The Synchronicity War Part 3 (14 page)

"Ah … okay, Midway. Orders understood and acknowledged.
Preparing to undock." The pilot's voice was heavy with shock.
"Breaking the seal now." A few seconds later he said, "We're
clear and moving away. Resolute's hatch is still open, Midway! They're losing
atmosphere! Shit!  Some of those Bugs are being blown into space towards us!
They look like they're trying to grab onto the shuttle's hull!"

"Shuttle One, if they grab hold, shake them off!
Accelerate at high speed if you have to!" said Shiloh in a loud voice.

"Oh that'll be a pleasure, Midway. I guarantee we won't
be bringing any of those fuckers aboard the ship!"

"Iceman, switch back to tactical," ordered Shiloh.

"Tactical is on the screen. These Insectoids seem to be
able to survive in a vacuum at least for a short while, CAG. When we recover
the shuttle, do you still want to board Valiant?"

"I'm not prepared to write that crew off without a
closer look, but we'll do it very carefully."

"Roger that. The shuttle is no longer accelerating and
is coming back around, CAG."

"I want that shuttle examined visually from all angles
before Flight Ops lets it back aboard, Iceman," said Shiloh firmly.

"Flight Ops has the word," responded Iceman.

Shiloh said nothing. It took another five minutes before the
shuttle was on its final approach to Midway's Hangar Bay.

"Resolute's crew were probably already dead, CAG,"
said Iceman suddenly. "Those Insectoids on her would eventually need to
eat something to survive."

"Unless some of the crew were able to barricade
themselves from the rest of the ship," said Shiloh.

"Unlikely, CAG. I've been examining Resolute's hull
damage. There are very few parts of the ship that haven't already suffered
explosive decompression from hull breaches. That's how the Insectoids got
inside in the first place. Since they were found in the part of the ship that
still had atmosphere, they clearly found a way into the sealed off
sections."

"We'll never know for sure if there are still living
crew aboard her or not, and the thought that they might be waiting for rescue
is going to haunt me for the rest of my life," said Shiloh slowly. To his
credit, Iceman said nothing.

When the shuttle was back aboard (without any stowaways!),
Shiloh ordered Midway to proceed to a rendezvous with Valiant's hull. A brief
chat with the shuttle pilot and co-pilot quickly revealed that they were
willing to take a shuttle over to Valiant once Shiloh explained the precautions
he had in mind. The medics all agreed to go again as well. Shiloh asked for
volunteers to replace the engineers. With the shuttle on its way, two fighters
attempted to look into hull breaches with their external lights. One of them
saw several Insectoids moving around inside the breached hull. How they were
able to operate for this length of time in a vacuum was a question that no one
could answer. What the fighters also discovered was that none of Valiant's
external hatches were undamaged. That meant that the shuttle couldn't dock and
gain access at all. With no way to get in, Shiloh ordered the shuttle to return.
Valiant had to be written off as a lost cause. As soon as the shuttle was back
aboard again, Iceman turned Midway towards the Site B star and accelerated at a
low enough rate that all the fighters, including the two assigned to look
inside the gutted mothership, could catch up to her before she jumped away.

By the time that Midway was approaching Terra Nova's gravity
zone, Iceman had heard about the results of TF94's mission and was briefing
Shiloh on it.

"They only destroyed five core ships? Why only
five?" asked Shiloh.

"Because there were only five core ships there when
TF94 arrived, CAG. Number six was gone. The remotely piloted raiders worked
well. All five hit their targets, which were blown to pieces. The detonations
took out many of the landing craft, and Titan's boys managed to destroy or
cripple the rest. When TF94 left, there wasn't a single insectoid craft left
that was still operational. Reconnaissance from orbit showed that the Bugs on
the ground were heavily outnumbered by the Sogas, and without their landing
craft to provide air cover, they were being overwhelmed by the sheer number of
Sogas fighting them. I've reviewed the recon data, CAG. Even if the Sogas take
back control of their home world, all their major cities have been stripped of
metal, and while I can't be certain of the magnitude, I can say that they've
lost a lot of their population. Whatever space-based industrial assets they had
are now gone too. I think it'll be a long time before the Sogas are able to
threaten us again, CAG."

Shiloh shook his head emphatically. "No. They're NEVER
going to be able to threaten us again. I'll make damn sure of that! I wouldn't
wish the Bugs on anyone, but what the Sogas have gone through doesn't absolve
them of what they did to us."

"Understood, CAG. We'll be in orbit within 43 minutes.
Commander Kelly has been told of our arrival and I've been informed that she
intends to meet you at the spaceport."

Just as his vision had shown. While Shiloh was no longer
surprised when his visions came true, he still felt a profound sense of relief.
"Bring me up to date on the level of Space Force assets we have now,
Iceman."

