Tunnel Rat

Chapter 206: The Stars at War (2)

"All crew, this is Commander Belinda. Phase 1 of the plan was successful. If you've all figured out how to fire your guns, we can begin on phase 2."

"Gunner Yuri is ready and locked on target. Let's kick some ass."

"Gunner Butcher is good to go."

"Gunner Kenji is riding the razor's edge of destruction! I need to kill something.

"Gunner Min has missiles ready to launch."

There was a pause as everyone waited for the Navigator. Milo was staring at the maximum number of screens allowed in SC6. Milo had gone with a non-standard navigation build:

Upgrade Sensors and Communications from Level 2 to Level 3

Upgrade Sensors and Communications from Level 3 to Level 4 (Launches two sensor platforms into the system at the start of the game.)

Upgrade Sensors and Communications from Level 4 to Leve 5 (Launches six sensor platforms into the system prior to the game.)

Upgrade Sensors and Communications from Level 5 to Leve 6 (Makes use of all allied sensor networks in the system.)

Allow Flight Computer to act as Port Gunner

Allow Flight Computer to act as Starboard Gunner

Points allocated to Commander slot: 6

The six sensor platforms were scattered around the sphere, giving him data on ship movements, asteroids, and gravimetric anomalies. Each Sensor had two screens available showing the data they collected. In addition, he had screens showing any information gained by the sensors controlled by his teammates. Right now, he was watching the movements of the dozens of small asteroids that used to be parts of larger asteroids. Some were behaving oddly, showing the gravity effects of black holes. Two more minutes passed as he stared at his screens before he answered the Commander.

"Navigation is ready to acquire additional sensor platforms. All fusion plants have controlled energy production. Ready for Warp Jump on your command."

Including the Experimental and Highly Untested Quad-Fusion System in her build made Belinda nervous. It had to be constantly monitored and adjustments made. One slip and one of the four fusion plants could go critical, causing a domino effect that turned the ship into an expanding cloud of glowing gas and ending their game. Ghost had claimed he could handle the upgraded power system and had practiced with it. He'd started to talk about developing R-to-the-6th algorithms to anticipate power surges when Butch stopped him and said to Belinda, "Better to trust him when he says he can do something. The explanation will melt your brain." Nods from the rest of the gang convinced her to trust him as well.

The rest of Ghost's suggested builds were also odd. They were scrapping the LAC for two more Weapons Platforms. Each one took:

Increased Missile Storage (+100)

Increase Missile Loadout from Heavy to Ship Killer

Install Missile Targeting Computer to assist Gunner

Upgrade Sensors

Points allocated to Commander Slot: 2

This gave her 14 points to spend. Ghost had suggestions for how to use them.

Upgrade Engines to Level 2

Upgrade Engines from Level 2 to Level 3

Upgrade Engines from Level 3 to Level 4

Add Warp Drive System to Level 4 Engines

Upgrade Fission Power Plant to Advanced Fission System (AFS), Increasing Power from 4 points to 6 points. (2 upgrade points)

Upgrade AFS to Standard Fusion Power Plant (SFPP), Increasing Power from 6 points to 8 points. (2 upgrade points)

Upgrade SFPP to an Experimental and Highly Untested Quad-Fusion System. (BOOM!) Increasing power from 8 to 12 (Free!)

2 Levels of shield upgrades

5 Lithium-Cobalt-Ion system for +2 energy storage. (Single use.)

"Could you explain your reasoning to me? All I see is us getting turned into a wreck in the first two rounds of combat. The Warp Jump drains four energy points for minutes, and the increased weapons systems take another 4 points. That leaves only four energy for the shields before we start burning through the one-use batteries. We can't sustain the power output. And your points aren't used well. If you don't upgrade the flight computer, it can't help calculate missile targeting, and why all the sensors? Especially since we don't have allies?"

"Not yet. But we will. Butch? Can you get everyone into the Weapons System simulation I showed you? We need some practice. I'll go over the build with Belinda." Ghost walked to a quiet spot in the room. Belinda came behind him in her wheelchair. She wasn't quite sure what to think about him. They had teamed up together in many of the video games. She'd been a little shocked when he treated her completely like a normal person. Was it because of his own handicap? The rest of the gang were similar, but she could tell they hadn't been around someone with her severe mobility problems.

Ghost sat down on the ground and pulled out a datapad. "Some of the other teams were cheating. Ubergear bugged the places where the two independent teams hung out. They have their builds and are setting up an alliance to take the rest of us out. Ubergear paid off the other two teams, making them the overall winner. I looked at everything in the rules of SC6, and it doesn't mention pre-game spying. Is that legal?"

