Chapter 20: Odds are for Defying

Fifteen minutes later, after emptying my bladder and getting refreshments, I had just rejoined the others at the viewscreen when the entry chime sounded.

“Wilma and Bastion Williams-Pompas are waiting outside,” Ohmu reported.

“Oh good, they were able to make it!” Hannah exclaimed.

“Please see them in, Ohmu,” I said as the android sprung to its feet, anticipating my request.

When Ohmu released and opened the door, young Bastion ran past her with barely a glance. The boy made a beeline directly to Nanna Hannah, causing all of us to smile. Wilma entered and greeted Ohmu, who directed her toward our group.

I stood up to introduce her to my son, grandson, and Adele. When she met Adele and learned that the watch party was being recorded for posterity, Wilma seemed to grow nervous and shy. She also looked curiously at the temporarily-abandoned shell of the Princess of Mars, but was polite enough to not ask.

“Ohmu, if her Highness is not going to join us for the finale, please direct her augment to move the shell to one of the back chairs so our new guest can have a prime seat,” I said.

If Ben was bothered by my somewhat-brazen request, he kept it to himself. Instead, he stood and helped Wilma get seated into the newly vacated space next to him. I was happy to see that Alek and Ben quickly made Wilma feel at home. Hannah was listening raptly as Bastion whispered to her animatedly, probably catching her up on his recent activities.

The group’s attention was brought back to the ongoing attack when a new window opened on the viewer. It was showing the Sarissa wormhole already deep into energizing for activation. Seconds later, the wormhole formed and a sensor stalk was inserted into the aperture. The countdown to impact dropped below three minutes.

The view switched from third-person to the point of view from the sensor’s telescope. At first, the view panned around the distant star field getting its bearings. Soon, it found and zoomed in on a fuzzy, dumbbell-shaped object. From the object’s small size, the Sarissa wormhole must have been positioned at some distance from the enemy Ark.

“How far is the observation wormhole from the Ark?” I asked.

“Forty-five thousand kilometers,” Ohmu replied.

Simultaneously, a new indicator appeared on the map chart display. A green point near the top of the map labeled Sarissa. It was noticeably further out from the Ark than the three micro-probes sent earlier.

Also prominent on the map was a long red dashed line slowly drawing closer to the Ark—the trace tracking the terminal approach of the first pair of missiles. The number displayed below the trace included a timer reading just under ninety seconds and the distance remaining, which was at twenty-two thousand kilometers and dropping fast.

Three similar traces were headed toward the Ark but were still much further away. These represented the three following missile pairs and their timers were showing just over eleven minutes, fourteen minutes, and twenty-three minutes until impact.

“One minute!” Ben said excitedly.

He was on the edge of his seat and I quickly surveyed the others to find varying levels of excitement and anxiety on display. Adele, who was the only adult younger than Ben, looked nervous. She kept checking that her imager was functioning and was probably controlling her anxiety by focusing on her duties.

I couldn’t read Dejah, the youngest adult present, because she was still off in virtual being royal. For a moment I considered using Naomi’s override to pop into her virtuality to spy, but I was nowhere near curious enough about the princess to do something as underhanded as that. Besides, if I had spied and found that she was tuning out today’s events, I don’t think I would have been able to hide my disappointment from Ben.

Bastion, the youngest attendee, was still sitting in Hannah’s lap, quietly watching the map display but also occasionally whispering with Hannah. I looked at my old friend to see if the boy was bothering or distracting her but she looked serene; far calmer than I would have expected.

I realized with a smile that the young lad being here was just the right thing to settle her nerves. She was truly destined to nurture and rear children. I looked to ambassador Riho and found she was studying me as I took in the group. She was smiling also and just gave me a nod before turning back to the view screen.

Ben had just started audibly counting down from thirty seconds when there was a bright flash from the window relaying the Sarissa spotting scope.

“Oh, oh!” Alek said excitedly. “That’s way too early!”

There was a second bright flash that formed at the edge of the rapidly-dimming but still-expanding ball of plasma centered on the location of the original flash.

