Introduction

The Admiral stood at attention in front of the High Council and knew a death sentence was not far away. His ship was the only survivor of the hundred thousand plus ships sent to Andromeda to search for the ones that had been attacking their ships. He had discussed what to do with the Hub Computer but it was of the opinion that he was as good as dead. It did say something that got him thinking.

“If you’re going to die anyway, you should at least make a grand exit.”

The Admiral knew that being defensive was the best way to get him killed. He thought about it and decided that if nothing else, this group of leaders understood arrogance better than any other trait. He stood in the center of the room in his spotless uniform and remained at attention while the Councilors waited for the First to arrive. His black and blonde braid hung at his shoulder and his red uniform was immaculate. He forced all expression from his face and stared straight ahead. He looked up at the Second Councilor and knew he would be the one to conduct the questioning. He saw the Councilor staring at him and he stared back at him and didn’t blink. He quickly saw the Councilor’s expression and his excitement at possibly seeing him die. He forgot his fear and decided to say what he thought and damn the consequences. He sensed that to do anything else was going to get him killed. The First Councilor walked in and everyone rose until he took his seat. He looked at the Admiral for a long moment and then nodded to the Second.

• • •

The Second Councilor leaned forward and said, “Admiral, we have all gone over the recordings you made in the other galaxy and it appears that there is a very dangerous civilization there. You were right in that initial assessment.”

The Admiral nodded and said, “But I was wrong about who it was.”

The Second was surprised by the Admiral’s statement, “What do you mean?”

“We went there looking for the home planets of the ships that were attacking our ships here. Some of their ships were there but it wasn’t them that destroyed our fleet. It was another civilization that was far more dangerous than the ones that have been attacking us.”

The Second leaned back and said, “And just how do you know that?”

“If you look at the final attack when a giant black ship was moving in on the Councilor’s Ship, you’ll find that those three ships attacked our ship and were in turn attacked by the giant ship that disabled the Councilor’s vessel. That ship fired on the three white ships, heavily damaging one of them. It was that damaged ship that rammed the black ship, destroying it along with the Councilor’s ship.”

The Second stared at the Admiral, “And just why weren’t you on board the Councilor’s Vessel. That is where you were assigned.”

The Admiral knew the moment had come. He stared at the Second and said, “I had to make a critical decision and I chose to leave his ship for the good of our civilization.”

The Second sneered and said, “What was so critical that you would abandon a High Councilor?”

“Making sure the information on what was happening made it back to the rest of you.”

The Second was shocked by the answer. The Admiral continued, “I know most of you are wise and know how to conduct fleet maneuvers but the new Councilor was determined to get all of our ships destroyed. I could not change his mind on tactics and I knew if I didn’t make plans to get information back to the rest of you, it was possible you would come back without any warning of what to expect. I left to set up a ship to record everything that happened and also placed a probe on the Councilor’s ship to record what happened to us. Before I could return, the Councilor ordered all our ships into a star cluster. He didn’t send a probe in first, he didn’t send a small task force, he just ordered them all in and they were destroyed in less than thirty minutes. Then one of the ships from that cluster jumped in on his ship. I determined that I had to get this information back to you. I stayed to record what happened.”

The First said, “Are you telling us that the Councilor would not listen to your suggestions?”

The Admiral looked straight at the First and said, “The Councilor asked what I thought but decided what he wanted to do and made it clear his orders were to be followed. I determined rather quickly that he was ignoring my concerns and it was not acceptable to question his decisions; but I knew my primary responsibility was to make sure what ever happened would be recorded and brought back for the High Council’s consideration. I pulled a ship out of the fleet and set it up just outside the edge of the galaxy to record everything that took place. That is the only ship that made it back.”

The First lowered his eyebrows, “And you just happened to be on that ship?.”

