perhaps the next time it will be the other side that suffers. It is only if the loss is at one of the crucial points of the battle that a single such event would be fatal.”
Janeway nodded. “A chaotic system, you mean—where any one event could get lost in the noise, but the right event could trigger a cascade that would change everything.”
“Exactly.”
Janeway frowned thoughtfully.
“Suppose that that event never happens?” she asked. “Chaotic systems can be quite stable at times.”
“If nothing happens to change the balance,” Tuvok said, “I would estimate that this conflict will continue until all ships on both sides run out of power. Whichever side is still able to maneuver when the other has totally exhausted its resources will emerge victorious—but I am unable to determine which side that would be.”
Janeway nodded. “And at the present rates of fire, how long do you think this state of exhaustion would take to occur?”
“You understand, of course, that due to the debris cloud and the shields, I have only very imprecise readings on most of those ships, Captain, and can therefore do no more than make a rough estimate.”
“Estimate, then.”
“Both sides seem to be using matter-antimatter reactors even though they show no signs of warp drive capability, and both also appear to have backup fission/fusion power systems that could, should they choose to do so, use the cloud of drifting wreckage as fuel; furthermore, although they are employing a great many energy weapons, you will have noticed that the majority of those weapons are high-efficiency, low-yield devices, thereby conserving resources. Their shields, too, appear to be carefully tuned and highly efficient—more efficient than our own, I would say.”
“And?”
“And I would estimate, Captain, that they can maintain this level of conflict for another thirty years.”
Janeway blinked, startled, and turned to face Tuvok.
“Thirty years?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not possible,” Janeway said. “Space battles last minutes, or hours, not years!”
“Based on my own experience prior to encountering this phenomenon ahead of us, Captain, I would say that your generalization is sound,” Tuvok agreed. “However, after studying the levels of damage being inflicted, analyzing the debris in the area and the contents of the dust cloud surrounding us, and measuring the background radiation, I am forced to conclude that the fleet action ahead of us has already lasted between six and eight hundred standard years.”
“Six and eight hundred…?”
Janeway stared at him. “How can they keep a battle going for centuries?”
“The capital ships appear to be fully self-contained, Captain,” Tuvok said. “In theory, they could fight on indefinitely.”
“But what kind of people could do that?” Janeway demanded, looking at Neelix.
The Talaxian held out his hands in a gesture of helplessness.
“The Hachai and the P’nir do have some undeniably odd behaviors,” he said.
Chapter 9
Neelix was not certain, at first, whether the captain was speaking literally when she said to tell her all about the Hachai and the P’nir and their ancient, interminable war. He glanced uneasily about the bridge, and saw that everyone who was not actively involved with the controls or instruments was staring at him—Tuvok on one side, Harry Kim on the other, and Chakotay and the captain right there in the middle.
They did look as if they wanted him to tell them about it. He cleared his throat.
“Well, as I said before,” he began, “the Hachai and the P’nir were always very good at defensive technology. They made the best shields in the quadrant, very highly tuned, very efficient equipment. They were both great believers in the value of defense.”
Neelix paused and looked around, to see whether he should continue.
“Go on,” Janeway told him.
“Well, as I heard it,” Neelix said, “long ago, when the war began in earnest, both
Janeway nodded. “A chaotic system, you mean—where any one event could get lost in the noise, but the right event could trigger a cascade that would change everything.”
“Exactly.”
Janeway frowned thoughtfully.
“Suppose that that event never happens?” she asked. “Chaotic systems can be quite stable at times.”
“If nothing happens to change the balance,” Tuvok said, “I would estimate that this conflict will continue until all ships on both sides run out of power. Whichever side is still able to maneuver when the other has totally exhausted its resources will emerge victorious—but I am unable to determine which side that would be.”
Janeway nodded. “And at the present rates of fire, how long do you think this state of exhaustion would take to occur?”
“You understand, of course, that due to the debris cloud and the shields, I have only very imprecise readings on most of those ships, Captain, and can therefore do no more than make a rough estimate.”
“Estimate, then.”
“Both sides seem to be using matter-antimatter reactors even though they show no signs of warp drive capability, and both also appear to have backup fission/fusion power systems that could, should they choose to do so, use the cloud of drifting wreckage as fuel; furthermore, although they are employing a great many energy weapons, you will have noticed that the majority of those weapons are high-efficiency, low-yield devices, thereby conserving resources. Their shields, too, appear to be carefully tuned and highly efficient—more efficient than our own, I would say.”
“And?”
“And I would estimate, Captain, that they can maintain this level of conflict for another thirty years.”
Janeway blinked, startled, and turned to face Tuvok.
“Thirty years?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not possible,” Janeway said. “Space battles last minutes, or hours, not years!”
“Based on my own experience prior to encountering this phenomenon ahead of us, Captain, I would say that your generalization is sound,” Tuvok agreed. “However, after studying the levels of damage being inflicted, analyzing the debris in the area and the contents of the dust cloud surrounding us, and measuring the background radiation, I am forced to conclude that the fleet action ahead of us has already lasted between six and eight hundred standard years.”
“Six and eight hundred…?”
Janeway stared at him. “How can they keep a battle going for centuries?”
“The capital ships appear to be fully self-contained, Captain,” Tuvok said. “In theory, they could fight on indefinitely.”
“But what kind of people could do that?” Janeway demanded, looking at Neelix.
The Talaxian held out his hands in a gesture of helplessness.
“The Hachai and the P’nir do have some undeniably odd behaviors,” he said.
Chapter 9
Neelix was not certain, at first, whether the captain was speaking literally when she said to tell her all about the Hachai and the P’nir and their ancient, interminable war. He glanced uneasily about the bridge, and saw that everyone who was not actively involved with the controls or instruments was staring at him—Tuvok on one side, Harry Kim on the other, and Chakotay and the captain right there in the middle.
They did look as if they wanted him to tell them about it. He cleared his throat.
“Well, as I said before,” he began, “the Hachai and the P’nir were always very good at defensive technology. They made the best shields in the quadrant, very highly tuned, very efficient equipment. They were both great believers in the value of defense.”
Neelix paused and looked around, to see whether he should continue.
“Go on,” Janeway told him.
“Well, as I heard it,” Neelix said, “long ago, when the war began in earnest, both
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