The Synchronicity War Part 2 by Dietmar Wehr Read Free Book Online Page B

them were lost in battle, as they inevitably
would be.

Chapter 4 - To The Victor Goes The Swagger

    The trip to the star system containing the
Avalon Colony was uneventful. Defiant arrived at the outskirts of
the system, made two microjumps to arrive beyond Avalon’s 11 light
second gravity zone and contacted the Nimitz Base that had been
hollowed out of the planet’s small moon. With contact established
with Nimitz Base and their identity confirmed, Defiant began its
maneuver to drop down into orbit around Avalon’s tiny moon and the
Space Force base on it. Tanaka was conning the ship from the Bridge
so Shiloh elected to contact the Nimitz Base Commander from the
comfort of his quarters. The image that appeared on his screen was
that of Senior Commander Ingrid DeChastelaine. They had met briefly
a couple of times but he remembered her.

    “Hello, Commander. I wasn’t aware that you’d
been made Nimitz Base CO. When did that happen?” asked Shiloh.
DeChastelaine smiled.

    “Hello, Victor. No need to be so formal. Ingrid
will do fine. I took over here about two months ago. We weren’t
expecting Defiant. Is something wrong?” Shiloh nodded.

    “Yes. Obviously you haven’t gotten the word from
Omaha yet. There’s an alien incursion, made up of 42 ships, headed
into our space. I’m convinced, but can’t prove, that they’re headed
here in order to attack the colony.” He went on to describe the
detection and battle. DeChastelaine’s expression grew serious
quickly.

    “Oh Shit, Victor! What makes you think they’re
headed here?” Shiloh hesitated.

    “Just call it a strong hunch, Ingrid. What have
you got here in terms of mobile defenses?”

    “Twenty-five CFPs. That’s it! How soon could
they be here do ya think?”

    “If they push it to the limit, they could be
here in less than 24 hours. How are you fixed for Mark 1s, Ingrid?”
She frowned and shook her head.

    “None. You know the rules, Victor. CFPs can’t
carry fission warhead drones while in the same system as colonized
planets.” Shiloh cursed under his breath. He’d forgotten that
stupid regulation. Defiant had less than a dozen left over from the
Battle at Green4. Not enough to equip all her fighters with even
one each.

    “Okay, what kind of payload do you have?”

    “Over two hundred Mark 2s plus laser modules for
the CFPs.” Shiloh took a deep breath as he considered the
possibilities. Laser modules designed to be carried by fighters,
didn’t have enough power to burn their way thru any kind of half
decent hull armor or at least not fast enough to be really useful.
The Mark 2s were kinetic energy penetrators with a fast drone built
around a thick rod of depleted uranium. Given enough velocity, the
kinetic energy released upon impact, would turn the depleted
uranium rod into a jet of superhot plasma that could cut through
even the densest armor. It was the perfect weapon for disabling a
ship, IF you happened to hit it in the right spot. To be certain of
disabling a ship quickly, you had to hit it with multiple Mark 2s.
At least all of the fighters in the system now, could carry their
fill of Mark 2s.

    “Well, if that’s all we have, then we’ll have to
make the most of it. I’ve got 17 fighters left. Can you arrange to
have 85 Mark 2s brought up to the ship as soon as possible?”

    “You bet, Victor. I imagine you’ll want fuel
too, right?” Shiloh nodded.

    “Yes but that can wait until after we reload.
How soon can you get your fi…your CFPs loaded with Mark 2s?”
DeChastelaine frowned with concentration.

    “Don’t hold me to this but I think we can do it
in six hours if we had too. I’m reluctant to pull them all off jump
detection patrol at the same time.”

    “Understood. Once we get our reloads, my CFPs
can help carry some of that load. I don’t think we should count on
my time estimate as a minimum, Ingrid. These bastards have already
surprised me once with their acceleration. We should push our
people to