Frozen Soul, and other works: Chapter 47

The U-221 was a beautiful ship. Oh, sure, it didn’t have any of that graceful styling like something out of those Star Trek movies, but it was beautiful. It was also clearly designed by a Nomad. The angled hull sections of the arrow-like made getting a clean read off the ship problematic, something clearly taken from real-world stealth designs. In addition, the hull had the same sensor dampening paint job that the Raven did, but included the full stealth module I hadn’t bought for her yet. The hull and decks were not made from traditional metal plating, but a high-strength composite that reduced mass significantly and further reduced their sensor profile. Even her engines and heat sinks had ways to dampen their emissions. U-221 was, quite literally, a hole in space unless she did something to draw attention to herself.

She was also armed to the teeth, and designed more for sneak attacks and dogfighting than for traditional ship to ship battles. Two dorsal and two ventral turrets were packing point defense energy weapons. Concealed missile launchers were set in the hull to port and starboard of amidships. According to the specs, the setup was worlds better than the Raven’s guns for point defense. Once we got some gunners trained up, they’d be good cover against fighters.

For main weapons, the ship had four torpedo launchers (two fore and two aft), a pair of forward-facing cannons, and a pair of forward facing ionic cannons, which were designed to disable, rather than destroy enemy ships, but were useless against shields. Of course, that didn’t compare to the Big Gun. Knowing that the ship couldn’t survive prolonged engagements, the brilliant madman who designed her had a massive forward-facing railgun running the length of the hull.

All the major militaries used energy weapons because they fired quicker and were harder to dodge. Military shields were perfect for stopping energy weapons, though they didn’t ignore physical attacks. They’d stop small meteorites, and missiles exploded on contact, so it was not so much a physical attack but an explosion to weaken shields. Slow-moving (in relative terms) objects like boarding shuttles couldn’t get through until the shields were down. Anything bigger than a small meteorite could be dodged, in theory, but there were plenty of ships with repaired hull sections that told tales of meteorite strikes, or the few groups crazy enough to use penetrator drop pods on a ship (literally ramming a hole in the side of the ship to do hostile boardings).

Point was, other than the thickness of a ship’s hull, the defenses were all geared towards energy attacks. Railgun rounds were slow moving compared to the energy weapons most ships used, and could be dodged much easier because of that. Well, if you saw them coming. But railgun rounds didn’t use any propellant, didn’t have active scanners, and didn’t maneuver. That made them difficult to pick up against the background of space, unless you got lucky with a mass scanner.

U-221’s railgun fired a twenty-kilogram mass at a little over .001c, delivering an astounding 900 TeraJoules (TJ) of kinetic energy upon impact. A dreadnaught’s shields might be able to take that kind of punishment, or at least mitigate it enough that the hull could withstand it, but anything smaller would be in for a seriously bad day. It was a simple game of rock-paper-scissors. A civilian craft would likely be reduced to so much debris in an instant. However, the massive power requirements meant that U-221 could only fire the main gun once every ten minutes. In addition, if an enemy knew there were kinetics inbound, the standard procedure was to go evasive. Since kinetics couldn’t change course once they were fired, simply moving around slightly was enough to throw off targeting solutions. That made the ‘Barrett’, as the designer called it, a first-strike weapon.

The U-221 had the same length and width as a normal corvette, but there was a reason why it only had half the crew. The mad genius who designed her had fit the engines of a light cruiser with the power core from a heavy cruiser into the frame somehow! The shields were milspec, which was nice, since her composite hull was not designed for resisting impacts, but they were only corvette shields. Still, that made the U-221 without a doubt the fastest and deadliest stealth ship anywhere in known space. The crew, though, would be in pretty close quarters, like on a submarine.

And, thanks to the misfortune of one Falael Dorynore in getting caught up with the Legion, it was now mine. It just needed some work finishing the installation of several key items, like the onboard AI, but would be ready to go in a week. I patted Nyna on the head, and said, “So, any ideas on the name? Or do you want to keep it as U-221?”

The Knelfi looked up at me, with a grin like that of a child who got to pick their own Christmas presents. “Shadowdancer. She’s going to be called Shadowdancer.”

Jaynie nodded. The gunner wasn’t much for ships unless she was firing the guns, but even she wasn’t blind to the new ship’s specs. “A good name for a ship that is stealthy and fast. She’ll be a good scout or escort, I think, but doesn’t strike me as being the best for raiding ships. That big gun would destroy any prizes outright, or at least make them not worth more than scrap.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, but whoever designed her probably wasn’t intending to use it on civilian ships, but on convoy escorts. A single shot from that gun would at least disable a cruiser on escort duty, to say nothing of a frigate or corvette. If you were a civvie freighter captain and your escorts just got blown up in a single shot, would you risk fighting back?”

The gunslinger shook her head. “Not so much, no. Running? Sure, and I’d hope that whoever was on that ship decided to pick on someone else, first.”

“Now picture if you had a group of these ships, working as a pack. It gets worse if you use hit and run tactics. You could do a lot of damage to even a vastly superior foe. I doubt even a superdreadnaught would be able to take three or four simultaneous impacts without serious damage. It would cost an epic amount of credits, but a group of ten ships like Shadowdancer could do serious damage to even an interstellar navy. Especially if they hit a naval base, while the ships were either holding station or in dock for repairs.”

