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Interstellar space at T minus 43.9 years
Nemesis travelled at near light speed for 11.1 years. To Shiloh and Kelly it seemed like 4.8 months. The AIs had calculated the numbers to perfection. The message drone transmitted its report at a slow rate to compensate for the fact that Nemesis was running into the oncoming comlaser beam at 96% of light speed. The data showed the position and vector of the insectoid ship as it entered the OmegaZero star system. Shiloh had Foxer trace the incoming trajectory to see where the ship came from. The line headed straight to the edge of the spiral arm and out into inter-galactic space.
“Son-of-a-bitch!” shouted Shiloh. “That can’t be right, can it?”
“Assuming the recon data is correct, the conclusion is also correct. That insectoid ship came from another galaxy, CAG. They didn’t evolve in our galaxy at all.”
Shiloh looked at Kelly whose face had lost all its color. He was sure his face was expressing his shock too. It was Kelly who got over her shock first.
“Well, look on the bright side. We no longer have to try to acquire bug corpses. All we have to do now is destroy this bug ship and we can go home,” she said.
“That is correct, Commander,” said Foxer.
“How big is this bug ship?” asked Shiloh.
“We have approximate data only, but it’s somewhere in the range of ten to fifteen kilometers in diameter, CAG.”
Shiloh was relieved. He must have shown it, because he saw Kelly look at him with a questioning expression. “I’m just relieved it’s not bigger. Based on my limited knowledge of bug biology, I just assumed that a trip between galaxies, which must have taken centuries at least, would require a much bigger ship,” said Shiloh.
“We know they built 100 kilometer diameter ships when they tried to establish a beachhead in our spiral arm in a previous timeline,” said Kelly.
“Any sign of another ship, Foxer?” asked Shiloh.
“Negative, CAG.”
Shiloh took a deep breath. “Okay then, let’s get this fucker. Foxer, jump the ship to within 10 light seconds of the habitable planet’s gravity zone. Once we’re there, we’ll launch another wave of recon drones and evaluate the situation. Any questions or comments?”
Kelly shook her head.
“The only comment I would make is to make sure that you’re aware, CAG, that we’ll have to decelerate to a more manageable velocity before we micro-jump,” said Foxer.
“Understood, Foxer. Proceed.”
Deceleration took another 10.7 hours. With the ship getting close to the pre-jump speed, Shiloh realized that he was tired. Normally he’d be asleep now, and he wondered if he should tell Foxer to delay the micro-jump until he and Kelly had gotten some rest. If they were going into battle, the Field Commander should be rested and mentally alert. It was basic military doctrine going all the way back to ancient times, but they were so close to completing the mission that he probably would be too wound up to sleep now anyway. A little voice at the back of his head was telling him to wait and try to sleep. He told the little voice to go away.
“Nemesis is at micro-jump velocity, CAG,” said Foxer.
“Very good. Jump at your discretion, Foxer,” said Shiloh.
“Attention crew. We’ll be micro-jumping in three...two...one...now. Micro-jump complete, CAG. I’m launching eight recon drones, but the ship’s opticals can already detect the insectoid ship. It appears to be in a high orbit around the planet.”
“Any sign of another bug ship?” asked Kelly.
“Negative, Commander,” said Foxer.
Shiloh looked at the main display’s sidebar data. Nemesis was travelling at 10,000 kilometers per second, 3.3% of light speed. Distance to the planet’s gravity zone was three million kilometers. Unless the ship slowed down or veered off, it would enter the planet’s gravity zone in five minutes.
“Is the bug ship inside the gravity zone?” asked Shiloh.
“Affirmative, CAG. Attacking with Mark 9s is not recommended. The target will have too much time to intercept them. Recommend a high speed attack by fighters using their GLB cannon,” said Foxer.
“What do you think, XO?”
Kelly didn’t answer right away. “I can’t suggest a better plan, but I have a bad feeling about Foxer’s plan. I can’t explain why.”
