"Is something wrong, Mr. Kane?" Admiral Dufresne asked, pulling Alexander's thoughts back to the present. "I think the Shican plan to wipe out humanity," Alexander blurted out. "I told you it wouldn't take him long to put the pieces together," Dufresne said to the other Admirals. "And before you ask, Mr. Kane. No, we didn't keep that from you. It was one of the possibilities we discussed while we conferred amongst ourselves. We already have plans in place to take out those enrichment facilities." "Plans?" Alexander asked, but Dufresne looked reticent to discuss the matter. "You might as well tell him," Patel said. "Fine," Dufresne replied before continuing. "Our Erebus and Nyx ships have finally returned from the extended mission that Fletcher had sent them on. Now that they are back, they have already been tasked to make their best speed to the mustering point along the Xin border. From there, we plan on deploying them into Xin space to hunt down the enemy's weapons and ship manufacturing capabilities. Despite our size, the STO doesn't have many naval shipyards. Since we can't compete with Xin's output of ships, we plan on crippling theirs." It was a good plan, especially now that over a thousand Xin vessels had been destroyed. Alexander realized he had a choice to make. He could hold onto the fact that BSE had developed its own stealth armor based on the STOs or go for full disclosure. He chose full disclosure. The enemy was simply too powerful to hide the fact that he had reverse-engineered and improved on the STO's stealth tech. They were going to find out as soon as the Barracuda class battleship was done anyway. The flagship of the BSE fleet was going to be decked out in the stealth armor, even though its purpose wasn't stealth. "I may be able to assist with that," Alexander replied cautiously. "Assuming the STO wants to have a closer working relationship during the conflict." "How so?" Patel asked. Alexander shook his avatar. "The Union needs guarantees that the STO will see this war through until the end before I'm willing to assist. Not just until the Shican are pushed back from their borders. If I can't get that, our working relationship will remain as it currently sits. That being said, what I have already brought to the STO in terms of technology is only the tip of the iceberg of what BSE is capable of." Some of the admirals looked skeptical. Patel broke the silence. "Give us some time to discuss the matter." "Take as much time as you need, but realize the enemy is moving while we are sitting here debating." "We are aware of the time constraints, Mr. Kane," Thorne replied tersely. She followed that up with a statement that surprised Alexander. "We might even have a better idea of when to suspect the rest of the Shican's fleet than you do. Give us an hour to go over the information you presented to us and speak with the STO leadership, and we will get back to you." Alexander knew that Fletcher had sent the stealth ships toward Shican territory to get intel. From the admiral's statement, he guessed they had been successful. While he waited for the conference call to resume, he checked on the data he sent to the research core. It had completed the first task, which confirmed Alexander's math was accurate. That was a relief. When he finally started working on Dr. Lund's newest research, he started where she left off. Coming up with a mathematical formula to increase power delivery to meet Lund's equation was a non-starter. His new reactors were significantly more powerful than the old ones, but they didn't come close to reaching the output that a single jump would require. Storing that much power wasn't a viable option either. It would take a quantum leap in understanding to create a reactor powerful enough to do what he wanted. It would be like going from early steam power to fusion. Dr. Lund knew that, which is why she was trying to figure out a way to use gravity to reduce the power requirements of folding space. Jumping from close to a black hole would have made their current generation of reactor a viable candidate. Too bad there was the whole issue of spaghettification if you approached that close to a singularity. The next obvious candidate to reduce the power requirements was neutron stars, but Dr. Lund had never been able to make the math work with currently available power systems, let alone the fact that the ship wouldn't survive getting that close to a star of any kind. It was a good thing Alexander had come up with a next-generation reactor. The power output of his new generation of reactors wasn't quite to the point that he could fold space without a ship being burned to a crisp in a star's corona, but it was almost there. He also planned to cheat. That was what the computer was modeling now. A way to temporarily overload a reactor's output to create the initial power-hungry connection across space, without causing it to fail catastrophically, obviously. Alexander glanced at the test log and saw the forty-seven failed entries. It was going to take some time. That wasn't the only idea he had to cheat the power issue, but he was focusing on one problem at a time. The hour passed quickly, and the admirals rejoined the conference. They didn't look happy. Alexander glanced at all of them before addressing Patel, who seemed to be the senior admiral. "I take it by your expressions that