Retreat And Adapt (A Galaxy Unknown) (15 page)

"I think we all understand how they feel, but as you say, they took the correct action. What's the good news?"

"The
Yukon
was able to get high-resolution images of the enemy ships when they faked their attack and the enemy ships came to a stop, dropped their envelopes, and fired their missiles. The
Yukon
was also receiving a copy of the
Salado's
log as it was being downloaded to the
Gambia
, as well as all of the images being sent by the
Gambia
and
Vistula
Marines and Engineers. The information burst is still coming in, and then Keith will get his people working on it. A full report should be ready for the Board's session tomorrow."

"Wonderful. I look forward to that session. Thanks, Augustus."

"See you tomorrow, Jen."

* * *

"Keith tells me that his people have spent all night working on the data stream from the
Yukon
," Jenetta said after opening the Board meeting the next morning, "so let's jump right in. Show us what you have, Keith."

"The battle between the
Salado
and the enemy ships went pretty much like the battle between the
Yenisei
and the enemy, so let's move directly to the high-resolution images taken by the
Yukon
during its brief skirmish." Admiral Keith Kanes nodded to the clerk at the console and an image of the enemy ship appeared on the full wall monitor behind Jenetta.

Everyone in the room turned their chairs to face the image as Kanes walked to the wall.

"Computer, Kanes presentation fourteen, first stage."

An arrow pointing to a part of the enemy ship lit up on the image.

"As you can see, those bubbles we saw previously are actually segmented protective domes that cover missile-launching platforms mounted around all exterior surfaces of the ships. When retracted, the launchers are exposed and the enemy can fire hundreds of missiles at the same instant from each platform. Computer, next stage."

A new image appeared that showed a missile platform with the dome cover retracted.

"We're estimating that each ship can fire up to a hundred missiles from each platform before they have to close the dome to rearm, and there are a total of about two hundred of these small platforms located around the full circumference of each ship from bow to stern."

"Good Lord," Admiral Poole said. "Each ship can fire twenty thousand of those small missiles without reloading?"

"That's what we're estimating," Kanes said as he returned to his chair.

"Is there anything else, Keith?" Jenetta asked.

"We have the logs of the battle, and the reports and images from the people who boarded the
Salado
, but there wasn't anything new so I didn't think you'd want to go over it here. It's available through the computer system to anyone with the proper clearance, or authorized personnel can view it in the holo-theater downstairs."

"I'll view it later in my office unless anyone on the Board wants to view it now."

Jenetta looked around the table at the other admirals. One by one they all shook their heads.

"The high-res images were enlightening," Jenetta said. "I'm surer than ever that we must avoid a confrontation with these attackers until we have a plan for defeating them."

"How can we defend against an enemy that can assault us with sixty thousand missiles before they have to reload," Admiral Poole said, "and where their tiny missiles can destroy Dakinium?"

"I don't know, Augustus," Jenetta said. "The
Winston
should arrive here in two weeks with the
Yenisei
in her hold. Our weapons research people and engineers are waiting anxiously to begin examining him. Perhaps they'll find something or figure out something that will give us an edge, or at least a fighting chance. Okay, let's proceed with regular business."

* * *

The
Winston
arrived at Quesann right on schedule. Since the base had no shipbuilding facilities or enclosed repair docks, the enormous transport would serve as the dock for the people performing the investigation and analysis work. It meant that the workers wouldn't have to wear EVA suits or even carry oxygen, and the lack of gravity in the hold facilitated movement. Visitor's quarters aboard ship would make commuting to the base or another ship unnecessary.

Jenetta and the other admirals were the first to view the damaged
Yenisei
when the
Winston
arrived. The transport had barely established orbit around the planet before a shuttle carrying the R2HQ Board members entered one of its shuttle bays. As soon as the greeting formalities were completed, the prestigious party was escorted to the hold.

Bodies of the
Yenisei
crewmembers had been collected at the battle site and stored in refrigerated compartments in the
Winston
. Medical personnel would perform an autopsy on every cadaver to verify the cause of death.

