these already, but what we don't have is time . It would take a year to develop an entirely new, manned, exo-atmospheric fighter just so that we can leverage the inertial negation system we stole from the Squidies. It would mean new maintenance training, new parts... We can't wait that long. Over the last two months, we've been reverse-engineering the aliens' inertial negation system. We've made a new one and it's almost safe for the pilot, but if we want to use it now , we're going to have to use it on craft we're already tooled-up to deploy and maintain. So we made the Bitzer out of the QF-111 drones."
"But these drones were autonomous, closed-system drones."
"Their computerized minds are modeled on a sheep herding dog, Mr. Biko, but you can ride them like horses if you put reins on them. That's what we did. Learning to fly one of these into combat is easier than learning to fly anything else. It cuts training time by 95%. The Bitzer already knows how to fly, Mr. Biko, just like a horse already knows how to run. You just tell it where to go."
"But will our pilots be in control?"
"The pilot's input goes to the AI – like reins on a horse. Two sticks, two pedals, neural-link with the fighter through the helmet."
"How long?" Ram asked. "Until they're in service."
"Under five months for broad deployment. Including pilot training. But these fighters here belong to the Lancers, Staas Company's own 133rd Fighter Test Squadron. They'll see action a little sooner than anyone thinks. This one already has." He pointed at a pair of red bandit silhouettes painted on the hull and then patted it like a prized beast.
Biko said, "Are you sure about the new inertial negation system being safe?"
"I didn't say it was safe," Cozen said. "Not completely safe. We've found a way to run the pulses so the rapid-flux tidal stresses won't damage brain tissue quite as quickly."
"Does it work?" Dana asked. "As well as the alien version works, I mean."
"We still don't have some of the materials we need. So we had to sacrifice almost 40% effectiveness in the new design. The Squidies and their red bandits will be able to take 40% more inertial gees, but if we fly in greater numbers, I'm betting our pilots can take them." Cozen looked to Biko. The AGC's eyes were fixed on the cockpit of the closest, towering fighter. "What do you think, Mr. Biko?"
"I'm not an aerospace designer. I can't really give you much useful input here."
"That's not what I meant. You're the Air Group Commander. To do your job, you need to know exactly what every craft under your command is capable of. So I ask you again: what do you think? "
Biko grinned. "I think I'm going to need a ladder to get in."
The War of Alien Aggression
(Hardway, Kamikaze, Lancer, Taipan, Cozen's War)
All five books in The War of Alien Aggression in a single volume - the war with the Squidies from the first engagement to the final detonations.
640 pages, 192K words
amazon.com/author/a.d.bloom
Hardway
Intelligent life reaches out to Humanity using particle beam weapons and masers. The pilots and crew of the carrier Hardway are first to fight in the conflict that quickly escalates from a bloody first contact to a full-scale, interstellar war. Ram Devlin knows he and the rest of Humanity may have been tricked into engaging in a war that didn't have to happen. The verity of the history being written is in doubt, but the survival of his crew and the very future of mankind is at stake.
41K words, 137 pages
Kamikaze
The privateer attack carrier Hardway invades Procyon to destroy an alien blockade gun meant to keep the human race confined. Hardway and her pilots meet their match in the Squidies' massive gun and the alien aces that protect it until they discover why the aliens are beating them. Hardway's officers must commit to paying for victory in war's only true currency.
28K words, 96 pages
Lancer
Privateer Admiral Harry Cozen needs pilots for
"But these drones were autonomous, closed-system drones."
"Their computerized minds are modeled on a sheep herding dog, Mr. Biko, but you can ride them like horses if you put reins on them. That's what we did. Learning to fly one of these into combat is easier than learning to fly anything else. It cuts training time by 95%. The Bitzer already knows how to fly, Mr. Biko, just like a horse already knows how to run. You just tell it where to go."
"But will our pilots be in control?"
"The pilot's input goes to the AI – like reins on a horse. Two sticks, two pedals, neural-link with the fighter through the helmet."
"How long?" Ram asked. "Until they're in service."
"Under five months for broad deployment. Including pilot training. But these fighters here belong to the Lancers, Staas Company's own 133rd Fighter Test Squadron. They'll see action a little sooner than anyone thinks. This one already has." He pointed at a pair of red bandit silhouettes painted on the hull and then patted it like a prized beast.
Biko said, "Are you sure about the new inertial negation system being safe?"
"I didn't say it was safe," Cozen said. "Not completely safe. We've found a way to run the pulses so the rapid-flux tidal stresses won't damage brain tissue quite as quickly."
"Does it work?" Dana asked. "As well as the alien version works, I mean."
"We still don't have some of the materials we need. So we had to sacrifice almost 40% effectiveness in the new design. The Squidies and their red bandits will be able to take 40% more inertial gees, but if we fly in greater numbers, I'm betting our pilots can take them." Cozen looked to Biko. The AGC's eyes were fixed on the cockpit of the closest, towering fighter. "What do you think, Mr. Biko?"
"I'm not an aerospace designer. I can't really give you much useful input here."
"That's not what I meant. You're the Air Group Commander. To do your job, you need to know exactly what every craft under your command is capable of. So I ask you again: what do you think? "
Biko grinned. "I think I'm going to need a ladder to get in."
The War of Alien Aggression
(Hardway, Kamikaze, Lancer, Taipan, Cozen's War)
All five books in The War of Alien Aggression in a single volume - the war with the Squidies from the first engagement to the final detonations.
640 pages, 192K words
amazon.com/author/a.d.bloom
Hardway
Intelligent life reaches out to Humanity using particle beam weapons and masers. The pilots and crew of the carrier Hardway are first to fight in the conflict that quickly escalates from a bloody first contact to a full-scale, interstellar war. Ram Devlin knows he and the rest of Humanity may have been tricked into engaging in a war that didn't have to happen. The verity of the history being written is in doubt, but the survival of his crew and the very future of mankind is at stake.
41K words, 137 pages
Kamikaze
The privateer attack carrier Hardway invades Procyon to destroy an alien blockade gun meant to keep the human race confined. Hardway and her pilots meet their match in the Squidies' massive gun and the alien aces that protect it until they discover why the aliens are beating them. Hardway's officers must commit to paying for victory in war's only true currency.
28K words, 96 pages
Lancer
Privateer Admiral Harry Cozen needs pilots for
Similar Books
