Chapter 434 - Far Future Ch. 144 – Pulling Some Fast Ones (1/2)

”Partially,” I said, nodding at him. ”However, there is no chance whatsoever that the goblins do not have a listening post in the system, probably somewhere in the asteroid belts, from which they are tracking everything going on, and likely using psychic means to transmit alarms or alerts back to their bosses.”

”Ah. This is why we've been taking such pains to keep things looking so blustery boisterous on the surface?” Duke Rimval asked, his smile hard and eyes glittering.

”Yes!” Briggs affirmed, nodding at the admirals. ”There are many eyes on us, and the more we fall into traditional responses and actions to invasions and pressure, the more assured they feel. We've got at least six different layers of effects going on, half of them traditional movements, and half of them outside the normal paradigm.”

”The Harmonic Drive and Tachyon Drive tests,” Admiral Ontif nodded slowly. There were no records of the tests or technology anywhere, it was all communicated in Markspace, never verbally or electronically.

Both Admirals had been read in on just how compromised some of humanity's electronic systems were. Nominally, this was the province of the Mechanists to safeguard against, but when they saw the degree of penetration, and the tools the Mechanists were using, it became plain that the cyborgs were using that infiltration as a way to gauge and control information disseminated to their enemies, only increasing controls and firewalls on their own key systems, and institutionalizing broad systems collapses that would stop attempts to seize control.

Naturally such Red Button measures were made discovered by the invading coders, and so things didn't come to that point. They were playing games in cyberspace with one another, and Fleet and Army and all the other forces dependent on such technology were naturally appalled.

The Goldilocks crew had taken all this as a personal affront, and now armed with TL 12 Code and programming tools for the Quanta, and some TL 17 stuff from the Tribute, were starting to reach out and fight back against these intrusions. There were skirmishes going on in Cyberspace, and the Goldilocks cybermancers were now aggressively contesting those intruding in humanity's systems, and even reaching out to play mind games in theirs... very, VERY carefully. Technorganic computer systems were not toys...

But there were isolated systems that never mixed with the Quanta or the Boole for just this reason, the only information going in by personal Bands hooked through Markspace relays and sifted through the best filters the Tribute had, boosted by psychic divinations. The system in Tribute City, sitting in the heart of the Warp Zone, was probably the single cleanest cyber network in human space!

”We could mount an attack on the goblins at AK97 Proxima, but it's obvious by the networks that the Kill Rock they are building is nowhere near complete. If we Helldive into it, they'll detect the Portals opening long before anyone gets into weapon range, and we'll have a fight on our hands. We would prefer to hit it clean and devastating,” I told them.

”What's the forecast on the Kill Rock?” The Alias' scan of the system popped up between us all at Admiral Ontif's question, zoomed in on the Death Moon.

A Big Kill Rock was one of the weapons of the Goblins, a tactic sort of stolen from the long-fallen Ruk. The Ruk used to carve entire asteroids and small moons into fortress-bases they could slowly move between stars. The Goblins did much the same thing, although cruder, enjoying make big things that could transport massive numbers of them between stars and defy whole fleets.

This one was obviously only a third done, and the amount of traffic and transportation, as well as metal refinement, indicated it would be years before it was completed. Keeping their operations below interstellar sensory levels had somewhat restricted their production.

”At their current rate, and assuming a gradually improving five to ten percent increase in capability per year, we're looking at 12.3 years or so before the thing is fully operational,” Briggs reported, and the two Admirals visibly relaxed. ”A fully operational spacedock and forge world this place is not.”

”But...” I began, and the Map spun up. Twenty different neighboring stars glowed, all within twenty light years, and all having the status of being minor systems with no free-standing life worlds at present. System data, none less than eight hundred years old, flickered up around all of them, along with hasty and refined observational data.

Six of the twenty turned red. The Dukes and Admirals grimaced.

”Each of those systems is above 90% in their chances to be occupied by... something. Goblins are most likely, but there might well be other things.” Five other systems glowed yellow. ”Likely, but not as certain. The other systems we simply don't know.” Questions marks popped up on all of them. ”We have to get these systems scouted first.”

There was quick agreement all around. We were already surrounded on all sides!

”That one is black,” noted Admiral Colos, nodding at AK-84, and the six-planet system blew up into old, old detail. The two asteroid belts were unusual.

”The inhabitant of the Hole informed us of the nearest six Crecheworlds of the Tekrons.” Everyone promptly grimaced as the fifth world, a world with five times the mass of Tellus, went black, and grey lights popped up around the system with suggested positions of outposts.

It was fifteen light years away and change. To the Tekrons' inertial drives, that was less than an hour!

”We can only put up observation stations outside the heliopause and pray,” I said simply at the horrendously unwelcome news. I still didn't know why our guest in the Hole dared stay here...

Admiral Colos took a deep mental breath, and peered at me. ”Do you... have plans in the making for dealing with Tekrons?” he had to ask.

”Yes,” Briggs broke in, to the delight of everyone. ”The problem is that Tekrons are vulnerable to very different things then pretty much anyone else, just like dealing with the biovore fleets is very different from anyone using manufactured ships. A ship made for dealing with Tekrons is in effect a very specialized vessel with an attack style and methodology that is extremely subpar against any other opponent. This is especially true when developing Shields using our lower tech grades. The Shields basically have to be overpowered and optimized to the Tekron weaponry defaults, and render them pretty vulnerable to more conventional attacks as a result.”

The Dukes and Admirals groaned despite themselves.