's what happens when a liquid is in a partially-filled container. On a ship at sea, as the ship heels to one side the liquid will react by flowing toward the low side, increasing the force of the heel. When the ship swings the other way, the liquid once again rushes to the ‘low’ side in a delayed reaction that further increases the force destabilizing the ship. The higher up in the structure the liquid is, and the larger the space available to move in, the worse the resulting effect. That's why ships use a number of tanks to hold liquid instead of one big tank, and keep the tanks low in the ship."

  "How could this phenomenon affect a space station?"

  "Because the water tanks are high up in the disc, toward the center. It allows us to feed water ‘downhill’ to the rest of the station and provides substantial mass in the lower gravity areas near the station's core. Once the tanks were breeched, the water followed the forces created by the rotation of the disc to simulate gravity. Those forces are both outward and to the side because of the rotation. But the station is designed to automatically compensate for shifts in mass. As the water rushed to one side and down, it redistributed mass, and the station automatically shifted other mass and altered rotational velocity to compensate."

  Dila pointed to the display, where an animation began playing out. “That compensation created forces shifting the water back up and in the other direction. As the water surged up and to the other side, with more force now, the mass distribution control systems tried to compensate again by shifting larger quantities of mass down and over and again altering rotation speed, which caused the free-flowing water to start rolling even more heavily down and in the original direction. Every shift in forces inside the station tended to reinforce the motion of the water, giving it more energy. On a ship, this eventually results in the ship heeling too far over and capsizing. On this station, the forces would have eventually exceeded the ability of the structure to contain them."

  Dila paused, thinking. “It's the same sort of thing that happens when you're carrying a pan partially filled with water, and the water seems to start sloshing back and forth with a life of its own until it surges over one side of the pan. Free surface effect and the delayed feedback from your own attempts to compensate."

  Major Hue nodded, his face grim. “But in this case the station would have been torn apart."

  "A big piece of it, yes, Major,” Dila agreed. “The remainder of the station would have still been rotating but without the structural integrity. The models we've run produce different results as to how much more of the station would have subsequently come apart, but there wouldn't have been much left by the time any remaining portions could be stabilized."

  "Then the attack had a significant possibility of succeeding in destroying Franklin Naval Station?"

  "Yes, that was our conclusion, if by destroying you mean more than sixty percent structural loss."

  Major Hue nodded again, heavily this time, his expression somber. “How important was it to counter the actions of the attackers as soon as possible, to stop their assault, to reoccupy the damaged areas and begin damage control?"

  Captain Dila waved one hand at the schematic. “Absolutely critical. Every second counted. That's one of the reasons we believe the attackers seized engineering central, to prevent us from initiating corrective overrides of the automated stabilization systems. They probably also intended to download software that would have magnified the over-compensation of the stabilization systems and caused other problems for us, but couldn't because all of the consoles had been secured and control functions redistributed. We can't confirm that since all of the attackers’ software was destroyed, but it seems very likely."

  Major Hue nodded. “'Every ... second ... counted.'” He let the quote hang for a moment before speaking again. “You believe then, that in light of the damage the attackers had caused in the time available to them, this station might well have been destroyed if you had not very quickly recognized the danger—"

  * * * *

  "Excuse me,” Captain Dila interrupted, “but I didn't realize the danger first. That was Lieutenant Shen, over there.” Everyone turned to look at Jen, who hastily sat straighter. With an engineer's obliviousness to the reactions of others, including Major Hue, Dila continued on blithely. “That's one of the reasons she got that medal. I didn't know she'd be here, though. You didn't need both of us to testify on engineering matters."

  Hue was still trying to come up with words when Commander Carr rose smoothly to her feet. “I'm sorry, Captain Dila, but Lieutenant Shen isn't in this courtroom as a witness in the case. She's volunteered to assist the defense."

  "Oh. All right.” Dila turned back to Hue, who briefly looked daggers at Carr.

  Judge Halstead said nothing, but shook his head at Commander Carr, who feigned innocence.

  The members were watching Jen intently. She realized that this had been Carr's plan all along, to bring to the members’ attention that one of those recognized for the defense of the station was now working to defend Sharpe. No wonder Major Hue hadn't been able to hide his unhappiness.

  "If I may summarize, Captain,” Major Hue began again, “there was a real possibility that the attackers would succeed in causing this station to tear itself apart, and it was critically important to counter their actions as soon as possible. Is that right?"

  Dila paused as if thinking through the statement, then nodded. “Yes."

  "Thank you, Captain. No more questions."

  Commander Carr walked over to stand before Captain Dila. “Sir, when you did the analysis of the attackers’ plans, did you discover a major error on their part in the execution of their plan?"

