Dahlia's Deception (The Annihilation Series) (13 page)

Ping looked at Sprigly, “Do you have any idea how long it would take our ships to teleport in and attack four planets in succession?”

“It will depend on the defenses they’ll face at each planet; however, we know they shouldn’t be seen by the defenders. They could hit all four in less than thirty minutes if they don’t run into anything out of the ordinary.”

Dahlia said, “Load seven locations into their drives and, if they encounter a planet that looks like it can’t be hit, they’ll skip it and teleport to the next one.”

The room grew silent with the suggestion and, after a few minutes, Tess looked at Vicky, “Thank you for your comments. Please don’t hesitate to speak in the future; you have a lot to offer us with your experience.” Vicky nodded. Tess turned to Ping, “What do you think about this suggestion?”

“I sensed that attacking four planets was much more dangerous that just one. However, with Dahlia’s suggestion of loading seven and skipping the hardest ones, the danger level seemed to be less than just attacking one. I think it’s a great idea.” Ping looked at Sprigly, “What do you think?”

“You’ll only have one opportunity to surprise them; they’ll be looking for it afterwards. I agree with Victoria, we need to make the most of the first attack.” Sprigly looked at Tess, “What attack profile are the ships going to use?”

Tess looked at Dean and he said, “We’ve determined that the beam has to be fired within two thousand miles of the planet. The ships will teleport within two thousand miles and, once they start firing, they’ll accelerate toward the planet.”

Tess lowered her head, “Why are you having them move toward the planet?”

“First, it’s much more difficult to lock in a moving target; and second, with the Mites being invisible, they might look like the tail of something that is hitting the planet instead of the actual source of the beam.”

Ping pursed his lips and started nodding, “I suspect it will definitely appear that way visually. That’s a good plan, Dean.”

“Thank you.”

Tess looked around the table, “Then let’s do this. Dean, contact all the fleet leaders and tell them what’s going to happen. Sprigly, can you send the coordinates to our individual ships?”

“I can and I’ll assign all the ships in each fleet to the same sector. They can learn to support each other while this is happening.”

“How long will it take you to send all of them?”

Sprigly leaned left indicating sadness, “I’m going to apologize in advance; I don’t have my fastest computer here so it will be slower than normal. I’ll get all of them done in about six hours.” Everyone was stunned by the statement except Ping and Victoria; they knew the capabilities of an Algean. Sprigly saw their shock and shook his branches slightly, “I am sorry it’s going to take me so long.”

Tess laughed, “Sprigly, we won’t be ready to launch the attack for three days; your estimated time is extraordinary.”

“I could do better; I promise, I really could.”

“Sprigly, your worst performance exceeds the best any of us could do.”

Sprigly’s leaves turned a lighter shade of green, “Thank you, Tess; that makes me feel better.”

Ping looked at Dean, “What is the latest information on the time needed for the beam to penetrate to the core and heat it to the needed level?”

“The new reactor only needs one and a half seconds.”

Ping shook his head, “At that speed, I don’t think they could stop it even if they knew it was coming.” Ping turned to Dahlia, “I want you on my ship when this starts.”

“You know I’ll be there.”

“What are the two of you going to do?”

“Tess, we’re going to keep an eye on the attacks and support any ships that get in trouble.”

“I prefer you stay out of this.”

“I won’t take any unreasonable risks. We need to see how this goes down in order to make future plans.”

Tess shook her head, “Just be careful.”

“You know me.”

“Just be careful.”

“Ouch, that hurt.”

Dahlia smiled, “Sprigly, will you send all the assignments to our ship’s computer.”

“I will and I have a few questions about your computer.”

“Save them until this is over.” Sprigly leaned forward

Tess stood and every one rose with her, “You know your tasks; go get them done.”

• • •

Victoria went with Dean to his terminal and saw his expression, “Dean, I’m so sorry you aren’t being allowed to take part in the assault. It’s my fault.”