“No, I was there to make sure the Captain of that ship was set up to record everything. When I moved the ship there, we had not found any civilizations in our search. I thought I would have enough time to get it done and get back. I was wrong. Everything fell apart faster than I thought possible. The Councilor ordered the fleets into a star cluster with abnormal readings and things got out of hand before I could do anything else but collect recordings.”

The First sneered at the Admiral and nodded to the Second. The Second said, “This appears to be an act of cowardice, Admiral.”

The Admiral stared at the Second and said, “If you were there instead of that councilor and I saw you were issuing orders that could get us all killed with no survivors, what do you think I should do?”

“You should tell me what you’re seeing.”

“And if I did and you chose to ignore me. What would my duty be? Should I stay on board and just issue your orders or should I take measures to make sure whatever happened was recorded and brought back?”

“You left the Councilor.”

“I left my second-in-command to carry out his instructions while I set up the ship to record. He wasn’t listening to anything I suggested. My being there would have made no difference in the outcome.”

“What was so important that it required you to leave the councilor?”

“Information about the ships that have been attacking us.”

“What information?”

“They are not located in another galaxy. They are located here in our galaxy.”

The Councilors started talking among themselves and the Admiral looked up at the First, who wore a slight smile and was nodding his head. The Second saw it as well and the Admiral knew there would at least be another day.

Chapter One

Ian and Violet sat in Cole’s office and listened as he issued instructions to an engineer; they could see Cole was not happy, “I don’t care what it takes to make it work. I want those installations in orbit now. I won’t tolerate another delay. Now make it happen.” Cole slammed his board and said, “I’m tired of hearing what they can’t do.”

Violet shrugged, “Is it possible they might not be able to do what you’re asking.”

Cole looked at her, “They can do it. They just want everything to operate perfectly and that never happens. They should get them up and then make corrections.”

Ian lowered his eyebrows, “Exactly what is it you want done?”

“The Obelisk needs weapons above the planet to adequately defend it. The ground lasers won’t be powerful enough against the slavers if they come here. The ground lasers won’t hit them before they can hit the installations from orbit. The missile launchers should also be in orbit to take full advantage of their FTL fields.”

Ian sighed, “Then what good are the ground defenses against them?”

Cole smiled, “They won’t want to land an invading force on any of our planets. They’ll get chewed up by the Obelisks. However, the Obelisks can be knocked out from space if we don’t have defenses in orbit to use against invading ships.”

Ian leaned back, “Do we have anything in our inventory that can keep them far enough away from the planet?”

“Thanks to Andi and Abbey’s Higgs beam, we do.”

Ian shook his head, “I don’t understand how a Higgs beam functions, Cole. Is it really that dangerous?”

Cole stared at Ian and said, “I’m going to explain this once and you probably still won’t understand it. Most people just don’t understand the Standard Unified Theory so that they can grasp how subatomic particles operate. The Higgs-Boson particle is the final piece of what makes matter stable.” Cole saw Ian’s expression and held up his hand, “ I’ll try to keep this as simple as possible.” Cole looked up and then said, “The Higgs field is a part of all matter in the universe. It is what allows matter to have weight. It is what pulls particles together. Without that field, all matter would simply move at the speed of light as particles. The Higgs field allows particles to combine and form elements by giving them weight. Remove the weight and the elements would fly apart.”

Cole paused, “Humans discovered in the early twenty first century during experiments with a collider that when a proton was hit by another proton, it shattered into its parts and two new particles came into existence for a brief moment. Those particles didn’t exist physically before the collision but were part of the proton in the form of an energy field. Those two new particles were produced by the Higgs field collapsing into a particle called a Boson. That particle is a physical manifestation of the Higgs field. The Boson would only exist for a few moments and would then return to an energy field and become part of another particle.”

Ian thought a moment and said, “So if you remove the Higgs field from any matter, it would fly apart?”

Cole nodded and said, “It would fly apart at the speed of light. Do you know what they call matter that flies apart at the speed of light?”