my proposal was declined?" "Not exactly," the man replied. "The Chairman of the STO has agreed to commit fully to the war effort, but he is not willing to push through a resolution that goes beyond his tenure as the Chairman, as that may harm his chances of reelection in a little over a year." "Politics," Alexander said in disgust. Why did it always come down to that? "Yes. While we might be able to convince the next Chairman, that really depends on who it is and how the war is progressing. We cannot guarantee we will be successful, especially if a corporate-backed planetary governor gains control. The sad fact is, it would be easier to convince them if the enemy were ransacking border worlds within STO's territory, but we would be derelict in our duties if we allowed that to go unchecked. If we're doing our job and holding the enemy at bay, they might just see that as good enough, call it a victory, and recall STO forces." "Just like they did with the first war," Alexander replied pointedly. "Yes," Patel admitted, equally disgusted by his leadership's actions. Alexander rhythmically tapped his fingers on his desk as he pondered the best solution to the problem. The ideal outcome would be a better governing body controlling the STO, but that obviously wasn't going to happen. And destabilizing the STO at a time was as good as signing everyone's death warrant. Alexander didn't like it, but a temporary agreement was better than none. The simple fact was that the Union didn't have the necessary ships to hold off a full-scale invasion. They had barely survived against outdated vessels. They had been severely outnumbered, that was true, but he suspected that was going to be the same issue as soon as the Shican arrived. "Full cooperation until the elections?" Alexander asked to confirm. "Yes," Patel replied. "Send me the paperwork, and I will speak to Lagertha Char." Alexander disconnected from the conference call and waited for a decent time before he pinged Katalynn again. "Jarl Kane," she said flatly. "Please don't tell me that you came up with yet another upgrade since we last spoke." Despite the urgency of his call, he still paused to chuckle. "No. I just got off a conference call with the STO admirals." "And?" she asked, her expression turning frosty. Not a good sign. While the STO had finally agreed to drop the Union's pirate status, mostly as a way to make amends for the attack, Katalynn was still not very impressed by them. Alexander couldn't blame her. He felt much the same way after hearing that the Chairman was more concerned with reelection than the pending war with an advanced alien race. He pushed forward anyway. "I planned to assist the STO with some missions they were doing, but I realized why stop there. Why not have a full alliance until the end of the war?" Katalynn's expression didn't change, but she didn't immediately shoot down the idea or comment on the fact that he had unilaterally taken these steps. Ever since the visit to Earth, Katalynn had treated Alexander like the unofficial representative for the Union when it came to all things STO. He knew nobody else in the Union wanted the position, but Katalynn knew someone needed to do it to keep relations from turning cold again. That was fine with him. He assumed she gave him the position because she trusted him enough to make the right choices. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work. "And what was their response?" she asked. "You can probably guess, but I'll lay it out. They agreed to full cooperation until the next election, which is in a little over a year. From there, we might be on our own again, depending on who gets elected." "Typical short-sighted idiots. Don't they realize this war isn't like the ones before it?" Alexander nodded his avatar. "While I agree that they are short-sighted, I think we should take advantage of any help we can get. Especially after suffering so many losses already." It took Katalynn a few minutes before she responded. "I don't trust them, Kane, and I'm considered a moderate amongst Asgardians in that regard. Most still outright hate the STO for what they did during the last war." "I understand that, but times have changed," Alexander replied. "The Union isn't just a loose collection of planets that were forced to bow to early STO imperialism. Your planets are far more unified and secure than most STO worlds, and are growing more secure by the day. Your ships are also quickly surpassing the STOs in terms of firepower and technology. That's mainly from your efforts, not mine." She gave him a disbelieving look. "There is no need to be humble, Kane." "I'm not," he reiterated. "Sure, I helped a bit, but the design of your battle cruiser was mainly your own. Even Jarl Bergson's destroyers were mostly her design. I simply helped where I could. Hell, I've borrowed more than my fair share of design ideas from Asgardian and STO ships. What I'm trying to say is don't sell yourself short. The Union will not suffer like it did during the previous conflict, even if the STO pulls back. What it does give us is time to reinforce our fleets. If the STO does pull out, all they do is hurt themselves. I will cut off all contact with them and deny them any future advancements that come from BSE." While Katalynn would probably agree with his idea, Alexander left out the part where if the STO pulled out