Rumors of Honor (System States Rebellion Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

waited for rescue shuttles and a tug to dock with the ship.
Their escort mission had failed. They found out later that none of the
freighter crew had survived.
     
    * 
*  *  *
     
    Day
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    Masterson
nodded to Trojan as he entered the General’s office. He motioned for Trojan to
take a seat.
     
    “I
assume you’ve heard about the Council’s decision regarding your proposal?”
asked Masterson.
     
    Trojan
nodded. “They approved small, tactical fission devices for use as anti-ship
weapons only.”
     
    “Yes.
We’re lucky that Trafalgar’s radar data remained intact after that battle. The
Union really did us a favor by attacking shipping near Earth. Not only did it
frighten the members of the Council, but we also didn’t have to wait months for
the information to get back here. It’s clear now that the Union is building
ships with neutron armor. Tactical nukes are the only thing that can stop them.
What the Council probably isn’t aware of yet is the fact that no one has built
fission devices in hundreds of years because it hasn’t been necessary. We don’t
have stocks of enriched uranium lying around, because we abandoned nuclear
power centuries ago when we figured out how to exploit total mass to energy
conversion. The engineers tell me that mass converters can’t be configured to
explode, so we can’t use that technique for tactical warheads. Did Oracle have
an alternative by any chance?”
     
    “Yes,
Sir. I asked Oracle that very question before we started to disassemble it. It
so happens that Makassar has some rich uranium deposits. Ninety-nine percent of
all uranium is U-238, which is useless for making bombs, but if you hit a U-238
atom with a neutron, it will be transmuted into plutonium 239, which can be
used for a fission warhead. We know how to manipulate neutrons because that’s
how we make armor composed of collapsed neutrons. I’ve been told that it should
be relatively easy to fire neutrons at U-238 to get Pu-239. Now normally a
plutonium fission warhead would be too big and heavy for use on anti-ship
missiles, but Oracle found data, apparently originating all the way back to the
second war of the 20th Century, that involves bombarding a small amount of
fissile material with protons generated from a lithium plasma. I don’t
understand the physics myself, but I’ve been told that we’ll be able to make
warheads small enough for use on our standard AS missile that will still pack
enough punch to blast through neutron armor.”
     
    “Excellent!
Now for the big question. How fast can these warheads be put into service?”
     
    Trojan
sighed. “There’s a lot of ifs involved, General. If I can find the right people
and the right equipment before I head off to Hadley, and if I can get the
uranium deposits on Makassar mined and refined AND if we can make the lithium
plasma trigger work, then maybe we’ll have operational warheads in six to nine
months.”
     
    “We
have to assume that the Union will use their armored ships to attack Makassar.
They’d be idiots not to. Nine months might be too late. Have those warheads
ready in six months, and I don’t care how you do it, understand?”
     
    “Understood,
Sir.”
     
    Masterson’s
stern expression relaxed. “Good. You’re leaving for Hadley in eight days,
correct?”
     
    “Yes,
Sir.”
     
    “I’m
not sure if I envy you or feel sorry for you. Once you’ve set up operations
there, you won’t have me or anyone else looking over your shoulder, but that
also means there won’t be anyone else to pass the buck to. The entire outcome
of the war will rest on your shoulders. That’s a burden that I’m glad I won’t
have to carry. By the way, the Council also approved your second star. I think
I can safely say that you won’t end this war as a two-star general. Hell, by
the time this war is over, I may be saluting you. Congratulations on your
promotion, General. I think we’re done for now.”
     
    As
Trojan left