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| Lpnet2-100 Lpnet2: The 4D Earth War Chapter One: Callisto Colony Two Chapter Two: To Amplexa and Tranqua Chapter Three: Asteroid Mining, Politics, and War Chapter Four: Return to Earth Chapter Five: A Friendly Reunion Chapter Six: The Last Outpost Chapter Seven: Air-strike in the Night Chapter Eight: The Temporal Connection Chapter Nine: The Temporal Intersection Chapter Ten: Reunion with Old Friends Chapter Eleven: Ideals for the Future Chapter Twelve: Stonedancer Grounded |
The 4D Earth War
Chapter 3: Asteroid Mining, Politics, and War After the rest-period, I went back to the office and made all the routine checks on the security-system. Video-records revealed the fact that there had been another attempt to break into the station, but it had failed, like the others before it. I’d warned everyone about such foolish attempts, but they still tried and paid for it. So far, there had been eight attempts and five people killed. When were they going to learn? I had something to eat, refueled the Warbird, and decided to head out again. As I jetted out of the docking bay, I sent the proper signal to the station, and all the lights went off, leaving only the security system on minimal power. I jetted to the edge of the asteroid field and headed back toward the main space-lanes, clear of the obstacles and free to fly at top- speed on autopilot. It was still a week long ride at 25,000 kph. There was no need to rush it, as I had with the two girls, for it was not an emergency. With the course set and the autopilot doing the flying, I took the time to review the crystal-records and play a few video-games. A week later, I slowed upon approach to AMS 2 on the massive 500 kilometer wide asteroid Pallas, and sited the huge insect-like mining-ship, the AMV-1000. I made radio contact and was cleared to dock. Minutes later, I was escorted to the head of the huge ship by a junior officer; and admitted to Captain Nezmot’s large office. “Querzo, good to see you,” she said, as we shook hands. “Likewise, Captain,” I agreed, as she directed me to a seat by her desk. “I was just going to have an ice tea,” she said. “Join me?” I agreed, she got the drinks, set them on the desk, and sat down. “Now, to the business at hand,’ she said, and continued. “I can’t tell you exactly how many ships, but Mars has sent some to Earth to assist.” “The problem we are faced with,” she explained, “is in the numbers. We can’t send as many as we’d like because that would leave Mars defenseless in the event of an attack by the Europans.” “Of course,” I agreed. “What about the lunar stations? Still secure?” “Not quite,” she admitted. “Lunar stations 1 and 3 were attacked and suffered heavy damage. Station 2 is in the hands of the enemy. Our ships should reach the moon in about 2 months, and then maybe we’ll hear more.” I nodded thoughtfully and she cursed, showing obvious frustration. “At top-speed and it still takes 2 months!” she said. “Querzo, when are you going to share that Tranquan space-drive?” “Sorry, Captain,” I said defensively. “But that has not been a priority-project.” “Maybe it should be,” she insisted, swiveled in her seat and looked out the view-port with the thought hanging in the air. “You know we’ve had our hands full,” I reminded her, “with these solar-windships. Priority project no. 1 has been for a massive transport vessel, to help the race expand and take the pressure off of Earth. We haven’t had the time to experiment with small-scale cruise vehicles. The solar-windships are our best chance on the order of population-control, not little warships.” “Well,” she said, “I tended to agree, until now. The damn fools haven’t had the patience to wait.” We let the thought hang and sipped our tea. “Meanwhile,” I said, changing the subject. “What about Astraea? I thought the AMV agreed to let Europa have it?” “We did,” she admitted, “But if I were you, I’d take a look at Ganymede. We don’t have complete control over them, you know, and in their own way, they’re just as uppity as Europa. If you recall, they had interest in Astraea and contested the Europan claims on it.” “Hmm...,” I said, “I had some suspicion, I’ll admit, but they haven’t given us much trouble since ‘90. You’re not just trying to shift responsibility, I hope?” “Querzo, don’t,” she said. “You know I’ve always been on the level with you.” “Perhaps,” I said, “however, there are 3 AMVs. You, dear Captain, only command 1. Can you honestly say that you know what the other 2 are doing?” She nodded and sipped her tea. “I’ll admit that point,” she said. “But such is life. I can say the same to you about the Jovian colonies.” We both nodded agreeably and attempted a short truce, I checked the time and thought. “If the dispute is with Ganymede,” I said. “Then I shouldn’t have to worry too much. But we both know that Mars has favored Ganymede since ‘80. If I find any indication of Martian support for Ganymede’s claims on Astraea, the Europans won’t like it.” “Yes,” she said. “I understand. I’ll check around and let the other Captains know your position. But do us a favor, Querzo. If you find Martian support in it, don’t lose your cool. The admiralty is still unsettled about the Hygeian incident.” “What about it?” I said, feigning ignorance. “I wasn’t there. I never saw a thing.” Actually, I had been there, but with the Warbird in the cloaked mode the whole time, and they couldn’t prove it. “Sure, Querzo, sure,” she said, realizing there was no way to confirm her suspicions. “I don’t suppose the Tranquans had a cloaking device, and just because there’s no way to explain how 5 Martian ships lost a fight with 2 Europan ships, doesn’t necessarily mean there was a third party involved.” “As I understand it,” I argued mildly, “the dispute was settled with minimal casualties.” “It’s also just a coincidence,” she added, “that Hygeia fell into the hands of Callisto?” “Nezmot, let’s not argue,” I said. “Callisto has been sharing the elements of Hygeia equally between Mars and the Jovian colonies, and you can take my word for that.” She looked at me with a poker face, then nodded and agreed. “You’re right,” she said. “So we can expect Callisto on Astraea if our suspicions are confirmed?” “Not necessarily,” I admitted. “I’m not sure we’ll get involved in this one. As I see it, with Mars sending ships to Earth and maintaining its own defense, they may decide to back off of Astraea. After all, this dispute began before the Earth war. I think I’ll give Mars the benefit of the doubt this time. If it backs off Astraea now, we’ll consider the matter settled.” “I see,” she said. “You could be right, but what if they decide to hang on?” “We’ll see. Let them know Callisto’s stand. After all, the war on Earth is enough for us to worry about, and we don’t want Europa to use Astraea as an excuse for siding with the Minor League of Third World Nations, do we?” “Good point,” she said. “I’ll be sure to mention it to the others. What about the windships? Any way to speed the construction?” “I’ve considered that,” I admitted. “If we add another shift, we might be able to complete them faster, but not by much. At the very least, we could be ready to sail in 2 months.” She nodded. “I’m sorry Mars hasn’t participated,” she said, “with much enthusiasm. The Solestra won’t be ready to sail for another year. Perhaps now they’ll see the necessity of mass-transport. I just hope we aren’t too late.” I checked the time and decided to get going back to Callisto. “Let me know what the others say about Astraea,” I said, as I stood up to leave. Nezmot stood to see me out. “Say hello to T'rwani,” she said, as she walked me out into the corridor. “Yes, of course,” I agreed, “stop by the temple anytime, Captain.” The trip back to Callisto took 3 days at 50,000 kph. For the past 3 years, lengthy trips had become regular, bimonthly excursions, back and forth between the Jovian moons and the asteroids, and I’d become accustomed to it. |
Chapter Thirteen: Rebels in the Aftermath Chapter Fourteen: Temporal Relativity Chapter Fifteen: The Hand was Forced Chapter Sixteen: Ion Trace to the West Chapter Seventeen: A Warlord and an Evacuation |