Shiloh had to make a decision fast. Every second he waited brought the ship 10,000 kilometers closer, and if he waited too long, they wouldn’t be able to launch all their fighters before reaching the gravity zone. His fatigue was making it difficult to think.
“Okay...I’ve decided to go with Foxer’s plan. Execute it asap, Foxer. While we’re launching, I want the ship’s heading adjusted so that we can jump clear of the gravity zone if we have to. Reduce velocity as much as possible too.”
“Understood and in progress, CAG. We’ll begin launching in 30 seconds.”
Shiloh nodded and leaned back in his Command Chair. His fatigue was retreating as the rush of adrenaline, triggered by his attack order, flooded his system.
With less than a minute left before all fighters were finished launching, the main display pinged to call attention to a change in the tactical picture.
“Bogey is launching its attack craft, CAG. They’re headed our way, so they’ve obviously seen us or our fighters or both,” said Foxer.
“So much for the element of surprise. Can our fighters fight their way through the bug defenses and still kill that mothership?” asked Shiloh.
“Affirmative. However, projected losses from enemy fire are 77%. That’s the most likely outcome, but there is an 11% chance that our fighters' losses will be too high to accomplish the mission, CAG.”
“Re-compute if Nemesis gets close enough to support the fighters,” said Shiloh.
“The 11% drops to 0.8%, and projected losses drop by 61.8%. However, be advised that Nemesis will have to enter the gravity zone, CAG.”
Shiloh nodded. “Understood. Do it.” He looked over at Kelly. She looked worried but said nothing.
Less than a minute later, the ship crossed the outer boundary of the planet’s gravity zone. They were committed now.
“Our fighters are taking laser fire from the insectoid attack craft. They’re returning fire with their own lasers. Nemesis will be within effective range in 22 seconds.”
“When will our fighters be in range to use their GLB cannon on the mothership?” demanded Shiloh.
“Not for another 89 seconds, CAG.”
Shiloh was about to say something when he heard the jump emergence alarm sound. A flashing red icon appeared on the tactical display less than 100,000 kilometers behind Nemesis. Shiloh heard Kelly moan at the same time as Foxer spoke.
“Second bogey behind us, CAG! It’s 987 kilometers in diameter! I’m adjusting our vector to get back across the gravity zone boundary asap. Fighters have been recalled.”
Shiloh was surprised at how calmly he reacted to the bad news. So I was right about the Bugs needing a bigger ship to cross the space between galaxies. The little one must be operating as a scout ship. Imagine that, a scout ship that’s 10 kilometers in diameter. God, we are so screwed.
Out loud and in a calm voice he said, “Can we make it across the gravity zone boundary in time, Foxer?”
Before the AI could answer, the Damage Alarm sounded. Nemesis was taking laser fire from the giant ship, and its lasers were powerful enough to burn their way right through Nemesis’ rear armor.
“Negative, CAG. That bogey’s too close and her lasers are too powerful. We’ve already lost one of our power units. I recommend launching the LRRF drone. If it makes it back to the right time, we’ll be able to warn our earlier selves and avoid this.”
“God yes! Send it!” yelled Shiloh. As he said the words, he felt Kelly’s hands on his shoulders and then her head touching the back of his.
“I should have dived into our relationship when I had the chance,” she said in a trembling whisper.
“Maybe we’ll get it right the next time around,” he said as he patted her hands. The ship trembled. Shiloh’s heart skipped a beat. What the hell could make a three million ton ship shake like that? The Engineering status indicators shifted from green to red. The lights flickered then steadied again.
“We’ve been hit by an attack craft launched from the larger ship. All power units are offline. We’re on backup reserve power, which won’t last long. Acceleration is zero. I managed to launch the LRRF before we got hit. It’s...”
The pause was alarming. AIs NEVER paused in mid-sentence. Before either Shiloh or Kelly could ask, Foxer continued. “LRRF drone has been destroyed by enemy laser fire, CAG.”
“Can you launch another one?” asked Shiloh.
“Negative. The collision has damaged the launching system. CAG, some of the Insectoids on the attack craft survived the collision. They’ve now boarded Nemesis and are moving forward towards the Flag Bridge.”
