Nanomachine War series Box Set

by Don Viecelli

  Chapter 18

  Holtu Space Battle

  Vice Leader Di led the humans to the Zoltu fighter spacecraft sitting on the landing pad in front of the manufacturing plant. Doug knew the fighter was 30 meters long, 10 meters wide and 3 meters in diameter from seeing them up close several times, but it looked much bigger when standing next to one. The Zoltu in front of him was silver in color with an image of a clawed bird on the side that reminded Doug of a Golden Eagle found on Earth.

  “What type of bird is that?” Doug asked Di as they climbed steps leading inside the fighter.

  “The bird is called Raku on our planet. It has claws the size of my hand and can kill its prey with one snap of its large peak. It is very graceful in flight. Perhaps you will see a live Raku during our flight.”

  Inside, space was tight. There was room in the cockpit for two pilots. Di took one of the seats and pointed for Doug to sit in the other. General Bradstone and James sat in seats directly behind the pilots. There was room for two more people if needed.

  Di said to Doug, “I will fly and you will observe. If something unusual happens, the AIC we call Control will take over.

  Doug was not concerned. He was an experienced Marine pilot and knew the AIC could take over and fly a Zoltu fighter on its own. He was planning to receive the Zoltu Memory Immersion training before leaving Holtu. Doug was determined to fight the Yoyka with every weapon he had if the Yoyka showed up in Earth’s Solar System.

  When everyone was strapped into their seats, Di showed Doug how to put on his flight helmet that would communicate directly with the Zoltu control system using a telepathic connection. As far as Doug understood, this allowed immediate control of the fighter flight and weapon systems. For this flight, Di would be the only one in control of the fighter, but Doug would be able to sense what is happening.

  Di cleared the takeoff with the control tour and the Zoltu shot straight up at a fast rate of climb. Doug saw the ground shrink in size on his view monitor, which everyone could also see on a screen behind the pilot seats.

  The Zoltu fighter stopped climbing at thirty thousand feet and headed in a westerly direction over the mountain range. Di said, “I will take you to our second largest city. It is called Meratu located in the far western region on the largest of several islands. The Qumru like it there because of the warm climate.

  When they reached Meratu, they flew slowly over the islands. Doug could see how beautiful the city looked spread out over a lush tree covered island with nice beaches surrounded by clear, azure blue sea. There were all kinds of sailing vessels and ships on the water. “It looks like a very nice place to take a vacation.”

  Di flew on to another part of Holtu where the deserts were being converted to farms using desalinated seawater, then on to the southern pole where the snow cover was much smaller than on Earth, and finally to a region on Holtu where their great canyon existed.

  “We call this the Teotu Sempu. It is almost as large as the Valles Marineris Grand Canyon on your planet Mars,” Di said flying low above the vast canyon rim on one side.

  Suddenly, Di pointed outside the window. “See, there is a Ratu searching for its food.” True to his word, everyone saw the eagle-like bird with its brown, golden streaked wings sailing gracefully through the air before streaking down to the river at the bottom of the canyon to pluck a large silver fish with its talons from the rapidly moving water.

  Di flew the Zoltu fighter with its three human passengers to several more spots on Holtu showing them what a lovely planet Holtu is. Certainly, it was as bountiful and unspoiled as any inhabitable planet could be in the universe. Protecting it from the Yoyka was going to be the Holtu military’s biggest challenge in the months to come, thought Doug.

  “We will now leave Holtu and fly into space. I will show you our space stations, many of which are military defense platforms to protect our planet.”

  Di guided the Zoltu quickly upwards from the planet below. The lowest orbiting space stations were smaller in size that served as second homes for Qumru people who preferred living or vacationing in space. There were dozens of them slowing rotating around the planet. Above them were larger stations that served another purpose.

  “These are our military defense space stations. They contain energy beam weapons and long range nuclear missile platforms. They include Holtu military forces on constant duty monitoring our star system. Inside many of them are Zoltu fighter wings ready to deploy at a moment’s notice. Much of our pilot training is done in space from these hangars before pilots are stationed on warships.”

  Di headed out to another smaller planet 140 million miles from Holtu. The Zoltu made excellent time travelling at twenty percent light speed, which took a little over an hour’s time.

  “This planet is like your Mars. It is called Natonu. We are in the process of terraforming the planet for Qumru use. In another hundred of our years, it will have its own atmosphere.”

  Di was ready to say more when several alarm warnings lit up the control panel. Even Doug sensed something was wrong from his helmet displays.

  “Warning! Enemy fighters exiting hyperspace! Two fighters detected!” the AIC voiced over the speaker system in Holtu and translated in English for its passengers.

  “What’s happening, Di?” General Bradstone asked looking out his window.

  “Yoyka Spitka fighters have entered our star system from hyperspace. They are close enough to be of danger.”

  More warnings went off. “Enemy missiles fired! Counter measures activated! We are evading missile attack!” AIC took over Zoltu controls. It could react faster than even a Holtu android pilot like Di and defend itself from attack with the highest probability of success. Di made no moves to take back control.

