King's endgame, Arc 8 of "Gone with the Sun"

Chapter 103 Engaging


Itty bitty firecrackers

Coats was on fire. "We've got at most three weeks before those silly bastards haul their arses out of the event horizon."

"That's a rude word, sir."

"Concise OED, 'not in polite usage since the seventeenth century.' I'm not being polite to them. Let's get these squibs laid, my delicate flowers."

"You want a track heading to the fluff, sir? Some at the far end, too?"

"Right, but not directly at Archangel. Get with the welding, and the glue and the rock, ladies. Make these tubes look like debris. Especially the big ones that move."

One German marine wondered out loud, "Vy vould Reapers make themselves so vulnerable, Admiral? Black holes are dangerous."

"Because they compute, they don't think, is one guess. They've cataloged everyone else's innovations and never thought of their own. Maybe because they think they're above anything we can do. Who knows? Who cares?"

As the work parties saluted and fell out, Ann hissed at him, low: "I care."

"Why? Idle curiosity?"

"I'd like to think about what surprises they might have – like, if this planet's an eggshell, let's make a hole. Tomorrow, I want to see what's inside."

"Shepard wanted the same thing, but it's too dangerous."

"You don't want to know?"

So on reflection, Coats called back one of the teams. "I'd like to call for volunteers. Can we have one Big Ivan on the surface of the fake planet, please?"

There was a certain amount of shuffling of feet, but the magic name of Shepard got a UK tech, the German marine, and some Krogan volunteers. Just as well, this would involve heavy lifting. Once the logistics were in place, Coats turned back to Bryson:

"We've still got a few surprises of our own. I just want to get this over with and get Leviathan to help remove that weird takeover stuff."

"Look, James, Psi Tophet's all the way across the galaxy. It's going to be decades before we can confront Leviathan and get some clues on reversing that blasted indoctrination stuff. I've accepted I'll have to live my life a bit deranged, like Jana."

"You might just be the most together person I know. Besides, a certain amount of eccentricity is expected of an English country baroness. Especially one with a PhD."

"Nonsense. Stop trying to save me. Let's take the time to do a proper job here."


First impressions

The short message to Shepard seemed to have had the desired effect. Maria was at last of a mind to concentrate effectively on workouts in the loading bay.

Her pupil was especially good with Rasa's Fairbairn knife ('It's like a form of dancing – the blade moves straight and I move around it'). Unfortunately Maria needed the lead weights adjusted in the (non-original) Applegate hilt.

Accordingly, Rasa organized one of the Potemkin engineers to fabricate a V-42 "Devil's brigade" style force dagger – also with an Applegate handle. Now it was a suitable weight and balance, Maria was becoming quite deadly, in any of throwing, stabbing, or hiltwork. At the end of the day, Rasa took her to the war room.

"I thought you would be showing me how to shoot your Suppressor pistol, Rasa."

"No. Your most likely problems will arise unexpectedly, up close, and personal. You beat them by being even more unexpected, up close, and personal, and quicker about it. Just keep that little toothpick out of sight, okay? Now, once Toombs finishes with my Suppressor and gets you one too, using a holdout pistol is Romanov's department–"

Maria abruptly stopped walking.

"–What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

They stared at each other in silence for half a minute.

"Well, fine. I had to talk to Kelly and she spotted the captain was hovering. Then Shepard spoke to him. Don't know what was said but Peter was close to tears."

"Good! Sounds like he deserved it. But we'll have to find another officer–"

But Maria was shaking her head, and clearly very unhappy. Rasa paused, working it out over the next few seconds: "You don't want another officer."

"I wouldn't mind another officer. But…"

"Have you spoken to Chambers about this?"

"Not in detail. She made it clear I mustn't have anything to do with him."

"Did she say why?"

"No! She seemed to think it was obvious!"

"Maria, it is obvious. You're a junior officer under his command. Even I know that makes you untouchable to him, and vice versa. Surely you see this."

But Maria just stood there, eyes cast down at her interlocked fingers.

"Damn. Now I'm going to have to introduce you to someone I'd hoped not to."


Oh how the thresher maw turns

Wrex began to regret volunteering. He hated Dis for creeping him out. It was a sort of anti-Tuchanka. It was cold, and dark, despite the new orbiting fusion lights, the marine in charge reminded him too much of Shepard, and his krogan squadmates ribbed him unmercifully about doing what the turians had done.

