A sphere of darkness, surrounded by energy flashes—the product of matter collapsing inside—was what the naked eye could see from a black hole. Iona projected the processed image to her crew, focusing especially on the massive station close to the accretion disk. A powerful stream of gas, ice, and rocky fragments spiraled toward the event horizon. Beyond that theoretical limit, physical laws defied human understanding.
Clever, Iona thought. They're taking advantage of the gravity well to accelerate hydrogen to near-light speed and produce antimatter. The station was literally an oil well, and with no other black holes nearby, it must be a critical component of the machines' survival.
After two weeks of searching for signs of antimatter production or transport, a faint EM peak on the transport ship's frequency was detected by Iona's sensitive ears. So far, it was the best—no, Iona corrected herself—the only evidence of what she was looking for. The signal came from a black hole, a place Hyuga had suggested was ideal for antimatter production.
Iona was searching alone. Like a submarine, she disliked stirring the waters, and too many ships would be both inconvenient and risky. The machines had proven to be a powerful adversary—adaptable and dangerous.
Their will to survive was impressive, prompting her to question who had created them and why. Perhaps this single question would explain many things about the other universe.
She defolded and slipped into the dimensional layer she and her sisters used for stealth and hunting. Iona and her crew could see the station, a massive cylinder nearly two kilometers long and two hundred meters in diameter.
The orientation was significant: one end pointed toward the singularity, while the other held a series of structures of unknown purpose. Something had to be keeping the cylinder from falling into the black hole, but she couldn't discern what.
She could feel the gravity maelstrom distorting everything around her. Her advanced sensors corrected the distortion, offering a near real-time view. She focused her passive sensors on the end farthest from the singularity and detected interstellar gas entering the cylinder, but she could see no further.
The lack of visible defenses was troubling. Perhaps the machines considered the dangerous singularity sufficient protection, or perhaps something was hidden. Yamato had warned her about the machines' talent for ambush.
She convened her bridge crew to gather opinions. Miller, the weapons specialist, suggested, "Mines. I'd use a minefield. It's simple and cheap." Mines were always a concern for submarines.
"No, forget the mines. The black hole gravity would move the mines out of position," an engineer said.
"Ah, you're right," Miller nodded.
"They don't seem to have cloaking devices, boss, but if—" He paused, frowning deeply. "Archangel," he muttered. Iona frowned, too. The loss of that colony represented a significant strategic setback. Who knew how much information the machines had stolen?
"The need to exterminate these beings grows by the day," she growled softly.
"Again, the simplest maneuver is usually the best," her XO said easily.
"What are you suggesting?" Iona asked.
"Call a couple of your sisters. Position them a bit away from the station and have them launch missiles," he said, adding, "Just wait and see what happens. We could guess all day and get nowhere."
She hated feeling limited, but in these circumstances, she was out of inspiring ideas. She called for two submarines to attack from different positions, cautioning them about potential dangers. They responded affirmatively and prepared to attack.
Ten minutes later, both submarines surfaced to use their active sensors. The three ships detected the disruptor pulse immediately and felt the impact. Iona didn't know how, but she and her two sisters were expelled from their concealment. Her sensors picked up the chaotic interaction of the sixth-dimensional space with her hull, a troubling anomaly. Now fully exposed, the station's defenses began firing energy pulses, rivaling the firepower of the cubes.
Her crew did the only thing they could—accelerate and keep moving. "The dimensional layer is out of my reach. What about you?" one submarine reported. The same held true for the three ships; they were unable to return to their dimensional ocean.
Despite evasive maneuvers, they were grazed by shots, and the shields were nearing their limits. Iona instructed her crew, "Lock target on the exposed face of the cylinder." Her weapons specialist, eager to act, complied. "Target acquired, boss," he replied. "Missiles, full broadside. I'll take control of the guidance systems."
The crew felt the ship tremble as the missiles launched. The ships continued evading fire as best as they could, but one of the submarines didn't survive. With only two remaining, more fire was concentrated on them. As the missiles dodged the pulses, the station redirected its focus to intercept them.
Only ten missiles carrying Tsar-class warheads reached their target. The destruction on one side triggered a chain reaction, and a powerful antimatter explosion sent an energy wave through the black hole and around it, distorting the accretion disk. With shields already strained, both ships were hurled from their positions. The groaning sounds inside the hulls, like tin cans under pressure, were unlike anything the crew had experienced.
As the wave dissipated, sensors came back online. The station—a marvel of engineering—remained, though one end was leaking gases into the nearby black hole.
"We can't leave the station here. I'm calling my sisters," Iona informed her crew. They understood. The destruction of this installation would be a major advantage in the war effort.
Six hundred submarines defolded and emerged. Wasting no time, they launched their entire arsenals at the damned station. Two submarines activated their SGC guns and prepared to fire.
The station detected the threat, firing all its weapons at the pair. Dozens of blue pulses rained down, but several submarines combined their shields to buy their comrades time. Meanwhile, the initial barrage hit the station, causing hundreds of corrosive explosions across the hull, which, despite bearing many craters, held firm. What is this thing made of? Iona wondered.
It wasn't a waste, though. The attack weakened the weapons emplacements, reducing the threat, and many crew members breathed a little easier.
The two ships fired their SGCs, and this time it proved too much for the nearly indestructible station. The searing force of the graviton beams tore through the hull, and the twisted station was slowly drawn toward the event horizon, eventually spaghettified and swallowed by the black hole. As the station disintegrated, the dimensional ocean became accessible once more. To be cautious, they left several probes hidden.
The battle had been costly. Thirty-one submarines were damaged, ten were lost, many sailors were wounded, and most concerning, the machines had adapted to the submarines' main advantage. More work for Hyuga, Iona thought as her core worked to repair the hull as best it could. Their stock of nanomaterials was limited, and for a submarine, hull repairs often meant sacrificing something—like a gun turret. Around her, other submarines were doing the same.
It was time to fold back to Alex to repair the ships and reload. The Dimensional Submarines Campaign was just beginning.