midway through the war, he was going to work to actively dismantle them once the Shican were no longer a threat. A political entity that couldn't see beyond the next election should not be running a stellar polity. Hopefully, he could leverage his growing political and technological clout to pull that off, but he wouldn't dismiss open conflict to make it happen. That was just a last resort. Katalynn didn't reply, but his comm beeped with the returned and signed agreement. "You should mention what will happen if they break the agreement before you send it back to them. That might actually get their leaders to pause and think before acting rashly for a change." Alexander hadn't considered that, but it was a good idea. While he had brought up the technology that the STO might miss out on if they didn't agree to full cooperation, he hadn't actively used its complete absence as a bargaining chip. Katalynn's statement was a good reminder that he still had a lot to learn about politics. He thanked her and ended the call. By the time the STO was ready to continue the conference, Alexander had a much firmer idea of how to proceed. "Admirals," he said right off the bat. "Let me start by saying that if this agreement isn't upheld in good faith, I will be pulling all of my production out of your territory and refusing to do business with any STO entity ever again. Before you get upset, that isn't a threat. It's a simple statement. If our positions were reversed, you would do the same and be more than justified in doing so. Pulling out of my current contracts wouldn't even inconvenience you, not for long anyway. I am already aware that multiple nations and corporations are building their own versions of my kcomm, and maybe even my processors." Zero surprise from the Admirals, even Trelawney, the newest one. So they knew that the knowledge was spreading. Hell, Alexander wouldn't be surprised if the Navy weren't attempting to make its own versions. Fletcher had managed to create his own secure network after all. Alexander smiled. "I don't even care, if I'm honest. Those are legacy systems for BSE. Let that sink in. Imagine how much a legacy technology has changed the landscape of the STO in less than a year. Now. I'm going to forward the signed agreement and discuss a few more things to help the STO Navy build more ships, faster, cheaper, and requiring less crew." He sent the document over and gave them a few minutes to go over it to make sure everything was accurate. Once they were done, Patel nodded. "Thank you for agreeing to this, Mr. Kane. We will be sure to drive home what might be lost if the STO pulls out or fails to uphold our end of the war effort. Now you said you had ways to increase our production of ships?" "I do. Before we get to that, let's go back to your missions involving the stealth ships. The first thing you should know is that they aren't as stealthy as you might think. When Krieger first entered Unokane, we were able to detect his ship via the jump echo it created, despite your efforts to limit that signature." That got a sour look out of three of the four Admirals. Only Trelawney looked confused. Patel must have seen the man's expression because he elaborated. "There hasn't been time to bring you up to date on the Erebus and Nyx ships, Admiral Trelawney. Those are the stealth ships that Mr. Kane is referring to. I assume he knows about the cancellation field, because he had plenty of time to inspect the ship before returning it. Isn't that true, Mr. Kane?" "I did, but let's continue. Once we pinpointed the origin of the echo, which any planet-based tracking can do if they actively monitor their systems, we simply kept an eye on it as it occluded the stars it passed." Thorne guffawed at that revelation, earning glares from Patel and Dufresne. "Oh, lighten up," she said, waving the men off. "Don't get me wrong, it's annoying as hell that our multi-billion credit project was defeated by such a simple method of observation, but it's also hilarious. Sometimes you need to find the humor in the bleak. Tell me, Mr. Kane. Have you also solved those problems? I assume you are bringing up these facts because you have reverse-engineered the armor? Or am I mistaken?" "You are not mistaken, Admiral Thorne. BSE has reverse-engineered the armor and improved it slightly. We also have a method that might defeat a simple visual scan, but it's not something that will be ready for production anytime soon," he lied. Captain Voss's ship was already out there testing it. It just wasn't ready for mass production. Dufresne looked displeased by the admission. Maybe the man thought Alexander had told him everything the last time they spoke in person. "Just how many of these stealth ships do you have?" he practically demanded, before realizing who he was speaking to. "If you'd be so kind as to share that information." Dufresne's tone was a good reminder that these were not friends; they were temporary allies. "BSE currently has seventeen stealth corvettes," Alexander admitted, purposefully excluding the mobile construction yards and the battleship that was currently under production. Technically, the Seahorse counted as a stealth ship, but those had all been destroyed, so he left those out as well. "You haven't shared this technology with the rest of the Union?" Patel asked skeptically. "I don't share all of my discoveries