Read Online Looking Glass 4 - Claws That Catch by John Ringo - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: John Ringo
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fired in anger. On the other hand, he had several ribbons that indicated people thought he walked on water, up to and including two Legions of Merit. So either he was an A Number One kiss-butt or he was one of the boffins services kept around for their intellectual prowess rather than warrior spirit.
“Which means exactly nothing to me,” Captain Prael said.
“Then try to keep up, Captain,” the commander said dryly. “HD 242896 is an F9V, that means hot-green star, located between the constellations of Sagittarius and Orion, more or less in Taurus, in the night sky. It is important solely because during their retreat from the Dreen, the Hexosehr found an interesting installation around one of its gas giants.”
“Define interesting,” Bill said.
“This interesting,” the commander replied, bringing up a slide.
Bill recognized the view as one that had been translated from Hexosehr sonar images. The Hexosehr used various sensors and then converted them to sonar terms, just as humans, for example, would convert the bounced radio signals of radar into blips on a screen.
Converting the result into visual images for humans was often a matter of art rather than science. And generally the art form was surrealist.
“What in the hell is that?” Captain Prael asked. It was a structure that looked a bit like an octopus mated with a walrus.
“That is the best image we've been able to create,” the commander said. “But this facility was in orbit around a giant the Hexosehr were refueling at. Whether it was a fueling station for a dead race or a living habitat, a space station . . . Perhaps all of the above. The purpose of the facility was unclear. It was heavily damaged and in retrograde orbit. However, their brief survey of it did find this.”
The commander reached into his briefcase and set a small black monolith on the table.
“Is that what I think it is?” Bill asked. “Because it looks a lot like the LBB that powers our ship. And if it is . . . make sure you've got a static protector or this entire city is going to be gutted.”
“If it is, it is broken,” the commander said. “The Hexosehr, knowing nothing about the technology, already applied electrical power to it. There was no result. Ditto various particle streams. However, the point is that the Adar found the LBB we now use on a star in the direction of Sagittarius. And now there is this facility. That indicates that the center of this predecessor race, the race that created the engine in the Blade, may be located near HD 242896. Given that they did not want the Dreen obtaining any technology from the race that built the facility, they attempted to destroy it. It was particularly adamant and resistant to even their chaos balls. They eventually increased its rate of descent and dropped it into the Jovian's atmosphere. They are unsure if that truly destroyed it or not. For all we know, it's simply sitting on the metal hydrogen center.”
“Now that would be something to see,” Bill commented.
“Indeed.”
“How far away is this place?” Captain Prael asked.
“Four hundred and twenty-six light years,” Lieutenant Fey interjected. He'd been tapping at his computer during the majority of the briefing. “I'd estimate twenty-three days transit. Fewer chill stops and better recyclers means we can make better time.”
“Get out there,” Admiral Townsend said. “Sailing orders are for nine days from now. Go to that star system first and check out the other planets. Then spread out. Standard orders. It's a scouting mission, not a battle, but if you run into trouble or something that you think needs fixing, use your own judgment. With the increased storage space on the Blade
II, not to mention the Hexosehr recyclers, you should be able to extend your away time over a hundred days. If you find anything that's immediately useful, though, bring it back right away. By the same token, if you find anything that might be useful but you
“Which means exactly nothing to me,” Captain Prael said.
“Then try to keep up, Captain,” the commander said dryly. “HD 242896 is an F9V, that means hot-green star, located between the constellations of Sagittarius and Orion, more or less in Taurus, in the night sky. It is important solely because during their retreat from the Dreen, the Hexosehr found an interesting installation around one of its gas giants.”
“Define interesting,” Bill said.
“This interesting,” the commander replied, bringing up a slide.
Bill recognized the view as one that had been translated from Hexosehr sonar images. The Hexosehr used various sensors and then converted them to sonar terms, just as humans, for example, would convert the bounced radio signals of radar into blips on a screen.
Converting the result into visual images for humans was often a matter of art rather than science. And generally the art form was surrealist.
“What in the hell is that?” Captain Prael asked. It was a structure that looked a bit like an octopus mated with a walrus.
“That is the best image we've been able to create,” the commander said. “But this facility was in orbit around a giant the Hexosehr were refueling at. Whether it was a fueling station for a dead race or a living habitat, a space station . . . Perhaps all of the above. The purpose of the facility was unclear. It was heavily damaged and in retrograde orbit. However, their brief survey of it did find this.”
The commander reached into his briefcase and set a small black monolith on the table.
“Is that what I think it is?” Bill asked. “Because it looks a lot like the LBB that powers our ship. And if it is . . . make sure you've got a static protector or this entire city is going to be gutted.”
“If it is, it is broken,” the commander said. “The Hexosehr, knowing nothing about the technology, already applied electrical power to it. There was no result. Ditto various particle streams. However, the point is that the Adar found the LBB we now use on a star in the direction of Sagittarius. And now there is this facility. That indicates that the center of this predecessor race, the race that created the engine in the Blade, may be located near HD 242896. Given that they did not want the Dreen obtaining any technology from the race that built the facility, they attempted to destroy it. It was particularly adamant and resistant to even their chaos balls. They eventually increased its rate of descent and dropped it into the Jovian's atmosphere. They are unsure if that truly destroyed it or not. For all we know, it's simply sitting on the metal hydrogen center.”
“Now that would be something to see,” Bill commented.
“Indeed.”
“How far away is this place?” Captain Prael asked.
“Four hundred and twenty-six light years,” Lieutenant Fey interjected. He'd been tapping at his computer during the majority of the briefing. “I'd estimate twenty-three days transit. Fewer chill stops and better recyclers means we can make better time.”
“Get out there,” Admiral Townsend said. “Sailing orders are for nine days from now. Go to that star system first and check out the other planets. Then spread out. Standard orders. It's a scouting mission, not a battle, but if you run into trouble or something that you think needs fixing, use your own judgment. With the increased storage space on the Blade
II, not to mention the Hexosehr recyclers, you should be able to extend your away time over a hundred days. If you find anything that's immediately useful, though, bring it back right away. By the same token, if you find anything that might be useful but you
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