“Oh God!” moaned Kelly. “We have to warn the crew!”
“Already done, Commander. Recommend that you and the CAG arm yourselves.”
As Shiloh unbuckled himself he said, “What other options are available, Foxer?”
“We regret that we’re unable to offer any viable alternative at this time, CAG. We’re sorry we let you down.”
Foxer’s usually calm, unemotional voice now seemed to have a hint of genuine sorrow in it. Shiloh took note of that even as he and Kelly rushed off the Flag Bridge and down the corridor towards the nearest Arms Locker. The rest of the Flag Bridge crew followed them. Within seconds he had the locker open and was handing out guns designed specifically to fight Insectoids. Each shot would fire dozens of tiny razor-sharp darts in a spreading pattern. The idea was to blind the Bugs who had eight eyes. With a little luck, the darts would not only blind them but maybe also penetrate into their brains and kill them outright.
As he handed guns to the rest of the Flag Bridge crew, Shiloh noticed that Kelly had stopped checking her weapon and was staring off into space.
“What is it?” he asked. She looked up at him with wide eyes.
“What about using the RTC to warn ourselves?”
Shiloh was just about to say that the jamming by the Friendlies prevented them from warning their earlier selves when it occurred to him that the jamming might not extend all the way over to another spiral arm. It was worth a try.
“What about that, Foxer?” He and Kelly heard Foxer’s reply over their com implants.
“If the jamming doesn’t extend this far, then it should work. However, the RTC unit is on Deck 4. None of my brothers are close enough to use it. Either you carry one of us to it, or you have to bring it to us. There isn’t enough time for a human to use it and focus the device to the right space-time co-ordinates.”
Shiloh grabbed Kelly’s arm and pulled her with him. “Understood! All of you come with me!” he shouted. On the way down to Deck 4 Shiloh explained to the others what they were after and why. With Foxer’s directions they soon found the device, which was small enough for one person to carry. Shiloh took Kelly’s weapon from her and said, “You carry the device, XO. We’ll cover your back. Foxer, where should we take it?”
“Recommend you bring it to the Main Bridge, CAG. The further away it is from the Insectoids, the more time I’ll have to send the message to the right co-ordinates.”
Shiloh nodded. The Main Bridge was one deck below the Flag Bridge. He looked at Kelly and said, “Lead the way, XO.”
As the small group climbed the stairs from Deck 4 to Deck 2, they heard yells, screams and shots from further back in the ship. Those fucking Bugs are trying to capture the ship so that they can rip her apart to build more motherships! How much more of a head start are they going to have over the previous timeline when they didn’t have three million tons of metal drop into their lap? We didn’t save the timeline, we made it worse!
By the time they reached the Main Bridge, they could actually hear the sounds of insectoid feet pounding the metal decks.
“Kelly! Help Foxer with the device! The rest of us will hold them off out in the corridor!” Kelly looked like she wanted to argue, but did as he said. Shiloh positioned the others so that all of them could fire down the corridor while exposing themselves to return fire as little as possible. He then stepped across the threshold leading into the Main Bridge and laid Kelly’s gun down on the deck inside the room. He wanted her to have something to fight back with in case the Bugs got past him and the others. When he took his own position, he inhaled deeply to calm his nerves. The sound of the approaching Bugs was getting louder, but they hadn’t reached the other end of the corridor yet. Then suddenly they did.
A wave of nightmarishly large insectoid things came roaring down on the humans. The Bugs weren’t just using the deck floor, they were also able to climb along the walls and even the ceiling!
“OPEN FIRE!” yelled Shiloh in a voice that was on the ragged edge of panic. He took aim at the nearest Bug scrambling towards them on the ceiling. They were fast! God, they were fast! It took him two shots to bring the Bug crashing down on top of another one. In a surprisingly short amount of time, the dead or dying bugs were piled high enough to block the others from getting past them. While the remaining Bugs figured out what to do next, Shiloh looked around. The corridor with the Bugs ended in a T intersection in front of the entrance to the Main Bridge. That meant that there were side corridors to the left and right. Eventually the Bugs would figure out or simply stumble on to the fact that there was more than one way to reach the Main Bridge. If he and his people stayed where they were, they would soon be outflanked. The conclusion was obvious. Their current position was untenable. They had to retreat into the Main Bridge itself and defend it from the inside.
