It’s hard to believe I’m going to war in space.
Commanding a starship has about the same day-to-day engagement as a surface Navy vessel, just the setting here is more fantastical and the charts are measured in AU or ly. It would be rude of me not to acknowledge the convenience of the highly advanced systems on AS Alaris, however, patrol is patrol. Until just this day, I have been a glorified cop with expensive equipment, handed to me by a child-like Empress who supposedly invented half of the technology used on this ship. She certainly invented the ripple cannon, which my ship won’t shut up about.
“Galilei, warp readiness and weapons report.”
“Commodore, A-M inventory 45% sufficient for the required 100ly warp and subsequent thrust maneuver. Laser Array capacitor charge 89%, estimated 8 minutes.”
“Very well, Galilei,” I mentally open comms to the whole fleet via the Alaris AI suite.
“Captains, ‘T’ minus 5 minutes. Full torpedo and laser array discharges on warp. Full support to shields while reloading torpedoes. Clear Galilei vectors upon cannon arrival. Maintain active comms on the bridge to the fleet, use AI support to filter if needed.”
The three other Captains confirm they copy and I turn off my mic and let the bridge take over. “XO, upon warp, you will have command of Alaris while I transition to Theatre Control.”
“Aye aye, Commodore,” Commander Benson replies.
As much as I loath reporting to the absent minded leader of Humanity, it is my duty.
/Admiral, de CDRE Casey. Engaging in five minutes./
\No way we can push that back 2 minutes?\
She has the audacity to ask me that after giving me theater control? Deep breaths Casey, deep breaths.
/Events are already in motion./
\Shit. Lets hope there’s not much they can do in 2 minutes. Thanks for the update.\
I do realize that she is trying to clean up the stolen armaments that were meant for mines surrounding Astoria (planet), but it’s hard to prioritize a cache of bombs when 7+ warships are headed to your most populous planet besides Earth.
/Alaris, what’s the potential yield of the shipment that was stolen from the Clotho mine factory?/
\Approximately 20 kilograms of antimatter is likely the largest collection remaining, the yield of which is around 800MT of TNT. Long-term radiation effects will be significantly less than a nuclear payload that Earth countries might launch were they able.\
That is a much larger threat than I realized. Now I get why she’s so focused on Herrat’s on-planet forces. That kind of yield could level most inhabited areas in the Empire, save Earth. Why didn’t she put more emphasis on this threat? Is my family in the threat area? Of course they are! How dare she keep this away from us.
Miss Casey, the Admiral told you within half an hour of finding out about the terrorist threat. This is not a relevant use of concentration at this juncture. As you have mentioned, keeping these ships from firing on Astoria will give you the highest chance of protecting your children.
“Then lets put these churlish animals to bed. Permanently.” I key my coms mentally, “Commander Astoria, report to the Bridge.”
The sharp featured AI, masquerading as a brunette Elf, walks out of the Admiral’s quarters. She stops just far enough not to hit me with her salute, but too close for personal space.
“Commander Astoria, reporting as ordered.”
“What additional information can you provide that will help me in the next two minutes?”
She taps her chin in a thoughtful manner, even though I know her chassis is equipped to think and parallel process better than a human. “The Mercy Test Array is charged and ready to prime, and the reactive, polar minefields are under my command and ready to deploy, both would be useful in a progressive retreat.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Good to know. Any Empire interface data? Can you transfer me control of the planetary defense systems?” I want to command her to do so, but as a confusing individual but also part of Admiral Astoria, it’s hard to determine where she falls.
“I am not allowed top access to the Empire interface for security reasons. And no, I have been ordered to control the satellite and mine network because I can inhabit it and coordinate it with incomparable dexterity.”
The last is a tactically sound reason, so I nod. “Very well. For that reason, I would like you to assist with tactical and fire control.”
“With your permission, I can coordinate targeting across Alaris, Titania, and Mab.”