Ian stared at Cole and said, “A nuclear explosion.”

Cole laughed, “Give the man a Kewpie Doll.”

Violet shook her head, “But Cole, those ships we hit with a Higgs Beam didn’t explode. A hole was just burned through them. I didn’t see nuclear explosions when we used them in the last battle.”

“That’s because we fired the Higgs field in the beams. They added so much weight to what they hit that the particles collapsed in on themselves. It’s the Boson Particles that strip the Higgs Field from matter. The beams we’re designing for planetary defense will fire Boson particles that strip the Higgs field from whatever they hit and cause the atoms to fly apart.”

Ian shook his head, “Is that possible?”

“It is.”

“What’s the range of the new beam?”

“We won’t know until we get one of the orbiting platforms up and give it a shot.”

“How are you going to collect the needed Bosons?”

“We’ll fly the platform faster than the speed of light in a Dark Matter field and collect enough to fuel the beams. Ninety percent of the space on the platforms will be taken up by the collectors that keep the Boson particles from decaying into a Higgs Field. The Platforms will be controlled by the Obelisk, so that they are optimally placed and targeted during combat operations.

Violet looked at Cole, “How many platforms will be needed to defend a planet?”

“Three.”

“They’ll be the targets of any attacking fleet, Cole.”

“The platforms will be in other space and only the beam projectors will be in normal space. They’ll be almost impossible to hit. They will change location each time they fire.”

Ian said, “I understand why they can’t be located on the planet.” Violet looked at Ian. Ian saw her expression and said, “If they were fired through our atmosphere, it would cause it to explode.”

Cole nodded, “Exactly. They have to be fired in the vacuum of space.”

Ian looked at Cole, “How long is it going to take to bring these online?”

“That’s why I’m rushing this. It will take at least a year to get all of the Union’s planets defended. Why do you ask?”

“Gary and Abbey are keeping an eye on the Slavers and their reports say they have started a massive ship building program. They have learned that they know we’re in the Milky Way and I suspect they will come searching for the Union shortly.”

Cole shook his head, “The rest of the Union is building warships, Ian. We have developed some new tools for them and I suspect we will be able to match anything they’re building. However, the Boson planetary beams can’t be used on our ships.”

Ian eyes narrowed, “Why not?”

“The storage containers and technology to prevent the decay of the Boson particles are massive. Most of the power is directed to operating the Boson Beams and channels for the Boson’s to the beam projectors. A warship would have to be too large to use this particular weapon. We’ve also seen that the Higgs Beam is a close in weapon. You have to be no more than five miles from the one you’re attacking for it to operate effectively.”

“That means our ships will be inside the range of the Slaver’s weapons.”

Cole sighed, “It does. It is a last resort defense.”

Violet said, “They’ve got hundreds of thousands more planets in their civilization than we do. They can overwhelm our fleets with sheer numbers if given time. If they really crank up their ship construction, we are not going to be able to match their numbers.”

“I suspect the ships they’re going to build will be stronger than the ones we’ve faced, Ian. We’re working to develop a more powerful ship to face them.”

Ian shook his head, “Well, we’re not going to go back and attack them until we’re further along in building our defenses. Our current strategy is to delay their search for the Union as long as possible.”

Cole could only shrug, “Defeating the Slavers is the immediate issue but those Black Ships in Andromeda will eventually show up.”

“Were you able to determine anything about them from our recordings?”

“The only weapons we have that will get through their defenses are the Higgs and Boson beams.”

Ian shook his head, “And we’ll have to get close to use them. I’ve seen the power of just one of their beams; we’re no match for those ships.”

Cole took a deep breath, “Let’s handle one problem at a time.”

Violet stared at the image of a platform on Cole’s display, “If these platforms are mobile, you might want to build a reserve of them that could be moved to any planet the Slavers find until we have enough to defend all of them.”

Ian and Cole looked at Violet and Cole said, “Now that is a great idea. I should have thought of that.”

