I spent the next two hours in the CIC poring over data from the drone in geosynchronous low-orbit over the mountain ranges of Eridan-V Beta (the second moon of the fifth planet). The Iridians named the moon after some obscure goddess which even after my lessons in the Iridian dialect I still can not pronounce correctly.

It seems they have an extensive underground facility away from the surface compound. I smirk at this new finding. It seems they were using the surface compound as a convenient decoy and as a trap for unknowing assailants.

A clever trap for certain, but useless now that I had discovered their play. The compound was rigged with booby traps and cleverly placed entry and exit nooks. Which made the central courtyard a killing field. Several of the structures had entrances that were rigged with explosives and there were laser tripwires in hallways rigged to grenades in place of traditional fuzing. All one big trap nestled on the mountainside atop the main bunker deeper inside the mountain.

I push off of the CIC holo-table and walk towards the elevator. Upon entering, I speak “Deck 2.” the doors shut and the chime of the computer feedback cheerfully replies “Deck 2, Aye captain.” After a short ride on the elevator lift I exit the lift to deck 2. I step out of the elevator on my way, taking a short Walk to the foremost part of the ship.

Inside this space, I found a hatch that leads down to the third deck’s fore weapons maintenance bay access. After descending the ladder I find myself in a room with a fifteen-meter-long barrel pointed directly at me.

I pause to appreciate the massive weapon’s muzzle before I step to the side and walk down a catwalk alongside the long barrel that ends in a large housing with several components bolted onto it, including cryogenic storage tanks for cooling and a large bank of capacitors.

Nestled inside all this machinery was a sphere, midnight black with an exterior blanketed with thickly laid graphene fibers for insulation. Several wire bundles branched out in pairs to connect to terminals within the blanket of graphene and there were also small tubals for coolant, perhaps liquid helium, to cool off whatever was contained inside that sphere.

B’Nan’s voice booms to my left. “BEHOLD! The S.S. Void Star’s main set of fearsome canines! The Hawking Pulsewave cannon!” I blink, underwhelmed. “this is the weapon?” I croak and B’Nan cackles.

“yes. This is a Hawking Pulsewave cannon. Quite large actually. They can be built smaller but do not let their size fool you! This weapon can annihilate an entire half-side of a planet or bore a hole to the core of one! Depending on the power source it is linked to, that is.” He smirks. The Gravidan -loves- his weapons.

I smirk, an idea forming in my head “Prepare it for use.” B’Nan balks “You cannot possibly-” I interrupt him “Oh I can and I will!” I walk past him and up to the third deck’s lift to head to the bridge, B’Nan dogging me the entire way.

“You can not just blow a hole in the surface of a moon, Kara!” he protests as I walk through the CIC. I stop suddenly and he almost trips over himself. I turn to level a deadpanned look at him and in the snarkiest voice I could manage, I reply. “Watch me.”

B’Nan gawks at me “You do realize there are several regulatory treaties against this!” I refrain from diverting my gaze and I reply to his warning “I know, and I do not care. We are not the military.” I head up the steps to the bridge after this and sit in the captain’s chair “Helm, if you would. Set a course for a geostationary orbit of Eridan-V Beta at the coordinates marked.”

I fold a leg over my opposite thigh, kicking my leg out and up higher than usual in my confidence as Helmsman Farham takes us to the firing position. “Once we are there, I want the drone feeding us visual data of the strike, B’Nan. I also want to collect data on the magnitude and destructive power of our main weapon.”

It stands to reason that knowing our limitations will help us with future engagements, so I decided to use the opportunity not only as a first-time use but as a way to gather data on our weapons systems. The torpedoes worked flawlessly on cruisers and quite possibly were more than a match for an unsuspecting battleship, but the main energy weapons were going to be the dealbreaker.

As S.S. Void Star moves into its geosynchronous orbit and the dull roar of the maneuvering thrusters firing rumbles in the hull, I talk to B’Nan at the weapons station “Guns, talk to me. What’s our current firing calculations?”

“Target point Alpha is at ground level, approximately. Firing coordinates, point Alpha at niner hours, one-five minutes and niner seconds east, Four hours, two-six minutes, and four-eight seconds North. Altitude is seven-four-niner-two decimal five-Niner-three-six meters above sea level. Fire Control computer processing calculations.”

I nod “Helm, let guns take over.” The helmsman takes a moment to respond, clearly reluctant to let someone else fly, but he relents “Conn, transferring control to Weps. Helm aye.” Farnham’s fingers slide a few controls on his lower-left display and slide a control interface over to the weps station.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

I smile, the crew is naturally working together seamlessly. “Guns, status?” B’Nan takes a moment to read his fire control display “Conn, Weps. Targeting solution status is at five-seven percent and climbing. ETA 10 seconds.” I nod in acknowledgment.

