POD (The Pattern Universe) Read Online Free

their equipment. When they were ready, they turned on the tractor beams and lifted the cloaked object off the sled. Underneath they replaced it with a series of repressor tractor beam generators in place to take the weight and provide opposing force against the ones above.
    With all tractor beams in place, the last of the mesh and chains were removed. They now had their object in stasis. If it turned off its shields, or they collapsed under pressure, the beams would immediately take up the slack and lock onto the hull of what they presumed to be a ship.
    Goeth went around checking everything carefully, paying particular attention to the stabilisers. They needed to exert pressure equally, or it might be spat out of one side. He nodded as each one seemed true and even to the others.
    Then, on his signal, they began to increase the pressure equally on all sides. With the beams all reinforced by the relativity of solid stone walls, they were able to exert significant tonnage to the surface of the shield. The fact that it was cloaked would eventually prove immaterial.
    Goeth had come to the conclusion that if the ship were put under extreme pressure, it would force the shield into a colour change as the exertion created heat, giving them a thermal signature.
    This occurred thirty minutes into the exercise. They all crowded around the monitor at one end of the lab to see the results Lockwood had pulled up on the screen in front of them. They could clearly see a tear-shaped ship approximately one metre at its thickest point and three metres at its longest.
    “It's just a surveillance drone,” one said.
    “No, look at those outlets there, it's some kind of space drive,” the speaker spun the control so the three dimensional image shifted to show a better angle.
    “What do you think these are? “ asked another.
    “They look like sensors, we have seen similar before on the AI, Ship,” Goeth informed them, being one of few who had actually been on the ship and in space.
    Several looked up at him enviously. They had not taken the chance to be beamed up to the alien ship when it was available.
    “We should proceed with phase II and see what happens,” Goeth commented. “How about just here. Seems a good point where damage would be minimal,” he said pointing towards the rear, behind the outlets that they agreed were engines of some type.
    Five minutes later they had set up the latest laser cutter, which they knew would create considerable strain on the shield and hopefully force the cloak and shield to fail.
    “Be ready with the cut-out if it goes through,” Goeth reminded his colleagues who were managing the computer controls on the laser. “Now!” he ordered.
    The red beam sliced through the short distance from the end of the lance to the shield and the temperature in the room rose rapidly from the generated heat. There seemed to be no effect on the shield, even the thermal 3D image seemed to show little change. In fact, it appeared to be cooling.
    “STOP!” shouted Lockwood, who had been monitoring the screen output, gesturing to his colleagues on the lance. He summoned Goeth across from where he had been supervising the laser.
    “It's absorbing the energy from the laser beam and using it to strengthen its shield,” he muttered as his fingers flew across the keyboard forcing the system to show them a replay of the last thirty seconds.
    “Well, I'll be damned!” Goeth agreed. “It's smart. By absorbing the heat, it's reinforcing the shields, but assuming its power was at maximum before it came in, how much can it absorb before it can't handle any more?” he questioned.
    “Where could the excess heat go if its systems were already full?” the scientists who had brought their attention to Pod's strategy echoing in agreement, as he pondered the answer.
    “Step up the power,” ordered Goeth confidently, “and switch on the air coolers, it's going to get damned hot in here,” he added, undoing his coat and taking