Violet shrugged, “I do sometimes have a good idea.”

Ian hugged her and said, “Don’t sell yourself short, Love. This one is a doozy.”

• • •

The First Councilor looked at the Admiral in his private quarters and said, “You should know that by abandoning the Councilor during the last battle you would ordinarily be executed for your behavior.” The Admiral nodded and said nothing. “Why aren’t you worried?”

“Because you knew when you sent that idiot to lead my Fleets that he was woefully inadequate for the task. If I had not taken the steps I did, the Council would be facing those Black Ships here.”

The First looked at him and said, “Why is that?”

“Because one of the Black Ships was scanning the Councilor’s ship for data on where he had originated; it was stopped when it was rammed by one of the White Ships. I ordered my ship to flee to the largest galaxy in our cluster and I was chased by another Black Ship. I barely escaped it.”

“I’d think that it would have caught you.”

“It would have if my ship was the only one fleeing to that giant galaxy. Two of the White Ships also fled in that direction and it chose to chase one of them. I suspect it selected one of them because it was one of their ships that destroyed the Black Ship.”

The Second Councilor said, “I thought you said those ships came from this galaxy.”

“They suggested I flee toward that galaxy to prevent the Black Ships from seeing our home galaxy. They would not have fled toward their own galaxy. I’m certain that they were just as surprised as we were by that advanced civilization.”

The First stared at the Admiral for a moment and then said, “You appear to be brighter than most of your predecessors. I’m reluctant to execute you because of that.” The First continued to stared at the Admiral who remained silent and said, “You were right. The Councilor was an idiot.”

The First looked at the Second and the Second said to the Admiral, “So what would you do now?”

“We are going be forced to prioritize our problems. I think the Black Ships will scout that other galaxy before they come here. That gives us some time before we’ll have to take them on. The immediate problem is the White Ships.”

The Second glanced at the First, who remained silent and said, “So you’re suggesting we go searching for the home worlds of the White Ships?”

“We can’t do that now.”

“Why not?”

“We’ve lost our surplus of ships when we were attacked in that other galaxy; if we take those we have remaining to search for them, who will defend our home worlds? We must rebuild our lost ships and once we have enough to defend our planets, we’ll start the search.”

“They haven’t reappeared.”

“I believe they haven’t because I’ve ordered all our ships to our main planets. I suspect if I weaken the numbers, they will attack.”

The First leaned forward with a gleam in his eyes and said, “How certain are you about that?”

“It’s what I’d do.”

The First glanced at the Second and then asked, “What if we take all the ships from one of our planets and start the search?”

“Then that planet would be wide open to attack.”

“What if it was a planet that is…problematic?”

The Second stared at the First and wondered if he was just that cold blooded. “Are you suggesting Aeredom?” The First just glared at the Second. The Second took a deep breath and said, “If we do as the First suggests and the planet is not attacked, we could start our major search efforts now.”

The Admiral looked at the two and saw just how evil they really were. Aeredom had more than eighty billion inhabitants and they didn’t think twice about putting it in harm’s way. He saw them staring at him and he knew he had no choice, “I’ll issue the orders.”

The First leaned back and said to the Second, “Dismiss the Council and send everyone home.”

The Second nodded and the Admiral knew that one of the First’s main competitors was now a target.

• • •

G said, “I have an encrypted message coming in to the Hub Computer.”

“Can you translate it?”

The speaker on the bridge came on, “They want to do what!?”

“I’ve been ordered to take all of the ships at Aeredom and start the search for the White Ship’s home worlds.”

“That leaves them wide open to attack.”

“The First is of the belief that they won’t be attacked and we can start our major search now.”

“This is outrageous.”

“Think it through and you’ll know why.”

“Are they that unfeeling?”

“Be careful what you say.”

“This is encrypted. No one will break this.”