  Dila frowned in thought. “You mean the fourth water tank?"

  "Yes, sir. The fourth water tank. The attackers blew open three water tanks, is that correct? But instead of blowing open a fourth, they instead set their charges against a bulkhead with no water tank behind it."

  "That's right.” Dila leaned forward, pointing at the schematic. “You see, they must have been working off of old station plans. A year old at least. In the intervening period, there'd been some internal modifications to increase structural stability, storage capacity, and other things. On the old plans, that bulkhead confined the fourth water tank. But the tank's limits were moved a great deal to port, you see here, on the far side and a little to port on the near side. The work was finished about three months before the attack. Of course, the tactic might still have worked. The fourth t
ank was insurance, to guarantee the station's destruction, but the three they did blow open could have done the job."

  Carr shook her head, looking perplexed. “But they didn't. Weren't the bulkheads marked with standard identifying data?"

  "Absolutely. The bulkhead the attackers blew open was labeled spares storage, and the new one was labeled liquid storage. All according to regulation. But the attackers undoubtedly had orders laid out in their data pads specifying exactly what to do and where, so that's what they did."

  Commander Carr seemed skeptical. “The attackers ignored clear identifying signs and instead followed orders exactly?"

  "That's right. When we analyzed their actions based on damage and time lines and all the other available evidence, it became clear that they moved very quickly and precisely for the first part of their attack, but when something unexpected was encountered they didn't seem to know what to do. Like when they captured engineering central and found all of the consoles shut down. They apparently just waited there afterwards until the Marines came through.” Dila waved vaguely. “We consulted with experts on terrorism, and they all concurred that the people sent on suicide attacks like this aren't leaders or even particularly bright. As one of the experts said, they're smart enough to pull a trigger and dumb enough to believe what their leaders tell them about how great it is to die. So these attackers certainly came in with a detailed plan specifying exactly what to do and where to do it. Even though every data pad carried by the attackers was destroyed or wiped we can be certain of that because of our analysis of their actions. They blew that bulkhead there because that's what their orders called for. They may well not even have known why they were blowing holes where they did."

  "They were just following orders,” Carr observed. “Exactly following orders."

  "Right. Exactly. That's a good word."

  "Sir, some of the charges allege that Chief Sharpe's failure to engage one attacker increased the chances the station would be destroyed. Do you agree with that as an engineer?"

  Dila scrunched up his face, one hand rising to rub his neck. “Just one? Where was this? When? I find it hard to believe. Was it when the attackers were first entering the station? At the access trunks?"

  Major Hue rose and shook his head. “No, sir. We'll provide a full accounting of that incident to the members lat—"

  "If it wasn't then and there I really can't say. Seems odd. Lieutenant Shen? What do you think?"

  Jen barely kept from reflexively replying to her commanding officer's question before the judge rapped his gavel on the bench. “I'm sorry, Captain,” Halstead said, “but Lieutenant Shen hasn't been called as a witness in this case and cannot testify."

  "Well, all right,” Captain Dila conceded. “But you really ought to ask her too."

  Commander Carr nodded with a serious expression. “Thank you, Captain."

  Judge Halstead gave a narrow-eyed look at Carr as she returned to her seat, then glanced at Major Hue. “Does Trial Counsel wish to redirect?"

  "Briefly, Your Honor.” Hue stood up but didn't leave his table. “Captain Dila, notwithstanding the attackers’ failure to blow open the fourth water tank, didn't the response to the attack still require the utmost speed? Could any delay have been fatal?"

  "Yes. Didn't I already say that? That's why Lieutenant Shen's—"

  "Thank you, Captain. Were there any uncertainties in your engineering analysis of the threat to the station?"

  Dila appeared once again puzzled by the question. “There's always uncertainties, though the scale of them varies."

  "Then you can't be one hundred percent certain that one individual's actions couldn't have made a difference one way or the other."

  "No. Not one hundred percent,” Dila agreed.

  "Do the members of the court have questions for the witness?” the judge asked.

  LCDR Nasser nodded respectfully to Captain Dila. “Sir, what's the margin of error in your engineering analysis of the results of the attack?"

  "Plus or minus one percent,” Dila answered instantly.

  "Then there's only a one percent chance of significant variation from your results?"

  "Yes."

  "Including the possibility that one individual's actions could have significantly worsened the results of the attack?"

  "Right. Are you an experienced engineer, Commander?

  "No, sir,” Nasser replied. “I work in Operations."

  "You seem to have a good grasp of things despite that,” Dila observed.

