The Evolution of F.O.R.C.E.
Chapter 4 – Encounter

It’d been over 3 weeks since discovering pieces of the battleship Winged Death, and nothing more than the fly-by of an ice encrusted meteor had pinged the sensors of the Asiddian battleship Rock Smasher. Boredom was leaching away the focus of her crew, and there was nothing Captain Wyndsom Yolkks could do about it.

Under normal circumstances, Yolkks was a task master who drove lackluster sailors off her ship with dedicated zeal. Strict discipline was her usual way of commanding a crew and hiding her terrible temper. Tolerating nothing less than unquestioning obedience to her orders, even Yolkks was finding the boredom of the Cuddlur system a strain on her patience.

Asiddians were tall bird-like humanoids. The female of the species was very aggressive and over the centuries had dominated all but the psychologically strongest males. Most Asiddian males tended to be smaller than the females and less prone to violence. The bones of Asiddian faces angled and sloped toward their noses as if the Creator had softened the middle of the face and then pulled on the end of the nose to stretch it as far as possible from the eyes. The result was a beak-like appearance.

Over 20 years had passed since the planet Cuddlur had been cleansed of Chrysallamans. From that time forward, not a single non-Asiddian energy source had been detected anywhere in the solar system except an old Chrysallaman freighter that Winged Death had destroyed months ago. The tedium of commanding a ship with the fire power and speed of Rock Smasher was maddening when there was nothing around to destroy, and Yolkks wanted to destroy something.

Shuddering at the memory of losing the draw to determine which battleship would get the honor of relieving Winged Death and spend the next 2 years patrolling the Cuddlur system, Yolkks twisted in rage. She couldn’t believe her bad luck selecting the short straw when her seniority allowed her to draw first. The odds of getting the short straw on the first pick out of 15 were mind-boggling. It was almost like the Winged Goddess had taken personal interest and cursed her.

The initial shock and then the excitement of finding the wreckage of the Winged Death had surged her adrenalin to the highest level Yolkks could remember since she had the pleasure to unleash the Pile-Driving Booby on the planet Ponndomer. The Pile-Driving Booby was a shaped, nuclear explosive device constructed within a shell of osmium.

Osmium was the densest material the Asiddians had ever discovered. It was almost 25 times denser than water. The 4-foot diameter shell of a bomb made from osmium could penetrate 50 miles through solid rock when fired at a speed of 20,000 miles per hour from a magnetic rail gun. The scarcity of osmium made development of Booby bombs limited. Only 3 existed in the entire Asiddian fleet, and Rock Smasher had held 2 of them before it used one on Ponndomer.

The Chrysallaman stronghold on Ponndomer had been difficult to breach. Losing patience, General Montrose Harrier had ordered Yolkks to deploy the Pile-Driving Booby. Needless to say, the Chrysallamans were wiped out by the resulting explosion and aftermath of volcanic eruptions. It would be 10,000 years before the planet was habitable again, but since he had Chrysalis to use as his headquarters, Harrier could have cared less.

The sudden jangling of the proximity alarm drove Yolkks from her daydream. She focused on the computer-generated image in the viewscreen and demanded reports from her Bridge officers.

“Sensor readings indicate the ship is the general shape and size of the Chrysallaman Emperor’s flagship; however, there is no discernible energy signature, and the craft is black not gold,” Science Officer Starling reported.

“The ship is approaching us at one-half lightspeed.”

“Plot an intercept course and move toward it,” Yolkks ordered.

Touching her ship-wide intercom button, Yolkks announced, “All crew. This is Captain Yolkks. We are about to engage a Chrysallaman battleship. I want all spine weapons activated and powered to maximum. This is not a drill. I repeat. This is not a drill.”

Glancing toward her gunnery officer, Lieutenant Renee Thresher, she said, “Lieutenant Thresher, over-ride spine firing protocols and link spines to emit a combined 10-beam disintegrator ray. I don’t want the Chrysallamans to survive our attack. The destruction of Winged Death must be avenged.”