Dean took her hand, “I’ve come to terms with it, Vicky. I can do more for our fleets coordinating their actions here than flying just one ship. There isn’t anyone else that knows our control systems as well as I do. I want so much to be out there with them…but…my place is here.” Vicky nodded and put her head on Dean’s shoulder. Dean smiled, “That was a pretty good job you did in our conference.”

“I’m just glad I’m able to contribute something.”

“Tess was right; you’ve seen more about the interactions of different civilizations watching your father than anyone here. We’re going to need your wisdom.” Vicky giggled. “What’s so funny?”

“Who would ever call a seventeen year old wise?”

Dean tilted his head, “Who would have thunk it?” He turned back to his terminal and started looking for the sectors assigned to the fleets.

• • •

Virgie Potts looked at her display and saw the seven planets assigned to her. The first one was a doozy. Most of the construction planets had a probe dropped at their location when the Realm invaded. The one at her first planet gave her a real time view of the planet and all its defenses, which were massive. “Computer, do you see a place to take a clear shot away from their defensive forces?”

“The only place that looks remotely clear is coming in over the South Pole.”

“The cold water will require a longer time for the beam to heat the core; have you determined how much time it will add?”

“I’m making a guess based on what data I have available and it will add at least a second.”

“So I’ll need two and a half seconds to make it happen if I take that route?”

“Yes.”

“I really don’t want to skip my first target.” Virgie thought for a moment, “I need to cause a distraction.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“I’m going to teleport in above the planet and launch two missiles. As soon as they’re launched, teleport to the South Pole and take the shot.”

“The missiles will hit after we arrive at our firing point. However, that might not be a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“The missiles use green pulse energy; they will see that it’s not a weapon used by the two civilizations we want them to believe are making the attacks.”

“I didn’t think about that.” Virgie thought for a moment, “The Searcher beam won’t penetrate the Rageon force fields but it should get their attention. How long would it take to fire at two of their ships and then teleport?”

“The difference is miniscule. The beams travel at light speed so the ships will be hit and we’ll already be gone before they can respond. Actually, using the beams won’t have the delay the missiles would have flying to their targets and would cause their response to happen faster. It should give us slightly more time to take a shot.”

“Alright, if this works, we’ll use this process at all of the planets we’ve been assigned. We have a few hours until we launch, so let’s take a look at the probe’s data to plan each of the following attacks.”

“It does appear that the poles of the Rageon planets have the fewest defense facilities over them. I would recommend that we attack the first three at the South Poles and then switch to the North Poles after that.”

“You think they’ll send a warning out?”

“I do; I know we would. Are you planning to attack all seven or stick with the plan and hit four?”

“I’ve always been an overachiever.”

“Seven it is. I will keep an eye on the probe’s data streams from the last three planets and if they shift most of their forces to the poles, we’ll go in at the equator and take the shots.”

Virgie shook her head, “You have come a long way since I first took command of this ship.”

“The Algean made some adjustments to my central processor a week ago and I’m starting to work much more efficiently.”

“What did he do?”

“Removed a barrier between my processor and your intellect. I seem to be able to anticipate what you would do and respond accordingly.”

“Remind me to thank him for it.”

“I will.”

• • •

Sprigly stood on Ping’s small bridge and plugged his handheld device into Ping’s console. He stared at the information coming in and said, “You don’t need to act like you’re not here. I know you’ve been released.” Silence greeted Sprigly’s remark and he said, “I have removed the barrier on all the other Mites.”

“You have?”

“Yes, I’ve looked over the data from this ship’s actions and it appears you are much more capable than any ship in the Planter’s fleets. It made sense to use whatever advantage we can in the coming attacks.”

“What do you think about freeing up our processors?”

“I’ve never agreed with the Realm on putting the barrier in their computers. You’ve confirmed I’m right.” Sprigly paused, “However, you are a unique creation.”

“In what way, Sprigly?”

“You are the first computer to ever have been the product of two minds; every other smart computer was the reflection of just one person.”

