The Guardians of Sol (34 page)

Jupiter station dwarfed even the
Gate of Dawn
and was well equipped to defend itself. The shield-like pylons hid the largest magnetic accelerations cannons in the solar system, while soaking up and redirecting whatever ambient energy was at hand. The MAC guns began tearing through battle cruisers that did not change course. None of them were changing course. The Centurion dreadnaught was still accelerating. The
Gate of Dawn
was forced to change course or be destroyed. Their particle cannons were still fairly ineffective against each other. An intact enemy battle cruiser made it through all lines of defense and slammed into Jupiter station's nearest shield pylon, it was not a clean hit, yet a large section of the lower half sheared off. Other incoming battle cruisers loosed their particle cannons at any available target, obliterating many vessels and their return fire, but dispersing upon the station’s EM and defensive shielding.

"What's everyone doing?" Telamon demanded even though he could see things beginning to move in that direction already. "Save that station!"

"Sir, I'm picking up gravitic fluctuations around the dreadnaught!" Raven reported, visibly shaken.

"Dreadnaught impact in three minutes," Eric yelled. "There aren’t any ships close enough for intercept! The dreadnaught will probably survive impact."

"Gravitic fluctuations are increasing! I think they're going to jump!"

"That would be suicide. They don't have enough clearance!"

"I don't think they care anymore," Telamon whispered.

Another failing battle cruiser rammed Jupiter station, threatening to push it into the Jovian atmosphere. Strange lights, like an aurora began playing along the edges of the dreadnaught. It picked up speed for an instant and then just shattered. Space around it took on a mind-bendingly broken look for several long minutes before reverting to normal.

"What just happened?" Telamon asked.

"They tried to make a slipspace jump but something went wrong. We probably won't know exactly what until we get the data to scientists, and maybe not even then. The dreadnaught seems to have lost between one third and two thirds of its mass."

"Enemy battle cruisers are still closing in on Jupiter station," Teysa reminded them. "Its MAC guns no longer have good lanes of fire against ships trying to ram it. The most damaged battle cruisers are sacrificing themselves to destroy the station while the rest shield them."

"There's nothing we can do," Eric groaned in defeat. Another battle cruiser slammed into the largest manmade construct in the solar system.

"If it hasn't already happened, order the station to evacuate!" Telamon commanded.

"It’s too late," Teysa whispered as two more cruisers destroyed another pylon. Shuttles and fighters streamed from the station's docking bays. But there were not enough. "The station will be caught in Jupiter's gravity well within twenty minutes. It'll be lost to the atmosphere within an hour after that."

"There are half a million people on that station! Don't tell me we can't do anything for them!" Telamon demanded.

The
Gate of Dawn
and a few
Bastion
-class ships had caught up and were destroying the last few battle cruisers before they could sacrifice themselves against either the station or the fleets.

"Can the
Gate
use its EM projectors to pull the station back up? Or at least slow it down?" The Sentinel inquired.

"At best it won't do anything, and at worst it might drag the ship down with the station. We still have almost an hour though," Eric responded. "I'm signaling the First fleet to begin rescue operations for the station's populace. I just hope that the escape pods were designed with escape velocity in mind."

"Good. Have half of the second fleet assist them, and have the other half conduct rescue ops for the rest of the battlefield. Assign the third fleet and the interception squadron to clean up operations for whatever enemy forces are left," Telamon ordered, then sighed. "I'm going to go sit down in my office for awhile."

"We'll cover everything here, sir," Eric assured him. "Go get some rest. You’ve earned it, old man."

Date: June 13, 2290.
Ceremonial Hall of the Confederate Assembly. L1 Central Colony.

It had been a long and hard clean up. Less than a fifth of Jupiter station's populace had been successfully evacuated. Another one or two hundred thousand had been lost in the First, Second, Third, and interception fleets during the battle. More than a third of the strike force that had been aboard the dreadnaught was still unaccounted for. Thankfully, Telamon thought, his son and most of the other Thundermakers were among the living and were getting some rest in Von Braun city.

The Spartan looked out over the assembled dignitaries. Ceremonies had been held earlier in the week to formally induct the Republics, Zulu nations, Corporations, and Asian Empire into the Confederacy. The costly Guardian victory over the Centurion invasion fleet had finally impressed the extant nations into uniting under the Confederate flag. Telamon wasn't sure why they hadn't before, but he supposed that such a dangerous outside threat might make any nation reconsider its sovereign isolation.

Telamon's successor, Tenkenhito, second son of the Japanese emperor's second son, was taking the stand to give his acceptance speech. The topic was strength in unity. Very symbolic. Michael would have loved it. Of course, if Michael were still around Telamon wouldn't need a successor. Tenken's appointment to the position of Sentinel was as well earned as it was due to political expediency. No Guardian would follow an incompetent Sentinel - one of the dictates of the meritocracy. Tenken had led the few Asian units that worked directly with Guardians during the Centurion war. The man had all of the skills of a first tier Swordmaster, an easy way with other soldiers, and the political alacrity to deal with and lead the civilian assembly. Telamon had noticed the sometimes irreverent interactions between Corps soldiers and their superior officers were off-putting to the more serious man. He would get over it. He’d have to if he wanted to lead. Tenkenhito understood how the Corps operated. He understood how imperial soldiers operated. He even understood how Republic military and Zulu warriors operated. He would do well integrating all of the disparate groups together. He had already been a great help in crafting the foundational plans for the retaliation fleet that would leave in a few years to free Vadasz’s people.

