Chapter 10

President Caprio, along with the assembled heads of most of the nations on earth, watched the wall of monitors as the last squadron of armed shuttles lifted from their base in Australia. The launches were timed with the orbit of the alien ships such that each group of ten launched from the side of the Earth opposite the position of the alien fleet. One hundred forty nine out of the planned hundred fifty shuttles had launched successfully. Of the group scheduled for launch from the Israel-Syria base, one had malfunctioned and aborted. An incredible feat of engineering, no doubt.

The Himalayan launch, completed only a few minutes before, was just maneuvering into its orbital track, which would eventually join the other thirteen squadrons already in orbit, trailing the alien fleet around the globe. A couple of hours from now, the Australian squadron would join them, then the attack would begin.

The plan was relatively simple. Half the fleet would accelerate to overtake the aliens, approaching from a higher orbit, thanks to their greater velocity. The remainder of the fleet would decelerate, slowing to allow the enemy ships to overtake them. Because of their slower speed, by the time the enemy was engaged, the second Earth fleet would be in a lower orbit. With the extra fuel they carried, this plan should allow the two halves of the Earth fleet to englobe the enemy with some judicious maneuvering.

The assembled leaders watched tensely as, hour after hour, the ships completed their maneuvers. Finally, almost thirty-six hours after the first mid-Pacific launch, the lead elements of both halves of the UEDL fleet spotted the enemy ships within seconds of each other, the on-board video cameras relaying the images in real-time to the command center high in the Austrian Alps.

"Yuee Bravo flight, this is Alpha leader. Commence englobement maneuver on my mark, in three, two, one, mark!"

The commanders of both flights touched a button on their keypads and the guidance computers for every shuttle in the fleet began a series of preprogrammed maneuvering burns. Surprisingly, the software, even with last-minute adjustments for the missing spacecraft, did its job flawlessly. The alien commander seemed unaware or unconcerned about the fact that his fleet was about to be surrounded.

Three hours later the maneuver completed.

"Yuee Bravo flight this is Alpha leader, All ships, open weapon bay doors and commence roll maneuver."

One hundred forty nine pairs of doors swung open as steering jets fired on every ship in the UE fleet, rolling the shuttles so that the open bay doors faced the enemy fleet. One hundred forty-nine tubes unfolded from within those bays, each consisting of a set of aluminum alloy guide rails surrounded at regular intervals by a series of toroids. Hinged midway down their length, each tube was straightened by pneumatics until the the entire hundred foot length was locked into a single huge shotgun pointed straight at the enemy fleet.

One by one, confirmation came of successful deployment of mass drivers until one hundred forty-seven reported green lights across the board.

"Ah, Alpha Leader, this is Alpha Three Niner. We have a mechanical malfunction. Tube is not locked. I say again, tube is not locked. Will attempt manual repair, but don't want to hold up the party, mate, so why don't you go on without us?"

"Roger Alpha Three Niner. Report success only."

"Roger Alpha Leader. Will report when tube is locked and loaded. Good hunting, mate!"

"Bravo Two Seven, what's your status?"

"Alpha leader, this is Bravo Two Seven. Tube is locked and loaded but fire control has blown a fuse. We tried replacing it but the new one blew too. It would seem that we will have to sit this one out, Alpha Leader."

"Roger Bravo Two Seven. No point getting caught in the crossfire. Back off until time for boarding. Yuee fleet, this is Alpha leader, all ships, saturation fire, mixed loads, on my mark. Three, two, one, mark!"

Magnetic fields pulsed down the length of every mass driver in the fleet, sending its 'bucket' of steel balls hurtling down the length of the guide rails, never quite touching them. Each driver imparted a very slow spin to it's bucket as it flew down the tube, only to slam to a halt at the very end, releasing several hundred pounds of metal in the direction of the enemy fleet, traveling at well over the speed of sound, a comparison that made little sense in space where sound could not carry, but military will be military.