Outside the entrance to the hold, each of the admirals was provided with a radiation suit, a small propulsion backpack, and magnetic boots. Then the
Winston's
captain took the party on an inspection tour of the hull damage. It seemed even more horrific than the transmitted images had indicated. The hull had the look of a derelict ship hundreds of years old, despite having been built less than a year before the attack. All of the officers had seen blast damage from explosive weapons and laser arrays, but the damage to the
Yenisei
seemed to have been caused by heat. The edges of the holes were smooth like melted plastic rather than jagged metal. This evidence confirmed what had already been suspected. Tiny warheads on the enemy missiles could not be responsible for the damage to the ship. So just what had evacuated the atmosphere, destroyed bulkheads and decks, and killed the crew?

* * *

Two weeks later, the admirals met not in the R2HQ Admiralty Hall but in a conference room in the Governor's Palace. The only officers not of flag rank were Captain Barbara DeWitt and each admiral's senior aide.

"You said you have a preliminary report, Barbara?" Jenetta asked.

"Yes, Admiral. I'm sure you've surmised much of what we've learned from your own observations, but I wanted to announce what we've confirmed. The holes in the hull are not owed to explosive force. Prior to our examination of the hull material, and relying solely on the transmitted images, we thought the loss of the ship might be due to some sort of small nuclear device. We still believe that."

"Nuclear weapons can't penetrate Dakinium," Jenetta said. "That's been proven through extensive testing."

"Yes, Admiral, nuclear weapons cannot damage Dakinium, but once the Dakinium layer was breached, the interior damage can be attributed to nuclear fission. There are excessively high levels of radiation at every blast point, and although the crew died of hypoxia, their bodies also have lethal concentrations of radiation. My staff and I believe that upon reaching their target the missiles attach themselves to the hull in some manner. The warhead then disperses some sort of chemical that begins to melt the Dakinium. Once a hole of sufficient size is achieved, a tiny nuclear charge takes care of the rest. The enemy fires thousands of missiles and depends on at least a few hundred getting through. I don’t have to tell you the effectiveness of the attack."

"So you're saying that the enemy missiles are like a slow-acting limpet mine?"

"Uh— essentially. I'd liken it more to the 'sticky bombs' developed by the British during World War II on Earth."

"Sticky bombs?" Admiral Poole said.

"In 1940," Captain DeWitt said, "following the Dunkirk withdrawal, the British government believed that an invasion by Germany was likely. Of great concern was possible attacks by Germany's formidable tank corps. The Brits had left eighty-five percent of the military's anti-tank guns behind in France during their hasty retreat. One solution to their lack of weapons, albeit a desperate one, was the 'sticky bomb.' Essentially, it was designed as a hand grenade for use against tanks. A core of nitroglycerine was surrounded by a viscous mass with the properties of a petroleum jelly, which was then in turn surrounded by a two-piece light metal case. When the pin was pulled, the outer casing fell away, exposing the inner viscous-covered mass while initiating a five-second fuse in the nitro. If the sticky bomb landed in a vulnerable spot where it could stick to the surface, such as near the tank's treads, it could potentially incapacitate the vehicle.

"We believe the enemy's missiles are somewhat like those sticky bombs. The head of the warhead breaks open on contact, spreading a chemical that makes the missile stick to the hull while it eats away at the Dakinium. Then something triggers a tiny nuclear fission device, possibly the outflow of atmo, or perhaps just a timed fuse, which directs the force into the ship. Bulkheads are blown open, and the evacuation of atmo is almost instantaneous while the area is flooded with deadly radiation. Even if the survivors in other areas can access the damaged frame sections and seal the hull, the radiation must be dealt with before the area can be used safely. Essentially, the ship is incapacitated even if the crew are not all killed."

"What kind of chemical can open holes in Dakinium?" Admiral Buckner asked.

