He presented on the various satellite killer missiles, both experimental and in place, in the US, its allies, and even its enemies.

There were not many. It was not an easy task to shoot a fast moving target hundreds of miles away in space. So he turned to the GBMD system, or Ground Based Mid-course Defense system, the US’s primary defense against a nuclear attack. It was a system designed to track incoming missiles’ paths and intercept them using a battery of kinetic collision and high-power explosive devices.

Normally this system, which covers the whole contiguous US, wouldn’t have the range needed to chase down a satellite, but the information Neal had managed to get on the satellites’ orbits provided one small advantage: the AIs were moving so fast in their retrograde orbits that a missile did not need to chase them down. Hypothetically, the missiles just needed to get into their path and the satellites would come at them at the equivalent of about Mach 15.

Hypothetically.

Martin’s theory had one huge flaw, though. Well, actually, it had many flaws, but the main one was that is was based on an assumption. An assumption only John could confirm or deny. Could the satellites maneuver quickly enough to avoid the missiles?

John Hunt did not let them wonder long. He smiled and said: “No, now they are in position they do not have the capacity to alter their orbits that quickly. It was a one-way trip for us all, they are all but stuck where they are.”

Martin, Captain Toranssen, and Neal all sighed and shared smiles bordering on the triumphant. They might have something.

But the Colonel was far from ready to celebrate. There was much left to confirm and the discussion veered to how much of the defensive net’s capability would need to be co-opted.

The answer was daunting. Even firing the majority of the system’s munitions they would still only be able to take out two of the satellites, at best. With shielding they could boost their chances of success, but not the number of the AIs they could destroy using that tool alone.

So they moved on to … other options. Discussion veered to Russia’s Gorgon interceptors and Gazelle missiles. But there was no way of shielding them in advance, and anyway, there was the small issue of gaining access to a launch system built specifically to defend Moscow from the US.

As moods darkened once again John decided to offer them one more measure of hope, “Gentlemen, I have a partial solution: the Dauntless. Missile defense is, after all, what the Type 47 was designed for, both at long and short ranges. I’m sure the British government will object pretty strongly, but …” he smiled sarcastically and the room smiled with him, briefly.

“The Dauntless carries over a hundred and fifty defensive missiles,” John went on, “but specifically it has forty-six with exo-atmospheric range.”