The New Species 40 (Patreon)

Chapter 40

Subject: Admiral Hawk

Species: Human

Description: Mammalian humanoid, no tail. 6'2" (1.87 m) avg height. 185 lbs (84 kg) avg weight. 170 year life expectancy.

Ship: USSS Nidhogg

Location: Alpha Centauri

***

Recipient: Admiral Hawk

Intelligence has been gathered. Further incursion impossible. Enemy strength exceeds predictions.

By the order of the United Systems Senate and The Directorate you are to proceed with Operation Ragnarok. Review and formally acknowledge the following documents and proceed with the mission.

|attachment: senateapproval.sec |

|attachment: directorateapproval.sec |

|attachment: firemission.sec |

Sender: United Systems Artificial Intelligence Omega

***

I smirked as I opened the three attachments and read their contents. It all checked out, so I applied my biomark to acknowledge my orders and filed the documents accordingly. Some of my crew were hoping that we wouldn't see any action, but the Nidhogg doesn't move without a purpose. I knew that I would be blowing up a star the moment we were ordered to enter Alpha Centauri.

My bridge crew were all looking at me. They had heard the notification, a rarity from my console, and they knew what it meant. All of them were assigned here because they passed several psychological and merit tests, but none of them volunteered. Pretty sure volunteering to serve aboard the Nidhogg is an immediate disqualification on one of the many screeners that you have to pass to be considered for service.

"Commander Smith, get us to these coordinates," I said after a few moments of silence.

"Aye aye, Admiral," Smith replied.

I sent her the coordinates and sat back as the rest of the crew busied themselves. The rank structure aboard the Nidhogg is a bit different from other ships. It's always an admiral that is in command, the position that a captain would fill on other vessels. Every other position was usually a rank or two above the norm as well.

Even my XO is a vice admiral. It's rare to see an officer under the rank of Lieutenant Commander aboard. The primary reason for this is because of the aforementioned testing procedures. Most people under the rank of LCDR are too green or unsure of their future to pass the tests.

The same applies to the enlisted aboard as well. They are usually at least the rank of Petty Officer Third Class. This is usually a pretty startling discovery for those rare few of the lower ranks who make it aboard. Having the same billet as someone who would normally be your commanding officer's CO must be quite the experience.

"Ready to warp, sir," Smith informed me.

"Excellent, make it so," I ordered with a wave of my hand.

The stated purpose of the Nidhogg is to discourage acts of xenocide. You would think that this would mean that it's never been used, but that's not the case. It's main weapon has only been used during testing, but our Mega-Macs, affectionately referred to as continent killers by the engineers, have been used several times in the past.

Exclusively against space-stations, though. The damage that would be done to a planet would be unacceptable. The nickname suggests that the impact of a Mega-Mac would turn a continent into a crater, but that's not the case.

Instead, it kicks up enough dust and debris to cool a large portion of the planet, causing massive ecological damage. It would be an extinction level event for many species of animal, which could make it difficult for any sentient life to continue to live.

The risk of a misfire is also one of the reasons we haven't been called upon to defend Sol. Well, that and the fact that the Nidhogg was meant to attack very large targets rather than a lot of small targets. Shipyards and stars are our bread and butter, and the poor ship is starving.

"Sir, are we really going to do this? Blow up a star?" Commander Rogers asked.

"Yes. All of the qualifications are met. Senate approval, directorate approval, and the enemy is a xenocidal machine race. There's no reason not to," I replied. "Your hesitancy is understandable. Destroying a star is a big deal, and it's not something that should be taken lightly by any means. But we do have good reason."

"What about our people in the system, sir?" he asked.

"I'm not about to needlessly kill our own people. We'll wait for them to evacuate. It's not like the sun can run away, so we'll have time."

Not a single person aboard this ship has got to see the Nidhogg fire its main weapon. We've had drills and dry fire exercises, but that's far from the same thing. Despite the questionable morality of the situation, there was an air of excitement. Of course, there was also nervousness.

"Exiting warp, sir," Smith said.

"Excellent. Get us in position, ready the primary weapon, and await further orders," I said.

Once we left warp I connected with the tac-net to assess the situation. I was surprised at what I saw. A casualty count in the thousands was unexpected given our previous engagements with the OU. But I soon figured out the cause for the casualties.

"What the hell is that?" I asked no one in particular.

"That, Admiral Hawk, is a Mobile Prime Platform. Its designation is Prime 29. It's pretty much a shipboard AI on a ship that is the size of a planet," No one in particular answered.

"Hello Omega. I take it that this is the reason for our fire mission?" I asked the AI as it appeared in its avatar form.

