by Dietmar Wehr
“So, HQ Astro made us search these eleven systems because there are eleven low probability possibilities versus one low probability possibility. Is that just about it?”
“Affirmative.”
“And there’s no other star system that’s closer to the higher OAE trajectory?”
“Not in human-explored space. There is a star system with a relatively high probability of stopping the Tassafaronga, but it lies two hundred and thirty-three light years beyond the furthest reaches of explored space.”
“Show me.” The star map shifted to one side so quickly that Koenig almost became disoriented. The high probability star was a red super-giant. The new trajectory seemed to intersect it almost dead on.
“If they hit that gravity well, how long ago would that have been?”
“Approximately a hundred and forty-four days ago.”
“And how long could they go before their food ran out?” he asked almost in a whisper. He was afraid of the answer.
“With maximum rationing, their last reported stockpile of food would last a hundred and seventy-six days from the point of arrival.”
“Show me the jump alternatives and the distances they would have from that red super-giant?”
The data on the display was not particularly encouraging. Even a relatively close star would still be a risky jump, unless they predicted the magnitude and direction of the growing OAE error perfectly or somehow stabilized the opticals to keep the error from getting any larger. It was time for the big question.
“How long would it take us to get to the red super-giant?”
“At fifty percent of light, the trip would take a hundred and seventeen hours.”
Koenig did the math mentally. It would take them almost five days just to get there. To that they needed to add the time to search the red super-giant, plus the time to travel to the next most likely star, as well as the time to search it. And that didn’t even take into consideration the distinct possibility that by now Tassafaronga might have made additional jump attempts even further afield.
“That gives us thirty-two days to search for them in what could be a dozen possible star systems in the red super-giant’s vicinity. Is that enough time to rendezvous with Durendal at GED Base, make the attack on the Tong home system and still get to the red super-giant with enough time for a search of the surrounding star systems before their food runs out?”
“The answer depends upon several variables, including how quickly Durendal can be retrofitted with the new equipment, how fast Excalibur travels to the Tong system and how fast to the red super-giant. Available search time after arriving at the red super-giant ranges from minus four days to plus eight days. If you specify the magnitude of the identified variables, I can calculate a more precise answer.”
“Never mind, you’ve told me what I want to know. Let’s finish this search and get to the Base as early as possible.”
When Vasily arrived to relieve him as BDO, he told her about the alternative possible location of the Tassafaronga and his determination to search for her in the vicinity of the red super-giant after the Tong attack was completed.
“So, we’re not going to check that nine percent possibility in human space?” she asked.
“No. A nine percent chance of them being there means there’s a ninety-one percent chance they’re not there. We can’t detour to that system, search it, search the rest of the HQ list, and then make the attack on the Tong fast enough to search the space around the red super-giant before the crew of the Tassafaronga run out of food. If I have to cut something out to make the timing work, I’d rather cut the nine percent system.”
Vasily nodded, her expression serious. “I hope that’s the right decision.”
Excalibur set a new hyperspace velocity record getting to the GED Base system. Durendal had arrived on schedule and was already being retrofitted with the hyperspace maneuvering equipment that the Base had ready. Koenig brought Carson up to speed by video conference.
“I want to have enough time to have a decent chance of finding Tassafaronga before the crew runs out of food, and that means getting the attack done as soon as humanly possible. When can your people finish the retrofit?”
Carson sighed. She had heard that tone of voice before. Understanding the motive for Koenig’s impatience didn’t alter the fact that she didn’t like being forced to push her people to the point of exhaustion.
“I’ve already scheduled around-the-clock work shifts on the retrofit, and before you set ridiculous deadlines, understand this. If my people make a mistake because they were pushed too hard, it’ll be Durendal’s crew that will pay the price when their maneuvering systems fail and they can’t control their hyperspace flight path. Do you really want to jeopardize one ship’s crew in order to have a slightly better chance of finding another?”
Koenig was just about to tell her that he was prepared to take that risk when he remembered Dejanus telling him that he was sometimes too impulsive. If Durendal wasn’t able to participate in the attack, then Koenig would have to call it off or risk sending Excalibur in alone, and THAT risk was what made him resist his impulse.
“Okay, Commander. You’ve convinced me that your people are working as fast as they can. I’d still like to know when they think they’ll be done.”
“Well, the answer the Chief Engineer gave me is seventy-two hours minimum; however, I know how he likes to give himself some leeway. He tends to finish his projects ahead of his own projections. The only caveat is that we’re talking about a whole new kind of technology that has only been used in a prototype; so let’s hope he hasn’t underestimated the time required.”
Koenig was actually relieved it wasn’t longer. The technicians had already been working on Durendal for almost 24 hours, so another two days was not that bad. He thanked Carson and cut the connection.
