Dark Fate, Chapter 201

Chapter 201 – Pillow Talk

“How is progress on the moon base for the North Koreans going?” Song Ai, the Chinese Ambassador to Ceres, asked, pantingly. Poor thing was several months pregnant, so it wad understandable that she was breathless after our ‘working lunch’ which mainly involved the two of us, plus Kitamura Ema, the Japanese Ambassador, doing little eating (of food, at least), but instead engaging in ‘cultural exchanges’ of the carnal variety.

Of course, I had played nice with the two of them. Ai was several months pregnant, and it showed, while Ema had just given birth to a healthy litter of four kits. Her body was still recovering from the ordeal, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t have some fun, especially with an attentive lover. Indeed, I would argue (and did) that it meant she deserved a bit of relaxation while the maids looked after the babies for a while.

Stroking Ai’s doming belly, I grinned. “Oh, the construction is almost finished. The design they decided on was primarily underground. Limited the maintenance concerns from micrometeors and the like, as well as providing at least some defense from enemy attack. Just about the only parts above ground is a transmitter to connect to their people back on Earth, and a small, reinforced hangar for shuttles to land at. The actual base is underground, along with the hangar facilities for their fighters.”

“And because you’re just carving things out and reinforcing them, it takes less time than building a functioning base from scratch, yes?”

“Precisely. In fact, we’re already moving some of the Stage 1 machines to Ganymede to begin work there, while the Stage 2 machines finish up on the base. We bring in actual people to do Stage 3, but that is primarily organizing furniture and the like, putting different coats of paint on to ensure people aren’t just staring at bare rock, and doing a final check of all the systems before we start bringing in colonists.”

“Isn’t that information pretty sensitive?” Ema asked. “Should you really be discussing this with us?”

“Oh, no. That information is all available on the official website for the project, as well as the location of the future colony. I haven’t told you anything that isn’t publicly available, except confirming the timeline is on schedule, far ahead of where a typical construction project would be on Earth.”

“And the fact that you’ve automated much of the process means that you can have the machines running twenty-four hours a day, rather than in shifts.”

“That, too. You have to use standard templates for things with the automated system, but they’re very effective at using space properly, and even include junctures for air-tight doors to subdivide the base in the event of a decompression warning. Also serves as a way to lock down the base if you have intruders.”

Ema just shook her head. “Even with standard templates, and using System techniques and materials, six months to get a moon base to ‘almost ready’ is insane. Almost as insane as carving out Ceres and making it into the heart of a growing kingdom.”

“And let’s not forget all those ships in your growing fleet,” Ai said. “I notice you’ve added six of your ‘Oscuns-Class’ corvettes to the flotilla surrounding Ceres, and that massive dreadnought has been in your shipyard for a couple months, now. Ever since that squid ship left.”

“Well, my Privateer’s upgrades were done, so she set off to go raise hell with the Incux, and hopefully bring me some goodies to sell, in the hopes of buying out her wife’s contract. As for the dreadnought, well, the Black Tear of Night’s Folly is special. The species that made it is four-armed, and a good bit heavier than humans. The armor, sensors, and shields are better than anything we are currently able to make, and the weapons are all Tier 2, with the main gun being a Tier 3, so no need to do upgrades, there. Although we are swapping out some of the missile launchers for pulse torpedo launchers, simply because we don’t have the logistics for acquiring more of the missiles once they’re expended.”

“Why not? Do they require special machinery?”

“Yes, but also some of the materials are only found in dungeons that cater to Tier 3 individuals. Specifically, the power source is only found in Tier 3 Mechanical-focused dungeons. Oh, they could be created outside of dungeons, but doing so would require harnessing one hundred percent of the sun’s energy temporarily. Only a day or two per missile, which is not unreasonable for a Tier 3 weapon, but that is not an option for many reasons.”

Ai blinked once, and pulled herself into a seated position on the bed. “Just how powerful are those missiles?”

“Well, they create a miniature black hole. Not a big one, of course, and not long lasting. If someone turned one of them on Earth, for instance, there would still be roughly sixty percent of the planet left after the ‘compression’ phase, though that sixty percent might suffer a bit more damage when the compression stops, and sends everything shooting back out in the ‘release’ phase. Regardless, it would not be an enjoyable experience for anyone.”

“How many of these missiles do you have?”

“Five hundred in total. The Black Tear has two forward and two aft missile launchers, and eight launchers in broadside configuration to port and starboard. Much of the real estate on the dorsal and keel portions of the ship are taken up with other ship-to-ship or point defense systems, sensors, shields, and so on. Really, my daughter brings me the best gifts. Clearly, other timeline me raised her right.”

Both ambassadors looked as though they were having a bit of an existential crisis. Ema was the first to speak, though. “You mean, you have in your possession up to five hundred weapons capable of being planet-killers? And these are standard weapons for this Great Horde?”

“Those are standard ship-killers for the Great Horde,” I corrected. “Their version of planet-killers are quite a bit worse. I only have one of those, though. But you needn’t worry about the Great Horde, even if they come out here. They believe it is beneath their honor to use a nuke to kill a spider. One of their rules is that they limit the weapons they use to the approximate level of the civilization they are facing. The Black Tear is an anomaly, and so long as no one attempts to replicate it, or build more of its weapons, including the missiles, then they won’t bring that level of destruction upon the Sol System, when they eventually make their way out here.”

