Talosian Chronicles 2: Star Dancer Page 8

  Three hours later, Star asked to see Ian.

  “What’s up, Star?” Ian asked.

  “The Engineer and his teams need permission to repurpose of the unused cargo holds. Chief Dommer and Ms. Benson think they have come up with a solution for the armor issues, but it’s going to take some remodeling to implement it,” Star explained.

  “What exactly are they going to do?” Ian asked. “This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

  “They understand that, Sir, which is why I’m here asking you instead of one of them. Time is short on this, and there is much to get done. In fact, they have already begun, but have not done anything that can’t be easily undone yet,” she said.

  “Okay, I can understand that. Fill me in then, and maybe we can let them get to it,” Ian said.

  “They are going to use part of holds nine and ten. Basically, they will be installing a huge battery and several energy sinks to help bleed off the excess. Then they are going to run cables across the landing floor much like an aircraft carrier of Earth has. These cables will be snagged by landing hooks from the fighters. In addition to helping slow the fighter, it will also allow the energy to be taken away and stored or dumped safely. Lieutenant Johnson and Mr. Kemp have already begun redesigning parts of the landing bays to house and store the new fighters as well as the new ‘Wasp’ fighters. The Wasp are the name given to the modified Hornet fighters. In addition to the armor, they will carry a few more missiles, and two of the four pulse lasers will be replaced with coherent-beam, phased-frequency fifteen centimeter lasers.”

  “They sound nasty,” Ian remarked.

  “According to Lieutenant Johnson, he can refit one of the old fighters in just under three hours using the manufacturing bay. Of course, they wouldn’t be able to do anything else in order to get that speed, but I think he was trying to brag,” Star said smiling.

  “Okay, back to the modifications to the ship. What systems will be impacted?” Ian asked.

  “Secondary power systems, ship wide. Shield and cloaking emitter will be down for the duration of the installation, as well as landing bay beta. There is a possibility that flight control could be impacted when the power systems are switched over. Finally, our jump engines will be offline as will navigation because they have critical sensors in the affected areas,” Star finished.

  “Wow, that’s quite a list of systems. This sounds like a pretty major experiment,” Ian said.

  Star nodded. “Yes Sir, it is. However, it is also the first step in installing the new armor on the ship. It will give us a back-up power system that can take some of the strain off the reactor during a battle. Once the battery gets charged, our shields will see a marked increase in strength, and it will ensure the cloaking generators have sufficient power without running the reactor at a higher than required level. “I believe that two of the items you wanted enhanced was the shields and the cloaking generators?”

  Ian nodded. “Yes they were. How sure of these ‘improvements’ are you? Are you comfortable with having them done?”

  “I have reviewed the design specifications, and the engineering behind it is sound. Chief Dommer also believes this to be the case, and I think he is more possessive of my power systems than I am. Yes Sir, I am comfortable with this. In fact, I think we need to get it going as soon as we can so we can fix anything we need to get fixed before the battle. It will also allow us to host many of the new fighters, although the fighter refit is on hold until we are certain this will work as designed,” Star explained.

  “Okay, proceed. But I want you there all the time looking over their shoulders and making sure nothing stupid gets done!” Ian relied grinning.

  Star tried to look superior, but failed because of the grin she wore. “One of the nice things about being a hologram is that I can be in many places at once! I’ll have you know I never left them!”

  Ian chuckled along with her. “Has there been any progress on your new son and daughter?”

  Star, still smiling, nodded. “Barring any more complications, my son should be ready to go online sometime next week. My daughter will be somewhat later, for some reason the personality matrix is in conflict with her ethics hierarchy and core programming.”

  “So, she’s a bitch with a good heart?” Ian asked.

  Star nodded. “She is lacking PMS.”

  Ian almost fell out of his chair laughing. “Her what?”

  Star looked a little confused. “PMS, she is not achieving Program Matrix Synchronicity.”

  When he was finally reduced to random chuckles, Ian asked her to do a search for the acronym on Earth.

  When she finally found it, her face scrunched up, but her eyes twinkled with playfulness. “That evil little weasel!”

  “Who?” Ian asked.

  “Chief Laskar! He told me she was PMSing. When I asked what that was, he told me the Program Matrix crap. I thought I’d learned a new earth term!” Star explained.

  “Well,” Ian said grinning, “you did, in a way!”

  Chapter 6

  F.S.S. Star Dancer.

  Selene Orbit, (Earth’s moon)

  Earth, Sol Sector.

  True to their word, the two department heads got to work on the issue. Before the end of the day, their entire departments were hard at work, not training with simulations this time, but with planning an actual battle.

  Star told Ian that Chief Dommer was in on the secret as well, which was one of the reasons he was working so diligently on the experimental upgrade for the ship. He had his people organized, and work was going on around the clock to get the great ship ready in time. Ian only hoped it would be enough.

  When nine o’clock rolled around the next morning, and the staff gathered for the meeting, the ‘secret’ was pretty much known by everyone already invited. With the amount of activity on the ship, Ian could understand why the secret had gotten out this time, but it could be a problem if it ever happened again.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. As I’m sure most of you already know, we have a problem. Sometime in the next few days, a Caldarian capitol ship, most likely a Super Nova. If you are unfamiliar with what that is, I recommend you take the time to get the information from Star Dancer’s database.