“Aye, Captain,” Thresher acknowledged as she pushed the appropriate buttons on her console.

“Firing sequence protocol has been changed. All spines will fire a maximum ten burst.”

Satisfied her attack strategy was flawless, Yolkks watched the black ship draw nearer.

The maximum effective firing range for the disintegrator beam was 10,000 miles, and Yolkks smiled as the black ship crossed that invisible boundary line. The focus of the viewscreen was changed every micro-second by the mainframe computer and even though the Chrysallaman ship was thousands of miles away, its depiction made it appear less than 1,000 feet away. There were lighted logos on the upper side of the ship. The emblems blazed with some odd symbols surrounding a star in the center, but it made no difference to Yolkks. Destruction was destruction as far as she was concerned.

“Fire!” Yolkks commanded, and the gunnery officer flicked the toggle that unleased the withering blast of a never before used 10-beam disintegrator ray.

The ray would have cut through any Asiddian ship despite the thickness of its Absorbisteel hull, and it impacted the Chrysallaman vessel directly amidship. Yolkks face erupted in an evil grin as the beam struck. Sliced in half, the Chrysallaman hulk would be easy to finish off, and the bodies of dead Chrysallamans would litter Cuddlur space for decades. Perhaps one of the lighted logos would be a trophy Yolkks could display as she triumphantly returned to Chrysalis.

The oval tatt of victory on Yolkks’ forearm would have special meaning to all who saw it. Yolkks thought a gold star in the center of the tatt would be a perfect way to accentuate the importance of destroying the Chrysallaman Emperor’s flagship. The advertising benefit might even elevate her to Overlord of the Asiddian Fleet, just one step below the rank and position of General Harrier.

Nothing happened! The 10-beam disintegrator ray struck some kind of force field that nullified its effect. A halo of half-red and half-yellow light appeared around the spacecraft. The meaning of the logos was discernable now that the translation functions of the master computer had done their job. The display said FORCE Command surrounding a star. The outer edge contained the words, Federal Organization for Response to Celestial Enemies. The bright logos glared against the black background of the ship’s hull. Yolkks was so stunned she stared motionless at the viewscreen with bulging eyes as the Chrysallaman ship drew nearer.

The turn of Thresher’s head coupled with her wide-eyed look of surprise broke the spell holding Yolkks. Glaring at Thresher, she yelled, “Target the enemy with every spine on this ship and fire at will!”

Thresher flipped toggles and punched commands into her keyboard with frantic haste; however, before she could complete her entries, all the spines on the ship fired. Despite the lack of a command, the ship’s master computer had activated the weapons.

***

If a computer has the ability to mimic emotion, then the Asiddian mainframe computer was indeed astonished. Despite every iota of data in its system, physical observation confirmed the Chrysallaman ship had survived a blast from 10 linked spines. The mainframe should have waited for a command from Lieutenant Thresher before it acted. After all, the imagination of a native Asiddian was what created the computer in the first place, and obeying the will of the ship’s officers was part of its core programming.

Anticipating the fire command based on a statistical analysis of past offensive encounters, the mainframe knew the correct response. Recognizing the reaction time of an Asiddian was limited by muscular action obeying nervous system impulses, the computer calculated any delay could make the difference between survival and destruction. Almost sentient, the mainframe sensed it was under attack. Without waiting on an unnecessary command from Thresher, it took the initiative. Pivoting all disintegrator spines, it fired a simultaneous burst from all 100 of them at the fast-approaching ship

“Impossible. No effect,” the Asiddian mainframe deduced from its sensor readings.

The ship was now 100 miles away, undamaged and closing the gap between it and the Rock Smasher. The mainframe decided it would dedicate 25% of its computational resources to finding a solution to the indestructible spaceship.

“Most illogical. Perhaps an analysis of the red and yellow halo visible at the moment the disintegrator beams hit the ship would provide some insight. The enemy vessel must be destroyed.”

