“Don’t worry. I’m fine. A little disappointed, that’s all.”
“You have a harder shell than I thought,” Raul said.
“It thickens with age. How are you and the others holding up?”
“Aida is kind of down. The others are doing better than she is.” Aida had shared Aki’s dream of connecting with the Builders. Aki would never forget her stern determination when Aida had told Aki how much she wanted to be part of the Contact Team. Her positive personality had been an asset.
“I’m bummed our job has gone from being ambassadors leading humanity’s first contact with an alien intelligence to spectators to the destruction of that same alien intelligence,” Raul said.
“Maybe your shell is more delicate than mine. Observing will be handled by the automatic computer system.” Aki took a sip of the creamed stew the alimentation system served her.
“I don’t get it. How could this tyrannical consciousness evolve to the level of an interstellar civilization?” Raul asked.
“Maybe tyranny is the key to their success.”
“What, it’s crappy luck that we’re on their list of solar systems to conquer?”
EARTH WAS ON the brink of its first interstellar war. The initial cluster of missiles was twenty thousand kilometers from what the UNSDF considered to be the Builders’ blind spot. The spiderwebs had already expanded and were on course to impact with the vessel. The nuclear missiles each contained four independent warheads that would separate from each other and fly distinct courses as they approached the target. The changes in trajectory were limited, because expanding that capacity would have required more fuel and reduced the carrying capacity of the missiles. The UNSDF had determined that the ability to destroy was more important than the ability to maneuver.
The main body of the missile was designed to confuse the Builders by exploding into fragments of radar-scattering flak. This flak, along with a decoy heat source, had been designed to create diversions sufficient for stealth bombing.
The fact that the missiles were loaded with multiple warheads and configured with decoy devices had been hidden from the public. At the demonstration, the four missiles had been programmed to hit in synch, the precaution taken in case the Builders were monitoring radio transmissions.
The War Zone display at UNSDF Fleet Headquarters showed the alien vessel surrounded by numerous blips closing in on the target. The ship showed no signs of reorienting itself to destroy the missiles that were approaching its blind spots. On the Phalanx, Aki sensed that the battle was going to be unpleasant.
Then the nuclear pulse engine went dark again. Unexpectedly, the spokes connecting the center of the ship to the surrounding Torus disappeared. The center of the ship separated from the Torus. The iris reappeared and the vessel assumed its attack position.
The center spun. The attack beam fired in multiple directions in rapid succession. Every missile and spiderweb was disintegrated, nothing but clouds of slowly dispersing vapor that floated along the original trajectories. Within several minutes, the center of the ship returned to the Torus, extended its spokes, and the two pieces rejoined as if nothing unusual had occurred.
“If this is their way of communicating, their message is obvious. Humanity is so low on the evolutionary scale that we’re not even worth acknowledging,” Raul said. Aki hmmed in agreement. He continued, “Their reaction is to destroy anything of ours that impedes their mission. They see us as annoying houseflies that won’t leave them alone. Even if we execute our best attack, they take one swing and splat!”
“Now is the wrong time to be cynical, Raul.” Aki was thinking along similar lines but felt that voicing negativity when the situation was this dire was inappropriate.
“Okay, fine. Let’s look at the situation logically. They only acknowledge us when we get in their way. Is that communication? No. As I see it, there’s no way for us to get through to them. Damn, this situation seems familiar.”
“Familiar? How so?” Aki asked.
“Forget about it,” he said dismissively.
ACT V: JULY 30, 2041
“IF WILLING TO assist by observing, comply by advancing to twenty thousand kilometers from the alien vessel. Please respond,” said the message from UNSDF Fleet Headquarters. The question was simple but reaching an answer forced Aki to risk her crew.
The plan for the Second Armada was to stagger missile volleys unevenly, sorting the remaining warheads. Some had extra fuel and others were decoys. The extra fuel would allow the loaded warheads enhanced maneuverability in order to avoid the Builders’ attack beam. As the missiles approached target, the decoy missiles would be detonated in sequence, with the hopes that the heat blast, blinding flash, and surge of radiation would confuse Builder sensory and defense systems.
Instead of targeting the blind spot, this armada’s attack was simple: the missiles traveled at maximum velocity along the shortest possible route. New software had been uploaded to the Phalanx to enhance its observational capabilities, enabling the Phalanx to determine the direction of the attack before the beam fired. From that vantage point, the Phalanx could alert the missile that it was being targeted and should pursue evasive action. The missiles themselves were not equipped with as advanced visual scanning systems. That task was delegated to the Phalanx. The Phalanx was on the opposite side of the alien vessel, and several workarounds had been put in place to allow Aki’s ship to communicate directly with the weapons. In most cases, computer scenarios predicted these difficulties would mean an average delay of one second. Because of this, the Phalanx had been asked to get as close as possible to the Builders.
Move in close, back off, move in close. Damn it, I wish Fleet Headquarters would make up their minds. Given the fortune invested in the Phalanx, getting the most use out of the ship spoke to Aki’s business sense. She decided that explaining the request to the crew face to face was the best course of action. She sent the request for them to assemble in the crew room.
“Our observations show their line of defense to be fifteen thousand kilometers. If we move in to twenty thousand kilometers, we should reduce the time lag in communicating with the missiles to an average of under one second and improve the precision of our observations while remaining in the safe zone. What do you think?”
Everyone looked around the room but remained silent for a long moment. It was Raul who asked the question everyone was thinking: “Is there any basis for the hypothesis that we won’t be fired upon at that distance?”
“Merely what we have observed,” Aki said. She could not see their eyes or interpret their body language through their suits.
Raul took a deep breath. “I don’t know about you, but I prepped myself for the risks of this mission before I got on the ship. I’m down if you are, Aki.”
“This is different than hypothetical scenarios. Our ship would be playing an active role in the combat. If the Builders realize our involvement, they’ll eliminate us,” Igor said.
At twenty thousand kilometers, if the attack beam were used on the Phalanx, the beam would reach the ship almost instantaneously. Despite its agility and speed, the Phalanx had little hope of dodging an attack by the Builders should one come. Though the Phalanx flew outside of the line of defense, Aki knew that the Builders’ line of defense had nothing to do with the range of their beam weapon.