Starship Vengeance

Chapter 37

The worst damaged and jump capable Nyth ships departed just before Admiral Rodrigues arrived with the Second Fleet. Unity's exhausted repair crews were grateful for the influx of supplies and personnel after twenty hours of working side by side with the Nyth repair crews. They had done remarkably well in those twenty hours. The Vengeance sent additional repair kits off to Commander Azevedo, who was laboring furiously to get the Nyth ships operational.

We weren't the only ones engaged in frantic construction. The Zrynt seemed to have conscripted all available ships into construction of the ring. As impossibly large as it was, construction was moving forward at a frighteningly swift pace.

Twenty-five hours after Second Fleet's arrival, Admiral Vaehil arrived with his fleet of Tuleeririan ships. "Good to see you alive and well Admiral Vaehil," I said. I was currently in my office going over reports when his fleet arrived. He wasted no time in establishing a video link.

"It is good to see you too Admiral Ryan," he replied."Our jump schedule resulted in us missing any updates sent out over the last several hours. What is our current status?"

"Well, the Zrynt know we are here, but only seemed concerned with building their massive ring. The jury is still out on what its true purpose is, but I have a feeling that we won't like it. Luckily for us, the Zrynt Lord seems content to sit there and guard it."

"This behavior is strange for the Zrynt. I don't like an unpredictable enemy."

"I have to agree with you," I replied. "The Nyth's initial estimate of the ring was grossly understated. As far as we can estimates its about sixty percent completed and is roughly two thousand kilometers in diameter."

"Why was the initial estimate so wrong?" Admiral Vaehil inquired.

"Judging on how quickly it is being constructed, they must have barely begun building it when the Nyth arrived. The braiding pattern they are using combined with the small section that was completed distorted their computer's calculations."

"From the data you sent to us while we were in transit indicates that the unknown alloy we uncovered on our planetary assault is the same used to construct the ring. The few tests we have been able to conduct indicate that the material is an extremely efficient, natural superconductor. We have yet to reach its maximum power threshold."

"So, whatever they are building requires an unimaginable amount of power. That certainly makes me feel better," I said sarcastically. "That makes another argument for those who believe it is some sort of super weapon."

"I have thought of that myself," Admiral Vaehil admitted. "I don't believe the ring itself is a weapon. I agree that its true purpose is less than friendly, but there are several things that don't make sense if it is a weapon."

"Like what?"

"Location for one," he admitted. "Why build it so far away from where it needs to be deployed. It's obvious they can construct them with worryingly rapidity. Odds are they could build one closer to our populace and deploy it before we could stop them. In conjunction with that, transporting them would prove...difficult, if not impossible."

"It's smaller than a Zrynt Lord ship," I countered.

"That may be true, but its design and mass would require a significant amount of power to propel."

"Whatever its purpose, we'll find out in roughly forty-five hours."

"When do we begin the assault?" he asked.

"Initial operations will begin as soon as the Xroex arrive in about twelve hours. The main event will take place about six hours after that."

"We'll be ready," Admiral Vaehil said with conviction."There is one more thing you should know. The sections of tube we recovered are different in both length as well as curvature. All data indicates that it was not meant for this ring."