Existential Threat: Chapter 9 Part 1 of 2 (Patreon)

Chapter 9:

10/07/2242

The net based conference room had star systems outlined, pictures of Sphere World designed destroyers and their revolving blueprints.

Mitch was standing at the front of the room, a hologram of the different systems in the middle of the table, Fin, Dana, Minnie and Adeline were around the table.

“He has to be within human controlled systems, the ones that we don’t have hypernet nodes in or around,” systems dulled and others brightened. “It needs to have resources that are unclaimed or at least away from scanners and prospectors.” A few more disappeared.

“They have to have information on the system to know where to build their yards and their miners. The members of the Rukian cooperative, before they created their cooperative, acquired the scans to several systems.” More systems dulled out, leaving just four. “Rukian itself, Kassine, C one zero four five and Jasani. C-one-zero-four-five was claimed by a mining conglomerate between three independent systems. The Rukian system has been scanned heavily, its different planetary and asteroid bodies plotted out, nothing is moving in an unnatural way to show human interference since the attack on the co-op, based on the scans from the Dahlia.”

The two systems stars glowed on the dulled out map.

“I asked Adeline to pull the information from the shipping containers that were used in the attack. They were routed through several shippers in a way to lose the destination they came from. Though we were able to piece together that they came from,” He opened his hand at Adeline.

“It was tricky, but we were able to track down several of the containers dropped off in different systems.” Adeline leaned forward. “We tracked the containers to freighters, we pulled the information on the freighters and every destination they went since the Rukian co-op was destroyed. Then we pulled imagery from the wormholes they travelled to through stations and other ships sensors. They went to the Kassine system several times.”

Mitch grabbed the system and threw it out, expanding to show the star and planetary bodies.

“They will need access to ice to support their air and water needs for the crews. As well as metals to mine,” Mitch said, several dozen locations appeared.

“And they’ll want to be near the lagrange so that they can launch their ships quickly,” Dana said.

Mitch pulled up a keyboard and tapped in more parameters. A dozen locations appeared.

“Moons mean they can be closer to a planetoid, humans just have a natural affinity to being near somewhere they can stand,” Fin said.

“And they’ll want cover, asteroid belt or something to hide their station in,” Minnie said.

“That leaves us three,” Mitch said.

“Too many asteroids,” Dana pointed at one.

“Asteroids are dispersed, small and too fast,” Minnie gestured at another.

“Which leaves us with one,” Fin said.

“This should then be the location of Victor Ramirez and his people,” Mitch said.

Dana ‘grabbed’ the hologram, copying it and pulling it to her interface. “We’ll send out sensor buoys to gather information on the system and this location. We’ll move on it as soon as we can figure out where his ships and his base are. We can’t let them escape, otherwise they’ll scatter and it will be hell to try and track them down.”

***

Shoki’s bridge was silent, even the command chat between the Iron Armada. Dana had taken personal control of first fleet. Diego and Jung-Su had been willing to take on the mission but she didn’t want anyone to do anything she wouldn’t do herself.

At the end there will be prisoners , or there will be bodies.

Dana checked the feeds for the Kassine Lagrange point.

Out in the dark beyond the edge of the system wormholes appeared, hypernet sensor buoys passing through, picking up months, and weeks old light coming from inside the system, along paths that would have a clear view of the lagrange point Ramirez and his people were suspected to be using.

Different screens showed the attuned sensors watching the ‘past’ of the lagrange point. “We have it, ships moving from an asteroid to the lagrange point,” Leblanc said, the information filled the main hologram, destroyers rose out of the crack in the side of an asteroid, accelerating for the lagrange point before they wormholed away.

“Seeding more buoys focused on suspected asteroid shipyard,” Leblance rattled off.

Dana reviewed her plans to attack the base. Asteroid dust was heavy between the lagrange and the possible base. Mess up the hellbores and the rail cannons will have to hammer their way through. Missiles will need to travel at lower speeds else be taken out with debris.

She ran computations on firing solutions. Laying down emergence point, path to the base with the least amount of debris, listing out modifications for attack profiles. Sally’s split AI powering the fleet battle-net pumped back possible firing plans and solutions.

She slotted them in for rudimentary start.

The screens showed a freighter appearing at the lagrange. “We have it, a freighter arrived a few weeks back, went right to the asteroid, it left and came back several times, it matches freighters that dropped off some of the missile containers,” Leblanc flipped to a different sensor read-out showing ships heading into the asteroid belt. “Destroyers returned to the base, several moved to other asteroids to hide out.”

“Ayambe, status?”

“Two backup fleets are ready to move at a moment’s notice. Sphere World weapons are awaiting orders."