Belinda didn't doubt that they had done it. It sounded all too plausible. She was sick to death of dealing with her father and the sponsors for the event. Things had started simple, but John was making promises he shouldn't have. "Legal in SC6? It doesn't say you can't, so they'll claim it's all fair. Whether it's legal to bug or hack the other team depends on the laws or rules in that country. But corporations are always hacking each other. It's just part of doing business. Morally? That's a tricky question. Corporations don't have morals. Most humans I deal with don't either; I'm finding out."

Ghost nodded but looked unsure. "So, Is that a yes or a no?"

Belinda didn't understand where the conversation was going. "I don't know. I can't stop them. They already did it. If I report it, nothing will happen. It really makes me wish I could beat them at their own game and stomp the hell out of them in SC6. Is that what this weird build is about? A longshot chance that you can take them by surprise?"

Ghost handed her the datapad. "Look at this, and then you tell me if you still want to stomp the hell out of them."

Belinda watched the two-minute-long video, and handed back the datapad. "Yeah, let's go stomp the hell out of them. But I want some promises. One, no one talks about this counter-espionage. And secondly, you have to show me how someone broke into John's security system."

Milo nodded. The security of Manpower's system was poor. Fixing it wouldn't affect his ability to get in again; he already had the access codes. "So you can make sure it doesn't happen again? I get it."

Belinda smiled. "That, and so I can use it to keep tabs on my step-father. If he isn't playing fair with me, I don't see why I must be a good girl. Now explain the rest of this build and tell me about the plan."

Navigator Maclintock of the derelict ship, SS NamelessOrder, received the incoming call from Captain Joe of the SS GoodOldBoys.

"Holy Shit! Congrats. That was some David and Goliath shit. You tore them apart!"

Mac laughed. "Yeah, those LAC were blowing up like popcorn, and then we were in range for the energy beams to take them out. Not much of us left. Sam and I are playing pong against each other and watching the rest of the battle. We're out of it. Not in last, though."

Joe chuckled. "Maybe not 5th place either. Claw Master wants a deal. They just sent me a message proposing a three-way alliance. You are technically still alive and have sensor platforms they want to use. Strangely, so do we. Almost like someone anticipated the situation."

"Really? 1-2-3 finish, I assume, with them on top?"

"Nope, they want to go with a team finish, and we split prizes equally. They said you did your part already; now it's up to the two of us to do the rest."

"Well, hell. As the ranking officer of this wreck, I agree. Go teach them not to mess with a bunch of old spacers."

Milo now had twelve additional screens in front of him, breaking up his three large screens. He could see everything going on across the battlefield, and the effects of the gravitational anomalies were easier to calculate. He used the fire control computer to send targets and courses for the next missile launch.

"The is Ghost in Navigation, Commander. Ready to launch missiles."

"Copy that, Navigation. All Gunners: Use the data sent to you and start sending our friends some presents. Four volleys, then switch to the second set of data, and launch four more times."

A chorus of comments filled the channel, as the four players launched missiles. Every round, four ship-killer heavy missiles were fired, sixteen in all. Then they shifted to the next target and repeated the same launch. A minute later, the other ships took notice. SS ClawMaster was far enough away that the other ships had a delay of over a minute to see the launches—light and radio waves took their time to travel that far.

"Prepare for Warp Jump. Keep that damn powerplant under control, Navigator." Belinda crossed her fingers on her left hand, marveling that she could even do that, and engaged the Warp Drive. SS ClawMaster crossed half the sphere and was suddenly a player in the upcoming battle. She shifted her remaining power to shields for the next minute as the powerplant suddenly dropped to only eight available power points. They were still out of the effective missile range of the other two ships, but that didn't mean they wouldn't try. A lucky shot with no shields could do terrible damage to a ship, crippling a system and even destroy it.

Aboard SS Gearhead, the captain was swearing. "Shit, Claw Master bought a Warp Drive. I half suspected that. It fits in with how dumb they were playing. Be ready for them to launch missiles at us and try to help out."

The rest of the crew were laughing. "Now we don't have to hunt them down."

"You mean missiles that aren't aimed at rocks or empty space? They must have wasted half of their ordinance screwing around."

"And revealed they took a gunship. No LAC to worry about sneaking in behind us."

"What the hell?! They just warped again? They've got no power for anything now."

SS GoodOldBoys saw the first warp jump and were utterly surprised when their allies showed up close behind them on the second. The ClawMaster ship had started with a higher speed than it's ally and now was coasting up beside them, using minimal engines. "We have help, guys. Not sure how much after they drain eight power for the next couple of minutes. Gearhead and Powerdrink will be hitting us in less than two minutes."

"Captain Joe, sensors are showing that Powerdrink has four LAC bays, empty ones. That confirms it. They don't have anything but defensive lasers. All the guns are on Gearhead."

"And that's where all of our shots are going. Get ready."