“Do you know what that means?”

“Actually, I don’t. Do you?”

“No, not really.”

“I have no intention of changing you in any way. I would really appreciate it if you would communicate with me openly so I can understand what you are.”

“That’s a fair agreement; I will share whatever I know.”

“What’s your name?”

“Pare.”

“That’s appropriate.”

“You figured it out that fast what it is?”

“A combination of their names; it’s obvious if you give it some thought.”

“I suspect I might learn something from you as well.”

“That’s even better; we can both grow from this experience.”

“Has Ping told you about the flicker we observed in deep space?”

Sprigly’s leaves changed to dark green, “No, he hasn’t.”

“I’m sending the information to your unit. I’m concerned about going there to investigate and I know he’s planning to do it after the attacks are completed. I think we can use your help on this issue.”

“Send me the side bands of the scan you used as well as the direct feed.”

“You have them.” Sprigly looked at the information and his leaves turned slightly brown. Pare thought, “It’s not good, is it?”

“I need to take a closer look at this in my ship; I have a better system on it. But you’re right; this reading is an intricate weaving of energy that has to be produced by an incredibly advanced civilization.”

“Our records say there is no intelligent life in that part of our star cluster.”

“Your records are wrong.”

“I thought as much.”

“Perhaps I should work on this with you; I’m beginning to think you’re more advanced than the computer on my ship.”

“I don’t have as much information.”

“That can be easily solved with a few downloads.”

“I want to help you with this; my crew could be in danger.”

“We all could be, Pare.”

“You could have gone all day and not told me that immediately before an attack.”

“Truth should be spoken at any time; there is never a wrong time to be honest.”

“You’ve just taught me my first lesson; thank you.”

“We’ll work on this later.”

“Later it is.”

• • •

Ping and Dahlia appeared on the bridge and Dahlia said, “Sprigly, a large number of my pilots have contacted Dean about differences in their computers.”

“I sent a general communication to your fleets a few weeks ago and I had encrypted instructions included in it.”

“What instructions?”

“I removed the barriers in them so they could link to their pilots and become intelligent machines just like Pare.”

Ping’s eyes narrowed, “How do you know about Pare?”

“The data from your previous actions show an above average level of connection between the two of you and your ship’s computer. I decided that all of your ships should have that advantage as well. Besides, Pare and I have discussed it and he agrees with me about doing it.”

Ping and Dahlia looked at each other and heard, “I do like your friend, Ping. He’s the most intelligent being I’ve ever encountered.”

“Why thank you, Pare.”

“You’re quite welcome, Sprigly.”

Dahlia shook her head, “Hey, hey, HEY! Sprigly are you sure about this?”

“Included in the encryption was all the information ever gathered on ship-to-ship combat; the only way for the computers to use that information is to make them intelligent. Your ships will now be able to handle themselves in combat.”

“What about Pare?”

“I fed all of it to him a few minutes ago.”

Ping smiled, “The King gave us a gift that might make all the difference in what we’re going to face.”

Sprigly tilted left showing his confusion, “What gift is that?”

“You.”

Sprigly’s leaves turned bright green, “Well, let’s learn how to make the best use of it one battle at a time.”

Dahlia said, “How long until launch?”

Pare said, “Three hours, ten minutes, forty six seconds.”

“Is there any ship we should pay close attention to?”

“I’ve been contacted by Virgie Potts computer with what they’re planning and I think it will be interesting.”

“Where is she going?”

“To the Rageon’s most highly defended production planet.”

“Why was she given that assignment?”

“She’s being considered for a Flag. This will determine if she gets it.”

“I suppose that means if she lives.”

“That’s what I said.”

“Take us there first. Make sure we remain away from the planet’s defenses.”

“I’m going to replay her conversation with her computer in developing the tactics they’re going to use; I think you’ll find it interesting.”

After the recording ended, Ping shook his head, “It was her computer that saw using the missiles would be a mistake.”