simulations, ” said Calvin. “ Is that correct? ”
“ Yes, ” replied Solomon, “ I did not have any prohibitions on that, and the ones he asked me to run were not of a classified nature. Am I no longer allowed to interact with him? ”
“ No, ” said Calvin, “ it’s OK to talk to him. His status is still being evaluated. Can you tell me about the simulations? ”
“ Certainly, Calvin, ” answered Solomon. “ He asked me to run simulations on when the Drakuls would be likely to return, and what size force they would show up with. Based on information I received from the Emperor’s Paw, I tried to answer those questions for him. ”
“ And what did you determine? ” asked Calvin.
“ There are several caveats I must make before I give you the results, ” advised Solomon. “ First, there is not much data on the new Drakuls on which to base the simulations, so I used historical data from the original race of Drakuls. They may act differently, but I cannot control for this. Second, I have no access to their order of battle, other than what the Archons had passed on to the Mrowry as of two years ago. They may have more ships or less than what I am using, which would speed up or slow down their fleet’s movements. Third, I do not have access to the current situation at 54 Piscium, where the Drakuls and the Archons are fighting, which would also be a major factor in their planning. These things will have a major effect on the simulation’s outcome. ”
“ Got it, ” said Calvin. “ With those caveats, what did you determine? ”
“ The Drakuls will be back between five and nine months from now, ” said Solomon. “ They will return with at least one dreadnought, eight battleships and 16 battlecruisers, as well as a number of smaller ships. A host of cruisers will lead the assault, sacrificing themselves to clear out the Terran minefield. They will be met by two to three Terran battleships and five battlecruisers. The battle will be fierce, with neither side asking for or giving quarter. The Terran forces will be destroyed, and the Drakul forces will still have two battleships, five battlecruisers and eight cruisers left over. The Earth will be conquered and become a pastureland for Drakul food harvesters. ” Damn, thought Calvin. If they brought a dreadnought, Terra was in trouble because dreadnoughts were bigger than anything Terra had in its inventory. Way bigger. He doubted they could stop one if it showed up.
“ Is that a sure thing? ” asked Calvin. “ How many times did you run the simulation? ”
“ I ran it 3,869 times, ” said Solomon. “ In over 30% of them, the Drakuls also destroyed at least part of the planet during the battle, launching missiles at it to split the focus of the defending forces. ”
“ So, ” Calvin asked, “ How many did we win? ”
“ None of them, ” replied Solomon. “ In most cases, all of the Terran spaceships were destroyed within the first hour. ”
“ Damn, ” said Calvin. “ Did Steropes ask you about what happened if we got aid? ”
“ Yes, he did, ” replied Solomon. “ If the Archons respond with aid, you were more likely to survive the initial assault. ”
“ How likely? ” asked Calvin, noticing that Admiral Wright was finishing up.
“ If the Archons respond with aid, you have a 5% chance of surviving the initial assault, ” replied Solomon.
“ Thanks, ” said Calvin. “ I’ve gotta go. Could you please push that info to Admiral Wright of Fleet Command? Tell him it’s something I said he needs for this discussion. ” Calvin knew that the admiral had gotten his implants a week ago. A gift from the Psiclopes, implants allowed recipients to download information directly to their brains, as well as to talk to each other via a special communications network. Calvin doubted that getting bad news in the middle of a briefing was one of the reasons the admiral wanted them.
“Thank you for the recap of the battle,” said