Too much control, so I shake my head. “stay with engaging with Alaris, and let the other two Capitol ships to manage themselves.” Parts of her face twitch indicating that she disagrees with my maintaining control of the fleet, but what can she know about command and control?
None of the people running the Empire of Astoria have ever managed command and control, seeing as the Consul of Defense or whatever she called him, was the last military advisor to hold office. Now, all of the expertise in the military is either still on Earth managing the new Navy of the Pacific from Bikini Atoll and various Marshal Islands, or in the Astorian Navy.
While I am comfortable with a civilian Commander in Chief, only dictators hold the highest position in politics and the military. Oh, and last line of Justice and Policy. Sure, she has groups in place to handle those matters for her in a token showing of a representative government, but anyone that has taken political science classes can see, this is an Imperial Dictatorship.
She has made no statements to refute that, and has in fact confirmed that if issues need to be resolved by the Empress, no one will be satisfied.
While I appreciate your recollection, it does not excuse the abuses she has shown thus far.
You have not nurtured my experiences as a morality compass, so I cannot accurately comment on abuses of power, only the usage efficacy. To that effect, she is the most powerful single person in the Empire and the Protectorate of Earth, so by a right of might, it would be difficult to argue that her approach is wrong.
You’re starting to sound like Alaris, and I don’t care for it. For the duration of this war, please keep to correcting my mistakes or providing useful insight. She pings her confirmation. I’ve always felt it as a dismissal, but both my AI and Alaris confirm that pings are far more efficient and consume fewer resources. I have been warned by my AI that human customs are often inefficient, but I ask her to accommodate me anyway—no use in being frustrated in my own mind.
“Alaris, what is the likelihood that one of those mine charges made it aboard the fleet?” the tonnage of each charge thrummed a chord in my mind.
“As a non-trivial portion of each crew is connected to the Russian crime syndicate involved, there is more than a 63% chance that they are aboard all ships, and 84% chance there is one on this ship.”
“That is too high to risk! Do an internal aether scan!”
“Multiple have already been performed, Commodore. Unless we know their exact signature, the aether levels are miniscule compared to ships systems or even fighter systems. A physical search would be just as effective in the minutes we have left. That said, if the charge is in cargo or maintenance bays, the destruction would be merely moderate. Anywhere else, a 10 MT payload will destroy this ship.”
Realizing that you have no control over certain outcomes is hard to handle. Hundreds of Astorians are onboard, and thousands are involved in this particular maneuver. If our fleet is crippled, however, millions on Astoria will be at risk, and with no further ships, possibly billions on Earth. As much as I hate to admit I have no capability to fix the situation is a hard pill to swallow.
I watch the count-down to warp on my personal display, trying to think of other alternatives, other ways we may detect the bombs or limit damage.
“Is there no way to sense antimatter? Or perhaps the containers they are within?”
“Emitting particles that interact with antimatter enough to detect them is highly dangerous. The materials that the Empress is recorded as using for her shield and containment runes are used all over the ship for similar purposes. And we already discussed detecting the miniscule aether signature that the shields give off. So unless the Empress appears here personally for us to get an aether signature reading, the detection of these devices is highly improbable.”
Thanks, you stagnant pile of code. But why are we running out of time? Is it a power issue? Could the distributed power fields on Mab and Titanis extend this time?
That is an idea. I’m sharing to the fleet.
Buying more time doesn’t give us much, but if that gives us enough time for Admiral Astoria to get here, it’s possible she can disable the charges here as she has for the cities of Aelea and Ash. As much as I hate to ask for her help specifically, my pride is not so blinding that I would sacrifice thousands of deaths and billions in slaves for it.
I hate her for subjecting Humanity to this disease. I hate that the leaders of Earth squandered so many opportunities. I hate most of all, that my best opportunity and growth is serving the person that caused the deaths of half of Humanity.
/Admiral, DE CDRE Casey, Alaris has computed a near certainty that there are A-M charges within the fleet./