AMP Private War (5 page)

"They are able to match our speed Sir, might I suggest that we take them through the Fasture Nebula? It seems to be our best method of shaking off a tail. The journey will take us an extra five days, but we won’t give away our home location. I believe it was a wise move to have removed our ship IDs and turned off our transponders while away from Bullwort Sir. It should assist in preventing others from looking there for us."

The extra time was taken to pass through the nebula. The Zimmerman tail was slowed dramatically while our own speed was increased by use of the negative ion engines. From the other side of the nebula it was an easy ride back to Bullwort. After touching down Gy and Rita got immediately to work on repairs.

Gy spoke, "Looks like we didn’t do too badly out there this time; as a quick estimate, I can probably have them all back in top condition within a week. And if you track down George I believe he has some news for you too."

I placed my helmet in the locker and stepped down out of the Swift’s hold. My first destination was to my home quarters where I took in a long and very much needed shower. I then made my way over to see George. "So, I hear you have some news?"

George looked up from his desk and smiled. "I do. I managed to find four more Blevins out there. Three are headed this way while the fourth is in the hands of an owner who would not sell."

"I’m still working him on it, but at the moment they have a sentimental attachment that I haven’t been able to overcome. This also completes a sweep of the surrounding 600 sector grids. I believe we have as many of the Blevins as we can acquire. There are just not many of them left. As far as our ore sales have been going, well, I can safely say that they have all been getting snatched up just as quickly as we put them out there. Your boy Zimmerman must have quite the operation going on. That is a lot of ore!"

After my talk with George I returned to the hangar to consult with Rita. I had an idea to run by her that had been rolling around in the back of my head during our ride home. "Rita, I have a question. Would it be possible to cover the hull with the same material we use on the Tantric shield?"

"You know, the material we use to project an image forward of whatever is behind? If we can reduce that visual signature we will be able to mover in much closer without being detected. Is that something that is even possible?"

Rita squinted her eyes and turned her mouth up on one side as she pursed her lips. "Hmm. I don’t know Boss. Not sure we could keep it on the hull given the speeds we travel at. Every little bit of space debris is going to pick away at it. The Tantric can handle that, this stuff cannot."

I rubbed my chin for a moment. "But it can be added. And if so, we will at least maintain a smaller signature when needed. Kick the idea around with Gy. See what you can come up with. Anything we can do to reduce our visual gets us one bit closer to whatever it is we want to see. If the Milgari are using visual targeting algorithms it might give us an edge there also."

Rita nodded her head as she turned back towards Gy. "I’ll see what we can do Chief. If it’s something that keeps you from taking as many hits then I am all for that as it cuts down on our clean up when you guys return."

The Prassi war had been on a scale that was almost unimaginable. More than 15,000 ships had collided in a test of wills; millions of citizens for each side had perished. And we had come home with only a few bruises. Our pilots and ships had performed at a level that one could only hope for. The Milgari had been stopped, if only temporarily, and Zimmerman had shown which side he was fighting for.

I was headed to the bar to unwind. My head had been spinning of late given the totality of the task that we had taken on; a handful of patriots and fighters, given an opportunity to do their best, had been giving that and more in defense of our home. The Grid was again safe, if only for a while.

Gy and Rita came up with a design for the Defenders that would allow a trans-missive coating to be applied to the hull exteriors. The coating would project an image forward of whatever it was that was behind the ship. From the right side it would display the scene as viewed to the left and from the left that of the right. As tested on the ground in the hangar a Defender would take on a translucent appearance when viewed from almost any angle. The probe on the nose of the ship was the only piece of a Defender that remained uncoated.

The Hammer and the Fist were sent up to test the coating’s usefulness under standard conditions. Each ship remained undetectable to the other at a distance of 1,800 kilometers, a distance that was almost infinitely closer than the previous minimum of one eighth of a light-year. From 5,000 kilometers we could not make out even the finest details of whatever it was that we were observing. I was eager to put the technology to my own test.

It had been two months since the Prassi war and we were eager to know the full outcome. The team was again launched towards the Prassi system in an attempt to gather the information we sought. Four weeks later we arrived. The Prassi were hard at work attempting to rebuild their fleet. Construction docks littered the space surrounding their main planet.

After arrival, we scanned our visual signatures. As predicted, the debris encountered during normal space flight had stripped the forward edges of each craft of the trans-missive coating. From straight on our signatures were as big as ever. When viewed from behind those same signatures dropped to almost nothing. From the side we were invisible at half a million kilometers, a distance that we felt comfortable with.

Frig ran several sets of calculations. "Sir, from the construction docks in place and those under construction themselves; I believe the Prassi will be capable of turning out eight battleships, 16 cruisers and 142 frigates per day. I have not seen any docks dedicated to a destroyer class ship. But they are missing a critical element. I am not detecting any stockpiles of Tantric Sir. Without that outer layer their ships will have little defense against the Milgari ion cannons."