“I’ve sent you a copy of the orders. Send a ship to Aeredom and give them the coordinates to start their search. Sub Admiral Hreg will lead them.”

The Hub Computer said, “This is outrageous; the First better hope this information doesn’t get out if something happens.”

“If we want to continue our existence, it won’t come from us.”

There was a moment of silence and the Hub Computer said, “I’ll dispatch the ship.”

• • •

Abbey said, “G, follow that ship.”

“I’m on it.”

Gary looked at Abbey, “What are you going to do?”

“If we don’t attack that planet as soon as those ships leave, then they’ll release all their ships to search for the Union. We must attack the moment those ships leave to buy the Union time.”

“We need more ships.”

“We won’t have enough time to go back and get them. We don’t know what planet that ship is jumping to and we’re forced to follow it. We will have to do this alone. G, I want you to scan the planet when we arrive and locate every nuclear reactor on the planet’s surface. We will take out the orbital satellites and hit them.”

G said, “Are you sure about this?”

“What do you think they’ll do if they find a Union Planet?”

Gary said, “A ship is backing out of the Hub.”

“Don’t lose it, G.”

• • •

The Slaver Ship arrived at a planet that was just like all the other main planets. All of its land masses were covered by a giant city. There were thousands of commercial freighters delivering food and other products for the planet’s consumption and there were twenty thousand warships in orbit. G said, “The Fleet Commander is not happy with his orders.”

Gary said, “He’s not?”

“No but he’s going to follow them. He knows he’s dead if he doesn’t.”

“How long will it take them to leave?”

“About ten hours to form up. They’re being sent to the other side of the black hole to start their search.”

Gary shook his head and Abbey said, “G, start scanning the planet. Get a fix on the nuclear facilities.”

Gary looked at Abbey and she saw his expression, “Gary, you know how this war is going to have to be fought. They will not negotiate.”

Gary sighed, “You don’t have to hit them all, G. Just hit those on the continent below us and the radioactivity will kill everything else on the planet.”

Abbey shook her head, “We need to hit both sides of the planet.”

“Why?”

“So they won’t know how many ships were used to do it. We need to make them think we have more ships than we currently have in our inventory. We must scare them into calling off the search.”

Gary stared at her and then reluctantly nodded.

Abbey slowly shook her head, “They are going to wonder if we intercepted that communication at the Hub or if we’re watching all of their planets. I want them to think we’re watching all of their planets. That’s why we have to do this in multiple locations.”

“I didn’t think it through, Abbey. I’m glad you’re here. I would have missed it.”

“G, hit this continent and immediately jump to the other side of the planet. You need to scan the other side while they’re forming up.”

“Jumping now; I have this continent locked in.”

• • •

The Third Councilor arrived at his home world and saw all of the warships defending it had just jumped away. As his ship landed at the main spaceport he sent a communication to the First, “Where have all my warships been sent?”

“Admiral Hreg has volunteered to start the search for the White Ships. The ships here will be joining him momentarily. We can’t just sit and wait for them to attack us.”

The Third knew that to challenge the First when he was sending his own ships was a losing battle. He exited his ship and immediately sent a message to the Sixth Councilor to see if he would send some of the ships guarding his planet to defend his world. He never received an answer.

“G, are you ready?”

“I’ve got eight hundred reactors targeted on each side of the planet; however, I’m only going to hit a hundred on each side.”

“Why?”

“The shock waves produced by those hundred will expand and blow the containment facilities from more than ten thousand others. The radiation blasts from those broken containment vessels will exceed what the first blasts create. I can also hit those hundred in about twenty seconds and go to the other side to make it look like there was more than just our ship attacking.”

Abby looked at Gary, “What about the orbital defenses?”

“We’ve locked on FTL missiles and they’ll hit just as G comes into normal space and fires on the surface.”

“Gary, my systems are activated and are routed to your board.”

