FBH Trinity: Test Type 0
Silver dust puffed upwards as the ground juddered, coiling up like smoke in the vacuum. There was no sound on the airless moon, but this dust was a similar sigh: the signature of heavy machines on the move. More dust roiled up as a massive casement, its dull grey surface machine perfectly the surface around it swung around, the vast silver barrel of the weapon within, most dust pouring off the coil guns lumpy tube as it swung up to aim at the gleaming starscape above.
"Gun November is fully responsive to commands. Running final systems check now."
The bunker was well over ten kilometres from the cannon, and buried fifty meters deep beneath the surface. You could still the cannon though, it's image, on high resolution surveillance feed, in wire frame schematic, blue and green (thankfully no yellow and red) false colour imagery, was the second most common on the room's many monitors and screen, exceeded only by the number of different representations of the incoming enemies.
"Ammo Feed three is no go. Route through backup Alpha Four."
Major Nadia Grey felt a surge of claustrophobia as she stepped into the low, concrete roofed space. The place was packed with far too many people. Leaning in small groups around backs of monitors and holographic touch screens. Squeezing past one another in the aisles as they moved from one station to the next. It was laid out like a lecture theatre, with rows of seats and consoles, all capable of observing the big screen at the front, currently showing a graphic of the Coro Gas Giant system, a swarm of conscious red dots moving slowly towards it. It was relatively far from the sun, warmed by the hot Jupiter below as much as the distant star. The inner systems rocky planets had long been abandoned to the enemy. Instead human settlement was now concentrated in Coro's two life bearing moons.
"Major." Nadia looked around at the voice, then returned the salute of the young looking defence force Captain was giving her. The other woman was almost the opposite of Nadia, Petite, Asian, and slim compared to the Aryan perfection of Nadia's genetically engineered figure. Even their uniforms were different. Nadia's federation space force uniform was monochrome, sharply delineated black and white, compared to the green and navy blue of the locals. Where Nadia wore a beret, the other wore a cap. Where Nadia wore long stockings, the local wore tights "I'm Captain Mibu."
"Captain." She saw other operators looking up at her and beginning to rise and salute "Please, carry on about your duties. I do not wish to interrupt them." The operators returned to their work, emanating relief.
"Yes sir. Please, come to the observation deck." Mibu gestured to the steps on one side and Nadia followed her up to the blessedly empty top tier. Nadia took a deep breath. It was almost empty up here, with only the master firing switch under its cover, with a keyhole on either side. Mibu was still talking "My apologizes. You were meant to be met at the train station but with this alert we couldn't spare anyone." She looked Nadia over "A defence control room can be a little overwhelming to outsiders."
"I'm used to stressful situations... merely a little claustrophobic." Nadia smiled "When will you fire your first barrage?"
"As soon as the gun is cleared and loaded." Mibu glanced at the master monitor "should only be a few minutes."
"Do the Beasts attempt to penetrate the system often?" Nadia asked, following Mibu's gaze, eyes lingering on the persistently winking cloud of red blips.
"Every so often, though with less frequency of late. Truthfully this is rather out of the norm for them." Mibu shrugged "Lately they've been trying lone stealth ship approaches, or using asteroids for cover. It doesn't work of course. Our sensor network is too well set up, and we have the trajectories of the rocks too well tracked." She adjusted a strand of dark hair "I suppose each one we kill will make your job easier."
"I hope so. My primary mission is of course to inspect your defences. The Federation's first fleet includes far too much of our remaining combat power to be deployed to any insecure gateway." Nadia tried not to make her words sound too harsh, too distrusting, but there were some subjects too important to allow the normal bonds of politeness to apply.
Mibu seemed to take Nadia's brusqueness in stride: "Well, this is an excellent day for a demonstration then." She smiled briefly then looked up as another woman, this one with a first lieutenant's bars on her shoulder arrived and saluted. "All preparations complete Saki?"
"Yes Captain. We can fire on command." The Lieutenant nodded, looking rather nervous at Nadia's tall presence.
"Very well." Mibu pulled out a key card, and inserted it in the slot, the young Lieutenant doing the same. The panel blinked briefly and there was a chime. Mibu flipped the switch back and pulled out the trigger assembly inside, then reached in and pulled back a toggle, the button on the top lighting red. The slight woman flipped back the switch's cover and pressed her thumb down.
Even through the rock, Nadia heard the sound of the giant gun.