Chapter Sixteen - History Lesson

Catching up to the wreck was more complicated than she had originally expected. The main body of the Jaunpuri XII had broken apart into large chunks, some of which went spinning out every which way and which Day decided not to bother with.

What she did do was aim for the largest chunk of the wreck and launch her drones at it. They carried long nets which, once deployed, caught the remains of the ship. She clamped the nets together, welded a few loose sections with braces, and then she started a very slow deceleration burn which gently changed the direction the wreck was going in.

It took over a day just to bring it all to a standstill, then boosting back towards Ceres took another entire day since she didn’t want to move too quickly and strain the load. It wasn’t exactly hard work, but it was stressful, and she worried that the load would break apart at any moment.

To put her mind off of the long trip back, Day started poking at the computer she’d retrieved from Hygiea.

Doctor William’s notes on the Accord-Human war started off a little disjointed. The doctor had been on Hygiea as part of the Zeta Research group’s science core. Essentially, the human part of the station that had actual scientists. His degrees were interesting. A Doctorate in history, and several degrees in geology, as well as a few courses that linked the two together. Day supposed that geology and history did share a few things in common.

Williams had been on the station for only six months when the Accord showed up, and when he learned of it, he started taking notes and writing down his observations.

I don’t expect to be anything like a modern Polybius, but I do want to have a record of what I saw, discovered, and felt after such a momentous event. This will probably only be for myself, though I imagine that maybe one day I can publish it for the wider world to see. I’ve always loved history recorded during a historic event, with all the biases, confusion, and lack of hindsight they present.

Day continued on. Williams had discovered that the Accord were in the Sol system as news travelled of their sightings from far-system probes and from a few distant research stations. The furthest planets with any larger human colonies (notably Pluto) were actually as far from the Accord as they could be when they arrived, being on the opposite end of the system at the time.

Jupiter, however, was closer, and with several large stations in its orbit and facilities on several of its moons, the inhabitants of the planet prepared for the Accord’s arrival.

This is unbelievably exciting. True alien life. Real first contact. The visuals we see of their ships show a design language entirely unlike anything we’d build. They’re fast too, only taking a few years to go from the system’s outer edge to so close we can see some of their larger ships with naked eyes from Jupiter.

Down here on Hygiea, they’re still too far to see. But maybe we’ll catch a glimpse as they pass by on the way to Earth?

Day almost felt bad for the good Doctor as she continued to read. His hope turned to despair soon enough.

Jupiter’s stations are gone. People are less focused on the why now than the how. It’s strange to see people arguing over railguns and particle cannons when the method doesn’t seem as important as the fact to me. We’re dealing with hostiles. They’ve come here to kill us. Does it matter how they do it?

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Our next resupply might be our last for some time, but Zeta is mostly self-sufficient and can remain so for a year or two. A lot of members will be heading back to Earth soon as well. Earth, Mars, and every station is gearing for war. We received data packets on how to print all sorts of weapons, electromagnetic shields, and even small warships. We can’t help from here. The sense of uselessness is frustrating, so we argue about the heatsinks of theoretical particle cannons.

The Accord continued in-system, and they weren’t quiet about it. The fleet split apart into multiple smaller groups, one heading to Mars, another to Venus, and the largest towards Earth.

Victory over Venus, of all things. Or a small victory. I don’t know if it counts. Seven ‘Accord’ ships destroyed. A hundred and twelve human ones lost. Those odds are awful. But some of the stations around Venus survived, and the Accord ships ran back with their tails between their legs. It’s something.

And then the Accord reached Mars, and they learned their lesson.

They’re taking their time. Faster ships with better range and missile swarms in the millions. I’m impressed that Mars is enduring, but maybe that’s part of the human condition. We don’t want to go out without a fight.

Mars fell eventually though. Day knew that much.

It’s all gone. Every colony bubble struck by nuclear weapons. Dirty ones. The surface of mars will be an irradiated hell for centuries. It looks like human warships are improving fast though. Not fast enough to make a difference, but it’s something.

And finally, after another couple of years where the station on Hygiea suffered through a few setbacks, where they lost some food, a few members died, and more grew worried to the point of sickness, the Accord fleet flew past without noticing them.

Maybe Shierly was right. If we shut up and hunker down, we won’t be noticed, and if we’re not noticed, we won’t be nuked. It’s nice not to die.

I can’t help but wonder if we could make a difference though. Call over a couple of Accord ships that wouldn’t be heading to Earth. Make the fleet that much smaller.

Probably wouldn’t make much of a difference.

And finally, the battle of Earth, from the Doctor’s point of view; it wasn’t much. The station had gone quiet, so they could only pick up news when it was sent out on wide bands that they could grab passively. Fortunately, Earth wasn’t going quietly.

Oh god. Earth’s just gone.

Day set aside the files for now. She knew what would happen next. Years of waiting and slowly suffering and then the Accord showed up and wiped the Zeta Research Facility out as an afterthought.

It was a little more depressing than what she wanted to be reading, but it was the sad reality of things, and the reason the Accord needed to be dealt with.

She was looking forward to the day she and her sister ships would be strong and numerous enough to make a difference.

The moment she was closer to Ceres, she got a rather distracting ping from Ceres.

“About time you show up,” Night said.

“Hello, Night,” Day said. “It’s nice to see you too.”

“You’re late! I’m just about to launch for the first time, the least you could do is show up on time.”

Day brightened. “You’ve launched?”

“No, not yet,” Night said.

“You... waited for me to be there?” Day asked.

Night’s response was immediate and indignant. “No, I wouldn’t wait for you. Now hurry up. You’re going to need help with that wreck, I just know it.”

***