Existential Threat: Chapter 2 Part 1 of 4 (Patreon)

Chapter: 2

08/07/2242

Dana checked the simulated command deck of her Flagship Shoki. It was shaped like a pentagon with top point cut off, becoming the main forward screen, covered in ship, fleet and system readouts. Stations were broke out into two levels, the entrance to the bridge lay in the back right side of the pentagon. A walkway around the pentagon remained at the highest level with Dana’s command chair at the back of the bridge. Each step down looked like a flat triangle.

Ayambe held her position at communications, one level down and to Dana’s right.

Klinsky tapped out a quiet rhythm on his station at the helm, down in the forward-most and deepest third level, two empty stations on either side of him. Yawning, his fingers letting out a metallic chime, their avatars overlaid the bots they were really in.

“Late night?” Leblanc muttered from her station on the left of Dana’s and on the second level, the space between her and Ayambe was empty so three-dimensional maps and diagrams could be thrown up quickly.

“Tv show, couldn’t stop watching then it was way too early,” Klinsky turned in his seat. His seat was scooped like a fighter’s putting his screens above him instead of infront.

Dana shared a look with Leblanc, the three of them had been together over the years and they all knew one another’s antic’s at this point.

All three of them were in the sparse and utilitarian bots, robots they could remotely control through the hypernet to carry out tasks across the universe. From piloting warships and freighters, to fighting across planets with rifles, or driving a tank.

Three days of fighting and it comes down to this. Dana studied the information feeds from her Armada.

Her Iron Armada against the Coalition’s Bernard Armada commanded by Admiral Weskarth. The goal was to command a contested Lagrange point.

The Iron Armada laid out in a cube resting on one point waited in space, Twelve Fleets broken down into Four operation groups. Each fleet was made up of Two carriers, two dreadnoughts, six Cruisers, twelve Destroyers, twenty four Corvettes, thirty small freighters, fifteen mid-sized freighters and nine large freighters.

Five hundred and fifty two warships, six hundred and forty eight freighters.

The warships were shaped like cigars flattened on eight sides, the freighters engines on one end, an armored bow with the ship’s bridge on the other, connected by struts thousands of containers connected to.

“All ships and fleets report ready Admiral,” Ayambe reported from her communications console.

“Very well, transmit our readiness.”

[Battle will begin in 10 seconds]

Dana replayed over her first moves in her head, they would be the most crucial in this battle. The seconds ticked by slowly. Dana closed her eyes.

A klaxon went off. Dana opened her eyes, four things happening at once. Large freighters punched open wormholes to their first rendezvous, the small and medium freighters nearby rushing the wormholes.

A fifth of her Corvettes opened individual wormholes and passed through.

Each fleet had a third of their remaining ships work together to create a wormhole for the entire fleet, accelerating through the event horizon as they launched every dropship they could.

The nanite layer that waited between the overlapping armored plating and in their nanite vats awoke, altering railguns, to turn them into hell bores. Engineer operating repair rollers and regular bots pulled supplies from stores, rushing to the weapon emplacements to replace parts.

The different forces transited away.

“Corvettes are spread out, moving to phase two of seeding sensors and hypernet nodes across contested node. Iron Aramada one has transitioned in formation.  Freighters have made it to their rendezvous and are initiating plan Hammer.”

Dana’s screens showed three plots, her main Armada coming out of their wormholes, Dropships still pouring out of ships, spreading throughout the fleet, mag-locking to the hull of the various warships. Frieghters pulling together and pouring through wormholes, creating their own fleet, and the first corvette that had transited through a wormhole. Now it opened up a tiny wormhole infront of its launch tubes, firing a hypernet node and sensor missile through, the wormhole collapsed and another formed. Dana switched out the screen to show the contested lagrange.

“Enemy fleet emerging into contested Lagrange,” Leblanc rolled off.

Seems Weskarth is eager today.

Twelve Coalition fleets, standard setup to deal with space based threats occupied the lagrange, broken down in the same manner as the Iron Armada’s fleets, though the ships making up each were different, with twenty one Missile Battleships and thirty nine multi-role Cruisers. Each fleet created a square hanging in space, their engines accelerating them at one gravity.

Each of the ships wore the markings of the coalition, but held the angles of Sphere World ships.

Through trade Orion had spread factories to all of their allies, arming and updating their ships to meet the standards of the Legion’s warships.

The Independents had copied what the Legion had, while the Coalition used their own knowledge and abilities in conjunction with the Sphere World technology. Using the same simulations as Minnie had access to, they were able to make generational leaps in technology within weeks, applying it to their ship designs.

Dana’s ships were built for singular functions, while the Coalition ships were more multi-role.

“No Freighters with him, analyzing wormholes and reading.” Leblanc snapped. “We have a location, transmitting to corvette scouts.” She’d counseled them to send their sensor missiles ten light seconds away from the entry wormhole, allowing them to peek back in time and see what Weskarth had done in the last ten seconds, with follow up missiles to let her know what he had done since the beginning of the match.

If they can follow the freighters or launch an attack on them, even better.

“Scouts report that they are sending missiles forty light-seconds out from enemy’s wormhole entry,” Ayambe said. “Freighter fleet reports thirty percent of missile stores have cleared, all freighters are now assembling at rendezvous Foxtrot one.”

“Time till all munitions flushed?” Dana asked.

“Forty seconds.”

“Klinsky, calculate wormhole into contested lagrange, one light minute from enemy fleet. Calculate time to intercept enemy fleet at military acceleration of both fleets.”

“Aye Ma’am.”

“Ayambe Ten seconds before hypothetical fleet intercept, Freighter fleet is to bombard enemy fleet. Scout corvettes are to transition to hit enemy Freighters at last known or believed location if possible. One minute afterwards Freighters will rendezvous with friendly fleet to cross-load supplies. Corvette Scouts to hunt down enemy freighters, or return to fleet, dependent on situational.”

“Yes Admiral.”

“Flashing wormhole calculations and possible fleet intercept.” One light minute out from enemy fleet, at one hundred g accel, intercept at seventy seven seconds.”

“Execute it.”

“Scout Corvettes requesting permission to attack enemy freighters, at entry point wormhole!” Ayambe called out.

“Permission given, good hunting,” Dana snapped back.

The Armada passed through their wormholes, entering the hostile Lagrange. Twin cubes taking up the main hologram screens.

“Status of Hell bores?”

“Forty percent complete. Liquids and atmospheres have been pumped into their coolant rooms.”

“Going full military one hundred gravities,” Klinsky said. Dana’s view went slightly green, Sally automatically pulling all the crews from the ships into virtual. All their commands would transmitted to the ship in real-time, while they weren’t subject to the one hundred gravities hammering their bots.

“Coalition’s Bernard Armada is shifting fleet positions to face us edge on edge. Ships are at near relative zero, one minute thirty estimated till intercept,” Leblanc said.

“Stop acceleration at twelve light seconds from enemy fleet,” Dana said. “Highlight to the Engineers I want them to focus on converting rail cannons to hellbores.”

“Aye Admiral,” Klinsky and Ayambe intoned.

Ten seconds went by in a rush of reports and checks.

“Corvette scouts have engaged enemy freighters,” Ayambe said.