‘Why so evident?’
‘Fifteen of the planetary systems concerned were the temporary or permanent bases of ECS fleets. Many of the other planetary systems disrupted are those, where Jerusalem’s forces have been engaging. Jerusalem’s own base was also a target.’
‘What kind of runcible-based attack are we talking about here?’ Cormac felt the skin crawling on the back of his neck as he recollected a threat the original Dragon had once made — namely turning runcibles into black holes. Were ‘between twenty and thirty’ Polity worlds therefore now rubble? Were billions of citizens now dead or dying?
‘Once an enemy has obtained access to the runcible network, the most likely scenario is the transmission of imploders to detonate within the target runcible gate, and what I am seeing seems to confirm that. The effect is similar to that generated by a USER: the disruption of a large volume of surrounding U-space, though the disruption will be of limited duration and unstable.’
‘What about the effect upon the worlds involved?’
‘Minimal,’ said King. ‘The gates would emit only gamma radiation, whose destructive potential should not extend beyond any medium-sized runcible complex.’
So, no worlds trashed and no billions killed. Merely thousands, though it seemed wrong to feel so relieved to hear that. Now he speculated on what precisely was going on. Presumably this Orlandine must have used the stolen war runcible to key into the Polity network and thus send the imploders.
‘Can you give me a tactical analysis?’
‘ECS fleets brought in to cover the possibility of further attacks in this same quadrant by Erebus are now incapable of U-space travel,’ announced King.
‘Which includes the fleet out of Salvaston?’ said Cormac.
‘Precisely.’ King continued, ‘Those fleets fighting Erebus’s forces at the line itself are either confined or wholly engaged with the enemy, so unable to break away, and Jerusalem is out of contact with all of them.’
‘This will mean that Erebus’s forces there are also confined,’ observed Smith.
‘True,’ said King, ‘but those forces were only a small portion of the total. And there is the war runcible still to consider.’
‘So where are the rest of the enemy forces, and where is Orlandine?’ asked Cormac, already guessing the most likely answer.
The area within the funnel, right up close to the screen, shaded red. ‘Orlandine’s last recorded position was within this area, and it seems likely that Erebus is here too. Now, all that lies between them and Earth is Solar System Defence.’
‘Nothing else?’
‘Nothing of consequence.’
‘That seems somewhat remiss.’
‘It is remiss. Erebus has played this perfectly.’
‘Perhaps you could explain?’
‘Since Erebus’s attack seemed concentrated in this particular quadrant, extra forces were moved in from all surrounding areas. That this attack occurred on the other side of the Polity from the Prador kingdom was not noted. The ECS quadrant forces over on that side are positioned near the Line over there, ready to intercept and if necessary follow in any attacking Prador fleet. They are far distant from Earth so would take some time to reach it. The forces on this side, Erebus has already nailed down. Forces elsewhere within the Polity should be able to get to Earth more quickly… However, Erebus and Orlandine have a straight run on Earth and will now have the time to conduct a sustained attack.’
Cormac considered the scenario. By appearing incompetent in attacking an ECS fleet outside the Polity itself, and thus revealing itself, Erebus had perhaps led the AIs into a false sense of security. They had assumed they were dealing with something that did not think as logically as themselves, was perhaps even a little insane. They had not expected such a new dimension to the attack — this USER disruption generated by their own runcible network. Or had they? Still he found himself questioning the lack of a more active response from them. And still there were serious questions to be answered about that Ipatus Chang woman. But, even if the AIs were careless of any damage this would inflict on the human race, they must surely care about the damage that could be inflicted upon themselves. Erebus might now bring down Earth, and with the homeworld bring down the Polity’s de facto ruler: Earth Central… Of course, whatever Cormac thought about all this was irrelevant now. There would be no fleet out of Salvaston, so he could do nothing about either Orlandine or Erebus.
Then again…
Maybe there was something he could do. In being able to send himself through U-space he possessed an utterly unexpected ability, one even beyond Erebus itself.
‘I take it you have a substantial stock of CTDs aboard?’ he suggested.
‘I have.’
‘Anything small enough for me to carry in a backpack?’
‘Most of them are that small… physically, anyway.’
‘Sort one out for me then — largest destructive potential but not too heavy.’
‘What are you planning?’ asked Smith.
‘I’m planning to remove at least one of Erebus’s allies — this Orlandine character,’ Cormac replied. ‘King, when you’re ready, head us towards that war runcible’s last known location.’ He looked round at his three companions, who were watching him expectantly.
‘Horace Blegg thought he could transport himself through U-space,’ Cormac began. ‘We now know that isn’t true.’
‘And?’ enquired Smith.
‘I can.’
Smith’s expression revealed a convincing emulation of bemusement and disbelief. Cormac shuddered, feeling himself become somehow insubstantial, as the bridge dome greyed over and the King of Hearts dropped into the mentioned continuum. He closed his eyes, concentrated on stability, then in his gridlink replayed the images that the attack ship AI had earlier displayed in the viewing dome. After a moment he accessed the ship’s server to obtain precise measurements of the geometry of the funnel displayed, for he had noted that the mouth was very narrow, maybe too narrow. The measurements soon confirmed this.
‘King,’ he said, ‘to get to Earth, both Erebus’s wormships and the war runcible will need to pass along a narrow corridor between intersecting spheres of U-space disruption. I see that this won’t be easy for them.’
‘Practically impossible,’ King concurred. ‘It would be easier for them to surface into the real then make a series of short jumps wherever the wash from the disruption allows.’
‘So they will have to travel sub-light for appreciable distances?’
‘Yes.’
‘You know what I’m considering?’
‘Be nice if we damn well knew too,’ observed Arach.
‘Very well.’ Cormac paused, knowing the others would not like this, since it meant they would have to remain aboard ship. ‘With all that Jain technology at Erebus’s disposal, I don’t know why he made Orlandine seize that war runcible, but that she did so must mean it is critical to Erebus’s plans.’
‘I think I’m beginning to understand,’ said Smith.
‘Bully for you,’ grumped Arach.
‘The war runcible is heavily armed,’ Cormac explained. ‘King could not possibly destroy it, hence the need for the Salvaston fleet. However—’
‘How did I know there was a “however” coming?’ interrupted Arach.
‘However, if King can get me close enough, I can transport myself and the CTD across to take the war runcible out of the equation.’
‘That’s if King can even get you close,’ Smith observed, ‘or finds it not surrounded by wormships.’
‘Do you have any other suggestions?’
‘Not at the moment.’
‘So you go across alone?’ Arach was clearly disappointed.
‘Alone, yes.’
‘Seems pointless.’