Interlude - The Free Radikal

Doctor Radikal (Kaleb to his few friends) felt a hard thump against his back that almost sent him sprawling forwards, but he caught himself on the edge of a desk and glanced over his shoulder at the perpetrator. What he discovered was a familiar man, smiling gently in a way that didn't suit his enormity. "Don't worry so much," the big man said. "We've done well enough, haven't we?"

Kaleb let out a sigh, but he did nod.

The Collider was, for the most part, a success. His AI had crunched the numbers, and the amount of damage the Phobos object was going to sustain from the collider alone should be enough to ensure that Phobos would only ever reach Earth in a state where Earthly forces would be able to defeat it.

Moreover, they had built the collider knowing that they wouldn't be the only ones to step up to the metaphorical plate in order to try and assist.

He had expected... more, however.

Perhaps this was his own fault. Kaleb was a scientist. He was born in a corporate scientific research compound to two parents who were researchers. He had grown up surrounded by men and women of science, where the rules or reality were second only to appeasing the whims of their corporate overlords.

He'd gotten a good enough education and unmatchable practical learning from a very young age. In all the ways that mattered, he was encouraged to dive deep into the unknown and tear knowledge out of the grasp of reality.

That's how he liked to romanticise it. In reality most of the research had been done on the behest of various corporations trying to get a lead on their competition. They were entirely unwilling to share anything.

That, and more often than not, their method of uncovering new truths was to deconstruct the work left behind by samurai.

And then one thing led to another, and he'd become a samurai himself.

"You've got that look on your face," his companion said. He grabbed Radikal by the shoulder and gave him a firm grip.

It was going to leave bruises, Kaleb just knew it. "I know, Drachen, I know. I'm merely reminiscing on what brought us here."

The big man, Drachenschöpfer, was a dear companion of his. A larger than life personality who didn't know his own strength at the best of times. People dismissed him as an oaf on seeing his stature, but he was quite clever.

It was no wonder Drachen had been chosen to be a samurai. Kaleb oft wondered why he, himself, was chosen.

Shaking the thoughts away, Kaleb glanced across their control room. Seventeen stations with computers and systems fifty years ahead of where humanity's greatest lay, all facing a massive screen whose definition was unmeasurable.

This was the place from which they would save the Earth. There was no accounting for points and costs and such trivialities.

And yet... the Collider wasn't an immediate success. Nor had the Keiretsu's first wave of drones. The great foe was as adaptable and clever as ever.

"Drachen, I'm going to take a short walk," he said as he rolled his shoulder. "The bridge is yours."

"The bridge is mine," Drachen said with a firm nod. He moved aside, then took Kaleb's place behind the main control podium. "Will you be back in time to see the efforts of our Canadian friends?"

"I'll be back before then, yes," he replied with a nod before slipping out of the room. The Lab--the space where they'd set up their command and control room--wasn't quite as spacious outside of the areas where space was necessary. The corridors were all rather narrow, so he found himself walking briskly through them until he reached a more open space.

There was a bay window here, thick transparent plates jutting out of the wall with a small bench below. A space to sit and observe.

At the moment, Neu Hamburg was below, the mega city slowly slipping by as the Lab flew past.

'You seem stressed. You are aware that the Collider has been successful so far.'

"It has," he subvocalized. "But I worry that it won't be successful enough. There's a margin here, and it is quite thin. A failure on our part... well, it wouldn't be acceptable."

'If the situation deteriorates to that degree, there are options to call upon.'

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

He nodded. There were, but he didn't want to rely on those. Call it foolish pride, but he didn't want to beg the higher tier, stronger samurai for assistance. They were preoccupied with Mars as it was, a situation that was in no way improving as each day passed. Pulling them back to Earth because he and his companions in the Nachtwächternetzwerk couldn't handle things would sting.

His eyes were drawn to the deadzone beyond the edges of the city. The Lab would likely be flying over these soon, bathing the area in fire and using the opportunity to test a few new weapons in a space where that testing wouldn't harm anyone.

"Sometimes I wonder why I was chosen," he admitted. "I lack that... hopeful optimism of my comrades, do I not?"

'There's more than one kind of hope.'

Kaleb frowned at that, then shrugged. That might well be true, but it wouldn't settle his nerves. He let out a grunt, then turned and stomped back into the command room. Progress, scientific or otherwise, wouldn't happen by being shy and restrained. He recalled that strange Canadian girl and her youthful disregard for pessimism. Perhaps it was all a facade, but that didn't mean that it wasn't a good way to lead.

Kaleb swept into the room, lab coat billowing out behind him. He noticed a pair of samurai by Drachen at the command podium. "Report," he said. "Time until the Collider has cooled sufficiently?"

One of the technicians jumped. The snap of his voice had them all sitting up straighter. "Four hours, sir."

"Let's tighten our intervals where we can. Collate the data from this first shot and get someone to extrapolate potential damages to the system going forwards. Let's not waste the time we have, yes?"

He turned to the others, nodded, then eyed the screen for a moment. The Big Gun had fired a few minutes ago. It had been mildly impressive. The portal system more so than the gun itself. Now they were following the projectile's telemetry as it shot out across space on a collision course with Phobos.

"Comms, send a message to the Keiretsu. I want all the data they can collect on Phobos' geology. Not just the surface. We need geothermal readings as well. Midnight Ranger, can you share some of your sensor equipment with them if it comes to it?"

The samurai in question blinked, then nodded. They weren't a very vocal person, but their sensor technology was second to none. Kaleb hoped that the Keiretsu wouldn't mind losing a drone in order to have better sensors around Phobos within the next couple of days.

"Let's have the Lab AI crunch some numbers," he said. "I want to know exactly what angle to strike Phobos at. Enough of our general assaults. Let's concentrate our power where it will do the most."

"That seems to be what the Big Gun team is doing," Drachen said.

Kaleb perked an eyebrow at that and walked over to his friend. "They have? What is their payload?"

"A Casaba-Howitzer," Drachen said. "Miss Grasshopper has forwarded us a list of their existing munitions. It seems as though they will be launching... everything at the rogue moon."

Kaleb was familiar with the platform in question, but he hadn't been expecting it as the first option the Big Gun team would be going for. He rather expected a simple nuclear device. "Well-well, that'll be interesting to see, then," he said. He eyed the screen again.

Seven minutes to impact. From earth to Phobos in what was about half an hour. Their travel speed was simply ludicrous.

"We might want to consider installing similar weapon platforms in orbit," he said.

Next time there was a Phobos-like disaster, it would do them all well to have the infrastructure in place to destroy it without the current mad scramble.

But that was a problem for the future... assuming they made it there.

"I can tell you're worrying again," Drachen muttered. "Come on, friend, stop being concerned and start looking forwards to this! Our companions overseas are putting on a show for us, aren't they? It's impolite not to watch with enthusiasm!"

"Hmph. Watching with enthusiasm isn't what we need right now," Kaleb said. "Everyone, I want all of our surveillance equipment working properly before that strike lands. Our allies are giving us an opportunity to learn much, so let's not miss it!"

***