Макс Глебов
Fire Density
Chapter 1
The front didn’t collapse, but it cracked quite a bit. As it turned out later, this was the first, but very bad, wake-up call that marked a difficult time for people. A distracting quarg strike on the Luyten’s system caused the Earth Federation to react sharply, and draw on significant reserves to address the threat. As a result, it was almost impossible to counterbalance a strong and unexpected blow in the other direction – it was an attack on the Federation planets of stars Gliese-338 and Groombridge-1618. This led to a serious defence crisis, which the people were unable to overcome quickly.
When I returned to the Academy, the high command was in a very nervous state. Reserves have been raked out wherever it’s been possible, and Lieutenant General Schiller had to reluctantly agree to the early graduation of third-year cadets. As it happens in such cases those cadets received only one star on their shoulder straps instead of two and the rank of second lieutenant, which was rare in the army. Suddenly I was out of the job as an instructor, since it was the graduate course of the Academy that mastered the captured machines.
Academy director called me back to his office. When I tried to report, he waved it away annoyingly and silently pointed me to the meeting table.
“Cadet Lavroff, ” began gloomily the General, whose mood fluctuated at the mark „below the skirting board”, “you’ve certainly done a great job, and you are a hero. Colonel Kreps sent me Major Weber’s report on your practice. For your rescue mission, he recommended you for the Iron Cross. We, Germans, prefer to recommend deserving soldiers for precisely this award.” A light shadow of smile appeared on the General’s gloomy face. “Kreps approved the recommendation, punch a hole in the tunic.”
“Serving the Earth Federation.”
“Ehh, yes. And you serve it pretty good. Except with the situation on the front… Do you know, Lavroff, when was the last time we had to throw undertrained cadets into battle?” Forced to sign the order for the early graduation of the third course the General couldn’t calm down.
“That was in the first year of the was with quargs, General, Sir.”
“That’s it. Twenty years ago. Do you understand where we have returned?”
“These are temporary difficulties caused by the strategic error and intelligence deficiencies. We shall undoubtedly prevail, Gen… ”
“Put ranks aside, Cadet. ”
“Yes, Sir.”
“You’re right! The recon guys have overslept, to put it mildly, preparations for strikes on Gliese and Groombridge. And right you are about the Luyten’s system – too much force was thrown in there, although this mistake may have saved the lives of you personally and of our freshmen.”
“Not of all of them, unfortunately.”
“Not of all of them. This is war, Cadet, you know it as good as me, or better yet, I haven’t been in a fight in a while. And that’s the second question I want to discuss with you. We’ve already lost almost half our freshmen and we’ve lost the opportunity to prepare well our graduates. I wouldn’t be surprised if they cut the curriculum down to two years. Now freshmen, your comrades, are better prepared for battle than sophomore cadets, and, probably better than those fresh second lieutenants who have just been graduates. I need practical advice based on your combat experience. I have to turn the remaining cadets into officers who will not be killed in the first battle with their units. Don’t look at me with wild eyes. Yes, the General asks the Cadet to share his combat experience. Have you recently looked in the mirror at your qualification tab?”
“I can tell you one thing, if it wasn’t for the six months we spent at the Academy, none of us would have come back from Luyten-5. When our ship was hit by several shells and began to drift uncontrollably towards the planet, the cadets remained a capable military formation despite the deaths of the officers. The platoon commanders did not lose control of their subordinates, and as a result, the landing took place with minimal casualties. You’ve prepared us well, Lieutenant General, Sir. What we had frankly missed was heavy weaponry and experience of guerrilla activities and sabotage. If it wasn’t for Captain Mbia’s men, I don’t know how we’d get away with it. I’m afraid that in the new circumstances commandos will be regularly caught in such situations of complete encirclement and isolation from the main forces. We need knowledge in this sphere and reconnaissance equipment. I’ve been meaning to report my proposals to establish a special recon platoon equipped as regular scouts in each commando battalion, but since you called me yourself, I’d like to take this opportunity.”
“Usually, scouts are assigned to commandos at the time of landing, if the command deems it necessary. Your case was special. No one was planning on sending you into battle, so you had to work it out on your own. I do not yet see arguments in favor of a special platoon in each battalion.”