"Not the same. Ve are not burying it stealthily. Is Coats-befehl. Ve do it."

"He's right, dammit. We came, we planted nuke, we go. Move, princesses."

"We know a planet-cracker when we see one. All of us saw the vids of Noveria."

"Bah, it's not a proper fight. On the other hand, if Shepard wanted it done…"

"I reckon it'll end one before it begins," Wrex growled. "You're complaining because it's unfair?"

"Where's the fun?"– this was the UK tech sergeant.

"It's right over the biggest thermal bloom. It'll be entertaining enough."

"Do you feel good about just planting a great big bomb?"

"I'd feel better if I didn't know Joker had his finger on the button as we speak."

That got their attention. They moved with alacrity. Of course, EDI had a beady eye on Joker. Wrex found himself trying to remember if he'd ever pissed off the AI.

Watch the birdy

Thirty hours later, some of the battle ground was prepared. Not before time, thought Shepard. The gravity waves, detected by the singularity's polar satellites, ominously, were increasing in intensity.

And Ash had arrived with Liara on Pegasus. Just in time. She'd holed up in the XO's office, despite Shepard offering her loft back: "No. I don't need it. Take your yeoman and be happy for a change, you silly man." Kelly was not, of course, his yeoman any more. But hey… it seemed to make the boat happy.

Boris Mikhailovich, appearing as a QEC hologram from his station on Kilimanjaro, wasn't happy.

"They've spotted something. Those reactor blooms in Dis? They show 80% power."

"It'll all be happening impossibly fast from the singularity point of view."

"Even so. Zap the fortress planet. Deal with forces in detail."

"You told me not to, earlier. "Don't shoot till you can see the whites of their eyes," wasn't it?"

"Let's make it, shoot when the eyes open just a slit."


Hurry up and wait

The bubbles turned up on schedule and stopped, as required.

What hadn't been anticipated was how long it would take them to stop after exiting FTL. Their sheer momentum took them two hundred thousand kilometres before thrusters brought them to a stop, and it took a day to backtrack to Archangel.

Mira and the turian VI ('Blackbird') appeared at the secondary QEC station in Normandy. Shepard's first question was for Mira, the smartest available VI, somewhat upgraded and running bubble "One".

"Can you enter FTL again?"

"I'm a little low on Helium-3. But yes."

"We'll have some down the chain on freighters in two days. Can you do a short jump? From the fluff to Dis? The planet around the singularity?"

"Not without notice. About twenty minutes, and the transit time is six days at least."

"Our frigate could do the same trip in less than half a day."

"For a mass this size the Alcubierre warp channel needs time to establish itself, and I've only been given a standard eezo core to obtain the Casimir energy."

"…All right. Twenty minutes startup is fine. We'll get you both within striking range of planet Dis, I think day after tomorrow."

"Very well."

"Now for a critical issue. Don't you have a life support chamber for the techs who installed the bomblets – the Lithium Deuteride, the heavy paraffin, and the pits?"

"Yes. It was not worth removing on completion. But, Spectre, it is quite small, for no more than two hundred people in comfort."

"Okay. What about empty spaces?"

"There are quite large channels between the heavy paraffin volumes, accessible from the life support chamber. But there is a good vacuum there."

"For suited personnel, would they be suitable?"

"I would not think so. There is no extra oxygen. But there is room for several thousand personnel, and there are six external hatches for maintenance. I suppose it's an option."

"We will organize some oxygen, and power modules, for 'in case.' Stick around. Blackbird, are you ready to restart?" – this to the VI for the other bubble, "Two".

"Like Mira said, I would need notice. But I carry significantly less mass. Five minutes would serve."

From the Books

In Orizaba's loft that evening, Coats and Bryson spoke soft and low.

"Tell me about those tiny little paper books. They've got Ex Libris Lt.-Col. James Coats (Bart.) on the flyleaf, but they're ancient. Like that one, it's tattered."

"Defence of Duffer's Drift? It belonged to my umpty-great grandfather. Same name as me. Same rank. Not unusual in old families. I'm just dipping into the thing."

"Oh, sure. Come on James, you've been studying it for two weeks. What's the fascination?"

"It's a book on the interpretation of dreams, in a way. Subaltern dreams." The look Ann gave him was so smoldering it could have burned toast. Coats grinned:
"Bullseye. Fine, you've dipped into it. So you know what it is. Compare it with 781."

