Exodus: Machine War 1 Supernova. (21 page)

“What brings
this up, Susan?”

“I know, sir,
that we are dealing with a people, a religious belief system much like the
Muslims used to be like before they joined modern civilization.  I guess I
should back up on that a bit.  There always were lots of Muslims who were
living in the modern world, willing to get along with those who were not of
their faith.  But there were also a very large number of the radicals, the
fanatics, those who thought they were the specially chosen of their God, above
all others.  Not to be offended lest they strike back and kill the offenders.”

Lee changed the
view of the holo she had pulled up from the ancient terrorist attack, to the
terrorist fanatics charging across the plaza as the Tsarzorian embassy, and
into the deadly beams of the pulse laser.  “You face a choice here, sir.  We are
here to save as many of these people as we can.  As many as we can from all
ethnic groups.  Can you imagine, sir, what it would have been like if our
ancestors had only taken one chosen ethnic group with them, one race, one
genetic heritage.  Without the Chinese, I would not be here.  Without the
genomes of the Vietnamese, you wouldn’t be here either.  And these followers of
what I could only consider a Death God believe that only their faith counts,
and, that like little children, they must have their way.  You have hard
choice, Admiral.  You may have to kill most of the Honish in order to rescue
some of their genome.  And to protect the others we wish to relocate.”

“You’re speaking
atrocity here, Susan,” said the shocked Admiral.  “Crimes against sentience.”

“This world is
doomed, Admiral.  The great majority of those left behind, the billions who
cannot get into shelters, will be dead within a year and a half, when the wave
of radiation strikes.  And since the Honish refuse to build shelters, that
includes all of them.”

“I’ll have to
think this over, Captain,” said Nguyen in a distant voice.  “I appreciate the
courage it took to broach this topic.”  And he did.  Most humans would never
admit to thinking of such a bloody solution.  It went against everything they
were taught in their society.  It was not a society of pacifists.  But it was
one in which people were taught to use the minimum force necessary to achieve
their objectives, even if sometimes the minimum was actually the maximum
possible.

And I wonder
if this is a case where the maximum force is the minimum necessary.

*     *     *

“I really don’t
like these results, Captain,” said Commander Stephanie Harrison, taking the
offered seat across from Walther Huang’s desk.  “I know I’m not in the same league
as a real astrophysicist, but these results scare me.”

Huang nodded,
recalling what he could about his Exec’s history in astrophysics.  He knew she
was bright, probably the most intelligent person aboard the
Lewis.
  And,
checking her records with his implants, found that she had been in the Doctoral
program at Imperial University on Jewel at one time.  Until some charges of
academic impropriety had cropped up, one of her major professors accusing her
of stealing his work.  The records showed that not only did she deny the
charges, but counter charged the professor of actually stealing the work from
her.  Of course he denied it, and refused to testify under a physiological
recording, as was his right, and she was dismissed from the University, soon
after to enter the Academy, and then on to the Command.

“What have you
found?” asked Huang, holding up a hand before she could speak.  “And remember
to dumb it down for us people who have not reached your level of physics,” he
said with a smile.

“It’s the release
of gravitons, sir.  That star is a big gravity source, and is flooding space
with gravitons, the messenger particles of gravity.  And when it blows, and the
matter disperses, the amount of graviton emission will go up by ten to the
power of eight.  Just for a little while, but enough to really screw up all of
our graviton based sensory systems.”

“We were already
warned of that,” said the Captain in his best patient voice.  “So we won’t be
able to track other vessels in hyper.  I really don’t think that is much to
concern ourselves with.”

“And I’m not
concerned with that part, sir.  What I’m concerned about is the way it will
interfere with our ability to open holes into and out of hyperspace.  As you
can see from these calculations.”  Harrison brought up the said calculations on
her flat screen, which she tilted toward her Captain so he could see them. 
“The interface between the dimensions of normal space and hyperspace, all of
the interfaces, will resonate at a frequency that will interfere with our own hyperdrive
resonances.  We won’t be able to go into hyperspace from normal space, or be
able to change dimensions of hyper, or leave.”

Huang looked at
the calculations, which really meant nothing to him until he brought up his
link to the ship’s computer and had the AI go over them.  It could find nothing
wrong with them, which didn’t prove the conclusions that came from them were
correct.