“You told us yourself that a saboteur and a commando are different military specialties. From Captain Mbia’s men, I’m very well aware of that. They’re good scouts, but they’re not first line fighters. They can’t be sent to attack. They just don’t have the training and equipment for this kind of battle, and I was desperately short of men on Luyten-5 who could attack in the regimental order of battle, and then, if necessary, become saboteurs. Everyone in the landing party has to fight. This rule has been known since pre-Cosmic times,” here again it’s been far-fetched from the experience of my past life.
“Well, that makes sense,” said the General after a moment of reflection. “Prepare a report, Cadet, I’ll review it, and maybe I’ll give it a go. And now I have news for you. Yesterday at the Academy’s board of trustees meeting we talked about you. The Chairman of the Council, General of the Army Vasnetsov joked that we have cadets in the Academy with sufficient combat experience to enter the General Staff Academy. Laugh all you want, but after the meeting I pulled your file. You’re a ready candidate for the Academy. You’ve had enough experience in command positions. The only thing you need is a higher military education, and only officers are allowed in the Academy. You’re 16 now, as strange as it sounds. I keep getting the feeling that I’m dealing with someone my own age, but from a formal point of view, it doesn’t change the case. You’ve done enough for the Academy to make its director in my person want to take part in your destiny,” grinned the General, “but the only person in the Earth Federation who can authorize officer promotion circumventing the age limit is the President. I’ve spoken to Vasnetsov, and he’s ready to make a presentation to the President for you to be promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. I’ll sign the recommendation, too. We need the signatures of three other high-ranking officers who know you personally and can vouch for you. Do you have an idea?”
“Colonel General Knyazev, Admiral Nelson, Admiral Fulton,“ without hesitation I listed,”I really don’t know Admiral Nelson personally, but he commanded the operation to free Luyten-5, and I think the Colonel General can persuade him to sign this document.
“You didn’t waste any time,” grinned the General, “Fulton and Knyazev can’t stand each other. To the extent that this is known well beyond the Fifth Strike Fleet. If you manage to collect both these signatures on the same document… Okay, enough of this stuff. Let’s start, perhaps, with Knyazev.”
* * *
We fought off the quarg attack at the cost of losing the Gliese-338 system and almost complete destruction of the infrastructure in Groombridge 1618, but the enemy’s advance was stopped. The early graduates were even sent back to the Academy to finish their studies. A little over a quarter of those who left the Planetary Commando Academy 40 days ago have returned.
For the next four months, I worked like wood-carver Geppetto on the Pinocchios’ assembly line. The director of the Academy had drawn up a plan for me to crash into my wretched head and the motor centers of the spinal cord the knowledge of all specialized subjects for which the cadets were normally given two and a half years of learning. I was handling it, but I sank into bed in the evening like a sack of potatoes and fell into a dead sleep until the morning. And then I was called to the capital, to Earth, to be awarded the Gold Star.
I didn’t like the situation on the front lines. When I came here, the balance of opposing forces seemed steady, and I thought I had at least five years left to get promoted and to make useful connections and improve my abilities. Now I realized clearly that if I wouldn’t act now, The Earth Federation risked losing the war before I can complete my mission. It was time to put a team together. I wouldn’t manage to do this alone.
Once again, as the first day of my life in this world, I decided to analyze my assets and liabilities. The task of constructing the portal gates so far was as unattainable as when I arrived at the hospital on Titan. I saw no direct and quick way to solve it. Well, let’s take advantage of the way that’s as old as the world, and divide a big problem into a lot of little pieces. I need the knowledge, resources, people and permission of the authorities to build and test the gate. I have the knowledge. But it’s not exactly the kind of knowledge I need. I won’t build the gate myself, which means the information in my head needs to be legitimized. How to do that? The cadet and even the second lieutenant, if the response to the submission is positive, don’t have that kind of knowledge. So what we need is an official organization that can present this information as its own development. That’s number one. Now regarding the resourses. At the moment it’s primarily money. Right now, my personal account contains just over 32,000,000 federal rubles. These are patent royalties, instructor’s wages, trophy prizes and gratuities attached to the Iron Cross and Gold Star. That seems to be quite a lot. With this money, one can comfortably live in the capital of the Federation for almost ten years. But it concerns a common man. I’m a person who’s very restless and unprepared to just sit on his ass, so this money will be enough only for a start. So, the question of resources is soon to be resolved, but not right now. That’s number two. Next on my list are people. I’m supposed to pursue a career in the army where I’m not even an officer yet. So, all the current affairs of providing resources and the activities of the company yet to be created will have to be handled by someone else. I mean, sure, I’m gonna go for it, but I might not have the time or the opportunity. I started thinking and almost immediately remembered Lieutenant Jeff, my senior technician. He should be interviewed one of the first. Professor Stein of The Colonial Technological Institute may also be of use. His name and connections will certainly prove useful. And I need to talk to Inga. I could really use a trusted person at the company. To be honest, I really wanted her to give up her military career, but knowing her, I was kind of afraid to even talk about it.