  The Zoltu fired its laser beam anti-missile defense guns at the incoming missiles and they were quickly destroyed before they could get any closer. Di listened to the communications from several other Holtu fighters closing in on the Yoyka Spitkas. At least ten Spitka fighters had exited hyperspace in five different locations. Two of them that attacked Di’s Zoltu fighter were the closest to Holtu. They seemed intent on destroying them.

  Di considered his options while the AIC evaded the enemy fighters. He wanted to attack them head on and show them what a Zoltu fighter can do, but his passengers were too important to risk losing. “We must leave here and let others take care of this attack. I am returning to Holtu.”

  Di made one quick pass around Natonu to put distance between them and the enemy fighters. Two other Holtu Zoltu fighters attacked the Yoyka Spitkas from behind and destroyed them with missile strikes before Di even turned to head back to Holtu.

  James was looking out both windows and checking his monitor screen when two large flashed of light filled his screen. “We got them!” he yelled, his knuckles turning white on his arm rest.

  General Bradstone was calm in the storm of action. He didn’t seem worried when Doug turned his head to look at him. “Are you alright, General?”

  “Nothing to worry about, boys. Those two enemy fighters never had a chance.”

  Di continued on course back to Holtu listening to communications with military leaders. “I believe the general is right. We destroyed six of the Spitkas before the rest jumped back into hyperspace. They were testing our star system defenses.”

  “There must be a Yoyka warship close by,” Doug said.

  “We are searching for it now, but it could be anywhere; too far to detect. One thing is certain. The Yoyka will send a fleet of warships to attack next. We must be ready for them. However, it will take them many days to reach us. Our surveillance probes are watching them and reporting their status. By the time they are ready, we will have our warships and Zoltu fighters updated with improved FTL hyperdrive power systems.”

  “You could attack them first?” Doug surmised.

  “It is being considered,” was all Di was willing to say.

  Chapter 19

  A Breakthrough

  J
anice and Tumil were working at the Holtu research lab when Tumil shouted excitedly, “I have something!”

  “What is it Tumil?”

  “The Yoyka brain tissue samples are reacting to the new nano-agents. They are attaching themselves to the Yoyka neurons. I think we have made them infectious to Yoyka DNA.”

  Janice walked over to Tumil’s table and looked through at the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) screen. The Qumru silver colored nanomachines where indeed attaching themselves to the tissue samples. “You’re right, Tumil. The nanites are working. What happens when you send a quantum code command?”

  Tumil issued a command to his quantum computer and they both watched as the nanomachines responded by sending an electrical charge into the cell nucleus. The neurons and attached axons on the screen lit up and began to explode. The tissue cells were completely destroyed in seconds. It was shocking to look at.

  “This is what the Yoyka did to our people on Earth and Mars,” Janice voiced in sadness.

  “The quantum code I sent cannot be broken, just as the code the Yoyka Emperor sent over their quantum link. It is mathematically impossible to break a quantum code.”

  “I know, Tumil. What we have done is create the same nano-weapon the Yoyka have. We can now infect the Yoyka the same way they have infected our people. But they can also develop a preventative nano-agent as we did, maybe even quicker.”

  Janice sat quietly for a moment, deep in thought. “If we can’t break their quantum code or stop them from sending a kill code command, maybe we should approach this problem from another angle?”

  “What are you thinking, Janice?”

  “Our preventative nano-agent keeps the Yoyka nanomachines from entering the brain. What if we make them bigger or stronger than the nanomachines? We could attack them directly and disable them inside the brain.”

  Tumil thought for a moment when inspiration hit. “They don’t have to be stronger or bigger. All we would have to do is give them a shock to disable their circuitry without affecting the neurons.”

  Janice liked that idea. “Our nanites would just have to attach themselves to the nanomachines and shock them to disable their tethers. Once the nanomachines detach from the neurons, we just flush them out of the body.”

  It was a novel approach; even simpler in design. Nanites already had the ability to generate an electrical charge. They would just change the voltage, however minutely, to achieve the needed results. They began immediately to find a solution. Tumil worked on revising the code while Janice developed a test program for the quantum computer. They were ready for their first test within the hour. This time they would test the solution on infected brain tissue samples from the 16 Qumru crewmembers brought back from Mars still in cryostasis chambers on the Solruku starship.

  Janice manipulated a tissue sample under the STM that contained numerous neuron cells infected with nanomachines already attached. Then they introduced Qumru nano-agents modified to quickly seek out and attach themselves to the nanomachines.

  Tumil activated the code sent over the quantum link. The effect was instantaneous. The Yoyka nanomachines lit up on the STM screen in a bright red color and their tethers fell away from the neurons. The nano-agents did not wait to see how long the effect would last. They quickly floated the unattached nanomachines into the glymphatic system where brain neurotoxins are drained into the cerebral spinal fluid and absorbed by the bloodstream. In a few hours, all the nanomachines would be removed from the body.

  The test was successful. Janice and Tumil were ecstatic. “We did it Tumil! With a few more tests, should be able to remove the Yoyka nanomachines in your people!”

  Tumil gave Janice a big hug. “I am most grateful for your help. Without the Yoyka tissue samples, we would never have achieved these results so quickly.”

