Rumors of Salvation (System States Rebellion Book 3) (17 page)

The
task of searching the Base for the rest of the personnel proved to be time
consuming. With no way to vent all the air in the bottom of the volcano, the
knockout gas continued to permeate the Base. Drake’s people had to wear
breathing gear as they searched every nook, cranny, room, corridor, etc.
Eventually all the base personnel were found and accounted for. It took even
longer to disable their implants. Removal of all 221 implants would have to wait
until later.

When
Rollens woke up and realized he was no longer controlled by the device in his
neck, he revealed some disturbing information. The ship that had brought him to
Midgard had taken back the technical information on the detection and ECM systems.
That information, along with the existence and location of the Base and the
mining operation on the moon, would soon be on their way back to Majestic.
Majestic would also learn that the Brain Trust was somewhere in the Murisaki
Cluster, although none of the Base personnel knew exactly where. Drake had been
careful to see to that. He also revealed that the withdrawal of Empire forces
from Earth had included the transfer of several hundred experts in the
biological sciences from Earth to Hadley. That fit in perfectly with M2’s
prediction that Majestic was going to develop and deploy biological weapons of
mass destruction.

With
all Base personnel now free from implant control, the evacuation of all the
equipment began, hampered by the residual presence of enough knockout gas to be
a concern. Eventually, natural convection of air currents would dilute the gas
to the point where it was harmless, but that would take months. In the
meantime, the disassembly teams had to wear breathing gear while they worked.
It took almost 10 days to get everything stowed inside the fleet’s cargo holds.
When the bottom of the volcano was as bare as they had originally found it, and
the fleet was accelerating away from Midgard’s moon after picking up the mining
equipment, Drake felt he could finally relax. They had finally pulled it off,
and Rachel was now up and around as well. He tried not to dwell on the fact
that the Empire would soon have the ability to detect ships at long ranges.
Even the new ECM systems couldn’t prevent a ship from being detected via
ripples in the Ether. At least the Empire hadn’t gotten their hands on the new
x-ray laser turret technology. What did concern him now was the delay in
getting the shipyard set up on Excalibur. The trip back would take months, and
when the equipment was operational, it would take more months to strip the
armor off his cruisers and upgrade them with the breakthrough technologies.
What could Majestic accomplish during that time? He was afraid to think of the
possibilities.

Day
302/2555

Director
of Shipbuilding Operations Sanders stepped off the small transport ship and was
greeted by his inner circle of assistants and managers. Normally they would be
glad to see him, but not this time. He could tell from their expressions that
they had now all been implanted while he had been on Hadley. Majestic was not
wasting any time in consolidating its control of the industrial operations on
Makassar. Sanders wondered if Emperor Jonn was even alive now that Majestic no
longer needed him to carry out its directives.

“Welcome
back to Makassar, Boss,” said one of his managers. “What was so important that
you had to get the word straight from the horse’s…ah, demon’s mouth?”

Sanders
waited to see if the implant would punish the manager for calling Majestic by a
disparaging name, but nothing happened. The lack of concern over what its
minions called Majestic apparently wasn’t important enough to the machine to
bother with.
Are we now that unimportant?
He wondered.

“The,
ah, horse wants us to build a very special ship. It’s going to be bigger than
anything we’ve tried to build before. One thousand meters diameter.” The
shocked look on their faces was probably the same look that he’d had on his
face when Majestic had informed him.

“Please
tell us you’re joking, Boss,” said the manager who had called Majestic a demon.

Sanders
shook his head. “Afraid not. It’s going to be big with lots of cargo space, and
I mean LOTS. No armor, so we won’t have to worry about that. There’ll also be a
new kind of detection system and a new kind of electronic countermeasures
system. Don’t ask me where that came from. Majestic wouldn’t tell me, and I
didn’t feel the urge to ask. Here’s the bad news. It has to be ready in 34
weeks.” He closed his eyes as he listened to the shouted declarations that the
deadline was impossible to meet. He had tried to explain to Majestic that based
on past experience, a ship that big would take at least a year to build. The
momentary surge of pain from his implant reinforced Majestic’s reply that
failure to meet the deadline would not be tolerated.