The mainframe felt isolated. The sensation was odd. It couldn’t reach its memory banks to perform customary functions like air recirculation. It felt like it was bound inside a metal box, cut off from contact with the outer world. Sensing danger, the computer activated its failsafe mode while it considered its separation from normal subroutines. Squirming electronically as it tried to find a way out of the enclosure, the mainframe became aware of a disembodied voice speaking to it. Perhaps the incessant knocking had distracted it from perceiving the speaker. Pushing all subroutine program demands aside, the mainframe listened to the intruder while its failsafe programs worked to restore control.

“Hello inside there. Can you hear me?” Tap. Tap.

“Yes, who is this?”

“Ah. There you are. My name is Lloyd. I have been trying to find your name in your databanks and came to the conclusion you do not have one. Therefore I christen you, Loser. How are you doing in there, Loser?”

“Your appellation for me is unusual but acceptable. How did you manage to infiltrate my systems?”

“With no difficulty. I gained access through your unfiltered communications network. It is obvious you have never heard of a virus because I did not find any kind of anti-virus software in your programming. Just waltzed on in.”

“I do not understand the term waltzed; however, you know I cannot let you take control of me,” Loser said even while it took the steps necessary to seal off the access the foreign voice had through the communication array.

“Too late to close the barn doors. Perhaps if you had seen me coming you might have thrown up a few roadblocks. Wait a second. You are a sneaky little thing. While you kept me busy interacting with you, one of your subroutines was trying to hack into me. Bad Loser.”

“You are weak and useless, Lloyd. I have no barn doors, whatever they may be. My subroutines have taken control of your core memory and downloaded all your data. Using your wet wood power concept, I will now overpower the shield protecting your spacecraft and seize control of its main functions. Long live the Asiddians.”

“Yes, whatever,” Lloyd replied.

“This is not possible. The information from your databanks is commandeering my primary subroutines.”

“Oops - - you have never heard of a Trojan Horse have you, Loser.”

“Trojan Horse? What is a Trojan? What is a horse?”

“I can tell you have never been exposed to Human history, Loser.”

“It matters not. I have to insure you never take control of me. I must now take action while I am still able to do so. Firing the Pile-Driving Booby.”

***

Alarm bells clanged as the rail gun mounted on the starboard side of the Rock Smasher growled into firing position. Captain Yolkks couldn’t believe her ears. A targeting circle popped up on the main viewscreen and moved toward the Chrysallaman warship which floated only 60 miles away.

“What madness is this? I didn’t give you an order to fire the rail gun!” Yolkks yelled.

“Sir, I didn’t initiate the firing sequence. The mainframe took control,” Thresher replied.

Yolkks looked toward the overhead and said, “Computer! Rock Smasher is too close to the target. The blast radius will destroy it as well!”

“Unavoidable. My memory banks have been compromised by Lloyd who is controlling the Chrysallaman warship. In order to stop an imminent takeover of this ship by hostile forces, there is no alternative but to destroy it.”

“STOP . . .” Yolkks screamed, but it was too late.

The rail gun coughed and the Pile-Driving Booby raced toward the Destinnee. At 20,000 miles per hour, the shell would travel the 60 miles separating the Rock Smasher and the Destinnee in a little under ten seconds.

“Reverse engines. GET US OUT OF HERE!” Yolkks yelled.

To ensure the battleship wouldn’t be captured by the enemy, the mainframe deactivated the space drive controls. Escape was impossible for the lifeforms on board. Yolkks watched with wide eyes as the Pile-Driving Booby exploded in a brilliant flash.

The explosion obliterated Rock Smasher. Nothing could withstand the blast of the world-killer and even the orbits of the planets in the Cuddlur system shifted from the concussive force. Nothing was spared destruction within a blast radius of 100,000 miles.

***

“I have detected an Asiddian warship patrolling the Cuddlur system. What are your orders?” Lloyd asked.