So, basically, the plan has been ready. First, a weapons development firm. It’ll help me solve two problems at once. I will slowly feed my knowledge from the past life into it and embed it into new weapons samples, thereby legalizing the information I need. And money, of course. The development of the gate will require just an enormous amount of money, which the Federation treasury would never give me, and that way I’ll spend the company’s profits. The second, no less important than the first, is the military career. By the time the gate is built, I must have sufficient influence in the authorities to provide the contact of civilizations according to my scenario. And third, it’s time to help the Federation with new technologies, otherwise we may not live to fulfill that contact.
* * *
The capital of the Earth Federation, the huge city of Amundsen, is located at the south pole of the planet, in the heart of Antarctica, covered with forests. In the middle of the twenty-first century, the human race here finally succeeded in contaminating the home planet, with irreversible environmental consequences. Waste islands in the oceans, man-made disasters on oil platforms and chemical plants, oxidation of ocean waters with carbon dioxide, filling the atmosphere with dust and its poisoning combined with the increasing overpopulation of the planet, all of this has led to people barely surviving to develop terraforming technologies. And the first planet to which terraforming had to be applied was the Earth itself.
An artificial thermonuclear sun hung above the south pole, melting the ice and giving to the suffocating and thirsty mankind source of fresh water and oxygen extracted from it. This seemed to be a temporary solution, but it allowed people to survive to the point where the deep purification plants built along the air and sea currents would bring the concentration of harmful substances in the atmosphere and oceans to an acceptable level. Humanity no longer made such mistakes, and the environmental protection began to be treated on the Earth with blatant fanaticism. Not surprisingly, the ice-free southern continent has become a forest-and lake-covered paradise, in the middle of which humanity, grateful for its salvation, has jointly built an ecologically exemplary mega-city which became the capital of the Federation.
There was a spring in the southern hemisphere of the Earth, and the Antarctic sun also imitated this pleasant season. The awards ceremony was two days away, and since I was in the capital, I decided to take care of my future corporation. I didn’t know much about local law, so I went to a small consulting firm I found online, whose pages seemed adequate to me.
“Good afternoon, I am the leading lawyer of „JurTex” Leo Rabinovich,” the man who answered my call was a vibrant man in his 30s, “What can our company do for you?”
“Igor Lavroff,” I said in return, “I need to register a company that will be able to take part in the State procurement competition.”
“Sphere of activity?”
“Development and supply of weapons and military equipment.”
Rabinovich had a glimpse of surprise, but he kept on talking calmly:
“This activity requires State licensing. The list of requirements for obtaining a licence is extensive. There is a need for a production base, qualified staff, minimum registered capital requirements.”
“That’s why I asked for your advice.”
“Tell me, Igor, do you plan to become the founder and owner of the company?”
“No. I’m a minor. My mother will own the company.”
“How much are you planning to invest in the capital of the new organization?”
“30,000,000 rubles.”
Rabinovich didn’t give a damn. None of his business where a 16-year-old boy took that money. Maybe he’s the son of a wealthy businessman, maybe it’s an inheritance. Who cares?
“Well, that’s enough, at least, to comply with the law. I can take your case, but to obtain a license for such an activity I need from you a number of documents, which confirm that you have experience in the development of new weapons, as well as the results of tests of your products and recommendations from high-ranking military officers. Are you able to provide them?” in the eyes of the lawyer there was doubt.
“I think so. But it’s gonna take some time.”
“Then we can do this: I’ll register a company for you. This will be the first stage of our cooperation, a rather inexpensive one. Next, as you provide the necessary documents, we will proceed to obtain a license. Here, prepare the money, Igor. It will not cost you less than half a million rubles.”