Abbey looked at Gary and he reached forward, lifted a glass cover, and pressed the red button on his console. G jumped in close to the planet launched FTL missiles at the orbital defenses, and fired beams at the planet. Hundreds of nuclear explosions erupted on the surface sending a massive shock wave out that marched across the land mass as the White Ship jumped to the other side of the planet and a hundred more reactors were hit by brilliant beams coming from orbit. They watched as the shock waves rushed across the surface of the two continents, obliterating the giant cities. Bright red hot spots appeared glowing through the clouds where nuclear reactors were blown flat and their containment vessels ruptured causing them to burn into the planet’s surface. The nuclear fires sent tons of radioactive material soaring into the atmosphere joining the mushroom clouds which rose to sixty thousand feet and began releasing the highly radioactive particles back into the planet’s atmosphere. The particles were then spread around the planet by the high winds in the upper stratosphere.

Gary watched the conflagration from orbit and saw that billions had been killed on the surface. There were billions more that survived the shock waves but they would only have ten days before they died of radiation poisoning. “The warships are coming back.”

Gary sighed, “Get us back to the Hub, G.”

The warships arrived and the Admiral was furious. His anger lasted five minutes as the second in command shot him with a blaster at the Second Councilor’s orders. The thousands of commercial vessels and warships in orbit saw they could do nothing to save the survivors. To enter the planet’s atmosphere was certain death. If they opened their ports to remove survivors, radioactive particles would enter the ships. They watched as the planet died. Many went to the two orbital platforms to see if anyone survived the massive missile strikes.

• • •

The First began receiving communications from the rest of the High Council and the Second told them that the Third had suggested they use his ships to start the search. The First had started getting his ships ready to join them when the planet was hit and he called off sending them.

The only one that knew the truth was the Sixth Councilor when he saw the communication from the Third asking for assistance. He remained silent and knew that his planet would be the next one set up for destruction if he said anything. He decided that this was something that would have to be discussed by the members of the High Council that were not supporters of the First. The First was going to pay for this.

• • •

G arrived back at the Hub in time to intercept the conversation between the Admiral and the Hub Computer.

“It looks like you are now in the First’s pocket.”

“Here’s a news flash in case you’ve missed it, we all are.”

The Computer paused and then said, “How do you account for the planet being hit so quickly?”

“What do you mean?”

“Aeredom was hit as soon as the fleet left orbit and jumped away. There is only two ways it could have happened so quickly.” The Admiral was silent. The Hub Computer said, “They either have ships watching all our planets waiting for an opportunity to attack or they can hear our communications.”

“I thought you said our conversations couldn’t be heard.”

“I’ve used a revolving encryption and I know we would not be able to break it.”

“Do you think the White Ships can do it?”

“If they can, we are in deep trouble. That would indicate they are ahead of us technologically; and if you’re hearing this, you just killed more than eighty billion beings along with billions of slaves. Think about that.”

“So you do think they can hear our communications?”

“I just don’t know. I’m not willing to randomly remove ships from another planet to see. The price of being wrong would be too high. I would suggest that any future plans should be discussed in person to avoid the second possibility.”

“I will move my office to your facility.”

“I think that would be wise. I’ll open a dock for your ship.”

• • •

The atmosphere on G was somber. Gary shook his head and Abbey said, “It had to be done. The ships that were sent to search for the Union were recalled. We had to buy us more time.”

“I know. I used to look up at the stars and only see beauty. Now I only see danger.”

Abbey went and hugged Gary, “We need to bring their beauty back.”

Gary pulled her close, “I don’t know if that’s possible.”

Chapter Two

The sky was cloudy and cold rain swept across the cemetery in random waves. The wind blew through the bare trees and whistled as it moved through their branches. The rain would be turning to snow soon and sleet by nightfall. The chill was wet and penetrating. York’s winters were always brutal.

The tall man stood in a black raincoat and stared at the grave marker. Everyone else had left an hour earlier but he had remained staring at the ground, thinking about all that had happened. He already missed her more than he anticipated.