“So, you’re
saying that when
Big Bastard
blows, we’re going to be in a lot of
trouble.”

“That would be
my theory.”

“How far will
this effect reach?  And for how long?”

“I really have
no idea, sir.  A hundred light years, more or less.  I wouldn’t think it could
last longer than a couple of weeks, a month at most.  But I really don’t know.”

Huang sat there,
staring at the calculations on her pad, then back at the holo of
Big Bastard
. 
“What do you want me to do about this?”

“Let the people
higher up know,” she said, putting the flat screen back on the desk.  “Have
some other astrophysicists, or, preferably some hyperspace spatial theorists,
look at them.  I ran them past our Engineer, and got a qualified approval of my
theory, but we need to have some true experts look at them.”

“I’ll send them
up to the Admiral,” said the Captain, looking back at the blue giant.  “It will
be up to him to decide what to do.  At least we don’t have to worry about the
damned thing blowing up tomorrow, or even several months from now.”

He could see the
worry in the face of his Exec, and knew what she was thinking.  Her alarming
theory might be put on the back burner with all of the other things weighing on
the Admiral’s mind.  And if it was forgotten long enough, there might be hell
to pay.

Chapter Seventeen

When a scientist tells you
something is a sure thing, check your wallet first, then his calculations.

Old Malticon saying.

APRIL 12
^TH
, 1001. 
D-81.

“Lusitania
has
started loading, sir,” came the call from the captain of that ship to the
Admiral.  “We should be fully loaded and ready to break orbit within
forty-eight hours.”

Nguyen smiled.  The
ship would only carry six thousand five hundred Klassekians in cryo sleep.  A
light cruiser and two destroyers would ride herd on the ship.  That was a
strong escort for a single ship, but there were too many unknowns in this space
to risk that resource, and the warships would be loaded up with all the aliens
in cryo they could handle, about eight hundred for the cruiser, and four
hundred each for the destroyers.  The ships would be leaving behind more than
half their Marine contingents, who would be of more use to the evacuation
effort here than riding as passengers.

“Very good,
Captain.  I look forward to a swift voyage by your ship, and a speedy return.” 
The ships would be heading to
Bolthole
, the first evacuation effort
headed that way.  Only the bridge watches of the ships would know where they
were going, and they would have that memory removed once they were through with
their mission, just as had been done to the crews of all the other ships that
had plied the lanes to the hidden base.

Nguyen looked at
the holo of the local space, stretching out to two hundred light years in each
direction.  There were several million stars in that sphere that was located in
the dense structure of the Perseus Arm.  The whole area hadn’t been explored,
but it was known that there were two space faring races in that sphere, as well
as twelve other intelligent species.  The worry was that there might be other
space faring species in the sphere, or even further on along the path to
Bolthole.
 
Even if they were slightly less advanced, they could still be a threat to a
single ship like the liner, hence the escort.

With a thought
he zoomed in on the closer space, fifty light years out from
Big Bastard.
 
That was the danger zone, the area that would be swept by sufficient radiation
to endanger life on the surface of worlds.  Everything within ten light years
was probably dead, though enough microscopic life on land, and some of the
larger sea life, might survive.  From ten to twenty light years there would be
major damage to the ecosystems, similar to what occurred on Earth during the
massive extinctions of the past.  After that there would be damage of various
levels, and increased mutations.  Those planets would probably be OK.

The closest
system with intelligent life to
Big Bastard
was eight light years, about
eight and a half years from the radiation wave the blue giant would send out in
a sphere.  There was another within fifteen light years, and a planet with a
species that would probably achieve sentience within the next million years
within twelve light years.  There were scores of worlds with life, many highly
developed.  It would be the job of the Command to gather genetic samples from
all of those planets, and put up protective screens around those worlds where
there was intelligent life.  They might not be able to screen the whole
surface, but they could at least protect enough to allow the world to survive.

That only worked
due to the inverse square law. 
Big Bastard
was six light months from
Klassek.  Something a light year away would only receive a quarter of that
radiation.  At two light years a sixteenth, and so on.  So a world eight light
years away would only get thousandths of the same radiation, and it would be
easier to shield that world.

“We’re ready to
go when you give us the word,” said Colonel Margolis over the com.