"You think there will be ground fighting on Dis. Yet you tell troops 'Who cares?'"

"That planet's got something on it, yes. Can't be worried sick about the troops."

"Hypocrite–"
"At last, I am worthy of my forefathers."
"–you do care about the troops, or you wouldn't be reading those books."

"For heaven's sake, don't let the troops know. It's a problem, yes. But I'm going to be in space. The worry is if Orizaba has to evacuate the troops it drops on-planet."

"You can't cram a million troops in here."

"Not a million. We'll be carrying two short regiments of marines. We can do that because we're running the ship with a skeleton crew and VIs."

"That's what, about five thousand élite troopers?"

"Some are techs. There's minifreighters for the remainder. Most of them are back in cold storage on Massena, anyway, running off behind a rogue planet."

"So how do they get to the freighters from that Dis place? Or from Archangel?" This gave Coats pause. It wasn't that the problem hadn't occurred to him:
"I guess the answer is, that this ship would have to pick them up again."

"And if the Orizaba's disabled because of the Crucible?"
No immediate response. Ann sighed, and laid her head on his chest. He began stroking her hair.

"I prefer to worry about things as they happen. You're an exception."

"Will the Leviathans listen? What do they care about some damaged human?"

"I care. So do other people I know. We've learned a lot about their indoctrination technique. The Reapers cribbed their methods, and we have the Leviathan artifacts. We can shield ourselves now. If they won't listen to you, there's me, or Shepard, or Vega."

"Sounds ominous."

"Any which way, God help the Leviathans if they so much as look at you cross-eyed."


Blink and you'll miss it

Shepard had a difficult night. The boy was back, saying nothing. The QEC pow-wow the following morning included Hackett as well as Mikhailovich. Hackett provided anodyne details about Hannah's home life, then got straight to business.

"Take that snapshot of Dis. Nuke the planet. I think we whack that beehive. What forces have you?"

"Orizaba, with mini-crucible, Coats commanding. That may be a one-shot. Her two cruisers guarding N-18. I'd like some of your destroyers."

But Mikhailovich shook his head at this. "You'll have twenty-four destroyers arriving through N-18 starting half an hour from now. More will take half a day to organize. Maybe the turians, but we need to cover Nemesis and Archangel."

"Then there's the frigates. I've got Normandy, North Cape, Pegasus stealthed above the fluff, Garrus on Peacemaker…"

"Vakarian, yes. He is the forward tactical coordinator for flotilla actions?"

"Yes, sir. There's also Overlord, which is a bit of a loose cannon. Mercenaries."

"Don't you trust them? AD, I mean?" Hackett now looked uneasy.

"I used to think I understood them. Now, I don't know."

"Flash the Big Ivan, regardless. Don't use the mini-crucible unless you have to."

"We might be overwhelmed."

"You know you'd get not just the Reapers but yourselves. Around a black hole, that could be bad news."

Around a black hole… Shepard found himself pondering this.

"Captain, one more thing." Hackett looked thoughtful, now. "Sir?"

"Get Allers set up with QEC links."

"Al-Jilani's on Overlord."

"Her too. It's time we told the galaxy what's happening."

"I'll get her to show the opening shot live."

In fact, he approached Allers to press the button, on-camera ("Just for Bekenstein.") This got him a hot smooch, which (to her annoyance) irritated Kelly. Diane glanced sideways at her and grinned happily:

"Get used to it, kid. He's property of all the worlds, now."

A slightly aggrieved Kelly castigated herself for being upset: this was just high spirits. But there was no denying that she'd prefer any sharing to be on her initiative, and a lot less inclusive than 'all the worlds'. When had that changed?


Ground state

There was a Reaper battle group inside the eggshell planet, kept to within a microdegree of zero Kelvin. At such temperatures Reaper hardware had very long life indeed. But there was a price to be paid for this alternate form of time travel.

Rising from absolute zero, crystal fracture made the alert and revivification process decidedly problematic, not least from the point of view of thermal inertia but mainly because thermal shock of a reactor starting in the normal way would shatter structural members. Nonetheless, after some days, the destroyers, slaughterships, and capital ship within were finally at the point of bringing their main reactors on-line.

The capital ship, which had first received the QEC alarm but had no details, came on-line first. It brought its reactor up to nominal power and released its clamps.


Flash

"… It's moving."