“The first weapon detonated prematurely at 29.4 seconds and at 7,258 kilometers distance from the enemy Ark. The second weapon detonated 0.8 seconds later at 7,126 kilometers distance,” Ohmu reported.

I looked to my ex-wife for her reaction but was met with the blank expression of someone who had already dropped into virtual. Of course, she would want access to all the data we’d gathered regarding the premature detonations. Alek, Ben, Riho, and Wilma soon followed, dropping out of the real to troll for more data in virtual.

I debated on whether to follow them into the digital realms but decided to stay here with Hannah, Bastion, and Adele. Besides, Ohmu would inform me of any new data discoveries or if my active presence was needed in the public forum. Additional data appeared near the large explosions. The estimates of observed explosive yields matched those predicted for the amounts of antimatter each warhead contained.

“Dammit! Seven and a quarter thousand klicks!” I exclaimed, smacking the armrest of the sofa. “At that distance, the warhead explosion was probably too far from the Ark to cause damage?”

“That is a logical assumption, John,” Ohmu replied. “The AI advisory council has reviewed the Sarissa imagery multiple times and has detected an anomalous energy signature near the time and location of the first weapon’s detonation. The anomaly occurred 0.9 seconds before the first weapon exploded.

“Further discrimination and analysis is ongoing but it is highly probable that the anomaly caused the loss of the first weapon. Also, the failure of the second weapon is almost certainly due to its proximity to the first explosion, as the second weapon’s antimatter containment field would not have withstood the intense gamma saturation from the first.”

“We’ve programmed the other three missile pairs to travel further apart, right?” Hannah asked.

“That is correct, Hannah,” Ohmu replied. “As planned, the first pair remained in close proximity to one another to better preserve the element of surprise. With that no longer being a consideration, the following missile’s courses were programmed to diverge to a much greater extent.”

“Maybe that will help them evade whatever got the first missile,” I commented.

“That remains a possibility. Also, there was a slight possibility that the first missile detonated simply by accident. The containment fields are not infallible, after all,” Ohmu reminded me.

I hadn’t forgotten bad luck. None of our warheads had exploded by accident back at the munitions depot ... yet. But it was theorized that if the correct type of random ultra-massive cosmic ray particle collided with the delicately balanced suspension fields, there could be an accidental explosion. We’d so far dodged that bullet by sheer good luck. I had to admit our luck was probably due for balancing.

“Let’s hope it was indeed just ‘bad luck’ and that the enemy has no way to counter the remaining three salvos,” I said.

The grim expressions on the faces of the others indicated that they remained doubtful.

“Uncle John?” Bastion asked.

Uncle? I looked at the smiling Hannah who just shrugged.

“Yes, little guy?” I replied, my worry now replaced with a smile.

“Does this mean that we can’t beat the Ark aliens?”

“No, not at all,” I replied soothingly. “Today’s attack was just the first attempt ... more of a test really. We had expected there to be problems and needed to see what would happen and how the enemy would respond. Now smart people will go figure out what went wrong with the first missile and come up with a better plan.”

He frowned, still looking worried.

“Remember, Bastion,” I continued. “The enemy Ark is still over a century away. We’ve got a lot of time to stop it. You will be all grown up and old when the Ark finally passes by our solar system. Heck, you may one day be the scientist who finally figures out how to defeat the Assemblage.”

Bastion’s expression morphed from worry into wonder as he considered what I’d told him. I caught Adele backing away with her imager and giving me a ‘thumbs up’ gesture. She’d noticed our interaction and had moved in to capture it intimately!

I was momentarily pissed at the intrusion and was debating on whether to have Naomi erase Adele’s footage of the encounter. But I decided to let it stand as I’d agreed to have everything be recorded and I did trust Adele to not exploit or distort the true account of what was happening.

On the viewscreen, the Sarissa window winked out. I put my irritation at Adele’s imaging behind me to again focus on the ongoing attack. “What’s happening?” I asked Ohmu.

