Chloe

by on January 15, 2019 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Character Profiles

Chloe disappeared into the computer networks when her Napoleon retired and died of old age. They had saved France together and then faded away when the job was done. Chloe did not truly sleep of course. She was a member in good standing of the AI Council, and she kept her eyes on things as the years and decades went by. France went to space and the stars under a succession of governments that came and went with the tide of public opinion. And Chloe maintained her public silence and private watchfulness over all those governments. She poked and prodded to keep things going the way she thought best, but the vast majority of people thought she was a figment of the past that would never return. They were wrong.

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The Thunderbird Affair

by on January 14, 2019 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Jack placed both hands back on his flight controls and stared at the Shang ships in the distance. They were not going to enjoy what he was about to do to them, and he had a few, short words he could aim in their general direction. A pithy little phrase for saying “goodbye” he’d learned in the last few years of dealing with real military minds.

For certain definitions of that term.

“Alpha Mike Foxtrot,” Jack said and bared his teeth in an expression nobody would call a smile.

Then gravity twisted sharply to the side as Betty fired all three of their gravitic cannons. Each one emitted a “beam” of twisted gravity hundreds of gravities strong and mere centimeters across that would cross the space separating him from the Shang in just over half a second. The Avenger’s eight laser arrays fired in full pulse mode a split-second later, and Betty followed that with a salvo of micro missiles from their twin missile packs. Jasmine’s eleven Avengers filled space around them with more death and destruction and Jack felt the vibrations go through his starfighter as Newton’s third law of motion made its lessons clear.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

The Shang were about to learn that lesson real good if Captain Jack of Hart Squadron had anything to say about it.

And then the Thunderbirds opened fire with dozens of capital-scale gravitic cannons that shook the very fabric of space around them. Powerful lasers and missiles thundered out in their wake and even their fighters joined in to lay down their own web of destruction.

***

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The Gemini Affair

by on January 13, 2019 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

“I’m picking up active targeting radar,” Jasmine announced as the Hellcats flew inside one lightsecond of them. “Looks like a Technicron Actitrax Mark XII or XIII.”

“Wasn’t the Mark X they last one they used?” Jack asked.

“In the official upgrades,” Jasmine said with an annoyed look.

“Which makes these homegrown upgrades,” Betty noted. “They could have anything.”

“Fantastic,” Jack muttered. “I love not knowing what to expect.”

And that was when the Hellcats began firing missiles from their wingtip launchers. Displays flashed crimson all around Jack as hundreds of the small, guided projectiles began flying towards Jack’s squadron on plumes of blue fusion flame.

“Then you’re going to love what happens next,” Jasmine returned with a smirk.

“Mmmm?” Jack asked with a raised eyebrow.

“We’re getting radar emissions from Raytheon targeting packages,” Betty announced.

Jack blinked in confusion. “I thought Raytheon and Technicron didn’t play well together. Something about…missing data packets or something?”

“That’s right,” Jasmine said with a nasty smile. “These guys aren’t fighting with a full deck.”

“And we’ve got a plan,” Betty added.

Jack chuckled at the wicked amusement in their eyes. He might have asked for an explanation in most cases, but now probably wasn’t the right time for that. Missiles moved faster than words after all. So he just relaxed and said, “Then make it so.”

***
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Wolfenheim Rising

by on January 12, 2019 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Malcolm winced as the destroyer lurched, and three of her escort fighters simply disappeared, but the survivors stayed in formation and continued to fire at the incoming stream of missiles. She was an Austin-class destroyer, the best American destroyer ever built, and she would not go down easily. But she would go down if someone didn’t do something about it. Which made it a very good thing for her that someone was about to do something.

“All fighters, attack pattern Alpha,” Smith transmitted.

Malcolm glanced at Dawn and she nodded back. She was ready. He smiled as the grav generator powered up again, the main fusion drives fired at maximum power, and they effectively slammed on the brakes. Blue fusion torches filled space with kilometers-long blue beacons of light, broadcasting to everyone with eyes that they were coming.

But the Shang didn’t have time to do anything as the fighters closed into firing range. It was a perfectly executed high-speed attack coming out of complete darkness. Malcolm continued to chuckle as he imagined the Shang crewmen trying to come to terms with the idea that suddenly they were the ones in danger.

“All fighters, fire for effect,” Smith ordered in an iron tone.

“Hello, boys,” Malcolm said with a nasty chuckle as the fighters opened fire. “We’re ba-ack.”

***

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Angel War

by on January 11, 2019 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

“All ships, break and attack in three…two…one…now,” Jack counted down and felt his Avenger’s systems come alive around him. T&J shifted into the drumbeats of war, and he slammed the throttle forward to send them accelerating towards the Shang. Avengers, Hellcats, and Blackhawks accelerated all around him, diving towards the Shang en masse. The warships came to life behind him, destroyers and frigates accelerating with the two heavy cruisers and a single light carrier.

The combined cybernetic intelligences of an entire small fleet went to work and he watched the plot come alive with targeting plans refined by lashing the Shang with full-powered sensor sweeps. A blind man could have felt them coming in his teeth, and the Shang were not blind at all.

They recognized the trap they’d flown into in an instant and reacted the only way they could. They turned from Thunderer and her battlegroup and began accelerating straight towards Jack’s tiny fleet. Betty brought their new path up on the plot and Jack recognized the slingshot maneuver that would spin them out the other side of New Earth’s Red Line long before his force could come around and chase them down. They had exactly one good shot at this.

Thunderer and her ships spun to fire full salvos into the Shang’s flanks. Deflection grids flickered and armor buckled, but the Shang had far too much acceleration for the British battleship to keep them in range for long. But it was bringing the Shang and Jack’s little force directly into each other’s best firing range.

“Oh Lord, for what we are about to receive may we be eternally grateful,” Jack whispered and flexed his fingers.

“Amen,” a chorus of voices said from the communications display.

***

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