  “You should tell First Chair Cleota immediately.”

  “This will indeed be great news for our people. We will tell her together as soon as we complete the final tests. We found the solution together. I will not take credit alone.”

  Janice smiled at Tumil. She appreciated the gesture. It was indicative of a true, selfless scientist. She would have done the same thing. Maybe, just maybe, this discovery will help win the war.

  Chapter 20

  Galactic Military Alliance

  The days moved swiftly on Holtu. Doug was amazed at the military capabilities of the Holtu androids. He and General “Bill” Bradstone had toured several military installations with High Leader Altek and Vice Leader Di over the past two days. As far as the General could determine, the Holtu troops were well equipped, trained and ready to fight the Yoyka and win on even terms. However, the Yoyka had many more warships and troops than the Holtu alone and the circumstances were anything but even.

  Today, Doug, James and General Bradstone were sitting down at a large conference table in the Iconda Capitol Building to negotiate final contract terms for the new military alliance with the Holtu and Qumru peoples and Earth military forces. Present at the table were First Chair Brendu, First Chair Cleota, Vice Chair Penda, High Leader Altek, Vice Leader Di, several military aids and other government officials.

  Each person had a digital copy of the proposed Galactic Military Alliance (GMA) contract terms and conditions for final review and comments. If all went well, this new contract would be approved and signed before the day ended. Doug had been working on the final terms and conditions for almost two days with little rest, negotiating with everyone involved to reach agreement. Today would result in final signatures from First Chairs Brendu and Cleota unless something needed to be changed.

  It was time to convene the meeting. Doug had the floor, so to speak. Everyone present had language translators plugged into their ears. He cleared his throat and brought the meeting to order. “I hope everyone here has reviewed the final contract terms and conditions for this new military alliance between our races. I have been in contact with Earth leaders and they have reviewed the terms and are ready to approve the document. Special thanks to Vice Leader Di for setting up the QTL quantum transmission link between Holtu and Earth.

  “General Bradstone and High Leader Altek have reviewed all the military commitments and responsibilities for Holtu’s military forces and Earth’s United Nations Space Strike Force as defined in the contract. They are in agreement with the terms and conditions.

  “I have reviewed this contract with the United Nations Secretary General and the Security Council Members. They are prepared to approve this document if there are no further changes. The floor is open for final comments.”

  First Chair Brendu motioned to speak. “I would like to say a few words.” He fiddled with his translator device to speak louder. “First, it has been a privilege to meet these Humans from Earth. I welcome this opportunity to join forces with Earth against the Yoykan Empire. We all know how evil they are and their forces must be defeated or we will all perish. The Holtu were created to serve and protect the Qumru people. Unfortunately, we cannot do this alone. I believe, with this alliance, we will be able to defeat the Yoyka threat and free our people on Qum.”

  Brendu stopped speaking and turned his head towards First Chair Cleota who began to speak. “I agree with First Chair Brendu. The Humans at this table helped save my life and a billion other Qumru souls before arriving safely on Holtu. The Qumru race has always been peaceful and is not prepared to fight an enemy like the Yoyka without help. We have relied on our Holtu androids to protect us, but the time has come to accept help from others who have the military experience and willingness to fight and protect their civilizations from merciless races like the Yoyka. If we do not fight them now and defeat them, then all of us will be subjected to the same or worse fate as our people on Qum. I am ready to join forces with the peoples of Earth.”

  Doug went around the table and everyone was in agreement that the Galactic Military Alliance document was ready to sign without any more changes. Doug signed his name first and passed the document to First Chair Br
endu, then to First Chair Cleota. It was a momentous occasion felt by everyone in the room. It was also an undeniable realization that war was inevitable with the Yoykan Empire.

  Doug gathered up the signing tablet and was ready to conclude this meeting. “I will transmit this document with signatures to our United Nations Secretary General on Earth, Alejandro Garcia Lopez, so he can present it to the UN Security Council for final approval. Signed copies will be sent back as soon as possible. In the meantime, we must continue to prepare for war. I’m afraid this is just the beginning, but by joining our military forces, I believe we now have a very good chance of winning.”

  Doug sounded hopeful, but in the back of his mind he knew this war was not going to end without disastrous consequences for all involved. After all, that is the outcome of all wars.

  Chapter 21

  Qum

  The situation inside the Qumru research center deep in the mountains on Qum was getting more chaotic as Killian and Jopar watched people carry their belongings and race to the departing passenger shuttles, which would carry them to another hidden facility far away. Time was running out.

  “Where will we go?” Killian asked, holding tightly onto Jopar’s hand as they moved with the crowd.

  “First Leader Randu said there is another government facility on the other side of the country. It was meant for our government leaders, but they never had a chance to use it before the Yoyka infected our people with their nanomachines. We will go there and hide.”

  “We’ll never be able to save our people if the Yoyka capture this lab. All our Onutu equipment and regeneration chambers will be lost.”

  “Randu has no choice. He must destroy this facility to keep the Yoyka from stealing Onutu for themselves. It would be disastrous for our technology to fall into enemy hands.” Jopar believed this completely. He knew Killian would accept this soon enough.