with the Union. Besides, they do not need stealth ships. I can deploy thirteen of them to assist with taking out Xin's facilities. If that is something you wish to have cooperation on, I'll send you Admiral Krieger's comm information, and you can strategize with him." Their faces soured at the mention of Krieger as the point of contact, and he decided that giving away the armor secret had been more than worth it just to see that expression. Alexander managed to hold back a laugh before continuing. "As for ship production. I have methods that will speed up your production yards by over four hundred percent." "Mr. Kane," Thorne said coldly. "While I can appreciate a joke, now really isn't the time." Instead of convincing her that he was telling the truth, Alexander played the same video he had shown Lucas. Only he kept the last one off, and replaced the first with a recording of the STO Navy's estimated build speed, based on what he witnessed back in Varlen, before the system was decommissioned. "What am I looking at?" Patel asked as the first video showing a single-ring printer appeared. "That is a ring printer, Admirals. It is capable of printing an entire ship from start to finish. No worries about waiting for parts to be installed or delivered. All you need to do is make sure the printer is kept fed with raw material." "Is that a frigate?" Trelawney asked in shock as the sped-up recording showed the Orca being formed. "Is that the same class of ship you brought to Earth?" Thorne asked. "You have a good eye. Yes. That is an Orca-class heavy assault frigate that I designed. It's a little shorter and not quite as bulky as a destroyer." The Admirals were silent as they watched the video finish. It was clear they were looking at the time difference between the two images. Before they could ask more questions, the third video started to play, showing two ring printers working in tandem. What had started as grudging acceptance had turned into full-blown shock. Alexander missed seeing that expression when deploying new tech. Too many people on Eden's End were used to his nonsense and didn't react anymore. Get full chapters from novel✶fire.net "How–" Trelawney began to ask, but his question was cut off by Patel. "Mr. Kane. How big can you make these printers?" "I have plans large enough to fit a destroyer or small cruiser through. You might be able to fit a full-sized cruiser through as well, but you would have to print it without the turrets and install them after the fact." "That could be doable," Patel muttered to himself. "And the cost of these printers?" "We are in this war together, so I will not be charging you for the designs. You will be restricted from sharing them with anyone else, however." Alexander fully expected the corporations to have the plans for the ring printers within a few days of the STO having them, given how leaky the STO Navy was. That was just a price he had to pay to elevate their production. That being said, the designs he would send required five pseudo-computronics to run. He doubted the corporations would bother buying real supercomputer computronics for printers, because the price would outstrip any benefit they would get from the printer. Alexander decided that since the corporations would probably still steal the designs, he was going to sell out one of their secrets as well. It was time to start evening the odds between the corporations and the Navy. "I suggest you also use the armor that your people are researching after you raided the Willard compound. I haven't found any standard materials that could match it. I'll include the method to produce the armor in the data package I send over, just in case your people haven't quite figured it out yet." Then he explained how BSE had come by the armor specifications. "We were wondering why Willard targeted you specifically. I would like to say I am surprised he was working with pirates, but I'm not. At least now we know his motives behind the attack. Do you know what he was trading with the pirates by any chance?" Dufresne asked. "I do," Alexander replied. "Slaves. Specifically, highly skilled engineers who were kept in stasis until their skills were required." Dufresne had a more visceral reaction than the other admirals, but they all looked sickened by the news. "Thank you for telling us," Dufresne said. "That whole family was a blight. Whoever dealt with them did the universe a favor." Alexander pulled the meeting back on track and explained to the admirals how to implement the pseudo-computronics to reduce crew size and the construction bot tech. They didn't seem all that receptive to the idea, but they didn't outright decline his advice. After they started losing ships and had trouble finding crews for new ones, they would likely come around to using more automation. The meeting ended after the admirals thanked him for sharing the printer and bot technology, as well as the information on the computronics. Alexander could have gone further, but he had done more than enough. The STO still had the corporations, which had yet to make a move as far as he was aware. It would be interesting to see whether or not they decided to participate in the war effort. Right now, he thought the odds of that were less than fifty-fifty. He had already seen news of corporations practically vanishing overnight, taking all their assets with them.