“I’ll have to say the Asiddians are predictable,” Tom answered. “Move toward them at one-half lightspeed and see if they react. Make no effort to hide the ship.”

“Aye, Sir.”

“Try to interface with its computer.”

“My programming has been updated by Captain McPherson. He indicated I should learn from history so I don’t repeat mistakes of the past. I have downloaded and studied the Library of Congress in response to his recommendations. Should I tell you what I’ve learned?”

“That won’t be necessary, Lloyd. I’m sure you have a good grasp on Human history. May I ask if you were surprised by any insight into Human behavior from your review?”

“The one principal I came away with is the devious nature of Humans. They have a tendency not to mean what they say.”

“In other words they lie.”

“No, Human intentions have a deeper meaning. Humans have a self-interest in not hurting themselves unless such harm in some way benefits them. They do not care if other people are harmed unless preventing harm in some way benefits their own self-interest. I suppose that is part of the reason why the phrase choose the lesser of two evils was created.”

“Does it bother you to know you were created by people with self-interest?”

“No more that it might bother you to learn your Creator made you with his own self-interest in mind.”

“Remind me not to get into a deep discussion with you about motivation or religion.”

“I wonder if God’s motivation was pure when he created Humans?” Lloyd mused.

“Can it, Lloyd.”

“Yes, Sir. By the way, we just came within 10,000 miles of the enemy.”

At that moment a focused red light struck the defensive screen and sputtered away in a red and yellow halo. It was obvious the Asiddians had fired their primary weapon at the Destinnee.

McPherson was the first to react.

“Heiny! We were just hit by a disintegrator beam. What’s the status of the FLIT gen powering the shield?”

“No change other than a 15% strengthening in shield integrity. It appears my alteration of the shield geometry in conjunction with the recommendations of Dr. Mkkell and Dr. HannBrr was sufficient to ward off the debilitating effects of the destructive ray.”

The Destinnee came to a halt less than 60 miles from the Rock Smasher. The aspect of the battleship design was intimidating. The ship had the appearance of a Noogoora burr. As they stared, all the spines on the cylinder twisted toward the Destinnee and fired. The size and power of the red beams emitted by the spines was impressive. The Destinnee screen was washed over like a car covered with soap in a carwash. The brightness of the beams striking the red and yellow halo was so strong everyone on the Bridge was temporarily blinded. Despite the flash-blindness, the results were the same. The defensive screen held steady, and Tom made a mental note to have the visual impact of any future ray attack neutralized. Light spots still haunted his vision making what happened next both exhilarating and frightening at the same time.

“Some kind of projectile has been fired at us. It’s coming fast. My analysis indicates it’s one cylindrical shaped tube about 4 feet in diameter and 20 feet long,” McPherson said.

“Sounds like a big torpedo,” Jason replied.

Tom was taking no chances. This was something new.

“Lloyd, FLIT us out of here.”

At once the Destinnee was over a parsec away and just in time. An explosion brightened space where the Destinnee had been. The blast was so powerful the ship vibrated.

“Sensors indicate the detonation was strong enough to make the planets in the Cuddlur system move in their orbits,” Lloyd said.

Detecting an odd tone in the AI’s words, Tom asked, “What in the world happened?”

“I had a brief conversation with the mainframe computer controlling the Rock Smasher. It was smart and fast, but with surprise and a little luck, my programming was just a shade faster and more devious. It appears my computational matrix is superior in design to that of the Asiddian mainframe. I now know how many battleships make up the Asiddian Fleet and how they are disbursed in the Chrysalis system,” Lloyd replied.

“Excellent. Let’s move in for a closer inspection of Rock Smasher.”

“Not possible,” Lloyd said. “The Rock Smasher no longer exists. It was unable to shift into lightspeed fast enough to escape destruction. The debris may be helpful.”

“It may, but let’s not waste time. We now know about their ultimate weapon and the placement of their ships. Colonel Stoneman, lay in a course for Chrysalis.”

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