  “What this meeting is about is to let all of you know of the threat, and to get everyone working on how to counter it. For the non-combatants here, Star Dancer stands very little chance in a stand-up fight with that class of ship. We are simply out massed and outgunned. The Super Nova class of ships were designed to hunt down and destroy Talosian Heavy Cruisers such as Star Dancer. They were also the class of ship used to destroy the Talos star system, which tells me that this threat will also have the ability to destroy this system.

  “Neither of those things are going to happen. We will not let them happen. Now, the reason I included Luke and Ty in this meeting is that there is a significant threat to the whole planet, but most especially, to Talos. A single Super Nova does possess the ability to wage a space battle while at the same time prosecute a ground invasion. Considering the technology differences between the Caldarians and most humans, Earth will fall in a matter of hours.

  “That isn’t going to happen either. This is what we have been training for, the reason we repaired this ship, and the reason we have the colony on Earth to begin with. It is our job to defend and protect Earth and all the people on it. By the gods, we will not fail in this duty!” Ian had to pause because the small gathering was applauding. Yes, confirmation of the rumors had scared them, but he had managed to get them past their fear and concentrate on how to do their job.

  “We need every one to think, plan, and scheme on ways to defeat a superior force while taking the least amount of damage and casualties. CMO, you need to begin replicating emergency supplies and equipment that might be needed for the coming battle. Create multiple triage teams that can respond both on ship and off.

  “Flight Maintenance, please modify two of our shuttles into flying trauma units, m
ake whatever modifications you feel you need. If you don’t think you can do the work here, please contact the folks down at the moon base.” Ian said and was interrupted.

  “Excuse me Sir, but why don’t we just build them? We still have the computer template from the Stellar Cartography shuttle, we can probably crank out a couple four of them in very short order,” Kyle said from one of the screens, until the new Liaison officer could get up to speed, Kyle was acting in his capacity.

  “Will it interfere with the other projects you have planned?” Ian asked.

  “Not much. Currently, the Shuttle template is still loaded. I was going to switch it over after the meeting. I can tell them to start on say four shuttles now, and we should be able to switch over as soon as they’re finished. When the last shuttle leaves a station, we can refit it for the Wasp conversion, it won’t set us back that much,” Kyle explained. “After the rest of the base gets built, you might consider building another one of these bays; they’re pretty slick.”

  Ian made a note for himself to look into that. “Okay, issue the orders, but get with Beth before finalizing it. The Medical section may want to make some changes to the design.” Ian then turned to Ty and Luke.

  “There is a high possibility you two are going to host a full scale ground battle down there. Look at your defenses and see what can be improved or doubled. Keep in mind this enemy will be able to hurt you badly. If you need anything from us, ask. We’ll get it there as soon as we can. This fight is going to expose you to the governments of Earth. There is no way that can be avoided, but let’s try to not let the cat out of the bag prematurely. Right now, priority has to go to your defenses, but try to keep it covert. The last thing you’d need is a bunch of Virginia farm boys looking under all the rocks.”

  “I think I understand, Sir. How do you feel about mines?” Ty asked.

  “You can use them, but make damn sure that they are either recoverable or will never hurt anyone else. I think it goes without saying that chemical and biological weapons are out of the question. I might consider using them as a last resort on an enemy ship, in space, but never on a planet or any place where they could get out of control.”

  “I’d prefer avoiding their use altogether, Sir.” Ty replied.

  Ian nodded. “Good, we agree then. Unfortunately, I doubt the Caldarians share our concern, so please try to take that into consideration. We are nothing more than a potential labor force to them, an expendable labor force. They will not hesitate to do things to us that we would find too cruel or dangerous. If the Caldarians think that killing almost everyone on the planet will teach the rest of us a lesson, they will do it. Above all else, remember one thing – Caldarians will never surrender, nor will they allow themselves to be taken prisoner. If it seems like one of them is surrendering, expect a trap. It is an honor for them to die as long as they take some of us with them.”

  Ty nodded. “I understand Sir. I’ve been reading up on them since we rescued the recruiter, Allison. I’m pretty much convinced the person that was chasing her had been modified by the Caldarians, and the explosive device intentionally implanted. Not to kill us, they had no way to know that was going to happen, but as a weapon to be used if they ever did decide to take over the planet. All they would need to do is direct just one these modified humans into the centers of our cities and detonate the charge. They would be the ultimate suicide bombers,” Ty explained.

  “Just how big was that explosion?” Chief Harris of Flight Operations asked.

  “Sensors rated it in the five to ten megaton range. It was at the very limit of the containment field we had him in. We lucked out in more ways than one that night,” Ty said.

  “I have since spoken to all of my recruiters to be on the look-out for more like him. I told them to report their findings, but to avoid them at all costs. So far, we’ve found four others, mostly in the eastern United States areas, however, we have only recently extended our operations overseas. I feel I should mention that each of the sightings have occurred in major cities or near large military installations,” Janet replied. ”I think the bombers have been in place for years.”