Nyna frowned at that. “Sounds like something you start and finish a war with.”

I nodded slowly. “Well, the Nomads can all see that war is coming, at least between the Empire and the Confederacy. A smart man would take this custom design and then start trying to market it to one of the militaries, or to the kind of ‘contractors’ who usually turn privateer when war breaks out. If this ship was a proof of concept…”

Raven chimed in from our communicators, “Then it would potentially change the tides of war, yes. Fortunately, we have the full schematics, as I just completed a ‘side deal’ from the account I have for the Raven. When construction ends, we’ll be the only ones with the plans to the Shadowdancer.”

“Excellent work, Raven. I’d rather not find myself on the receiving end of an attack from a ship like Shadowdancer. Still, do me a favor and see if you can’t get a patent on the composite used for the hull, and a price comparison based on the difference between it and standard hull plating. Both cost to install, and how the reduced mass will change maximum cargo and speed ratings for ships of the same design.”

Raven chuckled, seeing where I was going with this. “So don’t sell everything Shadowdancer has to offer, but ‘invest’ in a new technology that anyone making stealth craft or cargo haulers might appreciate?”

“Exactly. And how easy would the composite be to repair, if it were damaged?”

“For best results, a fabricator with appropriate feedstock could create replacement hull sections, and a nanite spray would seal the gaps. Obviously, without a supply of the Null-Paint, the repaired section would compromise the stealth profile on the Shadowdancer until it was repainted.”

Nyna shook her head at that. “If there are holes in Shadowdancer that require repair in place, rather than going back to a yard where the paint can be applied, then at that point stealth is probably a moot point, anyways.”

I considered, and said, “True, but the same issue would apply to Raven’s hull, as well. Raven, ask Cali and Carissa to go secure us a supply of the Null-Paint, and gear to apply it with, in addition to the normal resupply work.”

“Understood, Captain.”

<INS Aureum Throni, Venusian orbit, Sol System>

The Aureum Throni was unlike any other superdreadnaught in the Imperial fleet. Oh sure, externally the only difference was the brilliant seal of the Imperial crest emblazoned on the hull. All the sensors, point defense, and big guns were there. But inside, the Throni was a flying palace. Which was fitting, as it was the Emperor’s personal warship.

This was actually the fifth Aureum Throni, the others having been retired due to age or battle. The name was passed down, so that no matter what, when the Emperor of the Terran Empire traveled through his domain, it was always upon the Aureum Throni.

The Royal deck, something other superdreadnaughts simply didn’t have, lived up to the ship’s name, as it was no less richly appointed than the Imperial Palace was, before the explosion that kicked off the young emperor’s rise to power. Sitting upon his throne of gold, Emperor Travis looked at the display with annoyance.

“It wants WHAT?”

The Lieutenant, the ranking officer of the mission with the death of his commanders, did well in not flinching before the Emperor’s accusing tone. “It wishes to negotiate with you personally, Emperor. In Aphrodite.”

“And why would We agree to something so foolish? We will not go into this rogue AI’s den until it has been properly shackled again, to prevent further rebellion.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. The AI did say that what it could offer included a means to return from death, as the Nomads do.”

A wicked grin crossed the Emperor’s face. What could he do with such a gift? His armies would be unstoppable, and he would never need to worry about some upstart trying to recreate his successes and assassinate him. The possibilities were endless. He could conquer the galaxy! Perhaps even the universe, if they ever found a way to travel between galaxies.

Looking back at the Lieutenant, and said, “Good work, Captain. Secure a place for this conference and the route between it and the landing site. Inform the AI that We shall grant it an audience, but We expect for it to use some manner of physical avatar. We shall not be amused if it attempts to force Us to speak to a disembodied voice.”

“As you will, Emperor.” If the Lieutenant had any emotions about the promotion he’d just been given, he had the discipline to keep them off his face while he was speaking with the Emperor. That got a nod of approval from Travis as he cut the connection. The Lieutenant was loyal, and skilled. Promoting him would also show that he rewarded hard work and results. That always did wonders for morale.

Now, he just had to decide on a wardrobe for his meeting with this AI. With the secret of immortality in his hands, he wouldn’t even need the AI’s help in destroying his sister and her rebels, they could simply move in and wipe them all out in a battle of attrition, while keeping up the defenses on other fronts. Seeing immortal Terran Imperial Marines might even convince some of the rebels to return to the fold.

Yes, he would be merciful to any Rebels who saw the light. They would be watched, of course, and anyone of flag rank would be replaced as soon as was practical, but they would not be harmed. The chaos caused by his sister’s survival and attempt to rally the Senate and fleet to her rebellion was unfortunate, but the damage could be repaired. His sister, and her top commanders, however, would have to die, as an example to all other challengers.

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Be sure to read my published works!

Frozen Soul series (Sci-Fi Supervillain story):

Frozen Soul https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071R125QT

Tales of the Void Traveler https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ52G37

Rules-Free VRMMO Life (Dark Fantasy LitRPG):

Volume 1 - Tutorial https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VPRNDB

Volume 2 - Beginning the Journey https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VR7M41/

Volume 3 - Wyrmwood https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072QKVBYV

Volume 4 - To the Deeps https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073QSD9S4

Volume 5 - Power Base https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074KGVN5T

Volume 6 - Taking the Show on the Road https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075ZFY3PR