"Total raider force is now 101, and 21 of them are on
recon missions inside Sogas space. We also have 122 fighters, all of which are
now converted to ZPG power. At this point in time, 24 of those fighters are
being used to train new A.I. pilots. None of them have matured to sentience
yet. Production of A.I.s is continuing. The stockpile of drones is as follows:
220 recon, 118 message, 45 Mark 1bs, 167 Mark 2s. Support assets are unchanged
at 2 freighters and 16 shuttles of which 12 are jump-capable. Do you want a
report on mining, refining and manufacturing output, CAG?"

"No, that's sufficient. Given our available forces now,
what would you recommend we do to find and destroy that missing core ship,
Iceman?"

"CAG, I've been in contact with the SPG and we've
swapped data. They've come up with an idea that I think will enhance our
effectiveness against all insectoid motherships regardless of size, but the
downside is that this idea will require time to implement."

"I definitely want to hear it, Iceman. Go ahead."

"We now know that attacking a mothership when it's
inside a gravity zone is very difficult because of the magnitude of the
mothership's own defenses and its multiple parasite craft. If we can catch a
mothership outside of a gravity zone, then we hit it will fusion warheads
delivered by drones that have jump capability. Think of a message drone carrying
a Mark 1b warhead. The drone is accelerated to a modest speed. It then makes a
carefully calculated microjump to emerge back into normal space so close to the
target that the target doesn’t have time to fire lasers at it. A smaller core
ship, such as the one that is missing, could be crippled with one hit or
destroyed with two. The much larger motherships would have to be hit by at
least 34 Mark 1b warheads, but if we upgrade the warhead yield to at least 25
megatons from its current 2.5 megatons, then the number of hits required will
drop proportionately. Having said that, production of enriched uranium will be
the major bottleneck. And having said THAT, I should also point out that a very
preliminary evaluation of some of the Friendly science data suggests that
uranium enrichment efficiency could be boosted by an order of magnitude if the
basic science can be engineered to work on an industrial scale."

 After an almost imperceptible pause, Iceman continued.
"If we decide to go with this strategy, then one raider, supported by at
least 2 fighters armed with the new jump-capable attack drones, would monitor
every star system that an insectoid mothership might visit. The fighters would
stay just outside the gravity zone of whatever planet is most likely to be of
interest to the Insectoids, and the raider would stay further out. If they
can't ambush the mothership on its way in, they'll get another chance to hit it
on its way out. So not only would we get advanced warning of insectoid ship
incursions, but we'd also have defense-in-depth. Any advancing mothership would
have to run a gauntlet of armed raiders and fighters, CAG."

Shiloh was impressed. It sounded good. In fact it sounded
VERY good.

"I like the concept. Now let's talk about execution.
How soon can we have jump-capable attack drones with our current Mark 1b
warheads?" asked Shiloh.

"Actually we could have some testable prototypes within
48-96 hours. It should be relatively easy to take out some of the data storage
components of a standard message drone and replace them with the warhead. When
we replaced the heavy hydrogen power plant with ZPG units, we freed up a lot of
room. We could have made those message drones smaller, but as you'll recall,
the decision was made to continue using the existing design in order to
maintain uninterrupted production. If we're going to R&D a much more
powerful warhead, then it will make sense to redesign the whole thing to
accommodate that larger warhead."

"Good! Let's get to work on the prototypes right away.
I want one of your boys to design a jump-capable attack drone that can handle
anything up to a 50-megaton warhead, and I want the payload to be modular so
that we can use the basic drone as a message drone if needed. Then it easily
can be configured not only as an attack drone but as a recon drone, too. That
way we'll have one standard chassis that can be used for a multitude of mission
types."

"Very clever idea, CAG. I've already sent the necessary
instructions. What about the enhanced uranium enrichment process?"

Shiloh nodded. "That will definitely have a high
priority, but I want to talk with Daniels and the SPG about priorities for all
our R&D projects. Schedule a meeting at … 0730 hours tomorrow."

"Let's hope Commander Kelly will let go of you that
early, CAG."

Shiloh chuckled but made no verbal comment. Iceman had
managed to lighten his mood and Shiloh was grateful for that.

As his shuttle came to a stop, the hatch opened and Shiloh
stepped down onto Terra Nova's soil once again. He closed his eyes and took a
deep breath, savoring the fragrant smell of the local flora and human
occupation.
It's a good day to be alive,
he thought. Opening his eyes,
he saw Kelly walk quickly towards him with a look of relief on her face. He
wondered if he saw a tinge of sadness, too.

As she came up to him, she put her arms around his neck,
hugged him and whispered into his ear, "I heard what happened. I
understand why you had to go."

He carefully hugged her back. "I now understand why,
too. I didn't when I left." He paused, not certain whether to say what he
wanted to next. "I'm sorry I couldn't save Valkyrie. I know how close you
were to her. I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye."

Kelly pulled back from her embrace, and Shiloh saw the tears
rolling down her cheeks. Her reply surprised him.

"Before she cut off communications, she transmitted a
message to Iceman with instructions for him to pass that message on to me when
Midway got back, but it's actually a message to both of us. She told me that she
would have refused any order from you to abort the ramming attempt and the
reasons why. She said that she loves us both and regrets not being here to see
the birth of our child. She said if it's a girl, she would like us to name her
Valkyrie."