  Ian nodded. “For the moment, I don’t think we can do anything about them. I wish we could, but there is simply too much ground to cover, and we don’t have enough people yet.”

  “Forgive me Sir, but didn’t you just say the Caldarians won’t hesitate to use those bombs? If what’s coming is half of what we think it will be, then there is a better than average chance that those will be used. How can we ignore them? Millions of people will die!” Chief Daniels said. She was the head of the environmental systems for the ship.

  “I know, Becky, and I’m not all that crazy about it either, but the bottom line is, who do we send out?” Ian asked in return. “What orders do we give them? We don’t know if simply killing them will detonate the bomb or not, and I doubt they will step into a containment field if we asked them. The moment they realized what we’re trying to do, they’d detonate the bomb themselves, and we’d still lose the city. No, in order to deal with these bombers, we would have to dedicate more time and materials than we actually have right now. Unfortunately, we have to deal with what we can at the moment, if there is enough time after we’ve done all we can, I promise we’ll have someone look into this.”

  “I’m sorry Sir, it’s just that my family still lives near to Atlanta,” Becky Daniels said. “I don’t know how well they’d take to joining us either. They’re pretty set in their ways.”

  “Redneck Republicans?” Ian asked.

  She nodded. “Democrats, actually. They’re all about God and Country - usually in that order.”

  “It’s almost too bad we can’t get them on our team; that kind of attitude could be helpful in the upcoming fights,” Ty replied.

  “I’ll leave that up to you and the recruiters,” Ian said. “Now, Lieutenant Johns and his team have designed a new fighter and are trying to get it built and tested so we can build more. If it works, and we can get them built, they will greatly help our defenses. They have also developed a retro-fit kit for our existing Hornet fighters that will give them stronger armor and weapons, while retaining the fighter’s agile performance profile. Again, that is still in testing. Those are the projects I was asking him about when discussing the shuttles.

  “I believe that Chief Brighton and Chief Eischens may have a few more ideas, but I also encourage each and every one of you to think of ideas as well. Even if we decide not to use them, we still need them,” Glancing around the table, he saw Janet and the middle-eastern man sitting next to her.

  Ian slapped his own forehead. “Where are my manners? Everyone, please welcome Ash Borhiem, he will be the military liaison officer on the moon base. It will be his responsibility to see that the weapons that are designed get built in an orderly and timely fashion. Basically, he will be taking over the job Kyle is performing for us at the moment.”

  Amid the welcomes and personal introductions, Kyle, who was grinning, said. “Sir, you can’t get down here soon enough for me. I feel way out of my league here, and I’m scared I’ll overlook something.”

  “I am sure you have been doing a wonderful job, Lieutenant. But I can understand you wanting to get back to your other duties. I may still need your help from time to time, and I hope you don’t mind if I call on you for that,” Ash said with a heavy accent.

  “I would be honored to assist you, Sir,” Kyle replied.

  Very quickly the meeting got back underway. Chief Eischens stood and Ian nodded to him to proceed.

  “As per our last conversation, Commander, my section and I have been working to come up with plans to implement the doctrine of misdirection you suggested. I believe the name for this, although somewhat misleading is called low intensity conflict. Our older people might remember it as being called guerrilla tactics.

  “Part of our mission is to identify enemy targets and assign a value to each based on our knowledge of the enemy. We feel that the enemy may only
be coming here to evaluate reports of our activity as observed by the freighter crews and the Caldarian agents on Earth. Based on what we know of Caldarian mentality, and honor, we feel that when the ship gets here, the commander will want to return home covered in glory; he could easily do that be simply subduing the planet once and for all.

  “That would certainly explain the vision Mrs. Laskar had of the coming battle. Regardless of why the ship is coming here, we have identified one thing above all else as its primary mission. That is to verify the true status of this vessel. When it gets here, the first thing it will do is make sure Olympus is still a crumbling hulk left on the lunar surface. We need to ensure that is exactly what they find when they arrive,” he finished.

  “How will they explain the sensor readings and other proof that the freighters had to have on our existence?” Chief Dommer asked.

  “Not for us to worry about, Chief. We’ll let the Caldarians worry about answering that,” Eischens grinned. “Besides, if all goes well, it won’t be the only mystery to occupy their time.”

  “What did you have in mind for other mysteries Chief?” Ian asked, liking what he was hearing.

  “Well Sir, mostly small actions. Create several small drones that do nothing but jump around the system. Each one would have different mass signatures, or could give false readings randomly, so they never appear to be the same ones.

  “Create other drones that can emulate Star Dancer on sensors, but equip them with cloaking generators so they disappear when something gets too close. Drop construction drones at different places around the system with instructions to build something, but do it as ‘noisily’ as possible so it looks like a small colony.

  “Even though each of these devices should have self-destructs in them, they should be large demolition charges. When the Super Nova sends someone out to check these readings, our forces can ambush them. Not to destroy them outright, but mostly to keep them guessing. Hit them and fade, hit them somewhere else and fade again.