Tatia froze the simulation and rotated the advantage point. “Ah, clever girl,” she said, when she noted that the fighters were grouped tightly together and heading directly toward a gas giant, which screened them from the sphere.
“That’s our ambush, Tatia. We drive the Nua’ll toward a massive outer planet. The alien sphere will put the bullet ship out front, which our fighters can attack. In the meantime, our squadron will be accelerating to close the distance from behind. By the time the sphere decides to shift course, the Tridents should have closing velocity. Then it will be up to Alex to decide whether to use our velocity to make a single attack pass with our beams or to decelerate and see if the Nua’ll will surrender.”
Tatia laughed briefly and harshly. “Just how are we supposed to determine if the Nua’ll are surrendering?”
“I fight the warships, Tatia. I leave decisions like that to Alex.”
“With that, I agree, Reiko. I like your strategy, but we’ll have to talk this over with Alex.”
“He won’t like the plan, Tatia.”
“That’s true, Commodore,” Tatia replied, returning to her commander’s role, “but I’ll be interested to see how you sell it to him.”
Reiko eyed her admiral, who was her complete opposite in stature — broad and blonde to her tiny and brunette. “You’re too kind, Admiral.”
“That’s what everyone tells me,” Tatia replied, with a wink.
-23-
Last Chance
Vivian’s Mirror transited to the blue white star where the Nua’ll ship had headed. The scout ship had orders from Tatia how to proceed, but Killian decided to amend them.
<And the reason for the new coordinates?> Trium sent to Killian and Bethley.
<Alex,> Killian replied.
<And that truncated reply is supposed to explain the change?> Bethley asked, a little piqued.
<Alex wants a confrontation with this sphere. Only one scout ship was chosen to investigate to minimize our appearance outside the system, and we were chosen,> Killian replied.
<A longer response, but no less clear,> Bethley replied.
<You’re asking us to think about why Dassata chose us,> Trium reasoned.
<Or is it more a matter of our lead member unable to follow orders?> Bethley riposted.
<In a manner, yes,> Killian replied. <Alex and I have had many conversations, concerning the differences between humans and SADEs. What I’ve learned to emulate about humans is the concept of initiative, and I have concluded that Alex expects me to exercise mine.>
<We’ve arrived below the ecliptic, and you’ve selected a steep inward angle,> Trium sent, analyzing the transit data and the new vector. <This will bring us much closer in system than Admiral Tachenko allowed.>
Bethley quickly extrapolated where the vector would take the Vivian’s Mirror and its possible appearance to the Nua’ll. <We will intersect that heavy outer planet, pass through its field of moons, and be accelerated by its gravity above the ecliptic.>
<We should appear as simply another celestial body passing through the system,> Trium reasoned, <providing the Nua’ll sphere doesn’t take a close look at our shape.>
<In my calculations,> Killian sent, <I perceived less risk to being seen by the Nua’ll if we appear as a rock coasting through the system, as opposed to standing stationary outside of it and waiting for our telemetry to update. In this way, we spend less time out here, come closer to the sphere, and collect more detailed telemetry.>
<A bold idea,> Trium replied.
<And a good one,> Bethley allowed, <if it works,> she added.
Many days later and far above the ecliptic, the Vivian’s Mirror passed behind a small cluster of asteroids, which blocked the sphere’s view of them. The SADEs took advantage of the screening to transit to the fleet’s position.
<Alex, Admiral, we found the sphere,> Killian sent.
<Well done, the three of you,> Alex sent in reply.
<Is it my imagination or does Killian sound excited?> Tatia sent privately to Alex.
<They’ve been successful, Tatia. Why shouldn’t Killian be happy?> Alex replied.
The Alex effect, Tatia thought, thinking of his influence on the SADEs.
Killian transmitted the scout ship’s telemetry to the flagship, and the warship’s controller relayed copies to all ships.
Immediately, Julien spooled the telemetry onto the Liberator’s holo-vid, utilizing time compression for viewing.
“That approach definitely wasn’t following my instructions,” Tatia said, watching the scout ship enter space below the ecliptic and swing close to a giant planet, before curving above the ecliptic.
“True, Admiral,” Alex replied, “but it was extremely innovative.”
“The sphere was stationary during the entire time of the scout ship’s passage,” Julien noted. “It’s holding a position near the sixth planet outward, a cold, barren rock.”
“I think you have all the information you need, Admiral. Set your strategy in motion,” Alex requested.
Tatia ordered the fleet to sail. They would be using Reiko’s plan. Tatia busied herself with the SADEs, determining the final details — primary transit coordinates, fighter launches, and secondary transit coordinates.
Tripping was ecstatic when he reviewed the attack positions. His warships were still above the ecliptic, but, in this case, that meant they wouldn’t play ancillary roles. They would be part of the attacking force. He fingered the tiny control device in his pocket. This time the sphere doesn’t escape, no matter what you say, Admiral, Tripping thought.
The fleet transited to the first set of coordinates, which placed the ships far past the outermost planet’s orbit. The Tridents accelerated inward, and the captains ordered the launch of their fighters. The travelers were sent forward, sailing silently toward the massive outer planet, at which they were aimed.