"At this time, ships in space cannot repair damage to Dakinium as we once did with tritanium plating. Fortunately, we haven't had to. But if damaged, the ship would have to cover the hole with a temporary Dakinium patch and then travel back to Mars for a proper repair. Mars would perform a repair with chemical processes that have been developed for cutting and welding Dakinium. The reason that only Mars can perform the repair is that SHQ wants the chemical process to remain completely secret. We know the Raiders managed to secure a sample of Dakinium, and it now appears possible that someone might have sold the chemical formulas to the enemy that's attacking us."

"You're saying we have a traitor at the most secret and secure manufacturing facility in the galaxy?" Jenetta said.

"Well, that seems the most likely scenario. I don't have to remind
you
that we've had traitors at the very top in Space Command before this. Of course, it's possible that an enemy nation developed the formula on their own after getting their hands on a piece of Dakinium. It's also possible that this is a standard weapon of theirs which just happens to work well against Dakinium. But I tend not to believe such things are mere coincidences."

"Well, this certainly makes my morning," Admiral Holt said.

"So we're talking about a two-stage warhead," Jenetta said, "that doesn't detonate until it makes contact. What about missiles that don't hit their targets, Barbara? Do they self-denote as our torpedoes do to prevent hazards to other traffic?"

"We were unable to see any detonations in the ship's log that were not owed to strikes by our laser arrays."

"So there could be hundreds or even thousands of these small missiles floating around out there?"

"Unless the enemy ships have a way of detonating them later or some way of collecting them, that's a distinct possibility. With the 'sticky bombs' I mentioned earlier, there were reports of the devices getting stuck to soldiers' clothing as they were attempting to throw them. They only had five seconds to get it free. Perhaps the enemy's own hull is impervious to the chemical in the warhead."

"And the nuclear charge?" Admiral Poole asked.

"Our ships are normally impervious to the nuclear charge and so might the ships we're facing."

"I wonder what the chances are of finding an intact missile," Jenetta mused.

"That would enable us to nail down the detonation premise and also perform an analysis of the chemical being used in the warhead."

"It'd be like finding a needle in a haystack," Admiral Poole said. "We might not even be able to locate the exact spot where the
Yenisei
was attacked now that the battle site has been cleaned up."

"True," Jenetta said, "but we still have a ship out there that must be retrieved. There are dozens of crewmembers from the
Gambia
and
Vistula
missing and we're hoping they were able to get to stasis beds in the
Salado
. We've been waiting until the enemy ships got tired of hanging around the battle site before returning to get our people. And while we're recovering our people, we could perform a search for one of those missiles."

"Those missiles might still be armed and dangerous," Admiral Buckner said. "One mistake and the nuclear charge could detonate inside the ship recovering the device."

"So far all we've been doing is guessing. I think it's imperative we make an effort to recover one of the weapons. It might provide a lot of answers, including the identity of the attackers."

"We still can't defend against that kind of missile attack," Admiral Holt said. "Our Phalanx systems can't hope to knock down tens of thousands of tiny missiles."

"That's true," Jenetta said, "but every piece of information about an enemy, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, might be just the piece we need to turn the tide. I think it's worth the risk but only on a volunteer basis."

"How do you get an entire ship's crew to volunteer for such a dangerous task?" Admiral Buckner asked.

"One way could be to have the search conducted by one or more shuttles," Admiral Holt said. "If an intact missile were to be located, a demolitions expert in an EVA suit could exit through the airlock, retrieve the device, and bring it back inside where it would be defused before the shuttle reentered its ship."

"How about simply defusing it robotically outside the shuttle?" Admiral Buckner asked.

"We don't know exactly what we're dealing with," Admiral Holt said. "We believe the missiles are nuclear weapons, but a robot isn't an acceptable substitute for a demolitions expert in that kind of situation. Once we've observed the construction of the missile, unlocked its secrets, and documented the disassembly, robots will be able to take over if and when others are found."

"It seems to me that if we're ever to have a chance against these invaders," Admiral Buckner said, "it's now, when we have an enormous presence in that area because of the search effort."