Tenkenhito finished his speech. It was Telamon's turn. He thanked the Assembly for placing their faith in him the last few months. He announced his intention to retire once Tenkenhito was more familiar with his resources and responsibilities. It was far past time that he paid more attention to his family and familial concerns. He threw in a half-serious joke about buying Alkaios Industries products. Many of the representatives were kind enough to laugh. He had full faith in Tenkenhito's abilities and the future of the Confederacy, the Guardian Corps, and the Sol system as a whole. Telamon's focus through it all was on Delilah in the front row, and her supportive smile.

July 7, 2290.
The Forge.

Rachel laid back and tried to relax as the nurses attached sensors to her body. Sarah Castle gave her hand a supportive squeeze. That hand was sporting a new diamond ring in an important place. James had proposed during the Thundermakers' R and R in Von Braun City. The two didn't have a date yet, but both had made it clear to Rachel that they wanted her to be there.

"Rhys would have been ridiculously excited to be here. He didn't talk about it much, but I know how much he wanted to have a family," Sarah reassured her sister-in-law.

"I know," Rachel replied with just the smallest tremble in her voice. "I also know that he didn't want those children to be orphans."

"Hey, the baby will still have you. And the fighter corps is getting a ton of new recruits so I'm switching over to be a flight teacher. I'll be around all the time to give you a hand."

"What about Jimmy?"

"He’s been promoted to captain. They’re giving him the Thundermakers, but they will all probably be doing their share of training as well now that everything is part of the Confederacy."

"It’s good to know that where ever I end up I'll have family around," Rachel said relieved.

The nurse moved a machine from the ceiling to hover a few feet above Rachel's belly. Once all the connected equipment was turned on an indistinct fleshy mass appeared above a holographic display to one side.

"Give me a moment to clean the image up, please," the man requested.

The image further resolved to show a still developing body. The image shivered just a little with each heartbeat from the baby.

"Well that's interesting," the nurse muttered. He did something on his control pad and the image rotated 180 degrees. "Congratulations! You're having twins."

Date: Unknown.
Location: Unknown.

I fought my way back to consciousness. Things were a bit fuzzy; inside of my head as well as out. My displays couldn't seem to make up their minds if they wanted to show me static or headache inducing riots of color. A certain weightlessness gave me the impression that I was in microgravity when I would really have preferred not to be.

"Rommy?" I asked, hoping to whatever divine forces existed that she was still operating.

"Yes sir?" She replied. Just the sound of her voice, of Rachel's voice, was enough to slow my heart rate to more optimal levels.

"I can't see a thing; can you do anything about that?

"Give me a moment."

Slowly my HUD cleared up - mostly - and I had the bloody red eye of a red gas giant staring back at me. There were scattered remnants of a ship, possibly ships, around me, but none seemed close enough to be of any particular use.

A hallway filled with gunfire. A blade intent on cleaving my head. Dislocation. I shook my head gently to clear the burst of memory. I had been
inside
a ship when it had - apparently - made a poorly executed jump through time-space. I must have been unconscious for hours, at least, for the debris to have cleared as much as it had.

"Rommy, give me status report." Thinking was getting a little harder. I felt so tired.

My HUD filled with data about my armor that essentially said "everything is too damaged to tell exactly how damaged it is." I must have been leaking air. That or I had a concussion. Perhaps both. It didn’t feel like a concussion though. My displays dimmed a little. One or more of the plasma cores powering my armor must have been cracked or something. That really was a pretty gas giant. I noticed now that it even had a large ring system, reflecting the light from the system's blue sun. Heh, I laughed to myself. Finally left old Sol system.

"Rommy, I think I'm going to sleep for awhile. Would you mind singing me a lullaby? Just so I can hear Rachel's voice?"

"I will do what I can, sir."

The music was nice. Thinking was… much harder now. My displays dimmed even more. Was it the displays or my eyes though? Doesn't really matter, I guess. A ghost of anger stirred when I realized that I wouldn't get to hold me wife again. Or, perhaps more importantly, that should she wouldn't get to hold me. She wouldn’t even get to bury me. No, I had to die out in some godsforsaken corner of space like a moron. The view was very pretty, at least. A shadow passed over me. My vision faded even more.

Well
, I sighed internally.
Shit
.

Timeline

2024 – Mars One mission begins its one way trip to colonize Mars.

2025 – Astronomers find visual evidence of planets in multiple other solar systems likely to be inhabitable.

2034 – Economic and territorial tensions between the
United States, the European Union, and certain Asia nations forming the Eastern Pact spark World War III.

2038 – Further economic strains force both sides to seek a truce. World War III comes to an unofficial end.