“Helm, tint the bridge.” Helmsman Farham reads back “Tint the bridge, helm aye.” Farham slides a haptic UI slider on his armchair display projection and the bridge canopy display for the exterior visual data dims to shield the sensor photovoltaics from damage from the brilliant light show of hawking radiation once we fire... The planet’s light side is visible in front of us; Like a great big Bullseye downrange on the darkened viewer array.

I sigh, watching the view for a moment. Pondering silently to myself at the potential destruction we were about to convert into. Destruction. “Guns, status on our targeting solution?” I glance to the weapons station “Conn, Weps. Firing solution is ready, awaiting the order to fire.”

I wait a few moments, thinking about this decision and the causes and effects. We may get a few sanctions for using a Hawking Pulsewave, but I had to enter that bunker. So long as we don't break stealth and keep our transponder powered off, we should be fine.

After a bit of second-guessing and making sure I want to use a Weapon of Devastation in direct violation of the Treaty of Sirus, Which considers any weapon which can alter the surface conditions of a planet as a ‘weapon of devastation’ - Whilst a Weapon of Mass Destruction was something that could render a whole star system non-existent.

While frowned upon in some interstellar circles when used by private entities (such as a privateer, which is probably what we are at the moment) Weapons of Devastation are not outlawed for private entities, but are outlawed for standing armies. Of course, They do have a case-by-case basis for Weapons of Devastation, certain weapons like Heisenberg Pulse generators are completely outlawed.

However; Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) have a blanket non-proliferation coverage clause in the Treaty of Sirus. Which effectively outlaws the sale, transfer, use, and manufacture of WMDs by private entities. Governments can only use the technologies for commercial applications (such as Phizon fusion, in the case of Quantum Pulse).

The Treaty of Sirus was signed by both the Systems Commonwealth and the Terran Federation. As well as the Altherian Confederation and the Gravidan Empire. The Iridians are non-signatory and have not ratified the treaty, so it stands to reason that Farsa had zero qualms with putting a Hawking Pulsewave cannon on a ship in the hands of a private entity, such as myself.

Bearing all of this in mind, I gave the order. “You may fire when ready, guns.” I heard the Gravidan weapons officer grunt, then after a short silence “initiating singularity ignition sequence. Power transferring." the whir of motorized actuators indicates bay doors opening and armature lowering the weapon.

***

After the main weapon bay doors underneath the fore fuselage and nose of the ship slide open, the Hawking Pulsewave cannon ominously lowers out of the hull partially to allow the barrel of the weapon to discharge.

Meanwhile, on the third deck of the ship, there is a soft Cherenkov glow as a series of high-energy lasers fire at a small ball of plasma in the exact center of the ignition chamber of the Hawking Pulsewave cannon. It only takes a split second for them to form a small mass of plasma, an analog to a miniature sun. the fuel is used up in the next second, and it collapses in on itself, forming a micro singularity in the center of the chamber, smaller than the tip of a pin.

As the Singularity forms, a series of incredibly powerful lasers are powered on from the aft portion of the chamber and fire at the singularity, feeding it high-energy photons. After firing they shut off and the singularity grows slightly before emitting a burst of Hawking radiation, which is focused by several reflective lenses inside the breech of the barrel as it bounces off the ceramic and graphene walls towards the throat of the barrel.

When the radiation passes through the lenses, condensated tachyons, and thermal energy exits the barrel at superluminous speed, creating a visual of lines being sucked into the barrel and the lenses glow a red-hot color before firing. Electricity crackles as the capacitors discharge energy into the mass of hawking radiation particles and an electromagnetic coil is energized, the electrical current from the charged particles reciprocally charges the electromagnetic field, and resistance builds up in the coil, and after a moment the weapon fires. The entire process takes two and a half seconds.

A brilliant orange beam streaks towards Eridan-V Beta, and upon contact with the upper atmosphere, the surrounding air immediately disintegrates and the beam eventually strikes the ground, churning up the soil and bedrock as rings of condensate form around the beam in the atmosphere.

After a moment, the beam dissipates and there is an incredibly loud boom as the pocket where air was vaporized by the beam rapidly fills with the surrounding air, and a large pressure wave ripples outwards, flattening trees and throwing debris high into the air. When the dust settles, there is nothing left of the mountain which had stood over the bunker complex. The bedrock, now exposed, glows white hot.

***

The Bridge viewer lightens again, lifting the light filter as the entire crew on the bridge is caught in a moment of silence and gawking at the viewer. "Gods, that was. I have no words." Galinae was the first of us to speak.

"Helm, bring us into a geostationary orbit over the impact site. Weps?"

B'Nan looks over a shoulder at me with an inquisitive expression. "Captian?"

"prepare shuttle one. I'm going down there."

"Right away, do you care about who flies?" He inquires.

After a moment of thought, my response is accompanied by a coy smile. "Not particularly."