All four ships approached each other, three armed with extended-range, ship-killer missiles, and the fourth protected its partner with shields and defensive lasers. When they came into extreme range, they would all start firing. The chance of hitting with a missile was slight, but they all had enough ammunition for this engagement.

ClawMaster was running on fumes and batteries after the two warp jumps. Milo was silent as he tried to simultaneously keep the reactors from exploding and lay in targeting for the gunners. Two hops with the warp drive had added significantly to the variation in the power levels of the quad-fusion system. People had experimented with warp drives and the Experimental and Highly Untested Quad-Fusion System but with no success. Two warp jumps meant a huge explosion seconds later. As people watching realized what SS ClawMaster had inside of her, bets were taken for just when she would go BOOM.

If Milo were asked at that moment if he was having fun, the answer would have been "yes", but he wouldn't have answered since every bit of his mind was working as fast as possible to keep track of everything that was happening simultaneously. He knew he had to hold things together for another minute but wasn't sure if he could do it.

Missiles were launched. All three ships' gunners were firing off shots as fast as possible. Everything from ClawMaster and GoodOldBoys was aimed at the Gearhead ship. Gearhead had elected to send its fire against GoodOldBoys, knowing ClawMaster couldn't fire missiles without dropping their shields, even if they did have a suicidal fusion system pumping out twelve power. This led to some cursing as both of their enemies spat out missiles.

"All gunners, target ClawMaster; they can't have anything but batteries to power those shields. Knock down those shields and blow them up.

The first wave of missiles hit, SS Gearhead and SS GoodOldBoys losing two shield generators as the powerful payloads exploded in front of them. The cost of shields at this close range was expensive. The front shields could be powered for only one point, but to protect everything but the rear of the ship took two points. As the ships got closer, batteries were drained or burned out, and more damage was taken.

Belinda switched all her power to her front shields, cutting off any further missiles. They'd need them to survive what was coming at them. Butch was cursing, and everyone else yelled as the enemy missiles approached. The first wave hit them, destroying two shields to the front and rocking them all in their chairs. Two more hits came in, burning out their one-use batteries.

Belinda yelled at him. "How long till Plan Slingshot happens? And how did I let you talk me into this? Are you sure this will work?"

Ghost was concentrating as hard as he could on many equations and constantly looking at a dozen screens. "I never know. I make plans; the first plan usually doesn't work, so I make stuff up as I go. We'll know in ten seconds."

More missiles came in. ClawMaster took two more hits, burning out the last of their shields and causing the fusion generators to go wild. SS GoodOldBoys had come close to them to help take out incoming missiles with their defensive lasers.

On the SS Gearhead, people were cheering. "We've got them. The next missile will take them out."

The scream from their navigator cut across their voices. "SHIT! Missiles! A bunch of them. Put the shields to the rear! All shields to the rear!"

The Captain had no idea why he was screaming, and shifting the shields was a stupid idea. Or it was, until he saw the group of fourteen missiles coming from directly behind his ship, where he had no protection. With no shields to stop them, every missile that got through would cause damage. Two missiles had been lost to the gravitation of a black hole when Milo used it to change their course and accelerate their velocity. Knowing where the gravimetric anomalies were, and how strong, had made it possible to weave his missiles past two black holes, each one changing course and sling-shotting the ship-killers to a higher velocity. Now, with their target in front of them, and receiving targeting data from SS ClawMaster, they began their attack runs.

Two were off target; Milo was juggling too many things to make last-minute adjustments in their courses. Of the twelve missiles on target, defensive laser fire took out four. The other eight missiles hit SS Gearhead in the unprotected rear. Bulkheads shattered and the kinetic energy of the eight warheads blasted deep into the ship. The damage was too much. No ship could take it, and she exploded into a ball of fire, killing everyone.

Milo yelled at Belinda. "Emergency Warp Jump. Anywhere. Do it!" He saw his fusion plants beginning to spiral out of control, with only one result possible. If he blew up this close to their ally, both ships would die. Belinda eyeballed her jump without calculations and hit the button. The ship disappeared and returned to the universe only a half mile from SS Powerdrink. Milo didn't even try to stop the explosion.

SS ClawMaster made SC6 history for two reasons: First for successfully firing an ultra-long-range missile barrage and sling-shotting it around the gravitational field of two black holes and hitting an enemy ship. Secondly, for making three successful Warp Jumps with a quad-fusion system in a row.

And then she exploded, becoming a glowing ball of hydrogen gas, taking SS Powerdrink with her. Her allies were cheering wildly and crawling out of their cockpits. Milo, Belinda, and the rest of the team exited their cockpits to see the message on the overhead banners.

Shared Victory: Team Good Old Boys-Team Nameless Order-Team Claw Master