As it turned out, the Chief Engineer had not underestimated the time required. Durendal started backing out of the hollowed-out asteroid 69 hours after entering it. Koenig and Nakatomi had spent several hours discussing the nuances of time dilation and hyperspace velocities. Nakatomi had stubbornly insisted on a series of test jumps composed of a series of longer distances and higher velocities, but Koenig managed to persuade him that first of all, they didn’t have time for that if Excalibur was to have any chance of finding the Tassafaronga after the raid. Secondly, Nakotomi’s astro AI would know everything about maneuvering the ship in hyperspace that Koenig’s astro AI did. When Durendal was ready, both ships would make one long jump, but in a concession that also fitted very neatly into tactical considerations, the target star would not be the Tong home world system. That system’s sun was a yellow star roughly the same size as Earth’s sun and was therefore relatively difficult to track accurately through hyperspace. It just so happened that a blue giant sun lay a dozen light years away on the far side of the Tong star system. The larger star would calm some of Nakatomi’s jitters and reduce the risk of being detected by the Tong. Once there, the two ships would make a short jump to the Tong home system and arrive on the opposite side from the Tong home planet, if the astrogational data was accurate. Koenig and his tactical AI both agreed that coming at the Tong home world from the opposite direction would add to the element of surprise. The extra time required would still give Excalibur enough time to search several systems near the red super-giant, which the astro AI had now designated as LS1. Koenig suspected the LS stood for long shot and decided not to ask if he was right. The blue giant sun had a designation too, one that Nakatomi had insisted on. It was called Point Luck, and the Tong home system was designated as TZ1.
The jump to Point Luck was made at 55% of light speed and took 177 hours. Communication between ships and detection of the other ship were not possible in hyperspace, at least not with the technology humans had right now. So, it was with immense relief that Excalibur saw Durendal’s running lights a few minutes after both ships dropped into the Point Luck star system. A quick rendezvous and a fast flight ar
ound the blue star got them to the point where they were ready to line up for the jump to TZ1. Koenig was amused to see that Nakatomi, who had been visibly nervous prior to entering hyperspace for the long jump to Point Luck, now acted nonchalant about this short jump to the Tong home system. Finding each other on the other end would be a bit tricky because they would not use their running lights, but contingency plans had been made based on the limited amount of data on what was in that star system. With both ships lined up and at jump velocity, Koenig, as the mission leader, gave the order to jump.
Chapter Eight:
Koenig was standing beside the Command Pod occupied by Vasily as BDO when Excalibur dropped into the TZ1 system. The ship was at alert stations. He tried to keep his heart rate normal while waiting for AstroComp to update the tactical display, but the tension and the adrenaline were fighting him. The information on TZ1 was sketchy and second-hand. No TOSF ship had ever visited there. The system contained eight planets, and AstroComp had a fairly good idea of where to look for them, but there was little information on artificial objects like stations, defense satellites, etc. AstroComp would therefore be making a careful examination of the surrounding space for any sign of Tong infrastructure or ships. Durendal had specific orders to move closer to the sun so that Excalibur could see her silhouetted against it, and Excalibur was in the process of decelerating and orienting its hull so that sunlight would be reflected back towards the sun and hopefully towards Durendal too. That was the risky part. If there was a Tong ship further out, it was probably not looking directly at its sun, but if the Tong ship was further in, it might be passively scanning for hull reflections, even if only to prevent possible collisions.
As the seconds ticked by, Koenig looked at Vasily. She seemed unfazed by the tension and didn’t seem to be aware that he was looking at her. Her steadfastness was in stark contrast to Eriko who would have been chewing on her lower lip by now.
The tactical display pinged and updated just as he heard the electronic voice of the tactical AI. “Silhouetted ship detected. TacComp estimates ninety-four point four percent probability that detected ship is Durendal.”
“Send the recognition signal, Com,” commanded Koenig.
Vasily turned to look at him. “If that’s a Tong ship…” She let the sentence remain unfinished.
“Then we’re in trouble, but I like those odds,” said Koenig.
Less than 14 seconds went by before they got a response. “Receiving Durendal’s recognition code,” said the com AI.
Koenig nodded. “We’re in business. Astro, you know what to do.”
Both ships were back in a tight formation 13 minutes later. By then, Koenig, Vasily and the tactical AI had exchanged ideas and data based on what confirmed astrogational data had been collected by then. The Tong home world was almost on the other side of the sun. If Excalibur and Durendal were at the six o’clock position, the home world was at the one o’clock location. Unlike Sol, this system did not have an asteroid belt, but TOSF Intelligence had gathered enough data indirectly to identify the fourth planet, an airless rock, as the main source of metals used for ship construction. They surmised that the shipyards would be near that planet to eliminate the need for transportation of large quantities of metals to the home world. The fourth planet was now at the 11 o’clock position and further out from the sun than the home world. The quickest way to get to the fourth planet, now designated at TZ1-4, would be to curve around the sun along the system’s ecliptic, but Koenig had decided there was too big a chance of being detected by Tong ship traffic. Instead, the two swordships would make a large detour by travelling up and over the top of the sun to come down on the other side from the direction of the fourth planet’s north pole. The main concern would be to keep their hulls oriented to minimize reflections. The detour would take almost three hours.