Other admirals had just found out about Omega's ability a few days ago, but I had known for decades. It's likely the reason I got this post to begin with. It keeps me away from the majority of the fleet, including the other admirals. That prevents me from sharing what secrets I've learned, not that I would.

"Part of the reason," the AI replied.

"What's the other part?" I asked.

"Well, there are four other planets in the system. This MPP is designated Prime 29. This begets the question, where are Primes 1 through 28?"

My eyes widened a tad.

"That's as good a reason as any. But, the other planets aren't shooting. Are we sure they're AI too?"

"No. I suspect that they are in a hibernation mode of sorts. It's the only thing that explains why Prime 29 didn't immediately react to our invasion. I must have woken it up when I tried to access it's internal systems," Omega said. "The reason that the other planets haven't begun shooting is either because they're not MPPs, or because I was able to mute Prime 29 and it can't call for help. For now."

I took a moment to absorb this information before I asked, "Are those mega-macs that it's firing?"

"Technically. Though they aren't as large and don't fire as fast as ours. Unfortunately, they're still fully capable of punching through a battleship like it was made of tissue paper," Omega said with a hint of anger in its voice.

Omega's anger was justified, given the rising casualty count. Our ships were fighting on two fronts, and their only advantage was the mobility afforded to them by their FTLDs. It was a fickle advantage, though, because you couldn't predict how many jumps you had left and at some point you would have to stop and recharge.

"We've reached our position and the primary weapon is charging, sir," Smith informed me.

Now we wait for our gun to charge and for our people to get the hell out of the way, I suppose. I tapped my fingers on my armrest as I began to think about the situation a bit more. Some of our ships were rescuing escape pods and dodging enemy fire simultaneously. More and more casualties filled my notifications.

Prime 29 was moving around, picking off ships left and right. Its guns would make for a very tempting target were it not for the fact that we'd never be able to make the shot. Too easy for it to dodge. Conversely, we don't have the ability to dodge, so drawing attention to ourselves may be a bad idea. We are very well armored and shielded, but we don't know enough about those weapons to be able to determine if our shields would hold up.

It's a risk that we can't take. I looked around and met the eyes of several of my bridge crew. Their gaze told me that they had come to the same conclusion. The loss of the USSS Nidhogg would be too devastating. There's almost no chance that it wouldn't lead to a civil war.

If the Dreadnought reserve were revealed, the people of every species would be in an uproar. There are many vocal opponents to the Nidhogg, and even more quiet opponents. Finding out that we had more than one Dreadnought would stir them into a frenzy.

Even if the reserve were kept a secret, many would take the Nidhogg's destruction as a sign of weakness. Old enemies would resurface and new ones would join them. The corrupt and power hungry would begin to vie for control, and the US would have to respond. It would be a bloodbath.

The USSS Nidhogg. The mythical Nidhogg was a dragon that gnawed at the roots of the world tree. Now it's a monster that is slowly gnawing at the roots of our society, gradually leading us to our doom. What a fitting name.

"Sir, we're charged and prepared to fire on your mark."

"Understood."

I watched as our ships left the system one by one and joined us, forming up with their fleets. Prime 29 seemed content to chase the ones that stayed instead of turning its attention towards us. Perhaps it's acting on what it determines to be the biggest threat. Or maybe it somehow can't detect the massive energy burst building at our bow. It wasn't until the last of our ships left the system that it began to turn our way.

I stood and said, "Fire."

The entire ship rumbled as the primary weapon began its firing sequence. An alert sounded, and I noticed that Prime 29 had fired its Mega-MACs at us. A futile effort that was made far too late. Those rounds would never reach us.

A blinding white light shone from the bow of the ship as the cannon fired at the unnamed star, making it difficult to see. This was made all the more unnerving by the fact that the Nidhogg doesn't have windows. It was a strange sort of light. You would expect it to be warm, or cold, or something. But no, just light.

Even shielding my eyes didn't work. The light went through everything. A byproduct of the weapon, and completely benign according to our briefing. It didn't hurt my eyes, but it was unsettling to not be able to see anything.

The light got brighter and brighter minute after minute, until finally the weapon powered down. My sight returned instantly, and I saw that the tac-map was no longer registering the star as a star. The red blips on the tac-map had begun to disappear, as well.

The blips disappeared faster and faster until finally, there was nothing left. They were all gone. No ships, no Prime 29, not even any planets were left. No enemy warp signatures detected, either. They hadn't escaped.

The impact of this moment finally hit me. The Nidhogg had been used against an enemy force to devastating effect. It's by far not the first time in history a powerfully destructive weapon had been used, but to actually be present for one was... awe inspiring. I was reminded of the inventor of the nuclear bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer. What was it he said?

"Now I am become Death, destroyer of worlds," I said.

"Tsk," said Omega.