The Index -|-
Zara sighed and pushed away the cluster of glowing dots. The map of Xi space collapsed into nothing.
[The terminals must be intentionally spaced out to use their power to jump between prominent colonies. It’s the only logical explanation. The distances are not equal, and some of them are not in direct vicinity of a star.]
With a few more moments of poking and prodding, she was able to scan the nearest terminal. It was almost invisible to the visible spectrum, and her sensors did not register any significant source of power. Yet, the pyramid shaped object did appear on her active scans. It showed minimal heat and no aji, yet when she prodded with a thread of Qon, it came alive.
[Clearly this device is a combination of multiple power types with aji being one of them.]
Zara stood and made her way to the command center.
“Viinox,” she said. “What is the source of power for the terminals?”
“Our instructional documents tell us that power was fed into the system when it was created. The records indicate that an entire star was drained of energy, and a second star was drained to sixty percent as well. The energy is contained in a mesh and does not need to be recharged.”
“Thank you. Can we use the terminal to jump directly to the core?”
Viinox tilted its head downward slightly. “No. That distance is far too great for a single jump. The network is intended to be used node-to-node.”
“So, what is the maximum distance that a jump can traverse?”
Viinox tapped a few times and then spoke. “The system’s theoretical maximum is around fifty kitrond, but in practical terms the distance falls to around forty-six.”
Zara nodded and thought for a few long moments. “I don’t suppose there is any way to increase that distance? What about using a smaller vessel?”
Tiirw spoke up. “The terminal network has been in existence for 641.6 ko, or just over 1,110 years as defined by the length of time it takes for Phaedro to orbit its star. There has been no known extension of the terminal transmit distance, but one must assume it is being researched. I was never informed that a smaller vessel would transmit farther, but I have been a part of fleets with larger ships that have used the terminals to travel the maximum distance.”
“If the XC vessels can travel the same forty-six while being more than twice the size of the XF-” said Zara slowly. “So, mass has no effect on the distance. Thank you.”
###
“I have something of a plan, Da,” Zara said pulling up the Xi empire map. She could see her Da peering at the map as it was shown to him within his room the Greki. “Viinox tells me that the terminals can transmit a vessel up to fifty kitrond. I’ve placed a radius mark on each of the terminals.”
Kpleeb nodded slowly. “It looks like almost every terminal can transmit to its immediate neighbor, and in some rare cases it may be able to reach a closer second neighbor.”
“Right. From here at Iriop we can move directly to Wieh or Giale.”
“That leaves the Xi with the choice of defending both which helps us. Clearly, we will have more directions to go once we are further into the Xi space.” Kpleeb frowned slightly. “I really don’t see much of a plan though.”
Zara smiled. “I’ve poked the terminal and have found some useful information. When I introduce a thin stream of Qon here,” she pointed, “the terminal power is amplified. Viinox has verified that the terminal at Noit responded despite that being fifty-one kitrond from here, and I am not done testing so it may even go a bit further.”
“Okay, your plan is to go farther than they expect?” Kpleeb scratched his head. “This advantage will help us in the short term, but they will discover the new limit soon enough.”
“It is enough for now, Da. We must move forward in a way that leave the Xi in confusion. Noit is a good test for us. Erit, Hioma, and Foir are all within range, but Kiep is not.” Zara paused and sighed. “I feel like we need to discuss our motivations and let these guide our path.”
Kpleeb shrugged as if it was obvious. “I plan to kill all the Xi I find on the way to Nidix, and then wipe out the Predominant there. It’s simple.”
It’s not as simple as you think since we don’t actually know where Nidix is,” said Zara. “I am more concerned with the Xih. They seem to have a significant technological advantage over the Xi. What’s worse is that every Xi I’ve spoken to believes the Xih as a myth.”
“Not Viinox, Tiirw, and Oiitr,” scoffed Kpleeb.
“Okay, every Xi except for those working on Xih ships believes the Xih are a myth. This kind of secrecy and technology is very powerful, and the Xih may be very hard to find. There are other things to consider, Da. We need more vessels, and Jorqu is incredibly far from where we are now, especially with the terminal at Juma being destroyed. We cannot rely on Jorqu as a repair base. We need to capture Wiag without destroying it, because Oiitr has stated that there is a ship manufacturing station there.”
Kpleeb nodded. “Fine, we can send one of the biggest ships back to Jorqu now and pick up all of the Ganix trainees along with the last ship being rebuilt. After that, we move to Noit and then to Wiag.”
“Another complication is that the kerflk needs time to grow, and these instant terminal jumps don’t give us time for that. I’m certain that the kerflk is giving us an upper hand that we desperately need. We need to take enough time to search for Nidix and the Xih.”
“Well, what should we do?” Kpleeb threw his hands up in frustration. “Fly around flapping our hands like little Rog wings and hope to live through the battles?”
“I know, Da. We can’t just take the slow path to the core, but we can’t win by just punching a hole straight through either.”
“Maybe we can partially though.” Kpleeb ran his fingers through his shaggy hair. “We can send every new ship on the slow path to the next terminal. We’ll lose the benefit of those ships in the moment, but it will give the kerflk time to grow. The random arrivals will sow confusion with the Xi. I would hope our terminal strategy will give us enough cover for the short term.”
“I guess that might work,” said Zara. “I have not found a way to make kerflk grow any faster. We’re agreed then. We will send the four new ships to Giale while they grow kerflk. It should take them about fifty days to arrive fully kerflkized. Meanwhile, we can jump straight to Noit with the rest of the fleet.”
Kpleeb nodded. “This sounds like a plan. After Noit, then Wiag.”
Zara nodded. “Okay. I need some sleep, then we’ll make the jump.
“I’m proud of you, Zara.” Her Da’s face crinkled into a rare smile. “You are so smart, and I rely on you so much.” He sighed.
Zara grinned at him. “Thank you, Da. I love you. I’m going to sleep now.”
The connection dissipated.