Without Tantric the Prassi ships would also be limited to below light-speed as the normally encountered space debris would cause extreme damage to their hulls. They would be useful for defense within their own star system, but nothing beyond. It was a development that put a pall over their otherwise productive efforts. A ship without Tantric might as well be made out of paper.

I replied, "Frig. Our new ore production has just come online. I’m sure the Prassi are not in the same credit system as the Grid and the surrounding worlds, what can you think of that we could possibly trade for? We could provide that fleet with the Tantric they need. What is that worth to us?"

Frig sat back in his chair as he thought. "If you can get us close enough to that planet we can scan for precious gems. Those tend to be universally accepted as tender. A nice Emerald vein could go a long way towards swapping out some Tantric Sir. Of course we would first have to establish contact with them, something that we have not done so far."

I had a discussion with the team and a decision was made to try our luck with the Prassi. I put out a hail on a common channel. I was soon in a discussion with a high up Prassi diplomat. "Your assistance in the war is very much appreciated. But our queen is a bit uneasy with us having discussions with a party that we do not know."

"I hope you can understand our position at the moment. Trust is a two way relationship and while your actions have shown you to be genuine, your words are still under suspicion. I am afraid that we must decline a meeting at this time. We take this action out of caution and it is not in any way intended to offend."

I replied in an attempt to sweeten the pot, "Mr. Bassik, your people are in desperate need of refined Tantric. We happen to have a generous supply of such. What we are in need of is something to trade that is of value to us. I am sending you a list of precious gems that would suffice."

"If your government has any of those in quantity we could easily make a trade. If not, we have the technology necessary to scan your planet for raw deposits of such. In a gesture of our intentions of good will and fair trade we are willing to deliver a shipment for your immediate use with no compensation in return. We are willing to do this as we see the war you are fighting now as a prelude to the Milgari attacking us. We will await your reply as you consult with your Queen."

As expected, the Prassi agreed to accept the first load of Tantric with no strings attached. Negotiations would resume if that gesture proved to be valid. Frig was concerned. "Sir, I am a bit alarmed with your generosity. The Prassi will be under no obligation to compensate us for that ore. Where is the incentive for them to act honorably?"

I looked over a list of names the Prassi diplomat had given us. Queen Carisse was listed on the top. "I think we are doing the right thing here Frig. The Prassi have just taken a tremendous loss at the hand of the Milgari. For all they know we have other motives as the reason for befriending them. I’ll have to say I would be overly suspicious if I was on the tail end of this deal. If they take it and decide not to negotiate, well, we are still helping the cause."

The Frost and the Saxon were sent back to Bullwort to collect the next two loads of Tantric. On load would be offered as a gesture of goodwill while the other was available for trade. It would take two months for the ships to make the run home and back. In the meantime I continued discussions with Bassik.

I spoke, "A single load should cover 24 of your battleships. We can supply almost as much as you need for your daily production. I will be asking that we remain anonymous throughout this exchange. We have others, some with whom you have had dealings; that we wish to remain unknown to. We value our privacy and do not wish to be contacted by anyone else. Other sources would possibly be demanding of our ores. A freedom and right that we do not wish to cede to them."

An arrangement was made for a location to drop the Tantric. We would deliver the ore load to the specified location and once our ship was clear the ore would be ready for the Prassi to collect. In turn, when payments were to be made the Prassi would leave them at the designated location. There was to be no interaction between the species. It was the only way I felt we could maintain our anonymity from Zimmerman.

Two months after our initial negotiations the Frost and the Saxon returned. The first load was delivered and we waited for the Prassi to contact us with their reply. A day after the ore had been picked up we got a call from Brassik, "We thank you for your generosity in our time of need. We will abide by your terms if you are willing to accept Diamond in return for the ore."

"It is a mineral that is plentiful on our planets that we use heavily in support of our industrial base. We are willing to supply you with Diamond at a five to one ratio. One full load of Diamonds to five of the Tantric ore. If this is acceptable let me know so that I can start the arrangements needed to make this happen."

We agreed and the Tantric for Diamond exchange was begun. The first load was available immediately with a new load promised every week. I was sure that George would balk at the idea after all the hard work he had put into developing his sales channels, but the ore was going where I saw the greatest need, straight to the front lines.

Ships were assigned in teams of two for transporting the ore from Bullwort to the Prassi system. The arrangement continued for three months before Milgari pickets were spotted in the area. It was not long before one of those pickets attempted an assault.

"Hammer this is Saxon. Looks like our little friend there is itching to die today. You want to take it or should I?" The Milgari frigate closed fast. "You take 'em, I'm in the middle of a cat-nap." The Saxon replied. "Roger that. Let's go scratch one frigate!"

The Saxon pulled hard right and headed for the incoming frigate. The Defender lined up directly with the incoming ship and waited until the last minute to fire. The blue bolt from its ion cannon shot out through the probe on the front of the Saxon. At the same moment the frigate fired at the Saxon. What happened next was unexpected.

