Alpha One - Chris Burton [143]
After nearly two hours constantly reconfiguring his simulator, Cameron decided he would leave this particular option and come back to it later. He would try something else. He stood up and walked to the viewing window once again. From here, he saw the whole battle. He was safe behind the lines of the combined Alpha Fleet, but still saw the constant barrage of heavy weaponry lighting the sky in hues of red, orange and purple, with flashes of red and green laser and plasma streams projecting through the clouds of smoke and flames. Cameron decided he would look at Alpha’s weapons once again.
Teutonic missiles didn’t have the yield. Atomic weapons would simply engulf the void and dissipate. Neither the plasma nor laser cannons made any impact. That left the PBA, which was theoretically the best prospect. Once again, the yield was the problem. There was too much power. He looked at a combination of the weapons Alpha had at their disposal, but the conflicting forces of each tended to cancel each other out. Positives and negatives like opposing forces in an electric current. This was going nowhere. Then, suddenly, he realized what they had missed.
The subspace weaponry was considered and ignored because the wisdom was that a positive force was required to impact on the wormhole. A negative force would simply do nothing, or would it? Cameron considered the theory of subspace and then the advancement to antimatter converters and stellar speed drive systems. The antimatter converters worked by smashing matter and antimatter together in a confined space to cause a power surge which, in turn, created the propulsion. It was efficient and immensely powerful. What if both matter and antimatter weapons were used in conjunction with each other? This was basic stuff, but his head was clouded by so many different issues. Was this the right track? In theory, the right mix, contained within the wormhole, could create a huge positive power surge.
He scratched his head and looked at the evidence again. Was this a possibility and, if so, how had they not considered this? Was the answer to the problem to use a combination of all Alpha’s conventional weapons and an appropriate yield of subspace charges? Cameron started to enter his hypothesis to his computer. He was onto something here.
“Ah, Admiral Shenke. I think we may have a solution to the closing of the blue wormhole.”
Shenke was resting in his state room. He had not slept for 24 hours and tiredness briefly caught up with him. Shenke suddenly became interested.
“What is the solution?”
Cameron went onto explain his theory and the detailed the findings of his computer simulations. The bottom line was that it should work, providing sufficient—and in balance—yields of both matter and antimatter forces are deployed.
“Have you verified this with Alpha’s scientists?”
“Yes, we have worked though my hypothesis and the simulations this morning. They are in agreement. The problem is: will we have sufficient quantities of both matter and antimatter charges?”
“So what is the answer? If we are going to run short of conventional weapons then we will have to look at finding a way to end this battle. Thank you, Dr. Cameron, you may have saved us all. I will consult with my colleagues and will report back to you shortly. I presume this will all take time to set up?”
“Yes, Admiral, we will need time. Let’s hope we will have enough.”
Chapter Sixty-Four
Halo 7 – Race Against Time
De Vere was a tough nut to crack, but losing every one of his groups in such a fashion was difficult to comprehend.
Jake paid his respects and left De Vere and his investigation team quietly. He didn’t really know where he was going, but walked along the passageway which gently sloped upwards from the rear of the ship towards the front. Carla was lost to him once again. Why had he not stayed with her ,or insisted she and Joely be allowed to stay with