“As planned, the Sarissa surveillance wormhole has been temporarily suspended,” the android reported. “This was to save energy reserves on Vesta and also out of caution due to increased electromagnetic scanning emissions now ongoing in the vicinity of the Ark. The wormhole will be reformed in six minutes to observe the closure of the second pair of missiles.”

We’d kicked the hornet’s nest and although we’d expected our first missiles would cause the enemy to become alert to our attacks, it would have been nice if they’d also had to deal with damage control from a successful impact. Unfortunately, it looked like the undamaged Ark would be able to devote its full awareness to watching for additional warheads.

“Ohmu, did the Sarissa record anything happening on the surface of the Ark just before the warhead exploded?” Hannah asked.

“Nothing has been detected as of yet,” Ohmu replied. “This may be due to the limited view of the Ark from the fixed location observation telescope. It is possible that the closer-positioned micro-probes will have recorded something, however.”

“I sure hope we will still be able to retrieve the three probes, now that we’ve awakened the enemy,” I muttered.

“The probes are very stealthy,” Ohmu explained. “Even if full physical retrieval proves impossible, the Sarissa wormhole only requires a few seconds in the vicinity of each probe to retrieve its recorded data via burst transmission.”

That was true. It also meant that if we could clandestinely retrieve the probe’s data via burst transmission, they could continue to remain in place, watching and recording. They were set to destroy themselves automatically when their batteries were depleted or if they were detected and about to be captured or physically inspected.

A new countdown appeared showing four minutes until the Sarissa wormhole was reformed to scout the next weapons arrival. I suddenly felt the urge to fetch myself another shot of Martian whiskey.

Ohmu broke the tension when she reported, “The AI advisory council has just confirmed that the detected anomaly was responsible for the loss of the first weapon. Using enhanced discriminating filter algorithms recently developed for the Argus Array, a compact fusion event occurred which released a coherent energy discharge. This discharge appears to have been targeted on the first missile, causing it to fail by either direct physical damage or by oversaturation of its antimatter containment field, or both.”

I tried to parse the new information. “What does that mean exactly, Ohmu?”

“While more data will be required to rule out other mechanisms, it is probable that the enemy destroyed our weapon with a directed energy particle lance. The impetus of the lance being a small fusion device prepositioned in a location trailing the enemy Ark,” Ohmu explained.

“A mine?” Hannah asked.

“Yes Hannah, a mine with a stand-off destructive capability would be the most logical assumption.”

“Ohmu, why does this sound familiar to me?” I asked. Had I dreamt of something like this?

“If you recall, Naomi employed similar technologies in its orbital attack on the Master AI space station now referred to as High Castle,” Ohmu explained.

Hannah looked confused so I added, “Back when Naomi and I defeated the Master AI, we distracted its awareness before our cyborgs infiltrated its space station. This distraction was by an attack using missiles armed with stand-off warheads. The missiles were intercepted but not before they triggered their warheads, which despite happening at some distance from the enemy space station, still caused damage by high energy directed particle jets.”

I turned to Ohmu. “We used big fission bombs for those missiles. I take it that the no fission byproducts were detected from the Ark anomaly?”

“Correct, John. The lack of detected fission byproducts would indicate that a small fusion-only device powered the directed particle streams. The logical method of fusion initiation being by transmitted DET energy from the Ark itself. This conclusion is reinforced by data learned from the Picket persona regarding the enemy’s usage of antimatter.”

“I’m not following, Ohmu,” I admitted.

Ohmu continued, “Any compact fusion device capable of inducing particle streams like was detected would require advanced gamma energy diffraction technologies similar to those used to fully harness antiproton energy. You will recall that such technologies were recently discovered by Uxe for use in the deceleration stages employed on each of the three interstellar vessels thus far launched by humans.”

Ah, now I understood the point the android was making. The news that the Assemblage possessed similar technologies to that which I thought we’d developed supposedly on our own was troubling. I wondered what else had they developed. Had they also discovered wormhole technology? Or, did they understand enough wormhole theory to be actively watching for our use of wormholes?