Dana threw her fire and movement plan to Klinsky and Leblanc. “Well lets see what we can get them. I am hoping we can tie them in to clear the path for us, then we can directly engage the Destroyers, we need to make sure that none of them escape the system.”

“Aye,” Klinsky said. Leblanc nodded, both focused on the plans.

Just altered the firing solutions slightly,” Leblanc said, ‘tossing’ the plan back.

“This makes sense to me, trimmed up the path a bit,” Klinsky threw his over, the two combining into an updated and fleshed out whole.

Dana’s eyes danced over it, noting the changes. Agreed,” she ‘threw’ it to Ayambe. “Pass to the fleets and the Sphere Worlds, I wan confirmation from all of them.”

“Transmitting,” Ayambe said.

Ships started flashing green lights, then the Sphere Worlds. Dana felt a cold lightning running just under the surface of her skin.

“Mister Klinsky, take us into the Kassine System.” Her voice steady against her squirming stomach. Shoki’s bulk, massing in the megatons accelerated under her main engines. Her fleet mates wrapped around her in a protective formation.

“Wormholes opening,” Klinsky said.

The warpgate’s interior twisted light from there and here, spreading outwards to meet the edges of the warpgate, the light from there reflected on the metal panels that surrounded the dark-space gate.

The first ships passed through the event horizon.

“Transitioning,”

Dana glanced at the twist of light between space, Shoki’s reactors and engines thrumming under her hand. Her weapons loaded but stowed, waiting for the command.

“Exiting wormhole.”

The system lay dormant, no sign of human touch or otherwise. A sprinkling of ice planets, gas and rock, several ‘new’ asteroid belts that had been planets caught in the wrong place.

“Wormhole closing. All ships accounted for.”

“Thank you mister Klinsky, Ayambe, broadcast on the Hypernet.”

“Ready Admiral.” Dana felt the heaviness in their actions, their words, a similar weight to when they had turned a planet into an uninhabitable rock.

“Victor Ramirez, I am Admiral Dana Huang, of the Orion Belt Enterprises. Present yourself, power down your engines and your weapons. You and your people will receive fair and equal treatment to be transitioned to a Coalition court of justice.”

The minutes ticked by as the fleet spread out, continuing their passage towards the asteroid base.

“We have an incoming transition, video and audio,” Ayambe said.

“Transmit my avatar,” Dana said.

Victor appeared in his coveralls without a helmet, sitting on a command chair.

“Admiral Huang,” He leaned forward, looking into the camera. “I figured that someone would show up here when they found us. We hid our trail well but there is always some way to track another down even across the vast stars.”

“Victor, surrender, this has gone on long enough, the people you are targeting are innocent, they-“

“Innocent?” Victor snarled, standing. “Innocent you say? Innocent of what? Murdering my family and countless others? The Federation is their government, their representatives. They are a part of a whole, not independent parts! They have elected their officials, their officials are thus a reflection of them. They put people into power that thought it good and fine to target those that had something they wanted and they could get away with it. Do not label them as innocent!”

Dana grit her teeth.

“They had no ways to defend themselves, they were not the ones that attacked you and your family?”

Ramirez shook his head.

“What mercy do they deserve? They might not have pushed the knife in, but they were  the ones that gave it to their military.”

Dana steeled herself. “Ramirez, have your ships turn off their engines and their weapons. Stand down.”

“they have already attacked Sphere World, they will do so again if they see an opportunity.”

“That may be true, but you are using weapons and gear you stole from us to fight them.”

“And you are one of the few groups that can fight us head on,” Ramirez shook his head. “Come then.”

“Ramirez we have more ships.”

“I have eyes, but you should know that this will not end in chains, but fire.”

The screen went blank.

“He’s cut the transmission,” Ayambe said.

“Destroyers are exiting the asteroid shipyard, the ones int separate locations haven’t moved,” Leblanc said.

“Call in fire from the Sphere Worlds, go to full acceleration, unlock weapons,” Dana said.

Wormholes appeared at the edge of the lagrange, missiles spat through, detonating one after another, pushing further from the lagrange and towards the shipyard, clearing a path through the dust and micro-asteroids.

The fleet advanced in relative silence, only the noises of Shoki’s systems humming through the decking.

Missiles hit the asteroids that hosted the ‘hidden’ destroyers, pushing them off course, and cracking three of them.

The Destroyers accelerated quickly to escape their cover.

“You have the terms of surrender on repeat?” Dana asked.

“Yes Admiral.”

Dana nodded. Come on, just give up.

“Ships are accelerating towards us,” Leblanc said. “Coming into engagement range.”

“Understood.”