The Synchronicity War Part 2 Read Online Free PDF Page A

the
other side. But even as he had the thought, he remembered what
Howard had said in the vision. The defending forces had barely been
able to stop the surviving enemy ships from attacking the colony.
That did not sound like an attack by a handful of survivors but
rather an attack by the majority of that fleet. That worried him.
Then the other shoe dropped. Another text message from Iceman via
Valkyrie.

    [ Analysis of your data reveals that enemy
fleet opened fire on recon 1st wave far faster than can be
accounted for by the response time of living organisms. Those ships
are controlled by A.I.s too, CAG. Adjust your plans accordingly.
Message ends ]

    Shiloh felt the hair on the back of his neck
stand up. He’d seen enough by now to appreciate how much more
effective A.I. controlled fighters were compared to human pilots.
The prospect that Iceman and his boys had to survive against a
superior number of combat starships under A.I. control with
virtually instantaneous reaction times made him sick to his
stomach. It was only with a supreme effort of will that he
prevented his stomach from heaving right then and there. His body’s
reaction made him realize that he would feel the loss of Iceman and
his fellow pilots just as deeply as if they were human. What
difference did it make if a sentient being had a brain composed of
quantum circuits instead of organic cells? If anyone asked him that
question, his answer would be an unequivocal “none!”

    There’d be time to morn Iceman and the others
later. Right now he had a vision to fulfill. He stepped over to the
Helm station.

    “You saw Iceman’s bombshell?” he asked
Tanaka.

    “Yes, Sir.” her voice was somber too. She
clearly understood the implications for the Strike Force.

    “Good. As soon as we start getting hit with
enemy radar, I want the ship to start and maintain a random and
fast evasion pattern. I don’t want us on the same vector and
acceleration for more than a second at a time. Make sure it’s
completely random. I don’t want those alien A.I.s figuring out that
we’re using some kind of predictable algorithm and anticipating our
next moves. You can overload the inertial dampeners if you feel
that’s necessary. Warn the crew now so they have time to get ready.
Can you do that, Sumi?” There was no hesitation whatsoever in her
reply.

    “Yes, Sir. I can do that.”

    “Good! Very good!” He smiled at her and gave her
a pat on the shoulder as he turned away. Looking at the
chronometer, he realized that the XO didn’t have a lot of time to
get that evasion program ready. Tanaka wasted no time in notifying
the crew.

    “Intercom…shipwide…Attention all hands, this is
the XO. Prepare for evasive maneuvers that may overload the
inertial dampeners. Stow all lose gear and strap yourselves in.
This will be a rough ride and it may commence without any further
warning. Tanaka clear.”

    As he sat back down in his Command Chair, Shiloh
strapped himself in securely, while he watched the tactical
display. The time indicator showing how much time was left before
the range to the enemy dropped to zero, was itself dropping fast.
The enemy fleet was moving towards Defiant at a rate of over 9,000
kilometers per second and Defiant, even though she was frantically
trying to slow down, was still moving towards the enemy at a rate
of just under 2,000 kilometers per second. When the time to zero
range dropped to 15 minutes, the range would be down to 5,199,385
km. During those final 15 minutes, Defiant would move sideways in
addition to the forward motion it would still have. When the 15
minutes dropped to zero, the ship would be 812,000 km off to the
side of the enemy’s projected trajectory. With laser fire
travelling at the speed of light, it would take any laser beam
fired at Defiant, just under 3 seconds to reach her. The enemy’s
problem was in figuring out where Defiant would be by the time the
laser pulse got there. A random evasion program should in