As soon as the fighters cleared the bays, the squadron executed two quick transits. The first movements sent four Tridents above the ecliptic and four below. The second transits placed the warships in positions to trap the sphere between them.
Each group of warships was in a square formation. Two were positioned directly above or below the sphere and the other two of each group were slightly inward. Their formations left the outward vectors across the ecliptic as the most favorable paths for the Nua’ll.
Franz brought his fighter group to a stationary position near the outermost planet. He was guided by Z, who would coordinate the fighter group’s ambush with the sphere and the bullet ship’s movement.
Reiko focused intently on the holo-vid, which displayed the relative positions of the squadron, the sphere, and the waiting fighters. Her plan was to manipulate the battle formation, and the SADEs would emulate her actions via the ships’ controllers.
“Drop the inward Tridents straight toward the ecliptic,” Reiko ordered the SADEs. She wanted the Nua’ll to realize that she was denying them movement in more than a hemisphere of direction across the ecliptic.
The SADEs executed the order and adjusted Reiko’s display to match the warships’ changing positions.
Reiko waited for a half hour before she said, “Now the forward pairs. Angle them outward at 10 degrees,” and the SADEs complied. Reiko was working at appearing calm. Success would depend on how well she had designed the strategy. Move, she thought, trying to will the sphere to abandon its position next to the rocky planet.
The inward four Tridents had covered more than 20 percent of the distance to the sphere, when the Nua’ll ship left the planet’s orbit. It appeared to move slowly outward, but its acceleration soon became evident.
<What’s Reiko doing?> Renée asked Tatia privately.
<To direct the sphere, Reiko has to continue to deny the ship inward opportunities, in addition to escape above and below the ecliptic. That’s
why she’s not aiming the inward Tridents directly at the sphere,> Tatia replied.
The early tension gave way to wariness, and that slowly gave way to routine operations. It would be a long chase.
Aboard the fighters, the pilots enjoyed a small meal, communicated within the group, and whiled away the time. Franz kept in touch with Ellie, who was annoyed about her assignment. Her ship, the Redemption, was above the ecliptic and paired in the inward position with Alphons’ ship, the Arthur McMorris.
<At least my partner in this operation is the sane one of the New Terran captains,> Ellie complained to Franz.
<I thought Captain Fillister was the affable sort,> Franz sent in reply.
<He is, but he’s likely to cave to Tripping’s orders even if they contradict Reiko’s,> Ellie replied.
<So how did you draw this assignment, Ellie?>
<I met with Tatia and Reiko to ask that very same question, Franz. Reiko said she didn’t trust Admiral Tripping. They wanted me in this part of the formation because, of all the OS captains, I was the most experienced fighter pilot. Tatia said that it might be my skill that prevents the sphere from slipping upward past the three NT warships.>
<Why not split the New Terran forces between the two Trident groups?> Franz asked.
<Tatia told me that Admiral Tripping demanded his forces remain together.>
<What did you say to that argument?>
<I had my orders, Franz. What could I say? But I left those two with a final thought.>
<Which was?>
<I wished them luck.>
<What for?>
<I told them if anything happened to me because of this babysitting assignment with the New Terrans, then they would have to deal with Étienne.> Ellie listened to Franz’s deep, heavy-worlder laughter, and it made her smile.
Aboard every Trident and fighter, the leaders, officers, and crews bided their time, ensuring that they were rested when the final conflict came. The Omnians depended on the rotating bridge crews and SADEs for any warning. The New Terrans attempted some semblance of normalcy, but nerves were wound too tightly to ensure that food digested well, or sleep was uninterrupted.
The singular exception to these efforts was Admiral Tripping. He sat in the Geoffrey Orlan’s bridge command chair, focused on the holo-vid display, and watched the distance to the sphere close. All the while, he wished for the sphere to make an about-face and make a run inward or toward his forces. And, while he waited, he fingered his controller device. Crew brought Tripping meals and hot caf, and, after a time, the admiral dozed for a half hour at a time, while the bridge crew kept watch.
Franz had checked his controller’s feed nearly hourly, which mirrored the Liberator’s telemetry data, as did most every other fighter pilot, until he realized his foolishness. After that, he chatted on and off with Ellie to keep up her spirits. He desperately wanted to talk with Reiko, but he chose not to take her focus away from the upcoming fight.
Days later, Franz was asleep when Miranda pinged him. <Nap time is over, dear,> she sent. He discovered that Miranda had communicated to the entire fighter group. The pilots were hustling to take care of last-minute business. Then they hurried to their seats and donned their helmets.
Franz had divided his forces into four wings. They would swing out around the planet like a four-fingered claw, denying the sphere an exit along all vectors around the huge body. Unlike Ellie’s situation, the New Terran fighters were spread among the four wings.
A quick check by Franz of his controller’s relay from the Liberator confirmed that the sphere was heading slightly spinward of the planet, where the fighter group hid. Franz surmised the Nua’ll were probably expecting to use the planet to accelerate out of the system. The sphere had yet to release its bullet ship. Then again, Franz thought, you don’t see any reason to yet.
