Christopher Nuttall - Democracy's Might

“Experimental missiles are locked on target,” the tactical officer said. “Set one is ready for launch.”

Colin nodded, grimly. The Geeks had worked wonders, as always, but they had only been able to produce a few hundred of the experimental missiles. Even their modified ECM projectors only numbered in the tens. Given time, they could probably produce thousands of them… but by then the Empire would have rebuilt its shipyards and started churning out new superdreadnaughts. And the experimental missiles wouldn’t be enough to tip the balance.

“Fire,” he ordered.

There was a second disadvantage with the experimental missiles; they were over twice the size of the standard missile. They couldn’t be fired from internal tubes, they had to be mounted on the hull. And if someone managed to land a shot on the hull before the missiles were launched… Colin had considered the risks, then chosen to accept them, but he hadn’t been too pleased about it. There were just too many unknowns involved. If he’d had his way, there would have been months of tests before the systems were deployed in combat.

The superdreadnaught shuddered, gently, as the first barrage was launched. It looked pitiful compared to the massive barrages both the rebels and the loyalists had deployed in the past, but it was fired from well outside standard missile range. The missiles picked up speed rapidly as they flashed towards their targets, advancing on the Imperial Navy starships with deadly intent. Their size made them easier targets, Colin noted dispassionately. The Imperial Navy had to be looking forward to wiping the entire barrage out .. unless, of course, they realised there was a trick. Admiral Wachter would definitely realise that there was a trick.

But what could he do about it?

“Three minutes to scatter, sir,” the tactical officer reported. “Seeker heads are updating their own programming constantly, as per projections.”

Colin gritted his teeth. There were good reasons against building anything too smart, he knew, horror stories that dated all the way back to the days before the Empire. An AI smart enough to think on its own might start asking why it had to take orders from the fleshy humans surrounding it — or, even if it didn’t start acting malevolently, it might ride roughshod over human interests and concerns to get what it wanted. But the Geeks didn’t seem to care about the risks. Salgak had even talked about the possibilities of using AI to reform the Empire’s economy and make the jump to a post-scarcity society.

“The Thousand Families have really buried quite a lot of possibilities,” he’d said, his implants clicking and whirring as he spoke. “And we don’t have the resources to explore them ourselves, not out here. But when we rule the Empire, we will have the resources to utterly transform the existing economic paradigm.”

Colin hadn’t been sure what to make of it. Utterly destroying the Thousand Families — if it could be done without destroying the Empire as well — seemed a good thing, but who knew if the new universe would actually be better than the old. He’d said as much and Salgak had demanded to know, rather rudely, why he’d even bothered to rebel if he was scared of change. Even if the rebels won, they couldn’t change everything as long as they accepted the old order. But technology could change the entire face of humanity.

He pushed the thought aside as the missiles reached the edge of the enemy’s point defence envelope.

“Scattering now, sir,” the tactical officer said.

Penny didn’t understand what she was seeing — and that meant it had to be a trick. The enemy missiles were colossal, easily targeted by the point defence network. None of them would last long enough to attack anything, even the gunboats at the edge of Wachter’s formation. Hell, it was almost as if the enemy wanted the missiles destroyed.

“Admiral,” the tactical officer said, “the missile drives just cut out. Completely.”

Wachter swore. “Bring active sensors to full power,” he ordered. “Start sweeping space for targets.”

Penny frowned. Wachter understood… but she didn’t. The missiles might be following ballistic trajectories, yet that would just make them even easier targets. It was unlikely that the active sensors would have difficulty tracking them, while even if they did have problems the computers could still predict where the missiles would be…

And then the display suddenly spangled with red icons. Hundreds of red icons, right on top of them.

“Carrier missiles,” Wachter commented, as the point defence network hastily recalculated its firing solutions. “I’ve heard it theorized, but never actually put into practice.”

Penny understood, too late. The enemy might as well have fired a barrage at point-blank range. They were already slipping through the point defence, roaring past the smaller ships and falling on the superdreadnaughts like wolves on a lamb. General Clive went to full alert as four missiles slammed into her shields, rocking her violently; four other superdreadnaughts were less lucky. Two of them took serious damage and a third exploded into a radioactive fireball. The fourth lost her external racks to a lucky hit.

And then the tactical officer swore out loud.

“Report,” Wachter snapped. “Calmly, if possible.”

“Admiral,” the tactical officer said, “we just lost the point defence network!”

“Admiral,” the tactical officer said, “their point defence network has collapsed.”

Colin allowed himself a tight smile. The Geeks had been right; they’d told him that the network could be brought down, with the right modifications to the ECM drones. Right now, every starship orbiting Morrison had been forced to rely on its own defences, rather than fighting as part of a group. They were terrifyingly exposed to his fire.

“Take us into missile range,” he ordered. “Then fire at will.”

Penny watched in horror as the enemy launched a second barrage of missiles. The point defence network had collapsed completely, forcing the techs to shut it down and then reboot the system, knowing all the while that the enemy were pressing their advantage. It would take too long to reboot the system completely, but they had no choice. Without it, they were doomed.

“Recall the gunboats, order them to provide targeting solutions,” Wachter ordered. But she knew it was just a stopgap at best. As long as the network was down, their ability to operate as a unified force was non-existent. “And then order the orbital facilities to open fire, even at extreme range.”

Penny nodded. The enemy arsenal ships, having fired their missiles, were retreating back towards the edge of the gravity shadow while the superdreadnaughts were firing a third barrage. Admiral Wachter’s ships had returned fire, naturally, but the enemy point defence network was up and running. They’d be able to hold themselves together far longer than the Morrison Fleet.

“And warn all hands to brace for impact,” Wachter ordered. “This is going to be bad.”

He was right, Penny saw, as the first wave of missiles crashed down on the superdreadnaughts. Without the network, various ships went after the same targets while other missiles were left alone to slam into vulnerable superdreadnaughts. Shields flickered, then failed, leaving the ships defenceless. One by one, the superdreadnaughts began to take heavy damage. Beyond them, even the orbital fortifications came under fire.

She gritted her teeth as the enemy fired yet another barrage. Half of the defending cruisers and destroyers were already gone and most of the remainder had taken damage. The Morrison Fleet, once so capable, had been smashed. Wachter gave her a sidelong look, then shrugged. He knew when the battle was lost.