* * *
The rewarding ceremony was very solemn. 35 persons to be awarded were assembled in the main column hall. The award was broadcast online throughout the Federation. In addition to the President, there were many high-ranking officials and military officers. I was licking my lips in anticipation while looking at this flower garden of potentialities, but my insignificant rank has isolated me from them as well as thick tank armor. Earth Federation President, Marshal Ivan Tobolsky, 60-year-old impressionable man with a thick mane of gray hair, a nose with a light hump, a strong chin and piercing brown eyes, delivered a speech that was traditional for such cases, but was slightly adapted to the current situation on the fronts, which was by no means the best. Therefore, we’ve heard repeatedly: «in this difficult time», «it is time for hard tests» and «verification of our will to win». And then he went straight to the award. A tall and smooth general who summoned my association with the word ‘parquet’ gave the name of the next recipient, and the guy in question approached the President with a report while marching in a ceremonial pace. Most of the time Tobolsky smiled habitually, took the award from a tray his extremely solemn assistant was holding, handed it to the hero and shook his hand with congratulations. The decorated man responded with a statutory phrase and returned to the line. Sometimes the President spoke to the officer or soldier a few words in a quiet voice and even listened to the answer. It was impossible to understand exactly what they were saying.
I turned out to be one of the last.
“Commander in Chief, Sir, Cadet of the Planetary Commando Academy Igor Lavroff has arrived for the state award!” I reported clearly to the President.
“Luyten-5? Commanding the Heavy Commando Brigade and striking to meet our landing party?” suddenly asked Tobolsky. There was a glimpse of surprise on the face of the foppish general who heard the question.
“That’s right, Commander in Chief, Sir.”
“Congratulations on the Order of the Gold Star, Second Lieutenant. And on joining the General Staff Academy. Now more than ever, we need such commanders.”
“Serving the Earth Federation,” I answered according the regulations, standing at attention.
“Unique Specialist?” The President quietly asked, nodding at the badge on my tunic and having thrown the ceremonial General into final shock by deviating from protocol. “Do you have any requests or suggestions?”
I, too, was barely keeping my face cool, but I wasn’t going to miss an opportunity like this.
“That’s right, Commander in Chief, Sir. I do.”
“After the ceremony wait for my assistant. And now you’re free to go, Second Lieutenant.”
There was no miracle, no personal meeting with the President, but his assistant did find me after the awards ceremony, and diligently concealing his disdain for a person as insignificant as a second lieutenant, invited me to submit my requests and views in writing and send it to him for processing and transmission to the Commander in Chief.
* * *
The door to the President’s office opened silently and the well trained assistant brought the Head of State coffee and ginger cookies. Tobolsky silently nodded.
“Mr. President, you asked me to remind you of Second Lieutenant Lavroff. ”
“Ah, Lavroff. Yes, thank you,” – Tobolsky wearily moved his hand along his face. “What’s there? Just briefly.”
“He claims that in the operations on Luyten-5 and Kapteyn, he used weapon systems of his own design, based on our and trophy circuitry and built on the Academy tech base and in the field conditions. According to him, they were far more effective in combat than our standard models.”
“Did you check that?”
“Yes, Mr. President, I’ve sent inquiries to his commanding officers. The answers have been strictly positive. In the case of Luyten-5, there is even a specific combat efficiency calculation: 130 percent.”
“Hmm. Let’s say it’s OK. What does he want? Money for development or transfer to a defense industrial complex?”
“Oddly enough, no. He doesn’t ask for money and only sees himself in combat units. He requests a licence to develop arms and military equipment for a company he has just registered as well as unhindered access to the Ministry of Defence competitions.”
“What’s the problem with the license?”
“It has been the practice of the Ministry of Defence to issue such licences only to large enterprises within the defence industry complex and to their subsidiaries. There’s no way for a small firm just set up to get a license like this. They just won’t let you, even after fulfilling the formal requirements. I mean, there’s so many of them, you can always pick on something.”
“Let’s not get in his way. This guy might be useful to us. Someone in the Military Industrial Complex has overdone things, and this guy, if he doesn’t turn out to be nothing, which I don’t think he will be, could be a good pain in the ass… What is required of me? ”
“Recommending a license with your signature will solve all the problems.”
“Is draft paper ready?”
“Yes, Mr. President.”
“Send it to me, I’ll sign it. And let me know if he makes any sense.”
* * *
Leo Rabinovich froze up, staring at the screen of his tablet. I understood him well. I sat like that yesterday, stupidly reading and rereading the recommendation to issue the Lavroff Weapons Company a license to develop arms and military equipment, signed personally by President Tobolsky.