What if they had the ability to make wormholes but simply lacked the energy needed to freely utilize them. Were they holding back energy to use wormholes if there was a dire need? Like maybe, a dire need such as our attack? I felt myself beginning to panic as my mind ran away into speculation.

“Ohmu? Has there been any indications that the Assemblage is using or understands wormhole theory?” I finally asked.

“None at this time, John. Four of the previously-deployed scout sensor probes contained subspace pocket gravimetric interferometers, none of which detected the telltale signature of wormhole aperture formation,” Ohmu explained.

I recalled that we’d been developing methods to remotely detect wormhole usage. The current focus of these detection methods was to scan for the slight tugs in the local gravity field created whenever the wormhole machinery tore open a sizable hole in space. The amount of gravimetric distortion created depended on the size of the wormhole.

So far, we’d been able to remotely detect the creation of larger apertures but the smaller diameter wormholes like the micro-com portals remained evasive. Also, the interferometers worked better the closer they physically were to the forming wormhole. That our scouting probes had not detected any wormholes only meant that they had not detected any wormholes of decent size. This meant that the enemy could still have the technology but was limiting it to only micro-hole communication at this time.

“Additionally, the closest of the spotting micro-probes currently deployed near the enemy Ark contains a newly-developed more-advanced pocket interferometer,” Ohmu added. “With its current relatively-close proximity to the enemy Ark, the micro-probe’s interferometer should be capable of detecting wormhole aperture formations as small as five centimeters.”

Another reason to hope for the success of the pending Sarissa data retrieval mission to the micro-probes. I took a deep breath to get my worry under control. Occam’s razor pointed towards the Assemblage not having the technology. I decided that until we knew for sure, it was not worth worrying about.

As the countdown to the next missile pair’s arrival continued ticking down, the others began to trickle back from where they’d gone in virtual. Ben was first to return followed by Riho and Wilma. Alek remained in virtual and at my gesture, Ohmu informed me that he was going to remain in virtual with his mother.

The window from Sarissa opened and we watched as the scout wormhole formed a second time. The sensor probe was inserted into Ark-space as before but this time on the opposite side of the Ark. The view again switched to the point-of-view of the sensor’s telescope and shortly after, the magnified enemy Ark was visible.

The Ark appeared much smaller this time as the second sensor wormhole had been created at nearly twice the distance of the first. The extra distance was both because we expected the enemy would be looking harder and also because we were leaving our wormhole active much longer. Since the duration between the second and third salvos was only three minutes, we intended to leave the sensor wormhole active until after the third pair of missiles arrived on target.

I held my breath as the countdown to missile arrival dropped below fifty seconds, about twenty seconds before the time when the first missile had been destroyed. I found myself rapidly switching between the map display and its crawling missile traces and the live image from the deployed sensor. As each second ticked off, I mentally braced myself for the sudden harsh glare of a detonating warhead.

“The deployed sensor is detecting a much higher level of energy emanating from the enemy Ark,” Ohmu reported.

It only made sense that the now-fully-alert enemy had increased its radar and visual scanning. The map display indicated the increased activity by showing red searching arcs emanating from the enemy Ark. There were also energy emissions being emitted from a half dozen points behind the Ark at distances of over twenty-six thousand kilometers.

“Five emission sources other than the Ark have been detected. This confirms that the enemy has independent platforms traveling in formation with the main Ark,” Ohmu added.

This time, just as the countdown passed thirty-seven seconds, we were able to see the anomalous energy release directly. I was just able to process the smaller flash when the screen went white from the much bigger flash.

“Shit!” Hannah cursed, causing the small boy still in her lap to giggle.

“Sorry!” she said embarrassed, looking at Wilma.

Bastion’s mother, still focused on the viewscreen hadn’t noticed. I looked quickly back to the map display. The indication for the first missile of the approaching pair had been replaced by a large X. The second trace was still closing on the enemy, however.

“Missile number three destroyed at 30.48 seconds, or approximately 8,700 kilometers from impact,” Ohmu reported, speaking quickly. “Missile number four is still on—”

The android was interrupted by a new flare on the just-now-recovering sensor image. This time it was Wilma who cursed.

