“Twenty-one ships hit, eighteen destroyed. Mines left in the region-nine hundred sixty-one, sir.”
I studied the numbers. “You included their losses from the earlier scouting trip. That means we only knocked out what-two? Two of this entire new armada?”
“Yes sir. We did score a few other hits, mostly from mines that detonated prematurely. But the Nano ships were only damaged and are still functional in most of those cases.”
“Great,” I said. “That’s just great. They made it through almost intact. Any response to our attempts to open channels with them?”
“No response, sir.”
“Projections of their course?”
Miklos hesitated. “We can’t be certain yet, Colonel.”
“What do you mean? What’s your best guess?”
“I–I don’t understand the data, sir.”
“Just tell me if they are coming to the Centaur homeworld to wipe us out. I don’t care if you’re wrong. Give me what you have.”
“Yes, sir. See the projected arcs on the screen?
An orange spray of pixels appeared. It was an arc which cut a broad swathe across the system. It widened steadily as it moved farther from the ring. It was a projection of where the enemy fleet might be headed. Every minute that passed, their most likely goals narrowed and the arc narrowed with it, graphically depicting targets. The arc was huge, encompassing several planets. I was reminded of weathermen, plotting the likely path of an incoming hurricane. The analogy was a pretty close one to us. The storm of ships that had just entered our system was capable of destroying anything that got into its path.
I frowned at the data. The Centaur homeworld was not on the list. Neither were most of the habitable planets. Only the hottest water-world, the innermost tropical planet, was inside the fringe of the arc.
“I don’t understand. They are heading inward, toward the star, but at an angle. What are they aiming for?”
“They could be planning to adjust their course as they advance. Possibly, they wish to avoid any more minefields we’ve placed in the most likely orbital paths to the inner planets.”
I nodded slowly, glaring at the screen. As I watched, the arc narrowed a tiny fraction. “What do you think they’re doing, Captain?”
“Let’s expand the view, and look farther out,” Miklos said.
As I watched, he worked the screen. Again, his efforts seemed clumsy compared to Major Sarin-I mentally corrected myself Rear Admiral Sarin.
When Miklos finished with his adjustments, much more of the system map was included. His theory was unmistakable at that point. The center of the projected arc collided with a single planet, and it did so with precision. The very center line of the arc cut right through the sole gas giant in the Eden system.
“The Blues?” I said. “They are targeting the gas giant?”
Miklos locked gazes with me. He nodded. “That is my conclusion, sir,” he said. “But this could change. It might be a ruse of some kind.”
I stared at the data. Every minute, it updated and drew the lines more tightly. The projections were unmistakable.
“I don’t think so,” I said. “These bastard lobsters haven’t impressed me so far as being subtle people. Somehow, they realized they outnumbered everyone in this system, and they decided to make their play now while they have more firepower than we do. Maybe they think this is necessary-maybe they think they are making a preemptive strike.”
“But in that case, why head to the gas giant? We are unaware of any ships there, other than the few mining scoops we have at the planet’s rings.”
I thought about it. “Maybe they think we need that material. We did, until recently. Now that we have Macro workers sucking up minerals on the Centaur homeworld, the dust loads coming from those rings is negligible. But that wasn’t the case just a week ago. Maybe their intel is old.”
“Yes,” said Miklos, leaning on the board and staring. “That would make some sense. Perhaps they don’t know our ship strength, so their first move is to cut off our supplies, rather than directly confront our fleets.”
I nodded, agreeing with the analysis more every second. “Right,” I said. “This side-attack has several advantages for them. They think they are cutting off our raw materials. If we fly out to defend the mining ships, then they can meet our fleet out in open space, away from any defensive fortresses we have around the planet.”
“Even if we don’t come out, their plan hurts us and gives them time to gather intel concerning our fleet strength.”
We both stared and someone put a cup of coffee into my hand. I drank it, and wished it was something stronger. The situation was grim. There were now three fleets in this system, and I suspected ours was the weakest-by a large margin.
— 27
As the hours passed, it became increasingly clear the enemy was indeed targeting the gas giant. I didn’t make any moves against them, as I didn’t want them to change their minds. I didn’t even order my mining ships to run. They were all automated, so no one was in danger of being killed. Given the situation, I wanted the Crustaceans to think they were catching us by surprise.
When the Nano ships reached the gas giant, the first thing they did was swarm my three pathetic miners as they scooped up ice and dust from the rings. They obliterated them in seconds. If we’d had any questions about their armament, or their willingness to use it on our ships, we had our answers now.
“Sir,” Miklos said, interrupting me as I mused over the Nano ships and their silent, mysterious mission.
“What is it, Captain?”
“We have another situation. Can I display it?”
“Of course.”
I watched in growing alarm as he showed me the bottom of the Centaur satellite. A strange, thin tube was extruding from it. I opened my mouth to ask him what the hell that was-when I realized I already knew the answer.
“They must have enough nanites now. I didn’t realize they’d been stockpiling.”
“Yes, the Eden-11 satellite is ready to be evacuated. The herds have alerted us, and begun the operation at the same time.”
“Not waiting around for our approval, huh?” I asked. “Well I can’t say that I blame them. They’ve been cooped up in that floating tin can for years. I know how they think, and they’ve got to be wild to get out onto their open grasslands again. How long until the shaft touches the planet’s surface?”
“Not long, sir. The nanites are building very fast. The shaft should be complete within a single day.”
I nodded. I expected thousands of Centaurs to begin pouring out of the bottom of that tube as soon as it touched down. They were nothing if not personally brave. Except for their fear of enclosed spaces-which appeared to be a deep-seated instinct from their past-they’d never backed down in the face of anything.
“There is another development, sir,” Miklos said.
“A good one, I hope?”
“Not at all, I’m afraid.”
I gestured impatiently, and he tapped at the screen. Soon I saw what he was talking about. A Macro cruiser now hung in orbit over Eden-8. As I watched, a second moved to join it. I began breathing harder. Suddenly, sweat tickled under my armpits. This was it, the moment we’d been waiting for, but hoped would never come.
“They are launching their fleets,” I said. “Any sign they are moving on the Centaur habitats?”
“Not yet.”
Over the next hour, more and more cruisers nosed up out of the cloud cover and slid into orbit above all five worlds. The Macros were finally showing their hand. Before they were done, thirteen brand new vessels floated in various orbits. Was that everything they had? Probably, I figured. The Macros weren’t famous for their subtlety. But we couldn’t be sure. Why had they chosen this moment to put their strength on display? Probably to scare us, or to scare the Nanos. Either that, or the sight of escaping Centaurs on Eden-11 had so upset them they’d decided to launch and prevent it.