Read Online SODIUM:4 Gravity by Stephen Arseneault - Free Book Online
Authors: Stephen Arseneault
Tags: Sci Fi & Fantasy
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attach their mouth to a tube for several seconds and then release before moving to another tube. Several seconds later they would detach and continue on their way. Shepard did a quick zoom with a camera and identified the first tube to have some type of shrimp floating through it when a squid attached. They were having lunch.
When the squid connected to the next tube it was evident that materials were moving from the squid back into the structure. The structure was nothing more than a floating lunch-wagon with restrooms.
With the QE comm the information we were gathering was being seen instantly by Command back at home. Much of it would not be useful during battle, but the more we knew and understood our enemy the better chance we had of not only defeating them, but of making contact and being able to reason with them.
Perhaps the entire war could be prevented or a truce negotiated. We would be willing to share our resources in exchange for peace and perhaps new technologies. And if the reason for the alien attacks were for their survival we would probably be willing to lend a hand. If anything, humans as a whole were a benevolent minded species... even after the devastating attacks we had suffered.
When we passed through the next wall the storage areas were filled with what appeared to be the same mini assault subs that had destroyed our Driller on Alvin. The computer counted thousands upon thousands of them. I got a sudden chill as I thought about an invasion of our oceans and what that would mean to our shipping.
The majority of our goods were still transported around the globe on mega-container ships. Even though plane flights had become inexpensive with the advent of Sodium fusion, large scale shipping on the oceans continued to have an economic advantage. If the squids controlled the oceans they could shut down and disrupt large parts of our economies.
I then had a sudden urge to start blasting the great ship from the inside out. What damage could we do by loosing all of our Drillers at once, as well as damage from our BHD and coil guns? We were on the inside where their powerful gravity weapon would likely do no harm.
I floated the idea to Command and was told to sit tight. All options were being considered. I gave Shepard the go-ahead to ready the Drillers in case new orders came down. She was already a step ahead of me.
As we passed through the next wall we came into an ocean area that was only 500 meters in depth. It was teaming with what were likely thousands of tiny squid. We were floating through the alien's nursery. I looked on in wonder at the tiny green six tentacled offspring of our enemy.
I began to wonder if the aliens had any traits that we would normally consider human. Were they greedy, arrogant or spiteful at times? Did they have compassion for their fellow squids? Were there family units? I was left wondering if what we termed human nature was instead more likely universal concepts of most sentient beings.
Shepard then called my attention to our aft video sensor. It was teaming with the small creatures. As we continued to move the same phenomenon happened to each of the sensors until we had no view of our surroundings. Were the tiny creatures somehow able to see our sensors? Command was abuzz with chatter and authorization came back quickly for us to do a micro-burst out of there if I felt it necessary.
I began a brief discussion with Shepard on her thoughts when the mega-ship once again dramatically changed course. This time it dropped its speed to one half SOL. In an instant we were outside of the mega-ship and moving away at millions of kilometers per hour. Within seconds we were beyond the mega-ship's kill zone. I wondered if we would later regret not having taken action when we had the chance.
The new speed pushed back the fleet’s estimated arrival time by two months. The Tacticians had come to the conclusion that the aliens needed to slow to effect repairs on their damaged destroyer.
When the squid connected to the next tube it was evident that materials were moving from the squid back into the structure. The structure was nothing more than a floating lunch-wagon with restrooms.
With the QE comm the information we were gathering was being seen instantly by Command back at home. Much of it would not be useful during battle, but the more we knew and understood our enemy the better chance we had of not only defeating them, but of making contact and being able to reason with them.
Perhaps the entire war could be prevented or a truce negotiated. We would be willing to share our resources in exchange for peace and perhaps new technologies. And if the reason for the alien attacks were for their survival we would probably be willing to lend a hand. If anything, humans as a whole were a benevolent minded species... even after the devastating attacks we had suffered.
When we passed through the next wall the storage areas were filled with what appeared to be the same mini assault subs that had destroyed our Driller on Alvin. The computer counted thousands upon thousands of them. I got a sudden chill as I thought about an invasion of our oceans and what that would mean to our shipping.
The majority of our goods were still transported around the globe on mega-container ships. Even though plane flights had become inexpensive with the advent of Sodium fusion, large scale shipping on the oceans continued to have an economic advantage. If the squids controlled the oceans they could shut down and disrupt large parts of our economies.
I then had a sudden urge to start blasting the great ship from the inside out. What damage could we do by loosing all of our Drillers at once, as well as damage from our BHD and coil guns? We were on the inside where their powerful gravity weapon would likely do no harm.
I floated the idea to Command and was told to sit tight. All options were being considered. I gave Shepard the go-ahead to ready the Drillers in case new orders came down. She was already a step ahead of me.
As we passed through the next wall we came into an ocean area that was only 500 meters in depth. It was teaming with what were likely thousands of tiny squid. We were floating through the alien's nursery. I looked on in wonder at the tiny green six tentacled offspring of our enemy.
I began to wonder if the aliens had any traits that we would normally consider human. Were they greedy, arrogant or spiteful at times? Did they have compassion for their fellow squids? Were there family units? I was left wondering if what we termed human nature was instead more likely universal concepts of most sentient beings.
Shepard then called my attention to our aft video sensor. It was teaming with the small creatures. As we continued to move the same phenomenon happened to each of the sensors until we had no view of our surroundings. Were the tiny creatures somehow able to see our sensors? Command was abuzz with chatter and authorization came back quickly for us to do a micro-burst out of there if I felt it necessary.
I began a brief discussion with Shepard on her thoughts when the mega-ship once again dramatically changed course. This time it dropped its speed to one half SOL. In an instant we were outside of the mega-ship and moving away at millions of kilometers per hour. Within seconds we were beyond the mega-ship's kill zone. I wondered if we would later regret not having taken action when we had the chance.
The new speed pushed back the fleet’s estimated arrival time by two months. The Tacticians had come to the conclusion that the aliens needed to slow to effect repairs on their damaged destroyer.
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