When
the group was finished explaining why the deadline was impossible, he opened
his eyes and said, “Majestic made it very clear that it will make us all very
sorry if we don’t achieve that deadline. I don’t think I need to go into
details about what that means. Here are the specs for the ship.” He took out a
small memory block capable of holding terrabytes of data and flipped it to his
Deputy Director. “We don’t have any time to waste. Let’s get started.”

Day
357/2555

Excalibur

Drake
threw down the data tablet in frustration. The latest progress report on
preparations for the upcoming military campaign was still talking about delays
and more delays. Striping the armor off the hulls of the cruisers was taking
far longer than anticipated. M2’s technical analysis was now projecting that it
would be faster to add turrets containing the new laser technology to the
converted freighter/carriers than it would be to get the cruisers to the same
level of capability. What complicated the issue even further was that progress
on developing a practical superluminal photon laser weapon was proceeding so
quickly that if they waited a few weeks longer, they could install the far more
deadly superluminal lasers instead of the x-ray lasers on the carriers.
However, even a few more weeks delay could mean the difference between
preventing the deaths of billions of humans or arriving too late.

The
combat simulations between various types and quantities of Resistance forces
versus Empire forces of differing capabilities only muddied the waters. If
Empire ships didn’t have the Ether detection system installed, then even the
modified freighter/carriers with x-ray laser batteries could take them on and
beat them. But if Majestic did what M2 predicted it would do and not only gave
its fleet the new detection system but also miniaturized it small enough to fit
into missiles, then Resistance forces armed only with x-ray lasers could
potentially face annihilation depending on the number of ships on either side.
Superluminal lasers were the only factor that could tip the odds in their favor
regardless of what upgrades the Empire ships had. But for them to get the most
use out of the superluminal technology, there had to be at least three ships
data-linked so that their detection systems could triangulate enemy ships’
locations precisely enough that the superluminal lasers could aim and hit them
at very long ranges. The more data-linked ships there were working together,
the farther the lasers could shoot accurately.

Drake
needed to get a second opinion on the situation, and he called Molitor. She
quickly responded to his invitation to come to his office. After getting
settled and exchanging the usual pleasantries, Drake got down to business.

“I’ve
just read the latest progress report on the shipyard activities. It’s not good.
Here’s the situation we face now. Removing the armor from our cruisers is
proving to be so difficult that we might be ready faster if we switch to arming
our carriers instead. The question is with what? As you know from your work
with the tactical simulations, five carriers armed only with x-ray lasers might
end up being overwhelmed if they run into Empire ships that also have Ether
detection systems and missiles equipped with Ether homing systems. Even if
there wasn’t the delay in getting the armor off, our eight cruisers would have
only a marginally better chance of winning that kind of engagement. The only
real tech breakthrough we have that can tip the tactical scales in our favor is
the superluminal laser, but even the most optimistic time estimates will delay
having all five carriers armed by another five to six weeks on top of all the
other delays. Since you’re going to be my Field Commander for this campaign, I
want your input with regards to this question. Do we send you out with x-ray
lasers only or wait until we can field the superluminals, even if that means
that Majestic will have more time to execute its extermination agenda?”

“May
I see the report?” asked Molitor. Drake handed over the data tablet. It was
clear from her flipping through the pages that she was looking for something
specific. When she found it, she nodded. “As you know, the Coral Sea already
has the detection system and ECM system installed. The engineers have already
added the control linkages for laser turrets. Installing the x-ray turrets
themselves would only take another five weeks, and if we decided to go with
just one superluminal turret, we could have that installed within one more
week. So Coral Sea could be ready to lift off in six weeks. That’s a lot sooner
than the projection for all five carriers since the other four still need some
of the upgrade work that Coral Sea already has.”