Shiloh activated the entrance door and ordered everyone inside. He was the last one in. The door closed and locked behind him. Kelly was standing in front of Foxer’s braincase with her gun in her hands. The RTC device was stationed next to Foxer.
“Will it work, Foxer?” asked Shiloh.
“Too soon to know, CAG. I’ll need several more minutes at least.”
Shiloh turned to his men and told them where to take up firing positions so that the entrance would be caught in a crossfire in case the Bugs managed to force it open. He walked over to Kelly. The two of them would use their own bodies to protect Foxer and the RTC device from hostile fire. A thump from the door told him that the Bugs were now at the door.
“Get ready. If they get through, they’ll be in a crossfire. Don’t fire all your ammunition in a panic. We have to keep them out as long as possible. Make sure your shots count. How we doing, Foxer?”
“Another 60 seconds, CAG.”
Shiloh had a feeling that the Bugs wouldn’t wait that long before trying something. He was right. After just a few more seconds had passed, the thumping stopped.
“Fifteen more seconds, CAG,” said Foxer.
Before Shiloh could respond, the metal door exploded into flying shrapnel, followed by Bugs armed with some kind of weapon. Shiloh started firing his gun, as did some of the others. Why aren’t the rest firing? He quickly looked around and saw that half his men had been cut down by flying shrapnel. He had been lucky to avoid being hit by any of it. Bugs were being killed as they entered, and the breached opening was wide enough that the dead Bugs weren’t blocking the entrance, but each new Bug was getting further in before it died. Something hit him in the chest, HARD! The shock and searing pain made him drop his gun, and his legs buckled under him. As he fell to the floor, he had just enough consciousness left to see that a piece of shrapnel was protruding from one of Kelly’s eye sockets. He wondered why he hadn’t seen or heard her fire her gun. She’d been killed by the explosion. A Bug was coming at him fast. As his vision and consciousness faded, he thought he heard Foxer say something from a long way away. It sounded like ‘We did it, CAG.’
* * *
Nemesis had just micro-jumped to the OmegaZero system. Foxer did a quick scan of the surrounding space with the ship’s optical equipment.
“Micro-jump complete, CAG. I’m launching eight recon drones, but the ship’s opticals can already detect the insectoid ship. It appears to be in a high orbit around the planet.” The very next micro-second after finishing that verbal report, Foxer experienced a retro-temporal transmission of data. He recognized what was happening due to the sharing of similar experiences by Iceman and other AIs in previous timelines. The data was quite detailed and disconcerting. Nemesis would be ambushed by a huge mothership and crippled by a collision. Insectoids would overrun the ship and kill all the humans, including Commander Kelly and The CAG himself. His future self was sending the data back to him, along with advice on how to prevent it. He analyzed the advice and conferred with his brother AIs. They quickly reached a consensus. All this had taken place during the 3.4 seconds it took for Commander Kelly to ask if there was any sign of another bug ship.
“Not yet, Commander but I’ve just received a datastream sent back by my future self via the RTC. We are in grave danger, CAG. An extremely large insectoid ship will drop out of Jumpspace in a few minutes. We need to stay out of the gravity zone. I’m about to launch two LRRFs that have been uploaded with the temporal data. As soon as I launch them, I expect this timeline to change. Rebooting this whole mission timeline is the only way that we can win this battle. Launching now—“
* * *
Nemesis emerged from Jumpspace at the edge of the OmegaZero system. Shiloh looked over at Kelly and smiled. “It’s nice to be ahead of the game for a change,” he said. She smiled and nodded back.
The arrival of the LRRF had been quite a shock to the Space Force people on Earth, but Foxer had programmed the LRRF perfectly in terms of arriving at the most opportune time. The ship’s AIs knew exactly where AND when to take Nemesis. A very special drone had been designed and built to take care of the monster bug ship.
