Fate of Terra - Rise of Empires

Chapter 2.3 - Continuation

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"Pan, how long before we reach Lagrange regions in the gravity wells?" Michael asked once everyone was seated.

"We should enter the selected system within the hour."

"Lagrange?" Kat asked from his left.

Michael nodded, thinking over the best way to explain the science to her. "Lagrange points are locations in space where the gravity is neutral. It's down to where and how planets, moons and stars rotate with each other. The larger the steller mass, the larger these regions are."

"You mean like how satellites and stuff travel round a planet but stay in the same place above its surface?" Tanya asked appearing from nowhere.

"Not quite. Those are Geostationary points." He offered while lifting the blonde teenager into his lap with a kiss to her forehead. "Lagrange points are like that, but they don't follow an orbit 'around' a planet. Think of it like a secondary orbit. The planets gravity and the stars gravity work in opposition to each other, balancing the area."

"Why don't you just pick a spot and let the Station float there?"

Michael grinned, "Why do you think?"

'Perhaps this will help, Master.' Pan thought to him, directing a hologram to project over Michael's head.

The holograph gave a simple diagram showing Earth and its five Lagrange points. Two of them following the orbit of the planet, while another two floated alongside the planet, flanking its route between Venus and Mars. The final point sat in the mirror position to Earth on its orbit around the Sun.

"It's more stable," Tanya answered after a moment of consideration.

"Exactly," Michael's pride towards his protégé was obvious. "Any assault on the location needs to maintain a formation 'against' the gravity of the system. We meanwhile, keep our momentum without expending excess energy."

Kat still had one question. "Why this system?"

"This system," Michael indicated the point on the map, "Is abundant with metal rich asteroids. That's not to mention the Binary stars provide flanking for any structure we create, and the Lagrange is far larger than anything we've encountered so far. We'll be setting up an FOCB here." Heading off the question, "Forward Operations and Construction Base."

Michael had accepted they had to use the limited solar technology before moving into the heavy duty fusion reactors, but the smaller construction ships couldn't cope with the large load.

"Isn't there a danger of solar flares?" Rin pointed out, eyeing the stars that out-massed their home Sun by a factor of ten.

"Yes and no," Pan took over. "Any cosmic radiation directed towards the Lagrange is mostly absorbed by the second stars gravitational pull. These stars are also much older than Earths and are of greater stability." When Rin remained unconvinced, she displayed the splaying spiral of radioactive wash the stars emitted. "The rotation speed around their pivot ejects most of the radiation away from the internal Lagrange."

"The Central Alliance claimed the area but have no use for the ore, thus leaving the place economically stilted." Mara yawned. "The Rhemish are nomads who prey on any who stray into, what they claim as, their territory. The Alliance has allowed them to exist on the fringe because they were smart enough to leave internal routes alone."

Michael had considered this, that adding a new potential enemy was another risk - a risk he could do without. That didn't excuse their assault on his ships and his people. He wanted any other race, any other potential enemy to know the price crossing his path would bring. 'You are only as good as those you defeat,' so the saying went. The Rhemish would serve as his example. All would know the consequences of going against him. The air of mysticism had worked in his favour so far; but much like his hacking days, a feared reputation could be as effective as any weapon.