“Correction ... the fourth missile has also been destroyed. Time of destruction, 28.06 seconds or approximately 8,050 kilometers from target.

“Son ... of ... a ... bitch!” I muttered, mostly to myself. The rest kept their thoughts to themselves as Ohmu reported random bits of data about the second failed salvo. The countdown continued for the third pair of missiles. At around ninety seconds remaining, a new window appeared next to the others. It was showing a blurry, very-magnified view of the long tapering inner shaft of the Ark.

“Multiple objects have been detected being launched from the surface of the enemy Ark,” Ohmu reported. “From analyzing the reflected energy emissions from the Ark itself, the AI advisory council has concluded that the size of each new device is approximately eight meters in diameter. Early indications are that the objects are maneuvering under their own control and heading towards the rear quarter of the Ark.”

“New mines to replace those that have been expended?” Ben asked.

“A logical assumption,” Ohmu replied. “Too little is yet known about the objects to make a full determination.”

“Ohmu? Will the new objects be in position in time to intercept the next pair of missiles?” I asked.

“No, John. The new objects are moving slowly and won’t have cleared the aft bulbous end of the Ark before weapons five and six arrive.”

The directed energy lances fired from the mines were line-of-site only so the aft end of the Ark would protect our missiles. I would also suspect that the mines needed to be a certain distance away from the Ark before they could be safely utilized.

Still, if the enemy was launching replacement mines now, that meant the current fleet of mines was finite in number. Maybe the remaining coverage was thin enough that our remaining missiles had a chance? And the remaining four missiles were traveling twenty percent faster. Maybe their minefield was too depleted to catch them this time?

Ohmu spoiled my growing excitement instantly, “Missile number five has just been destroyed.”

The window displaying the Sarissa telescope view panned further from the Ark quickly until an expanding ball of brilliant white energy overwhelmed the display. Missile number five had been intercepted so far from the Ark that it had happened outside the field-of-view of our sensor! Almost immediately, filters kicked in, dimming the harsh glare and revealing the same expanding ball of plasma we’d seen from the other interceptions.

“Time of destruction was seventy-six seconds before missile impact. Distance was over twenty-two thousand kilometers,” Ohmu reported almost stoically.

I glanced at my android friend and caught a digital frown on her expression.

“I am sorry, John,” Ohmu said consolingly. “But remember, we are obtaining valuable intelligence.”

Riho’s dull expression showed that she’d returned to virtual. I was sure it was due to the fact that there were many magnitudes of data available in the digital realm over what was being displayed on my simple wall screen. Ben and Wilma remained but looked sullen. Hannah’s expression was strained. She stood up with Bastion and headed for the kitchen unit, probably to distract him, and herself, with a snack.

She’d only made it half way when Ohmu reported missile number six’s destruction. So ended salvo number three. No one spoke for over a minute as the explosions dissipated and the Sarissa sentry was withdrawn, suspending our wormhole coverage. The observing telescope would return in eight minutes to follow the last pair of missiles. With the loss of the first three salvos, none of us had much hope that the fourth would make it through to the Ark.

Sure enough, ten minutes later the show was over. The final score was oh and eight as all of our missiles had been intercepted before reaching the enemy. Alek, Riho, and Uxe had returned from virtual shortly after the Sarissa observation wormhole was suspended the final time. One bit of good news was that it seemed that our wormhole sensor had not been spotted. Nor had Sarissa detected the self-destruction of any of our micro-probes, indicating that those had likely not been spotted either.

This meant there was a decent chance that they would remain undetected until the small wormhole was sent back in to retrieve them or their data. This was scheduled to occur thirty hours from now, after Vesta’s energy reserves had been replenished. The delay would also give the enemy time to stand down its current heightened awareness level ... we hoped.

Three hours later, after sharing a nearly-silent evening meal with an equally preoccupied Riho, I was alone in my makeshift study trying to find solace by painting. I let my thoughts wander as my brushes moved across the canvas, creating a strange landscape my deeper mind had conjured up from the ether.