Finally, the lawyer stopped scrutinizing the document and gave me a still slightly stunned look.
“I think, Igor, in a week you’ll be licensed. With such a recommendation, it is unlikely that anyone would pay attention to formalities, because, in fact, Mr President himself has assumed full responsibility. You’ve earned a lot of trust, though.”
I just hemmed vaguely. I didn’t expect it myself. And some little worm of doubt was scratching somewhere in my brain, banging hammers into the top of my head: there’s no free cheese in rat labyrinths.
“I’m more than happy with the week,” I told Rabinovich, “But I have to get started somewhere. Can your company find me an office space and an experimental workshops site?”
“I think so. It won’t be a problem. It’s not hard to rent an office in the capital, if one has money. It’s pretty simple with a production site, but not on Earth, of course. There’s no way you’re gonna be allowed to set up a production site here, but the Moon is at your complete disposal. There are huge tech parks where they will be happy to rent you out the necessary space, perhaps even together with the equipment.”
“Then, Leo, get the list of the parameters of the site and the office that I need, and I’m looking for suggestions.”
* * *
“Good afternoon, Ivan Gerkhardovich,” I decided not to delay calling Professor Stein,“Do you have a few minutes for me?”
“Glad to see you, Igor,” the professor gave me a sincere smile. Of course, I’m the one he has extremely positive memories with, both emotionally and financially, “Always happy to talk to you. But you didn’t just bring up the provincial professor. Surely you have another adventure for me. Am I right?”
“As always, Ivan Gerkhardovich, as always,” I didn’t deny it, “But I’m also very happy to see you in a good mood.”
“Well, tell me, then. Why waste time?”
“I’ve registered a company and I’m going to develop weapons for our army. In a week’s time, I’ll have the necessary license, office and space to house the production equipment. I need people, good engineers and scientists to develop EW systems, armor and cannons, and then utilize all this into prototypes of spacesuits, dropships and combat robots. Ten people will be enough for now. I’ll send you a list of the skills needed. Could you find me such people among the best students of the Colonial Technological Institute or among recent graduates? I need young people with open-minded brains capable of perceiving and developing breakthrough ideas.”
“Give me your list, I’ll see what I can do.”
I sent the professor a pre-prepared paper. A couple of minutes later, Stein stopped reading and looked up at me.
“I think I will. I see you’ve already indicated the approximate salary levels. I don’t think any of my candidates would give up on that. It’ll take me a few days to talk to the right people.”
“Thank you, professor, I had no doubt that you could help me recruit people. But that is not all,” I said, observing a slight surprise and interest on Stein’s face,“To manage this team, I need an experienced leader with the necessary knowledge and authority in the scientific community.”
“And you want me to help you find such a man?”
“No, Ivan Gerkhardovich, I don’t. I already found him. This man is you. If you want to, of course. But something tells me you’re not gonna say no,” I smiled rapaciously.
The professor started thinking. He didn’t see it coming.
“Hmm,” Stein vaguely hemmed, “about another adventure, I did guess. I’d probably send someone else with that idea a long way away. I’m too used to the Colonial Technological Institute, I’ve got all my roots in it.”
“Professor,” I told Stein quietly, “do you watch the news regularly?”
“Yes, I do, from time to time.”
“And what do you see? Do you think I’d start this whole thing if everything was okay? Why? I’m not poor already. And as you can see, I’m a soldier, not a scientist. And suddenly, I make this offer. Why do you think?”
The professor looked at me silently.
“When I first met you, I was dying of asteroid fever. And then, to avoid death, I became a scientist for a while. And now I come back to you, and I’m ready to do science and engineering again. I’m dead sick again, Professor. But I’m not the only one sick this time. The whole Federation is sick. And if we don’t create a cure right now, we all die. Some will die in space and in the colonies fighting the quargs, and someone in the Solar System under bombs and orbital strikes when there’s no one left to protect the planets. There will be no Colonial Technological Institute, no artificial sun over Titan. It’s a matter of several years. We need a cure, professor, and this cure is a new weapon. I’ll give it to the Federation, with or without you, but I’d rather do it with you.”
“Is it that bad?”
“I was there and I saw it with my own eyes.”
The professor looked away, and for a while, he was thinking about something of his own. Finally, he looked me in the eye again.
“Where and when do I bring the science and engineering team?”