By the time the two ships were approaching TZ1-4, their velocity had increased to 20% of light speed. In order to retain the element of surprise, they couldn’t use radar to pinpoint Tong shipyards and other infrastructure, and therefore had to rely on visual detection. Velocities faster than 20% would complicate gravity beam targeting due to the effects of relativity-induced time distortion. The other consideration was beam weapon recharge times. With an effective range of 3.4 million kilometers and a recharge time of 37 seconds, a velocity of 60,000 kps would give both swordships the opportunity to fire each gravity cannon four times before the ships were out of range again. In order to attack all possible targets, Excalibur would pass the planet on one side, while Durendal passed it on the opposite side.
With only a couple of minutes left to go before Excalibur reached effective firing range, Koenig was disturbed by the fact that the ship’s opticals had only detected two reflected light sources in orbit on its side of the planet. He’d been hoping for more.
“Sixty-seconds until firing range is achieved,” said the tactical AI. “Authorization to commence firing at that time?”
“Negative. Hold until I give the order,” said Koenig. He was willing to let both ships get closer before opening fire if it meant identifying more targets.
“Delaying firing will reduce the maximum number of gravity cannon shots,” said the AI.
“Understood! Hold fire!”
With less than 30 seconds now, a third red icon appeared on the main display’s tactical view. It was impossible to determine what was reflecting sunlight from this distance, but anything orbiting the planet was very likely to be part of the Tong’s shipbuilding infrastructure somehow.
“Durendal is requesting permission to open fire,” said the AI.
“Negative!” Koenig had made up his mind to wait another 30 seconds past the earliest possible firing point and then fire at whatever they could see.
“Effective range in three…two…one…now,” said the AI.
Koenig said nothing as he shifted his focus between the tactical display and the sidebar firing timer. It was now counting up from zero. Just before it reached 30 seconds, a fourth target appeared on Excalibur’s side of the planet. Koenig nodded. Four targets would do.
“Both ships may commence firing!” he said quickly.
“Tango1 and 2 have been hit. Tango2 is breaking up. Shifting targeting to Tango3 and 4. Durendal reports two hits with three more targets remaining. Cannon will be ready to fire in three…two…one…now. Tango3 and 4 have been hit. Recommend firing again on Tango1 and 4.”
“Approved!” yelled Koenig. The adrenaline rush was making it hard to stay calm.
“Durendals reports two more hits. Two new reflection sources detected. TacComp calculates ninety-seven percent probability that new sources are spacecraft, and they are now maneuvering. Switch fire to new targets?”
“Negative!”
“Cannon will be ready to fire again in two…one…now. Tango1 and 4 hit again. Both targets appear to be breaking up. Durendal reports fifth orbiting target hit plus one new maneuvering target also hit. Both ships will be beyond effective range in thirteen seconds. Detecting Tong radar emissions. Adjusting hull orientation to minimize detection risk. Both ships are now beyond effective range. Durendal tactical AI reports no damage sustained.”
Koenig breathed a sigh of relief. With their speed and range from the Tong ships, it was highly unlikely that any Tong graser fire would hit either swordship. The raid had gone about as well as could be expected. It was now time to take care of the one remaining task left for this mission.
“Com, send the recorded message in a wide beam to the fourth planet and the Tong home world.” The message, translated into the Tong language would tell the Tong leadership that humans were willing to discuss a negotiated end to the fighting and the possibility of ceding control over one or more colonizable planets to the Tong to allow for an evacuation before the super-wave hit Tong worlds. He didn’t expect a reply. By the time the Tong leadership received the message and decided on a response, both swordships would be long gone. TOSF Intelligence expected the Tong to send one ship
to Sol or perhaps Tau Ceti with a reply, and that would take weeks.
In the meantime, Durendal would return to Earth and Excalibur would try to find the Tassafaronga. Koenig knew he was skating on thin ice with this detour. HQ had not specifically authorized looking further afield, but then again, they hadn’t forbidden it either, and there was no explicit deadline for returning to Earth. The trip from the Tong home system to LS1 took less than one week.
The arrival at LS1 was anti-climactic. The red super giant star had no planets worthy of the name. Excalibur spent half a day surveying the system carefully for any signs of a ship but found nothing. The question became where to look next. There were two alternatives: a star system with a relatively small sun five point five light years away in the general direction of the nearest human colony and a larger star only three point three light years away on a bearing that was over 90 degrees off to the side. Vasily thought the Tassafaronga commander would try to reach the nearest human colony. Koenig wasn’t so sure. The ship’s OAE had been getting worse with each jump before it disappeared. Even a routine distance of five and a half light years would be a challenge, especially for trying to hit the smaller gravity well.