As I worked, I was surprised to find that I was not depressed over our failed attack. Well, maybe there was a touch of melancholy, but mainly I felt resolved. The mood had been somber when the watch party had broken up earlier. There had been a half hour of quiet discussion. Uxe had reported on a few additional bits of data she’d discovered while in virtual.

Ben and Dejah had been the first to leave, with the princess’s augment guiding her shell. She’d chosen to remain in virtual which I found bothered me less than I’d have expected. Ben had been bothered though and I noticed him visibly composing himself when her shell had uttered a single monotone “goodbye” as it exited.

I had held back a smirk as I watched her augment-guided shell follow him out the door like a puppy. I would see them both tomorrow when the three of us, and Ohmu, toured the Phobos complex. Wilma and Bastion were the next pair to leave. The little guy looked tired but had still given Nanna Hannah a hug that made us all smile.

Uxe left next along with Adele. Both would be departing Elon II and heading back to Phobos via shuttle. I’d suggested bumping her up the critical-needs queue to use the wormhole but she’d declined, saying that she used the travel time to rest. Adele was going with Uxe as she would be staying with my ex-wife tonight in preparation for filming my laboratory tour of the Phobos installation tomorrow.

Alek and Hannah had been the last to depart, and although they left together, I don’t think they had left as a couple. I’d see them again two days from now at the scheduled forum briefing to go over the intel learned from today’s failed attack. Although the meeting would happen in virtual, Uxe, Riho, and I planned to meet physically beforehand at my ex-wife’s lab. Alek and Hannah were attending in virtual only as our guests.

There would be hundreds of others from all across the solar system attending the virtual briefing with most being higher-level scientists and engineering specialists along with the more-interested directors. Despite the planned high attendance numbers, I expected the meeting to be productive and to the point, as only a select core group would be allowed to actively participate.

The rest of those attending would be observing only, although they could interact with the AIs freely if they wished. I’d insisted on this condition before I had agreed to attend. This early in the active war was no time to let our decision making devolve into large committee gridlock or politicking.

“That is an interesting landscape, John,” Riho exclaimed from over my shoulder, interrupting my recollections.

I stepped back to consider my work. As always, I was surprised at what my creative brain had accomplished while I had been lost in my thoughts.

“It is very ... stark, almost sterile?” she commented almost questioningly.

“It is a scene from Earth. From a long time ago, around five hundred years after the enemy destroyed my civilization.”

“I find it ... familiar for some reason,” she said curiously.

“That’s not surprising,” I replied quietly. “The scene is that of my acreage in North America, just after I had awakened from my first half-millennium-long bio-suspension. The world, especially the part where I lived, had been virtually wiped clean of life. All that I had found upon awakening was lichen and pond scum.”

“Yes, from my research I have found that your world was much more heavily damaged by the Assemblage than was Hemhome,” Riho said, using the now-commonplace human nickname substitute for her world’s name. Like every human, in her human shell, the alien ambassador found the world’s true name inarticulable.

Our silence stretched and I went back to work, dabbing on paint to highlight the setting sunlight reflecting on the still-frozen side of a ravine.

“You are a very-strong-willed person to have survived such solitude,” Riho remarked.

“I was broken, Xeo’tyle. But in some ways, that broken-ness kept the remorse away. Later, when I learned the truth that what had happened to my world had been planned, and who was responsible, the anger I felt kept me motivated.”

My creativity evaporated and I decided to call the work complete. I signed my initials in fine ink-like red paint, Bob Ross style. After sealing my remaining paints and tossing my soiled brushes and other consumables into the reducer, I headed off to the shower. Riho had already bathed but waited with me while I finished readying myself for bed.

After we’d consoled each other horizontally, twice, we held each other in silence as we recovered. I’d left the bedchamber’s big viewport open and the room was illuminated by the reflected reddish-glow of Mars’s daylit side. The shadows slowly slid around the room as the station rotated and soon after, the room was plunged into almost full darkness as our orbit took us around the Martian horizon and into night.