Allers jumped like a small child being told a ghost story. Her camera pulled back. Indeed, there was perceptible motion in the war room's bank and bell tac simulation.

"That's what we're waiting for. Hit it, Diane. The big red button."

She slammed her hand on the haptic panel way faster than was needed. The slight orange thermal bloom in the holo of the eggshell planet was replaced by a red sear.

"Well done. You can stick around here or go set up in the lounge now."

"I can always celebrate later?"

"That place has a view which is no simulation."

"Right, I'm gone." Shepard left, too. At this point he was going to be needed at the CIC. When he got there, he met a surprise: Kelly at the comm board–

"Where's Alexei?"

"Jumping up and down like a mad thing in the port lounge, says surveillance."

"Fine. What are you doing here? Belay that, are you up to speed on this board?"

"John, please. Remember who you're talking to."

"Right. I want the bank and bell echoed through to the galaxy ma– That was quick. Where's Tali?"

"Covering for Adams in Engineering."

"Tell her I want her, Gabby or Adams up here to tell us what we're looking at."

"Adams is in the lounge straightening out a media storage conflict between EDI and Allers. Uh, Tali says she's sending Gabby and someone has to watch the core."

Bang

"… It's moving." The Big Ivan opening shot was monitored by other eyes, too. Once the 16km plasma fireball had cleared of ionizing radiation – which took only twenty seconds, in vacuum – a probe was dispatched. Supposedly, a stealth probe, but reporting back by UV laser rather than (expensive) QEC.

"That bloody hole is forty kilometres wide."

"Never mind that, there's another sphere below it! Supported with webs!"

Adams was watching from the lounge. "Captain, those vertical columns are almost threads in comparison to the weight they have to support."

"What?"

"The Euler critical load should be exceeded by this. They're only tension members. Collapse is imminent. And internal atmospheric pressure has vanished, the plates will do Timoshenko buckling." Gabby, standing next to Shepard, tried to translate:

"The plates aren't a balloon skin now and pillars aren't supposed to be compression members – if so they'll fail when the spheres are breached. Shouldn't be able to support side loads and the weight abo– and there they go. They needed the symmetry and support of both spherical shells."

"There's a dent in the spherical shell below, too." Miranda could see the same feed. The outer shell began caroming around the inner one.

"I see it," noted Shepard. "That would be the shell of the capital ship, did that."

"Hell. How many destroyers just got squished?" But Garrus interrupted:

"Shepard, there are still four shells to go, if the mass calculations are correct."

"You do the honors, Vakarian."

"Phase two, Nyrek. Deploying six revolver shots. I'm going to use them as impulse weapons, we need a hole through the middle so we can see what's there."

"Maneuver so the event horizon catches any that don't stop. And reload – fast!"

"I hear you. Coats, we'll need those mines soon."

"Roger that. Estimate thirty minutes for a stream of eight."

Coats watched the first of Peacemaker's FTL impactors, turned, and gave orders to his UNAS marine major: "We need a distraction. At least eight mines, maybe more, and break out the directional gamma missiles, I want eight on the external hardpoints. There's thermal blooms moving under what's left of the outer skin. Move."

"Sir!" Suddenly, Coats found himself alone, except for his navigator and Anne.

"Will there be anything left for us to look at?"

"Hope so. I'm betting there's something down there, at the core."


Last orders

"Lilium."

"First, I owe you."

"No you don't. I didn't like to think of the disruption to Luna City's economy if I didn't forestall an entirely predictable disaster."

"I'm not that bad!"

Lawson kept her mouth shut, just inflicted that flat blue gaze.

"Okay, I was that bad once. Look, this isn't about me."

"What then?"

"I'd like you to talk to someone called Maria. Russian kid."

"Oh?"

"Like Chambers used to be."

"Oh."

"She has problems with her commanding officer."

"Arrange for Mikhailovich to get rid of him. Or is that too hard?"

"It's unnecessary. Mind you, nothing would be easier – but Shepard has fired a shot across his bows. I want her back as Garrus' liaison on Peacemaker. However…"

"Well?"

"…Maria doesn't want to transfer."

"Oh. Oh dear. And her commander's efficiency will be compromised, too. Do what you can about that."

"You do understand what you're asking, right? Cover for me."

"I will. Meanwhile, get Maria in here. There's not a lot of time."


Next chapter: #104, "Battle"


Thursday, September 10, 2015