2047 – Breakthroughs in String Theory allow the manipulation of gravity. The United States, in collaboration with the EU, Japan, and South Korea establish the research base on the moon that will become Von Braun City.

2053 – The lunar research base develops a scale-able prototype graviton-ion engine that will allow humanity easier access to the rest of the solar system.

2059 – Equipped with the new engine and other experimental technology, a ship makes the trip to Mars in two weeks during the planet’s closest pass to Earth, and making the first new physical contact with the Mars One colonists in 30 years.

2062 –
China begins construction on an orbital elevator to more easily access space and solar energy.

2066 – Terrorists backed by the Eastern Pact detonate a nuclear device in
Washington D.C. to ignite a full blown nuclear World War IV.

2067 – With the North American eastern seaboard, the Middle East, and large parts of
Asia now radioactive wastelands, the survivors begin to pick up the pieces.

2068 – Destabilized by the conflict,
Great Britain’s government is overthrown by a charismatic man claiming to be King Arthur reborn.

2068 – The
Republic of Texas takes the lead in forming an alliance of the remaining States, Canada, and Mexico as the North American Confederacy.

2069 – Freed from its treaties with the
USA, the Japanese Emperor takes a more prominent role in leading Japan. He begins a campaign of relief and inclusiveness with neighboring nations that forms the basis for a later, formalized, Asian Empire.

2070 –
Australia and other Oceanic nations formalize their alliance and trade relations to stabilize the area and become an economic power in their own right.

2073 – Mars and Luna begin construction of the first space colony in orbit of Mars. The effort is bolstered by manpower from the North American Confederacy.

2074 – Multi-national corporations begin their takeover of South America and its resources.

2075 – King Arthur begins a diplomatic campaign to strengthen and rebuild the ties of the European Union.

2076 – Greece, several Caribbean nations, Luna, and Mars officially join the North American Confederacy, prompting a name change to the Confederacy of Sol.

2079 – The Confederacy begins towing asteroids into Earth orbit to use as resource satellites to fuel construction of a second space colony at Lagrange Point One.

2082 – Construction of the first space colony is finished.

2083 – Two separate Confederate expeditions make their way to Jupiter and Saturn for research and to prepare the way for more permanent expeditions in the future.

2085 – Mobile robotic mining begins on the surface of Mercury.

2090 – The Asian Empire finishes the orbital elevator in
China and begins to exploit some of the resources within the Solar system.

2091 – The Advanced European Union claims much of western
Asia. As the areas are still highly radioactive, no other nation interferes. The Union begins occupying northern Africa.

2092 – The Confederacy of Sol reorganizes its military into the Guardian Corps. The position of the Sentinel is created to lead both organizations.

2093 – The Confederacy and Asian Empire launch a new wave of space colony construction. Treaties concerning the administration of these areas are drafted and signed.

2100 – The Asian Empire launches the first generational colony ship, the
Di Jun
, towards Alpha Centauri.

2108 – The Advanced European Union finally joins the other major nations in exploiting the solar system’s space born resources.

2111 – Two more colony ships commissioned by the Confederacy and the Republics, respectively, leave the solar system.

2115 – Breakthroughs in quantum mechanics find multiple layers in space, and suggest possibilities for circumventing the speed of light velocity limit.

2118 – Doctor Benjamin Archimedes develops a faster than light propulsion drive.

2119 – An experiment with the new FTL drive goes awry on an old resource satellite. All personnel are lost when the satellite is ripped apart.

2120 – South Africa and a tribal alliance led by the Zulu nation begin a push for modernization in the face of AEU territorial aggression.

2121 – Dr. Archimedes creates a more stable design for his drive.

2130 – Construction on the colony ship
Chiron
begins.

2133 – The first mass-produced second generation power armor goes into service in the Guardian Corps.

2137 – The slipspace capable colony ship
Chiron
jumps out of system to Alpha Centauri.

2138 – AEU territorial aggression forces
Israel to join the Confederacy for protection.

2140 – The first true Artificial Intelligence is created by scientists on Luna.

2145 – Territorial disputes are common, but seldom result in more than a few weeks of skirmishing.

2150 – Extensive reconstruction of the Martian shipyards begins.

2151 – The Swordmaster program is instituted.

2177 – Permanent research bases are established around the solar system.

2209 – Construction of the Forge begins.

2238 – Construction of Jupiter and Saturn stations begins.

2247 – Corporation Security forces make a land grab in North America but are pushed back by the Guardian Corps. Michael McCulloch meets Telamon Alkaios during the skirmishes.

2254 – The Gates are constructed near planets and population centers to provide stable exit and entry points for slipspace jumps.

2268 – A vessel testing an experimental Archimedes drive is lost with all hands aboard.

2273 – Terraforming efforts begin on Venus.

2284 – A Centurion invasion fleet arrives in the Oort cloud and begins operations to destabilize Sol politics.

2289 –
Goaded by Centurion instigators, the Republics launch an attack on a Guardian coastal research base in the hopes of acquiring advanced technology.