Ai took a deep breath to try and calm herself, and said, “I hate being pregnant right now, because I need several drinks, and can’t have them.”

While Ai hung her head and tried to get back to a place where things made sense, I looked over to Ema, and was pleased to see her forcing herself to think past the ‘oh shit’ feeling that was natural when first finding out about what kind of insanity a Great Horde Superdreadnought could bring to the table. “If those are ship-killers, not planet-killers, then it means that both ships and planets have more defenses in the coreward reaches of the spiral arm, right?”

“Exactly,” I nodded. “Of course, to build a shield capable of repelling Great Horde planet-killers, you would need not just craftsmen in Tier 3, but they would need a steady supply of Tier 3 materials, as well, which means finding Tier 3 dungeons, or growing the dungeons on Earth and in the solar system to Tier 3. And that is not a quick process, obviously.”

Ai made her recovery, and sighed. “So, enough about world-ending threats from groups that we can’t possibly defend against right now. I noticed that, in addition to the new ships, you also have several new squadrons of fighters. Including one type that I haven’t seen before.”

“Oh, yes, I’m building out the defenses for Ceres, just in case anyone starts getting stupid ideas while Mercurial and their task force are off conducting their missions. With the two new squadrons of Hunters, one new squadron of A-Pattern Interceptors, and the new Warthog heavy bombers, I’m happy to say that our fighter screen is now up to what we are anticipating for the full deployment around Ceres. Though we still have ships to add to the order of battle.”

Ema frowned. “Warthog heavy bombers?”

“Yes, basically, they’re designed to fill a role somewhere in the middle between the Hunters and the Renegades. Specifically, we’re hoping they’ll be effective for disabling enemy ships, rather than obliterating them, and that they’ll be able to provide close support for troops, which is something the Renegades are ill-equipped to do.”

The Japanese ambassador sighed. “And I suppose that the reason you let them be seen, and the reason you’re talking about them with us, is because you want other countries to eventually find out about it?”

“Indeed. What I’ve told you is not anything even approaching a state secret. Much like how the list of what ships different blue-water navies have, and what ports they’re based off of, with a general idea of what kind of weapons they have are all basically public knowledge. Oh, the exact strength of a ship’s radar systems, or the accuracy of their targeting sensors and other such stuff are all kept classified, but anyone can go look up the basic capabilities of the newest aircraft carrier or attack submarine to launch. After all, deterrents only work if the people you are trying to deter have enough information to be properly scared.”

“Well, I can’t exactly deny that,” Ai nodded. “If you don’t have enough of your capabilities known, then people don’t take the threat seriously. Especially if they believe that you have no options between the cannons on those Hunters, and a Renegade dropping antimatter blasts on their head. Sure, your actions in the Middle East have shown you’re willing to do that, but most people would assume you’re not going to nuke your own people. So, what can you tell us about these bombers?”

I grinned, and said, “Well, they have four external hardpoints under the wings, each capable of carrying munitions of varying types, two blaster cannons mounted on top of the wings, a plasma launcher, and our own version of the gun on the Americans’ A-10. Heavy armor, heavy shields, and capable of acting in space or in atmosphere. Speed in atmosphere is only Mach 1.5, which is respectable, but not world-shattering, but it can also hover, so there’s that. In space, since there’s no such thing as drag, it can get up to 0.1c, or one-tenth the speed of light.”

Ema glared at me. “Did you really just describe a shielded, armored bomber that can move at speeds in-atmosphere equivalent to some of the fastest modern fighters, but carries a weapons loadout that is like something the Americans would make, but on steroids, and try to pass it off as no big deal?”

“And what does this ‘plasma launcher’ even do?” Ai interjected.

My grin only got bigger as I got to brag a bit. “My designers really do know how to go all out. The plasma launcher basically just takes some gasses, which you can refill in any atmosphere, excites them until they become plasma, and launches them, with similar technology to the magnetic bottle used in the pulse torpedoes. After a certain amount of time, or when the bottle hits something solid enough? Boom.”

“And you thought that wasn’t enough, so you then had to have not just blaster cannons, but also a big gun capable of fully automatic fire?”

“That was all on the designers,” I said. “Honestly, I had to talk them down from a lot of stuff. They started looking into science fiction, and declassified ideas and experiments from the cold war. They really wanted to replicate Operation Plumbbob, but as a mobile, reloadable defense satellite.”

“Which one was that?” Ema asked.

“The time the US launched a manhole cover into space while doing underground nuclear tests.”

Ema sighed, clasping the bridge of her nose with her fingers. “And you put a stop to that, right?”

“Of course,” I said. “Bomb-pumped lasers are much more effective in space, anyways. But that wasn’t the real issue. My concern was what would happen if one of those shots missed. Because in space, things keep moving until they hit something. Even if it is in a whole other solar system. So, I put a stop to that. And don’t even get me started on the time-weapons they wanted to try!”

“The WHAT?!?” both women shrieked.