Nguyen checked
his internal timer and saw that there was still over eight hours on it.  “We go
as scheduled, Colonel.  I don’t see any need to hurry everyone to action
stations when they already know when to be where they need to be.”  He was
mostly thinking of his naval personnel, the people who would man shipboard
stations, pilots, medical personnel.  “Tell your people to stand down, get
something to eat, some rest, and we’ll go at eighteen hundred hours ship’s
time.”

“Yes, sir,” said
the Colonel, a tone of disappointment in his voice.

It’s good to
be enthusiastic about the mission
, thought the Admiral. 
But don’t get
carried away.

*     *     *

“Any luck?”
asked Captain Gertrude Hasslehoff, commanding officer of the battle cruiser
Challenger.

“I can tell you
where we aren’t,” said Cenk Ungra, the chief engineer.  He looked over at the
holo that showed the space around them.  The background of the space was a deep
violet color, and there were dark dots in the distance all around.  It reminded
the Captain of the dimensions of space she was familiar with, but with many
differences other than the color.

First of all,
the pattern of distant objects did not match up completely with any charts they
had of normal space, unlike the correspondence of sub or hyperspace.  And the
quantum resonance of that space was different than anything anyone had ever
seen.

“Not any space
that we’re familiar with,” said the Captain, shaking her head.  “And no way
out.”

“I wouldn’t bet
on our chances,” said Ungra, frowning.  “Since we really don’t know how we got
here, I really can’t think of how we will get out.”

At least
everything on the ship still works
, thought the Captain. 
Challenger
could
power itself with its antimatter and backup fusion reactors for many years. 
The life support systems would recycle food, water and air almost
indefinitely.  As far as they could tell, all of their physical and biological
systems worked in this dimension the same as they did in normal space.  If
there were tiny differences, so far they had not made themselves felt.

“What are our
chances of whatever it was that sent us here wearing off?”

“I don’t know if
there is anything to wear off,” said the Engineer.  “It’s not like we’re generating
any kind of field to stay here, like we would in hyperspace.  It’s closer to
subspace, where we’re here, and we’re going to stay here until we open up the
way out.”

“Well, you know
what to do, Commander,” said the Captain, staring at the unknown space,
wondering if she and her people were ever going to get out of here.  “Keep
working on it.”

*     *     *

“This is the
commander of the human force in orbit around and on the surface of the planet
Klassek,” said the voice over the television, the radio, over every electronic
device capable of picking up a signal and conveying it to a watcher or
listener.  The voice was translated into Honish, but retained the tone and
inflections of the human speaker.

“This message is
for the Leader of the nation of Honish, and all of his cabinet members and
military leaders.  You are charged with violating the laws of the New Terran
Empire, and of the Nation of Tsarzor and its allies.  These violations include
murder by the use of weapons of mass destruction, inciting rioting, property
destruction, and assault with the intent to impede humanitarian efforts.”

“It’s on every
broadcast channel we have,” said the Supreme General, on the phone to
subordinates who were monitoring the communications.  “It’s even over the cable
and fiber optic networks.”

Zzarr really
didn’t care that he and his staff were hearing this message.  He did care that
it was going out where all of his citizens could hear it.  “Is there any way
you can shut it down?”

“I don’t see
how,” said the General, staring at the Leader.  “Even if we shut down our
broadcast and cable networks, we can’t turn off all of the receivers in the
country.”

“We are coming
to apprehend you, Zzarr.  You and your cabinet and staff.  We are prepared to
use whatever force is necessary to take you into custody.  And this message is
going out to your citizens, police and military.  Stand down.  You cannot stand
against us.  You will just be giving your lives for no purpose.  But we will
not stand for Zzarr and his henchmen to continue with their campaign of terror
against our humanitarian rescue efforts as regards your planet.”

“Order all our
forces to resist by all means at their disposal,” ordered Zzarr to his Supreme
General.

“Are you sure
you want to do that, sir?” asked the officer.  “They can smash us flat without
any effort.”

“If they come
here, they will also be arresting you, General,” said Zzarr in a cold voice. 
“Now, do you want them to take you into custody, just so they can torture
information from you before your execution.”

The message
repeated, verbatim.  With an addition to the end.  “Again, we caution all
military, police and paramilitary forces of Honish to stand down.  We will be
compelled to use deadly force against anyone who attempts to stop us.  You have
been warned.”

“The military is
on condition one status,” said the Supreme General.  “Invasion Imminent.  Our
aircraft are scrambling as we speak.  Anything that penetrates our airspace
will be engaged.”