Franz had trained his pilots thoroughly in this concept, but there were a good many Omnians and every New Terran who had yet to be in a battle. Most of the experienced fighter pilots were either at Haraken or captaining a warship.
<Commanders, form up your wings,> Franz sent.
Thirty-two fighters, who had clustered tightly together to present a minimum silhouette behind the planet, divided into four wings of eight. Franz had assigned a commander to his wing, so he could concentrate on the fight, if it came to that.
Alex stood at the back of the Liberator’s bridge, leaning against the bulkhead. Renée stood beside him, and they were flanked by Étienne and Alain. The four of them felt as ancillary as wheels on a starship, but there was no other place that they preferred to be.
A thought niggled at Alex’s mind, and he sought to grasp it. It had something to do with his conversation with Julien that took place in this exact spot. It occurred to him that he might have only formed the thought but never expressed it. He replayed the exchange, which he’d saved. One of Julien’s comments prompted him to wonder about the suspected age of the Nua’ll civilization.
How do you maintain a society for eons? Alex asked himself. It must require unswerving devotion to the society, and no sacrifice would be too great, he thought.
Alex received Miranda’s heads-up that the fighter squadron was in play, and he glanced at the holo-vid display. Reiko had placed the flagship in the forward pair of Tridents, which bored in on the sphere from below the ecliptic. Alex noted, as did the other senior officers, that the sphere chose to dive below the system, on the last encounter, and he approved of Reiko’s decision. Their ship would share the fate of the fleet, if the sphere proved to be a more dangerous adversary than anyone surmised.
Z’s calculations of the sphere’s acceleration and the distance to the waiting fighters ran in a constant routine, updating at every tick of time. When the optimal moment arrived, Z signaled the controllers of the fighter group, and thirty-two ships accelerated on curved trajectories around the planet.
Reiko saw the fighters emerge from around the planet and accelerate toward the sphere. Fight hard and come back safe to me, dear heart, she thought, sending her love to Franz.
* * *
Franz’s implant was filled with SADE communications. Embedded in his group leader application, which was developed by Z, were the attack scenarios. A list, with an attached visual display, enabled Franz to coordinate the group or the individual wings, with a thought. However, once the battle was engaged, it would be up to every pilot to play his or her role.
As opposed to Z’s application, Miranda’s messages were real time. She kept him informed, as the general strategy unfolded. This allowed Franz to focus on the upcoming confrontation but be able to understand his part in the evolving conflict.
Z had selected the first maneuver in Franz’s implant, which launched the fighters on their journey around the planet. To maximize the appearance of a blocking force, the maneuver spread the fighters out and limited their approach velocity. The idea was to give the Nua’ll time to observe the fighters and realize their dilemma. No one knew what the Nua’ll would choose to do, but the fighters were following Alex’s request.
<The sphere is rapidly decelerating, Franz,> Miranda warned. There were a few moments of delay before Miranda added, <Its halves are rotating … a bay is opening … you have your adversary, Franz. Good fortune.>
Franz’s telemetry showed the sphere curving away from his two wings. He initiated one of Z’s scenarios to direct the other two wings, which had circled the planet from the other side, to chase the sphere inward.
<Time to earn our credits, pilots,> Franz announced. <I’m selecting an attack pattern to maximize our velocity and minimize our pass time. You’ll be released to individual control once your fighters are launched in the pattern. Le
t me repeat: Allow your controller to guide you once you’re released.>
The Nua’ll bullet ship maintained a relatively slow velocity on its approach. It was the more powerful vessel with a stronger beam than an individual traveler. The lesser velocity would extend the engagement time and allow the bullet ship to make use of its heavier weaponry. It would have the opportunity to eliminate four or five of the Omnian fighters with a single blast of its beam.
But Z’s pattern hadn’t sent the travelers straight at the bullet ship. Being a SADE and a collector of mathematical oddities, Z had borrowed Cordelia’s patterning of Dagger Libran-X missiles from the early days. His program sent the fighters in an evolving spiral pattern. Initially, the fighters flared out, the ships’ agility aiding the maneuver, then they were brought spiraling together onto the target.
The bullet ship shifted its vector and managed to fire once before the travelers shot past. Two fighters were struck, and both were demolished. The other fourteen fighters scored beam strikes on the bullet ship, completely disabling its aft-mounted engines.
<Franz, the bullet ship is without drive power,> Miranda sent. <Order your group to stay away from the bow, in case the beam weaponry is still active. Otherwise, you can ignore it. And, I’m sorry for the loss of your two pilots.>
Franz had watched the icons of two of his fighters shift from green to red in his heads-up display. They were both Omnian pilots from the Judgment, Lucia Bellardo’s Trident. Miranda’s comment told him there would be no opportunity to recover the pilots.
<Group Leader Cohen, reform your wall,> Reiko ordered. <We have the sphere turning inward. Your new assignment is to act as a blocking force. Maintain your spread. Do not attack, unless ordered.>
<Trident captains, we’re decelerating,> Reiko sent. <SADEs, I want to keep the Tridents spread and ready to shift locations relative to the sphere’s movement. You have control in that regard.>