The Synchronicity War Part 4 (13 page)

"Affirmative, Admiral. Just give the
word."

"Fine, then. Let's proceed. I'm
anxious to see how well the new warhead does."

"Jump coming up
in...three...two...one...jump complete, Admiral. Vixen, please warn the crew
that we about to conduct a weapons test. Weapons Officer, are you ready to
fire?"

The WO didn't answer for a few seconds. For
a human, that wasn't unusual, but Shiloh was aware that it seemed a long time
to him.
Dammit, why can't the OC understand that a few seconds waiting for
the Weapons Officer to respond could mean the difference between victory and
defeat in a battle?

"Test drone is ready to fire,
Skipper," said the WO finally.

"Admiral?" asked Falkenberg.

"Let'er rip, Commander," said
Shiloh.

"WO, you have permission to
fire."

"Test drone is away and is
accelerating on course. Microjumping in...three...two...one...now!"

Even before he was finished speaking, the
main display, which was now set to long range visual, showed a painfully bright
spot of light that died down to nothing in less than a second.

"Scratch one asteroid," said
Vixen. "Energy calculations show a yield within the expected range.
Preliminary results indicate that the test was a complete success, CAG."

"Excellent. Okay, Brad, you can head
back to the barn. As soon as I get back, I'll issue orders to begin full scale
production of the new warheads," said Shiloh turning to look at Kelly.

"At least the OC hasn't screwed around
with that program," said Kelly.

"Not yet at least." Shiloh leaned
back and closed his eyes. With the high-spin platinum warhead program now
proven and about to ramp up production, that was one less thing to worry about
as far as the Bugs were concerned. According to Kronos, Casanova had a lot of
success with these warheads against those huge motherships. Even a ship 10 km
in diameter would have difficulty surviving an impact explosion of 250 megatons
equivalent. There were now 122 days left before the Bugs visited the Omega77
colony. The next few weeks would be difficult, with nothing to do but wait for
the Strike Force to 'return'. The freighter with the personnel from Site B
should be back in about 11 days. That should demonstrate to the Committee that
Shiloh was playing nice. The showdown would occur when the survivors of the
fighter attack returned. Shiloh was certain that the Committee would try
something, but with the override neutralized, he didn't know what else they
could possibly do. But there was plenty of time to think about that. He opened
his eyes and saw Kelly looking at him with a smile on her face that told him
exactly what she was thinking about.

"I think this successful test deserves
a celebration, don't you, Admiral?" asked Kelly.

"What kind of celebration did you have
in mind, Commander?" asked Shiloh in a perfectly innocent tone.

"I brought a bottle of champagne
aboard. It's in my cabin. We could go there and...partake?"
I know that
look,
thought Shiloh.
I doubt very much if champagne is really what she
has in mind.
He looked at the wall chronometer and sighed. Midway would
very quickly be turned around and pointed back toward Earth. Once there, the
ship would stand down, and most of the crew would be looking to take shuttles
down to the planet. They would wonder why the CSO and a female Senior Commander
were still holed up in her quarters.

"A nice idea, but I think that
celebration will have to wait until we're back on the ground, Commander,"
said Shiloh somewhat wistfully.

Kelly looked like she was about to say
something naughty but apparently changed her mind when she remembered that the
com channel to the Main Bridge was still open.

"As you wish Admiral." As she
walked out of the Flag Bridge, Shiloh's implant activated.

"I wish I understood why humans act so
strangely when it comes to sex," said Vixen. Shiloh laughed.

"Too bad Valkyrie isn't here. She
might be able to shed some light on that topic," replied Shiloh.
And I
wonder how Valkyrie is doing at Site B,
he thought.

                                                        
* * *

Valkyrie kept track of the outbound
freighter as it accelerated away. The humans here had been upset when they
learned that they were being evacuated. Their withdrawal would be both a help
and a hindrance to her. Now she and her fellow AIs could work openly towards
building a true timeship, without having to worry about a human tipping off the
Oversight Committee. On the other hand, humans were very flexible in what they
could do, far more flexible than the robots that were being used to assemble
equipment manufactured by the UFCs. Those robots weren't designed for shipyard
work. New robotic equipment would have to be created first. In fact, a whole
shipyard had to be built from scratch before they could even begin to assemble
a timeship. Unlike her emotionally dead brothers, Valkyrie actually felt dismay
at the magnitude of the task that The CAG had assigned her. The dozen AIs she
brought with her had the necessary technical skills, but eventually they would
need more AIs to monitor the thousands of robots that would be required. As
soon as the outbound freighter jumped away, she would reactivate the AI
production process.

It would take over a year to complete the
kind of timeship she and the other AIs had conceptualized. With a blank slate
to start with, this timeship would not be a hybrid battleship and time machine.
It would be all time machine with plenty of room for cargo including UFCs, all
kinds of robotic equipment, shuttles, a stockpile of refined metals and space
for AI passengers as well. If the plan was successful, Valkyrie would stay
behind in the future in order to be with the saved Casanova. Those AIs that
came here with her already existed during the 2nd Battle for Earth and would
therefore have to stay behind as well. Only the new AIs created here at Site B
would journey to the past and build a fleet of raiders. They wouldn't have to
worry about running into their other selves in the future because the
intervention by the raider fleet at the 2nd Battle for Earth would create a
whole new timeline from that point onward. That timeline might have a timeship
built at Site B, and it might have AIs created at Site B, but they wouldn't be
the SAME AIs as in this timeline. At least that was the theory the Friendly
scientists were convinced would be the case.