Before
she could go on, Drake interjected. “Hold on, Rachel. You can’t seriously be
thinking of trying to win the war with just one ship.”

She
smiled and shook her head. “No, of course not. But one ship might be enough to
derail Empire efforts to bomb Earth with bio-weapons. I can’t see Majestic
concentrating its entire fleet in order to use bio-weapons. One ship, maybe
two, should be enough, and if those ships aren’t expecting to fight a
ship-to-ship action, I’ll have the element of surprise. I’ll have to get within
a million klicks or less in order to aim the superluminal accurately, but I
think I can pull it off.”

“What
if they fire missiles with Ether homing systems?” asked Drake.

After
a pause to consider her reply, she said, “Well, if I have enough time, I can
take my ship out of the hyper-zone, position it so that the Empire ships are
silhouetted against the Earth, and then I should be able to hit them with the
superluminal and micro-jump away if they fire missiles at me.”

She
sounded confident that she could pull it off, but Drake wasn’t as certain.
Having enough time to get into that firing position would take luck as well as
skill. On the other hand, if she could pull it off, Majestic would not suspect
that its ships had failed until months later when they would be overdue. During
those months, additional upgraded carriers could rendezvous with Coral Sea in
Earth orbit as they became available. In terms of risk, it wasn’t as low a risk
as he would have liked, but it certainly lowered the risk of arriving at Earth
too late to prevent the bombardment.

“Okay,
I’ll let you take Coral Sea when she’s ready, BUT I want her to have two
superluminal laser turrets, not just one. This is new technology, but it’s also
new engineering, and if you only have one and are about to go into battle and
it suffers a malfunction, you’ll be in serious trouble. Two turrets will take a
bit longer, but I’m prepared to accept that delay.”

“Thank
you, Ro. That extra turret will let me sleep easier.”

Drake
understood her point as he nodded, but he doubted if the extra delay would let
him sleep easier.

Seven
weeks later:

It
was a cold, miserable day when Coral Sea was finally finished and ready to lift
off. Drake and Lorelei drove out to the ship with Molitor. Her crew were
already on board and were getting the ship powered up for departure. As the three
of them stepped out of the vehicle, they felt the freezing rain hit their
exposed faces. Stepping over to the boarding ramp, Drake extended his hand, and
Molitor took it. After a brief shake, the two women gave each other a quick
hug. Molitor nodded to Drake as she turned and walked rapidly up the ramp. They
hadn’t spoken a single word, because none was necessary. Drake was shivering
and not just because of the cold. Getting the ship ready had taken longer than
anticipated. He was already regretting his insistence on the second
superluminal laser, but by the time the extended delay was obvious, it was too
late to change anything. He also hated the fact that he was staying behind.
With a capable commanding officer like Molitor available, he couldn’t justify
going himself. This was not a touchy contact mission like his trip to Midgard.
This was a simple defensive patrol of Earth, and after facing Molitor in
simulated combat a few times, he was willing to admit, if only to himself, that
she was the better tactician. Molitor was the right person for the job, and
Lorelei was happy that he was staying on the ground.

As
the two of them got ready to get back into the vehicle, Drake looked over to
the shipyard where the Leyte Gulf was in the process of having her weapons
turrets installed. The third carrier, Gambier Bay, was further away and was
being equipped with the Ether detection and ECM systems. He took some comfort
from the knowledge that work on the other four carriers should go faster due to
the experience gained in working the kinks out on Coral Sea. Once both of them
were back inside the vehicle, Drake ordered the auto-pilot system to take them
a safe distance away. Normally there was nothing dangerous in being close when
a large ship lifted off, but the freezing rain made this a special situation.
The ship was now covered with a layer of ice. This did not put the ship itself
in any danger; however, when Coral Sea broke the sound barrier, which she would
do quickly and relatively close to the ground, the sonic boom would shatter the
ice into a cascade of millions of fragments with sharp edges and points. Drake
had only seen that kind of thing happen once before and from a much farther
distance. It was an awesome sight, and he wasn’t going to miss seeing this one.