  "The members have no further questions,” LCDR Nasser said, one corner of his mouth twitching as he obviously fought down a smile.

  Major Hue took a few deep breaths as Dila left the courtroom. “The prosecution calls as its next witness Colonel James Lamont, United States Marine Corps."

  Lamont marched to the witness stand as if assaulting an objective, took the oath, then waited, sitting at attention.

  Major Hue gestured toward the large projection of Franklin still displayed on one side of the courtroom. “Colonel, did you lead the team analyzing the military aspects of the attack on this station on 6 July?"

  "Yes, I did, Major."

  Hue held up his data pad. “Trial Counsel would like to introduce the military analysis into the court's record. Colonel, could you please explain how the attack on Franklin on 6 July developed?"

  "Certainly.” Colonel Lamont hunched forward slightly to study the diagram, then nodded and began speaking, using pointers to indicate parts of the image. “The terrorists were launched inside individual stealth pods with just enough power to keep them alive for the duration of their transit. The mass and velocity of individual pods and their shielding were carefully designed to avoid being detected by the station sensors watching for approaching objects. There's no doubt they must have been launched from one of the merchant ships transiting this area well above Franklin Naval Station's orbit, using spring launchers or something similar which provided no signature for us to detect. Whoever planned the attack must have extensively observed and analyzed the station's defenses to identify a path and means of approach that would avoid those defenses."

  Lamont indicated an area on top of Franklin's disc, not too far from the hollow core. “They landed in this area between 0122 and 0124 universal solar time. They tried to spoof the locks on the access trunks here and here, but failed because the security protocols had been changed within the last year. The attackers then blew open the access trunks at 0131, providing the first clear indication of their presence, and entered the station. They subsequently resealed the breaches in the access trunks to keep the water they freed from its tanks from being sucked out into space."

  The three-dimensional schematic of Franklin's interior pivoted. “During the next several minutes the attackers fired EMP bursts down passageways they used or passed, burning out sensors, lines, and junctions. Within a couple of minutes the station was effectively blind to events in a spreading area while the duty watch standers tried to determine what was going on. The station's emergency response teams were called out at 0138 as mandated by standing orders in the event of possible external or internal threat activity, but were being deployed without any idea of the nature of the threat. Fortunately, at 0142, Franklin's command structure received the first clear confirmation that an attack was underway, as well as descriptions of the attackers."

  Lamont paused, his eyes going to Jen, and he nodded approvingly to her before returning to the diagram. “The attackers had occupied this entire area before the Marines on the USS Belleau Wood were called out for combat employment at 0144.” Red blotches appeared in scores of places on the schematic. “Explosives brought by the attackers blew open tanks, bulkheads, and partitions in many places while the station emergency response teams contained the threat and the Marines deployed for their counterattack."

  "Marine counterattacks went in here, here, here, and here beginning at 0215. Resistance was fanatical, with all but two of the attackers fighting to the death, t
he two survivors being too badly wounded to suicide. By 0302, all resistance had ceased. Subsequent sweeps confirmed that all attackers had been neutralized. None of their equipment or persons contained any identifying data, and analysis of their equipment indicates a mix of raw materials and components whose geographic origin could not be established. Neither of the two survivors appears to know where they were trained or anything about the ship that launched them.” Lamont leaned back, waiting for further questions.

  Major Hue indicated the schematic. “Was victory certain, Colonel?"

  "Victory is never certain, Major."

  "Our defending forces suffered casualties."

  "Correct. Four masters-at-arms dead, several others wounded, and nine Marines wounded."

  "Could we have lessened the number of casualties if we'd waited a little longer before counterattacking?” Major Hue asked.

  "Probably. But we didn't have the luxury of time."

  Hue nodded, his face grim. “Colonel, if you give an order, do you expect it to be obeyed?"

  "Of course I do,” Lamont replied.

  "Do you regard an order given in combat to be any different?"

  "Different?” Lamont studied Major Hue. “No. An order is an order. If anything, combat increases the need to know that your orders will be obeyed promptly and correctly."

  Major nodded again. “No further questions."

  Commander Carr approached the Marine colonel respectfully. “Colonel Lamont, you reported that between 0133 and 0159 the attackers were blowing open tanks, bulkheads, and partitions in the areas they controlled."

  "That's correct."

  "In other words, the attackers began their demolition activity before the station emergency response teams had even been called out, and continued it until a short time before the Marine counterattack went in."

  "That's also correct, Commander."

  Carr paused, looking at the schematic. “Did the attackers try to break through the defensive perimeter established by the emergency response teams?"

  The Marine shook his head. “No. As best we can tell they stopped trying to take new areas by 0200 at the latest."