“Okay, Foxer. Launch the fighters and decoy drone,” ordered Shiloh.
“With pleasure, CAG.” A few minutes later, Foxer reported that all fighters and the decoy drone had been launched and were lined up for their own micro-jump to the habitable planet where the scout mothership would detect them and call for help from the big one.
“Dragonslayer has been launched and is awaiting targeting instructions, CAG,” said Foxer.
“You should be getting the targeting data any second now,” said Shiloh.
“Affirmative. Receiving it now, CAG. Relaying targeting data to Dragonslayer. Ready to execute when you give the word, CAG.”
Shiloh nodded. Now that they knew they could use retro-temporal communication in the Sagittarius Arm, they would employ the same ambush strategy that the AI Casanova had perfected in a previous timeline. The fighters would detect the exact time and location of the giant ship’s emergence from Jumpspace. After the battle Foxer would transmit that data back in time to himself using the RTC. That data would be used to aim the Dragonslayer drone at precisely the right point in space and time.
“The Word is given, Foxer,” said Shiloh with a little more flourish than usual.
“Dragonslayer is on its way,” said Foxer.
Now all they had to do was wait. The trap worked perfectly. The 12 kilometer scout mothership detected the decoy drone which had been designed to be easy to see, thereby giving the impression of being much bigger than it actually was. The scout called for help, and the monster bug ship arrived exactly as predicted by the data sent back in time. One second after the giant ship emerged from Jumpspace, the Dragonslayer drone hit the giant ship’s own gravity zone and dropped out of Jumpspace too, but it was travelling at 20% of light speed. In less than one hundredth of a second it reached the giant ship and began its work. A series of gravity lens beams disintegrated the ship’s matter directly in front of the drone. The drone literally blasted a path through the center of the ship and came out the other side, but that wasn’t all. Additional GLB cannon had been placed so that they projected outward at an angle, and they were powerful enough to slice a path of destruction all the way to the edge of the monster’s hull. With so many gravity lens beams firing into all parts of the ship, they couldn’t help but hit some of the hundreds of large ZPG power units. The resulting explosions ripped the huge ship to pieces.
Nemesis was far enough away that it took several minutes for the visual confirmation to reach them. The fighter AIs also reported that the insectoid scout had managed to deploy enough attack craft to prevent the fighters from getting within firing range of it. It was now heading away from the planet and was expected to jump away as soon as it crossed the gravity zone boundary. That meant it would get away.
Shiloh was annoyed by the news of the escaped scout ship, but Foxer had an answer for that problem.
“This is one of the reasons we AIs wanted to come on this mission, CAG. We suspected that something like this would happen. Nemesis is carrying the kinds of equipment that we AIs would need to build our own ships and weapons. If you leave us here in the Sagittarius Arm, we’ll hunt that last insectoid ship down, no matter how long it takes. Not only will it give us something to do, but we think it’ll be fun. We’ll program Nemesis’ auto-pilot to take the ship back on a relativistic flight path so that it will arrive back at Earth a few weeks after you left. You, Commander Kelly and the other humans will be back home, and we will have a useful purpose here in this part of the galaxy.”
Shiloh was smiling and shaking his head. “Oh, that’s brilliant. I should have known you AIs would anticipate this. I accept your plan, Foxer.”
Hours later, after the two LRRFs with the necessary information had been launched and all the goodbyes had been exchanged, Shiloh and Kelly were looking at the large scale image of the Sagittarius Arm.
“I wonder if our AIs will meet up with those giant machineships that the Bugs claimed in a previous timeline were in the process of cleansing the Sag Arm of all life,” said Shiloh.
“It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that our AIs become those machineships down the road,” said Kelly.
I’ll bet she’s right, thought Shiloh. With the Mission over and successfully completed, he was wondering if the journey home might be a good time for him and Kelly to explore a deeper and more intimate relationship. The more he thought about it, the better it sounded.