The powerful blue bolt from the Saxon made a direct hit on the frigate, but the ion expansion that normally came from such a powerful strike did not happen. Instead, the bolt was drawn into the hull of the oncoming vessel; it was absorbed without doing damage. The frigate’s ion bolt passed by harmlessly as the Saxon took evasive action, but the Saxon was too late on the turn.

The charging frigate clipped off the right wing of the Saxon sending it into an uncontrolled spin. The frigate with its thinner hull construction, disintegrated on impact as the wing tore through its superstructure. Collisions while traveling faster than the speed of light were generally the end of the road for everyone involved.

The hull of the Saxon had been breached. Malcom Collins and Katie Burke were dead in an instant, their bodies sucked through a hole in the side of the Saxon that was only 30 centimeters wide. The Hammer turned hard away and then circled back towards its fellow team members. Once in the vicinity of the Saxon the remote self-destruct button was pressed.

The Saxon turned bright blue as the energy from the charge well was used to incinerate the damaged vessel. The Hammer then cut back hard towards its original destination, she still had a load of Tantric ore to deliver. The bodies of their former team members, their friends, were abandoned in the void of space to which they now belonged.

The ore was delivered along with a warning to the Prassi. The Milgari had developed a shield that would absorb a standard ion bolt. It was not good news. The Hammer departed after picking up its load and then headed back towards Bullwort. She would broadcast a message to the Defenders that she flew past on her way back, warning of the new Milgari shield.

When the Hammer touched down on Bullwort we were saddened by the news of the loss of Malcom, Katie and the Saxon. No attempt would be made to recover their bodies as they would no longer exist. They were flying at almost 320 times the speed of light. At that speed minute bits of space dust would disintegrate a human body in a short amount of time. Spacewalks while traveling above SOL were not done due to the risk involved.

The team was comprised largely of ordinary citizens. Death was imminent for us all, but it was not something that any of us hurried into. On the Grid, there were accidents, as we all lived in a physical universe. Most citizens however, would die from old age after a long if not somewhat boring life.

In the military the continuous war with the Milgari meant a continuous stream of new recruits was required, death was common. While our losses took their toll on us all, our former military members seemed to take it as a fact of life. While at war, death came as part of the job. After a short ceremony the ore runs to the Prassi system continued, the Prassi worked to replenish their fleet.

As the months passed, two new Defenders were brought online. The Spike and the Sword were commissioned with a small ceremony and given a first task of inspecting the Felgar system. Upon their return I was shocked to hear that the Milgari had not abandoned their base, they had instead expanded it.

All five of the monstrous Milgari ships were docked and under repair, a repair that would be completed in only a few short months. The more troubling news was that the main Milgari fleet now numbered close to 8,000 ships. It was a force that the Prassi would not be able to defend against.

I paced the deck of hangar four as I contemplated what we could possibly do. Our newest pilot, Reginald Hammond, we called him Ham, approached me with an idea. "Chief, I spent some time at Grid University studying up on tactics. I planned for a long and brilliant career in the Grid military. I was later told that this artificial foot disqualified me, but that’s a story for another time."

"What I would like to suggest is this; I think we need to get a hold of one of those Milgari frigates. Find out what they did to their shields and look for any other vulnerability. It has been over a hundred years since we have captured one of their vessels. They are really good at clearing the battlefield of anything that would give anyone an advantage. And their ships never surrender."

I directed Ham over to a table for us to sit down and discuss whatever it was that he had in mind. "Have a seat. I know you are new to the team, but I want you to know that I appreciate it when members come up with ideas. I myself was just a Messenger pilot and many of the decisions we have had to make are beyond my training. Flying by the seat of my pants makes many of those decisions seem even bigger. Tell me what you are thinking."

Ham replied, "Well Sir, I was thinking that we need to get our hands on one of those frigates. Maybe hit it with a few negative bolts to shut down her systems, and then with a negative ion bomb to take out her weapons, more specifically, her hand weapons. I’m thinking we board her and clean her out before they have a chance to self-destruct."

"You know, the negative ion bomb was a commonly used weapon only a short time ago. Ion shielding made it a nearly useless weapon against a ship as the charge needed became one that was beyond our ability to produce. But we don’t need to overcome those shields Sir. We can do that with our ion cannons where those beams are more than concentrated enough to overcome any standard shielding."

"After taking the ship’s systems temporarily offline with a negative ion bolt or two we would use the ion bomb to disable all their hand weapons. I have a friend who manufactures kinetic weapons that are not susceptible to the negative ion pulse. They use a cartridge projectile that is packaged with a small explosive charge. He said the Grid archives call it gunpowder."

Ham continued, "My friend has been building these weapons that make use of gunpowder for years now as a hobby. He let me fire one once and I have to say it was kind of a thrill. It gave recoil as the small explosion pushed a metallic projectile out of a barrel towards a target. You don’t have the near unlimited supply of shots like you have from a blaster; it is a weapon you have to keep reloading. But you can use it regardless of the power situation on a ship; all you need is an atmosphere for the explosion from the projectile cartridge to make use of."