Convergence by Alex Albrinck Page A

consider using torpedoes in an effort to widen the tunnel, but I don’t see that as a successful strategy. Ideally, we’d launch torpedoes at and into the tunnel to collapse the rebel base and destroy all inside. The Alliance are misguided, but we make a mistake to think them so foolish as to leave their base without fortification against an attack. If we’d been able to sail up the tunnel, our window of opportunity to do so has passed. They know we’re coming at this point. I’d suspect they possess sensors, monitoring for the presence of unfamiliar ships. They know we’re here. If we were to sail our submarines up the tunnel one ship at a time…”
    “They’ll just destroy us one at a time.” Scott stroked his chin.
    “Precisely.” Athos paused for dramatic effect. “We won’t enter the base in the manner they’d prefer.”
    “But if their numbers are truly that low—”
    Athos waved off Jude’s protest. “They remained hidden from us for five hundred years, Jude, for fear of a massive attack. The tunnel to their base is narrow for a reason. Think about it. Do you really think they’ll not have weapons they can train against a single ship… and likely with some success?”
    Jude remained silent.
    Scott raised a hand, though only Athos could see it. “Sir, I… may I make a suggestion?”
    Athos nodded. “Of course.” He paused, realized the danger of his statement, and added an amendment. “We’ll see if it aligns with my thinking.” He could let Scott make a suggestion, and if it made sense, he could now claim it had been his plan all along. It was a trick he’d learned from the Leader.
    “Well… I’ve thought about a few possible approaches. The subs are too large to fit inside the tunnel, but we do have the small pods that we can detach and sail up the tunnel instead. They’ll fit, as they’re basically the same size as the pods the Alliance are using. We could send our men into the tunnel in that fashion. It’s not quite as obvious for any Alliance watching, because it may just look like a few more of the pods they’re already expecting. But…”
    “But we’d still send one ship in at a time, one the Alliance could destroy at will given that our shuttle craft don’t possess weapon systems.” Athos nodded. “Continue.”
    “Option two: We commandeer those spheres of theirs and ride them in.”
    Athos hadn’t considered that one. But he knew the tone well enough to know Scott didn’t like this option. “But…?”
    “But they don’t hold many people. They’re small. We’d get, say, five men at a time into a passing pod and let them sail up the tunnel. But those pods only float by about every five minutes. So…”
    Athos nodded. “Very good, Scott. We’re back to the same problem yet again. We’re too easy for the Alliance to pick off while we’re stuck in that tunnel when we can’t present our full firepower—torpedo or Energy-based—at once. Continue.”
    Scott nodded. “That’s what I’m thinking as well. We need to get everyone into that base immediately, all at the same time.
    Athos glanced at him. Was he truly suggesting mass teleportation? “That would work, save for one minor detail. We don’t have an image for our target destination. Nor do we know just how far we might have to travel.”
    “I know.” Scott nodded slowly, as if making a difficult decision. “So here is my suggestion. I’m the weakest of the team in terms of teleportation. If that base is two or three miles away I won’t make it. So… I’ll get aboard one of those pods. The Alliance might not notice a single Aliomenti, especially given my below average Energy levels, and it’s possible they’ll think I’m coming to talk surrender terms.” He spoke the last few words in a sarcastic tone, and the captains shared a laugh at the absurd idea. Surrender to the Alliance? “I consider the odds that they’ll blast my pod out of the water to be very low, and it’s a risk I’m willing