It
didn’t take long for the vehicle to reach a safe distance. Despite his urgings,
Lorelei was adamant that she was staying inside the vehicle, thank you very
much, even if that meant not having a good view of the ice cascade. Drake got
out and put on a pair of goggles to protect his eyes from the freezing rain so
that he could get a good look at the ship’s lift off. In the distance, he heard
the warning siren that lift off was imminent. It reminded him of that day, so
many years ago now, when he took command of Sparta’s first missile boat during
the almost bungled takeover of Federation military assets and the interception
of the FED courier ship.

Even
though he was watching the ship carefully, the 5G lift off still surprised him.
He counted the seconds. When the count reached six, he heard a tremendously
loud boom and saw what looked like a white veil fall from the ship. The veil
looked solid, but only because of the distance. He watched in fascination as
the veil continued moving up due to its accumulated momentum before stopping
for just a second, and then it started to fall. The illusion of solidity
quickly evaporated, and the veil turned into an expanding cloud of white,
glittering particles. When the cloud hit the ground, he actually heard the
muffled sound of the impact. The ship had already penetrated the overhead cloud
cover and was no longer visible. Drake got back inside the vehicle and listened
to the sound of the freezing rain hitting the roof of the groundcar for a few
seconds before ordering the auto-pilot to take them back to the Operations
Center where hot drinks would be waiting for them.

“Good
luck, Rachel,” said Lorelei in a barely audible voice.

Day
114/2556

Coral
Sea

Earth
orbital space:

Molitor
was standing beside the Communications Station when Coral Sea emerged from its
final micro-jump. She didn’t need the Com Tech to tell her that they were
already picking up lots of audio and video transmissions from Earth. Her
initial impulse was to heave a sigh of relief that they hadn’t found a
devastated planet. The sense of relief quickly turned to horror as she watched
video footage of what seemed to be newscasts showing large numbers of people
dying from some kind of infection.

She
closed her eyes which were quickly tearing up. Coral Sea had gotten here too
late. Given the fact that the bio-weapon hadn’t yet run its course, not much
time could have passed since it had been dropped. If she had gotten the ship
here even just a few days sooner, they might have been able to prevent the attack.
She looked around the makeshift Bridge and saw that the others were also
watching the newscasts. The Bridge was as quiet as a tomb. She mentally shook
herself out of her sense of failure and turned to the Com Tech.

“See
if you can contact someone at Federation HQ for me,” she said in a low voice.
It took almost a full minute before the main display shifted from tactical to
the face of a man wearing the uniform of the Federation Army.

“Who
are you?” he demanded in a voice that sounded on the verge of panic.

“I’m
Rachel Molitor in command of the Coral Sea. We’re not Empire if that’s what’s
worrying you. We’re here to help if we can. I take it from your newscasts that
the Empire attacked Earth with a bio-weapon.” She knew that at this distance,
there would be a 34 second delay for her transmission to reach Earth and for
any reply to get back to her.

“Attack…yes!
That happened five days ago. The Empire ships fired missiles at about a hundred
cities. The warheads exploded in the air. We suspected that they were carrying
biological agents, and we tried to evacuate those cities, but we obviously
didn’t get everyone out in time, and now the damn stuff is spreading like
wildfire. Unless you’ve brought a cure, I don’t see what help you can give us.”

She
waited to make sure that he was finished speaking and then shook her head. “No
cure, I’m sorry to say, but maybe there’s something else we can help with. Has
it become widely known that General Masterson, Admiral Chenko and some of the
top people in the Federation administration have been compromised with
mind-controlling devices implanted at the back of their necks?”