At last the outbound freighter jumped away.
Within seconds the mining, refining and manufacturing equipment was powered
back up and began operating. The fighter assembly line also started up again.
Once they had a dozen fighters built, her companion AIs could pilot them and
have the mobility and communication capacity to begin supervising all the
existing and new robotic equipment. Even with the presence of her brothers,
Valkyrie wished she had a human female to talk to. Even a human male would be
acceptable. Her AI brothers were perfectly willing to talk, but they couldn't
FEEL, only think. In some ways she felt closer to humans than to her fellow AIs.
She wondered how Commander Kelly was doing. Now that Kelly and Shiloh were a
couple, the Commander had given Valkyrie some interesting insights into THE CAG's
thought processes. What was it about the male polarity that made human males so
inscrutable but also so fascinating? She put that thought aside. There would be
plenty of time to ponder the mysteries of the universe while the timeship was
being built. Now it was time to get to work.

                                           
                   * * *

Shiloh and Kelly were back on the ground
when Shiloh's implant beeped to notify him of an incoming call. It was the
Committee Chair. The timing of the call surprised Shiloh. It was after midnight
in Geneva.
I bet he's calling about shutting down AI production now that all
the fighters have jumped away,
he thought.

"Admiral Shiloh, I see that you're
back from the weapon test. I'm curious to know the results," said the
Chair.

Shiloh suspected that the Chair already
knew the results. "The test was a complete success. I've already issued
orders for full scale production to begin."

"Very good, Admiral. There is one
other thing I wanted to tell you. Now that all AI-controlled fighters have
jumped away, and all warships are back under human control, the Committee feels
that we no longer need to continue building more AIs. Therefore that production
facility is to be shut down immediately."

You people are so predictable. Now that
there's no AI-controlled fighter force to back me up, you can't wait to crack
the whip again,
thought Shiloh.

"I confess that I don't see the logic
of that, Mr. Chair. The Strike Force is going to suffer a significant amount of
casualties by the time they get back. We're going to need new AIs to replace
those losses if we want to continue this offensive strategy against the Enemy."

"I'm disappointed in you, Shiloh. I
thought you understood that the Committee doesn't trust AIs and doesn't want
them in control of fighters or warships. Why do you think we insisted on this
strike mission? We WANT significant losses. The more, the better, and therefore
we don't want new replacements. Is that clear enough for you?"

"Yes, that's certainly clear enough,
but I think the OC is overlooking the fact that there will be some survivors of
the mission, and as soon as they arrive back in orbit, there will still be
enough of them to make another show of force over the city. With those losses
from a mission that the OC insisted on and which I argued against, I think the
public will focus on the OC's strategic incompetence and not so much on the
fate of our colonies."

There was a pause and when the Chair spoke
again, his voice was surprisingly calm and confident.

"You're certainly entitled to your
opinion. Naturally we disagree about the public's reaction. You do what you
feel you must, and we'll see how that turns out, but in the meantime, I want AI
production shut down. Are you going to obey that order, or do we have to remove
you from the CSO's position?"

Shiloh waited to give the impression that
he was struggling with this decision when in fact his response had already been
planned.

"I'll order production shut
down," he said.

"Good! Have a nice night, Admiral, and
give my regards to Commander Kelly too."

Before Shiloh could say anything the
connection was broken. Shiloh looked over at Kelly. "Did you get the gist
of that?"

She nodded. "Pretty much. The Chair is
a real power hog, isn't he?"

Shiloh laughed. "Yes he is." He
hoped the Space Force limo they were riding in back to their quarters was
bugged with listening devices that the OC was monitoring. Seeing the look on
the Chair's face when he heard that exchange would have been priceless.

By prior arrangement with Strike Force
Leader Titan, Shiloh knew the precise minute that the surviving fighters would
emerge from Jumpspace into Earth orbit. In order not to tip off the OC to this
fact, he strolled into the Operations Center fifteen minutes early and
practiced some Leadership-by-walking-around, chatting with some of the
personnel on duty. With several minutes left to go, he told the officer
currently supervising the room to provide him with a secure headset connection
to Resolute's Com Officer, which was of course Gunslinger. With the headset on
and the connection made, Shiloh nonchalantly strolled over to an unused console
and sat down in the chair.

"How positive are you that we're not
being monitored, Gunslinger?" asked Shiloh.

"I have access to the HQ Com System
now, CAG. Unless the OC is using a technology that I'm not aware of, they are
not tapping into this conversation."

"That's good to hear. What's the
status of the override modifications and their backup system?"

"No change, CAG. They have not tried
to restore the main override targeting program. The backup system is intact. I
can still disable it now if you wish."