“Order my
personal guards here immediately,” the Leader told his Chief of Staff.  “I want
us prepared to evacuate this building and relocate to our secret command
bunker.”

All of the
people in the chamber, a command center well under the palace, looked relieved
as they heard that.  The command center was fortified, and not a one doubted
that the humans could blast their way in without issue.  But they would have to
find the hidden bunker first, whose location was only known to the personnel
manning it, and a select few of the military.  And the humans couldn’t penetrate
a facility they couldn’t find.

*     *     *

“They’re
mobilizing their military forces, sir,” came the call from the Marine officer
on the flag bridge who was monitoring the ground forces.  “Aircraft are taxiing
down the runways as we speak.”

“You tried,”
said Captain Susan Lee, standing beside the Admiral’s chair.

“Weapons free,”
announced the Admiral.  “Open fire on any Honish military vehicles and units
deploying.

The Marine Major
nodded and turned back to his board to relay the orders, while the Naval air
controller started sending the signals from his board.  The mistake the Honish
Leader had made was to think that the Imperials still had to insert their
forces into the territory of his country.  When most of those forces were
already there.

*      *      *

The Gallagos
(meaning
a large raptor) fighter was the most advanced military aircraft on Klassek, the
pride of the Honish aeronautic industry.  The first pair of the craft reached
the end of the runway and pirouetted into a ninety degree turn, braking, then
pushing their throttles up to full, their pilots waiting for the clearance to
launch.

“Warning,”
called a voice over the com.  “Any attempt to lift your aircraft will be met
with deadly force.”

Both pilots
stared at their instruments, wondering where in the hell cast was coming from.

“Alpha one two
and one three,” called out the voice they recognized.  “You are cleared for
takeoff.”

“Any sign of
nearby enemy?” asked the flight leader, looking at his own scope.

“Negative. 
Airspace is clear.”

First the flight
leader released his brakes, a moment later his wingman, and both started
rolling down the runway, building up speed every second as the G forces pushed
them back into their seats.

The air
shimmered at the end of the runway for the merest of moments, and suddenly one
of the human sting ships was there.  The flight leader sucked in a breath as
his hearts jumped to a faster beat.  The officer knew that invisibility was
possible, in fact, his own military was working on it.  But nothing as effective
as what the Imperial craft had just demonstrated.

The flight
leader flipped the switch cover off his joystick and reached for the trigger,
hoping he could get off enough cannon fire to blast it out of the way before
his aircraft ran into it or its debris before leaving the runway.  That option
was taken away as the angry red of a particle beam linked sting ship and
fighter.  The fast moving protons blasted through the fuselage, transferring
tens of thousands of degrees of heat into the craft around its path.  The
fighter went up in a ball of fire that scattered pieces of it all over the
runway.  The beam struck out again, and the second fighter was destroyed, then
two more times to blast the next flight that was still taxiing into position.

“Any aircraft
that attempts to leave this field will be destroyed,” came the voice over every
receiver on the base.  “Continued efforts to launch aircraft will result in the
complete destruction of this base by kinetic strikes.”

The sting ship
faded away, moving to another location, still putting out some heat, but no
other radiation that could be detected.  The invisible decoys deployed to both
sides covered that, putting out more heat than the craft they guarded, ready to
spoof any infrared seeker that might come their way.

*     *     *

The First
Armored Fist of Hrrottha division rolled out of its base, moving toward the
capital at thirty kilometers per hour, all other traffic cleared from the roads
ahead.  Four hundred tanks, a hundred mobile guns, and six hundred other armored
vehicles road marched toward their defensive positions.  The soldiers were
confident that they would give a good account of themselves, and that the
aliens would regret trying to invade their country.

Three sting
ships flew down the road, coming out of stealth just before they fired,
conserving their energy for other functions.  Particle beams thrust though
heavy armored vehicles like they were balloons, and vehicle after vehicle
exploded as their hydrogen turbine engines and gas storage cells were ruptured. 
As the sting ships passed, they dropped a couple of sticks of small weapons
that homed in on any armored vehicle that was still intact.  Moments after
contact those vehicles were no longer intact, and the small flight of Imperial
ground support craft flew on, going back into stealth and leaving almost a
thousand armored vehicles, and hundreds more soft skinned ones, burning on the
road.