Shiloh got over his shock quickly. At the speed with which
A.I.s communicated with each other, that message would have taken only a
fraction of a second to transmit to Iceman. He mulled over her request.
Valkyrie Shiloh. It would take some getting used to, but yes … he could live
with it, and he couldn't think of a better way to honor his dead friend.

"Yes, I agree, but what if it's a boy?"

Kelly smiled, all traces of sadness now gone. "Well …
Valkyrie could be his middle name, or we could break it up into two names … Val
Kyrie Shiloh? Val has been used as a male first name before."

He quickly thought about that and said, "Let's go with
middle name. Now that we've covered that, tell me how you’re doing?"

She nodded, "I'm fine. The medics say everything is proceeding
normally. I’m just glad I'm not the only pregnant woman on this planet. It's
nice to be able to get together with others in the same condition who
understand what it's like! Men say they understand, but they really
don't."

They both laughed. When they finished, her expression became
serious. "Iceman tells me that the mission was only partially successful
and that we're still in danger."

He nodded, making a mental note to have a chat with Iceman
about scaring his wife. "A tactical victory but a strategic defeat. We're
not out of the woods yet."

She sighed then asked, "Are your riding-off-to-battle
days over now?"

"I hope so, but I can't promise you that." He
could see that she was trying hard not to cry new tears.

"Okay. Can you come home with me now, or do you have
things to take care of here first."

"Everything that shouldn't wait has already been taken
care of. I'm yours until tomorrow morning. How about I drive us home this
time?"

"I'd like that,” she said with enthusiasm. Shiloh let
her go in order to return inside the shuttle for his gear but saw that one of
the shuttle's other passengers had taken it upon himself to carry his CSO's
gear to the waiting ground vehicle. Shiloh thanked him by chatting with him for
half a minute. Kelly stood next to Shiloh with a proud smile on her face.

Shiloh was late for the 0730 meeting. Daniels and the other
humans attending the meeting had mischievous smiles on their faces which Shiloh
was certain were due to something funny that Iceman had said to them before he
got there. He was willing to bet it had something to do with Kelly and sex
being the reason for his lateness. If so, then Iceman was right, but Shiloh was
damn if he was ever going to tell him that!

"Okay Commander. Bring me up to speed on R&D,"
said Shiloh.

Daniels quickly lost his smirk and cleared his throat.
"Yes, Sir. The evaluation of R&D projects that you asked for before
leaving for Sol was completed while you were away. We … and by that I mean
myself, my senior staff and the SPG, evaluated the addition of a newly designed
jump-capable attack drone and a much more powerful fusion warhead last night.
We're all agreed that both of those projects should be started immediately and
concurrently. After that, the priorities are as follows: uranium enrichment,
inertial dampener upgrade, high energy GLB, field propul--"

"Wait," interrupted Shiloh. "It sounded like
you said GLB. What is that? I haven't heard that term before."

Daniels' face got red. "I'm sorry, Sir. I forgot that
we hadn't discussed that yet. GLB is an acronym for Gravity Lens Beam. Back at
the beginning of the 21st Century, the Russians discovered that artificial
gravity could be magnified tremendously via a very narrow beam. They were able
to rip apart matter at the atomic level with this gravity lens beam but they
were never able to make it into a practical weapon. The range was just too
short, and the power requirements were too large. The Friendlies have figured
out how to extend the range and at the same time reduce the power consumption,
but there are a lot of engineering challenges to be overcome in order to have
something that could be used in the field. Potentially we could have a weapon
capable of slicing a 10 km diameter bug ship in half, but we'd need something a
lot bigger than a raider to carry and power it."

"Would Midway be big enough and have enough
power?" asked Shiloh.

Daniels smiled and said, "Big enough? Yes. Could we
modify her to generate enough power? Maybe."

After a short pause, Shiloh said, "Is that why it's not
at the top of the list? The time required to engineer it and then modify
Midway?"

Daniels nodded. "Yes, Sir. That's it exactly. Modifying
Midway will be a huge job considering that we don't have a shipyard ready to
handle the work, but the weapon could be used in a ground installation if we
can figure out how to power it. Assuming we can aim it accurately enough, we
could fire the beam from the ground and hit a target outside Terra Nova's
gravity zone. At the very least it would be the perfect planetary defense
system, but even that will take weeks to figure out and months to build and
perfect, Sir."

Shiloh shook his head. Of course it would. He now had the
classic tradeoff to ponder. Develop the jump-capable attack drone, which could
be done relatively quickly and deploy a system of armed sentries that stood a
good but not perfect chance of stopping one or more advancing bug motherships,
or go for the perfect defense that might not be ready in time. Trying to do
both at the same time was the worst possible choice because then both
strategies would be delayed. It actually wasn't a difficult decision when he
came right down to it. An imperfect defense is better than no defense at all,
but maybe he could tweak it a bit.