Free Tides of the Continuum 1: Making History by Keegan Hennis

are the people in this room. The Visitors only contacted Earth Protection Force leaders in this way. This is why we are worried.” Lincoln sat back in his chair.
    Buck started, “This message-dream comes at a very tense juncture. We have received word from an outer rim station warning us of a disturbing occurrence. A fleet of space vessels has been detected approaching this direction. Our recent intelligence has also tracked the research and development of a gravimetric weapon, code-named Black Core. Potentially, it has the ability to create an artificial gravity well a great distance from its primary generator. We have no information on its full capabilities, but if such a device were given enough power, it could create enough gravity in a specific location to rip apart a moon, or a planet. It may even be engineered to crush an entire star."
    "What does this have to do with my dream? I didn't see a black hole in it."
    "Dreams can be interpreted and the other ship may have represented this gravity weapon, which we know is a real threat. Additional reports point to a known extremist, an individual named James Benton. He now calls himself Gracchus.”
    Aurora was trying desperately to keep up. “There are hostile aliens approaching Earth? Let’s blast ‘em. This ship can do that, right?”
    Buck looked at Lincoln. Lincoln answered, “Your dream suggests otherwise. In your dream, the Legion was destroyed. A gravimetric weapon like the one our intelligence has described would be a very formidable foe for us to battle. And, no, these aren’t aliens. They’re human. You see, about forty years after Earth Protection Force started, there was a power hungry man in the ranks who desired to lead the EPF . His name was Alexei Romanov, originally from Russia. He attempted several times to seize control of the moon base, but in the end was defeated. He escaped with a handful of androids and a few dozen mechanics, and left Earth’s space.”
    Everyone at the conference table nervously shifted as they listened to Lincoln unfolding history. Behind him, on the wall, a screen came to life.
A space map filled the screen showing the assumed movements of Romanov.
    “Romanov didn’t stop at the edge of the solar system, but kept going. He made it all the way to Alpha Centauri before he decided to stop. It wasn’t very long before he and his followers moved again, though, traveling still farther from Earth, trying to find a planet that could support life. It is quite possible that they did, though we haven’t found it yet. As near as we can tell, they’ve been recruiting more people from Earth since then as have we. The difference is they use androids for nearly all their military jobs. They have about a hundred military personnel and about fifty thousand artificial soldiers, from our last report. But we have no way of knowing how many civilians they have.”
    The image on the screen disappeared and everyone refocused their attention to Lincoln.
    He continued, “We predicted Romanov would go and get himself killed, and he eventually did, leaving his first mate in charge. After several violent shifts in leadership, we come to the present day. This Gracchus is now in command of the rogue group, which goes by the name Koratind Ratahn."
    "Do we know what their intentions are?" asked Aurora.
    Buck, as the lead strategist, interjected, "The Ratahn imagine that their founders were expelled for no reason from Earth, and for this they wish to hurt Earth. Aurora's message-dream indicates that if we confront that fleet directly, we will fall, and Earth will be defenseless. We can’t let that happen. No government of Earth is prepared to repulse a space attack, nor will they be for years to come. The nearest ally ship, the Vestroya, is over a week away, and they won’t be able to put up much of a fight against a threat that causes the Legion to pause and take count of itself. So it’s down to us and whatever we can do in the time remaining.