say.”
Before the Block War, the United States had felt, in some ways rightly, that they were the top country on the planet. The problem was that while that was true for military power, the country had been yielding a lot of other top slots to Japan, Korea, China, and other nations with citizens willing to do work for pay at which a homeless person in the U.S. would openly laugh.
While Japan had actively opposed the Block, siding with the NAC, just about every up-and-coming industrial powerhouse had formed the foundation of the Block’s strength. From Korea to China to India, the industrial power that once belonged to the United States and its allies had systematically been moved overseas by U.S. corporations because it was cost effective.
That, combined with the fact that Western nations had been educating the smartest people from the Block nations only to have them take that education right back home with them…well, when the war kicked off, it didn’t start well for the NAC.
At the start of the war, the U.S. still controlled fully fifty percent of the naval power on the
entire planet
, but the edge in air power fell to the Chinese when they rolled out the first-generation counter-mass aircraft. Chinese Mantis fighters tore through the air defenses of the U.S.S.
Enterprise
carrier task group and left the most powerful warship on the planet in a smoking cinder as it slowly sank beneath the waves. Naval power was meaningless while the air was being contested, and the Block successfully ruled the skies for almost three months.
Right up until the Archangels made the scene over Japan.
So now the Block had made their dominance in CM technology evident again, but this time Eric was almost glad of it. He’d seen what was out there, and any human technological advancement was a good technological advancement.
Screw the national patriotism. We need every running gun we can lay our hands on.
Images of the Dyson Cloud loomed over every waking moment of his life now, and a good chunk of his nightmares. If the Block was showing their flag outside the Sol System, all the better. They’d have to fight alongside everyone else unless they wanted it burned to the ground by the Drasin and whoever was behind them.
“Alright, I’ll keep an eye out. We can detour the
Odyssey
through some high-probability locations, just to see if they’re around,” he said finally. “But I don’t see the problem. The Block is a lot of things, but they’re not crazy enough to start another war now. We’ve got enough tech edges against them to make the outcome wildly uncertain from their point of view, and now there are the Drasin to deal with.”
“The Block leadership isn’t certain that the Drasin are real, Captain,” Gordon said, shaking his head. “A significant group believe it’s all just propaganda.”
“Oh for crying out….” Eric spat, annoyed.
Honestly, he had no idea why he was even remotely surprised, but it still pissed him off that his word on this was being questioned. It wasn’t like they had any reason to believe him, but it was still irksome.
“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised,” he said.
“No, not really.” Gordon chuckled. “But look at the bright side. If they’ve developed decent FTL, they’ll soon find out for themselves.”
“Assuming they survive to report back,” Gracen reminded them both. “The Block doesn’t have cam-plate technology anywhere near our own, and without a decent laser defense they’re not likely to have as enjoyable a time as the
Odyssey
had.”
“There is that,” Gordon said with a sigh.
“Do I have orders if I find them in dire straits?”
“Law of the sea, Captain. We’re not at war with the Block at the moment. Rescue if possible.”
“Aye, aye, ma’am.”
“That should be everything we need to cover personally,” Gracen said. “Official orders and background will be in your dossier before the
Odyssey
ships out again. Just keep this conversation in
Before the Block War, the United States had felt, in some ways rightly, that they were the top country on the planet. The problem was that while that was true for military power, the country had been yielding a lot of other top slots to Japan, Korea, China, and other nations with citizens willing to do work for pay at which a homeless person in the U.S. would openly laugh.
While Japan had actively opposed the Block, siding with the NAC, just about every up-and-coming industrial powerhouse had formed the foundation of the Block’s strength. From Korea to China to India, the industrial power that once belonged to the United States and its allies had systematically been moved overseas by U.S. corporations because it was cost effective.
That, combined with the fact that Western nations had been educating the smartest people from the Block nations only to have them take that education right back home with them…well, when the war kicked off, it didn’t start well for the NAC.
At the start of the war, the U.S. still controlled fully fifty percent of the naval power on the
entire planet
, but the edge in air power fell to the Chinese when they rolled out the first-generation counter-mass aircraft. Chinese Mantis fighters tore through the air defenses of the U.S.S.
Enterprise
carrier task group and left the most powerful warship on the planet in a smoking cinder as it slowly sank beneath the waves. Naval power was meaningless while the air was being contested, and the Block successfully ruled the skies for almost three months.
Right up until the Archangels made the scene over Japan.
So now the Block had made their dominance in CM technology evident again, but this time Eric was almost glad of it. He’d seen what was out there, and any human technological advancement was a good technological advancement.
Screw the national patriotism. We need every running gun we can lay our hands on.
Images of the Dyson Cloud loomed over every waking moment of his life now, and a good chunk of his nightmares. If the Block was showing their flag outside the Sol System, all the better. They’d have to fight alongside everyone else unless they wanted it burned to the ground by the Drasin and whoever was behind them.
“Alright, I’ll keep an eye out. We can detour the
Odyssey
through some high-probability locations, just to see if they’re around,” he said finally. “But I don’t see the problem. The Block is a lot of things, but they’re not crazy enough to start another war now. We’ve got enough tech edges against them to make the outcome wildly uncertain from their point of view, and now there are the Drasin to deal with.”
“The Block leadership isn’t certain that the Drasin are real, Captain,” Gordon said, shaking his head. “A significant group believe it’s all just propaganda.”
“Oh for crying out….” Eric spat, annoyed.
Honestly, he had no idea why he was even remotely surprised, but it still pissed him off that his word on this was being questioned. It wasn’t like they had any reason to believe him, but it was still irksome.
“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised,” he said.
“No, not really.” Gordon chuckled. “But look at the bright side. If they’ve developed decent FTL, they’ll soon find out for themselves.”
“Assuming they survive to report back,” Gracen reminded them both. “The Block doesn’t have cam-plate technology anywhere near our own, and without a decent laser defense they’re not likely to have as enjoyable a time as the
Odyssey
had.”
“There is that,” Gordon said with a sigh.
“Do I have orders if I find them in dire straits?”
“Law of the sea, Captain. We’re not at war with the Block at the moment. Rescue if possible.”
“Aye, aye, ma’am.”
“That should be everything we need to cover personally,” Gracen said. “Official orders and background will be in your dossier before the
Odyssey
ships out again. Just keep this conversation in
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