“It is a near certainty, this Empire has a complex interconnected web of portals aligning many points in space. Those act as bridges between the worlds of the Empire. Earth could soon be a short journey away from those Empire home worlds. If that happens, it’s all over.
“The bug invasion has been difficult. Except for many happy circumstances we would have already been overcome by the bugs. They should have started with a larger invasion force. Their tactics have been poor, with the bugs relying on terror rather than a coherent military strategy.
“They could have used their technological advantage and bombed us from space. Or exploited our reliance on electronic systems and subdued us by using an EMP. The bugs could have controlled us through our electrical and electronic smart-grid weaknesses. They mostly left our satellites alone, even military birds. I could go on and on recounting their many errors. The invasion has been thwarted because of those errors, and because they have underestimated us.
“Even so, the Empire, with a portal near Earth, will be able to bring massive firepower to bear. We will be conquered, enslaved.”
It was quiet in the room as Mr. T gave his message some time to sink in. He continued.
“The bugs are now being extremely cautious. Their technological advantage is still intact. Even with the few ships remaining to them, they could win a war from space. There are a few things in our favor. We have some ... technological capabilities ... that have worked especially well against them.
“Knowing of the Darkside base and their intent to open a portal gate is key information. Having knowledge of an Empire, an enemy threat even greater than the bugs, is critical. If we can defeat their portal project, that will buy the time we will need to be able to face the real enemy.
“We will need time to prepare, in order to defeat the Empire. Yes, it will be necessary to defeat the Empire. Even though they have been walking among the stars for a very long time and we have barely started to explore our own back yard, our own little Solar System, we will need to defeat them.”
Mr. T had determined from his interviews with the bug queens, that we could not negotiate with the Empire. The Empire is evil. We need to end them, at least we need to end the evil rulers now in charge of the Empire. That is something we, humanity, would need to accomplish.
Mr. T continued. “The Empire probably does not have ships that can travel faster than the speed of light. They are limited in that way until a portal bridge is built. But with an operational portal bridge between two gates, travel from point to point is instantaneous. It is like crossing a short bridge, or moving through a short tunnel. But, to set up a working portal gate, they need to send a physical ship and team through normal space to the final destination of the bridge run. That’s where the bugs come in.
“The scientific community is of the opinion their ships can cruise at about half the speed of light. That’s fast from our technological perspective. We will continue to back-engineer the bug ships. That will change some things. It will open up our Solar System. Mining operations. Cities. I’m sure there will be a theme park on Mars within 10 years.
“Yet, even at half of light speed, it would take a long time to travel between stars. Traveling from Earth at that incredible velocity, it would still take over 8-years to reach the nearest star other than our sun. Without a working portal gate at Luna the stellar distances work in our favor.
“According to the best information available to us, the nearest Empire base with a portal gate that could be used to threaten Earth is ... let’s say ... 50 years away. The timeline could be longer, but we will be cautious with our estimates. We believe the stellar system where this bug invasion originated as Trappist-1. That is likely the location of the nearest portal gate to Earth, assuming we interdict successfully at Luna. Trappist is 40 light years from Earth.
“I want to tell you now of a major technological advantage we do hold. Listen carefully. Until further notice, what you are about to hear can-not be shared with anyone outside this room. If that happens, it will be treated as treason against the United States of America. Those of you representing other nations, I’m sure the situation is the same. Is that correct general?” (The general just nodded a quick, yes.) “Life in prison, no chance of parole. At the least. Understood?” (Everyone in the room nodded yes). “I need to hear it.”
“Yes,” was the resounding reply. All caught on an AI recording no doubt.
Mr. T continued once more. “We can travel great distances without their type of portal. Almost anywhere. Instantaneously. There are limitations. Those limitations do not impact our plans to eliminate the Darkside threat. We will leverage that strategic advantage. But we will not underestimate our enemy. They have dominance in space. Their base is well defended. They are dug in, and ready for us. They also have a lot of hostages. That may have been their main purpose in moving people off-world, presumably to their Moon base. They are hostages.
“If the portal gate remains in enemy hands, most of the inhabitants of Earth will be moved through Darkside to another world. Other ... beings ... will then come through the portal gate to live on Earth in our place.”
The dissertation provoked a lot of questions. And plenty of statements. But the meeting is finally winding down.
The Shockwave team already knew of that 50-year window as well as the apparent cruising speed of a bug ship, pegged at 50%-light. The math wasn’t