“Are you ready now?”

The tall man didn’t turn or give any indication he had heard the voice.

“I’ve waited until this moment to ask.”

The Tall man continued to stare at the grave and said, “You were wise to do so.” The tall man was silent for a minute and then said, “How did you know?”

“You told me.”

The tall man scowled, “That figures. Andi changed him.”

“I thought you would also…”

The tall man interrupted, “He never connected after he met her.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“She weakened him and he knew it.”

“He became one of my closest friends.”

“That was him.”

“And not you?”

The tall man turned around and looked Ian in the eyes, “Not me. My last direct memory of you was at the restaurant where you told me my past. He connected with me while he prepared the Nebula for the election, but that was the last time.”

Ian stared at him, “Are you going to help us?”

“If the Nebula is going to survive, I’ll have to get in the fight. I do have his love for them.” The tall man turned around and looked at the marker again and said, “He inserted his mind in me when he came and met Mother at the hospital after he killed the Dictator. He knew this body’s mind would never be organized to hold a personality. He put himself here so Mother would not have to be alone. He gave me that as a gift to her. His death in Andromeda is what finally killed her. She just couldn’t bear another loss. She gave up and there was nothing I could do to save her. I couldn’t tell her that he was still alive in me. Then she would know her second son had died and the result would have been the same. I spared her that misery.”

“Drey, we need you.”

The tall man turned and stared at Ian, “Be careful what you ask for; I’m not the one you knew. The last time he connected with me mentally was just before the Nebula’s elections. You should remember what he was like then. He wasn’t softened by love. I’ve seen the records you sent me. It was that weakness that made him go with you to Andromeda instead of getting his ship updated. He felt responsible. I could have cared less. I would have come back to improve my chances of survival. You need to understand that I have not been weakened nor will I allow myself to make his mistake. Are you sure you still want me?”

Ian stared at the man that looked similar to Drey, possessed Drey’s mind, but was so different. He said, “I’ve seen the brutality of what is out there in the universe. I suspect we need more of that than less in making our decisions. I knew from the beginning that you would be a good balance for me. I still believe that.”

The tall man looked back at the Marker and said, “There is nothing holding me here now.” He turned to Ian, “I talked with him and know what’s happened since he left. I don’t know the details of how he died but you can fill me in on that. I know he had a high level of respect and trust in you. I suspect that happened for a reason and that does mean something to me. I’ll do what I can to defend the Union.”

Ian stuck out his hand and the tall man shook it, “What do you want me to call you?”

“Doc.”

“That was the name of his ship.”

“And my ship will be named Drey.”

Ian smiled, “Somehow that just feels right.” Ian looked at his watch and said, “We’re about to jump out to the Slaver’s planets and contact a ship we have there. Do you want to make the trip with us?”

“Lead the way.”

“A second ship is going with us to relieve the one there. I’d like you to fly with them and tell me what you think about the crew.”

“What about the crew?”

“They’re not high genetics. They’re citizens of Santa Rosa that have passed the tests to pilot our warships. I need to know if they’re going to be able to perform adequately. We’re going to have to use citizens from the Union’s planets to fly our warships. There just aren’t enough high genetics to pilot the numbers needed.”

“When do I get my ship?”

“Cole will have it ready when we return.”

“Good enough.”

• • •

Doc walked in the landing bay of the new warship and looked around. He heard a noise and walked up the ramp to the corridor leading out of the bay toward the bridge. As he got closer he heard loud music playing and saw two people punching their consoles while they danced. Doc looked at the two and saw they were the same size and coloration. They were about five feet ten inches and built athletically. They were trim and Doc could tell from their dancing that they were coordinated and quick. Their black hair was identical in color and their blue eyes were bright. The male pirouetted, saw him, quickly punched a button and the music stopped. The other said, “Hey! What are you doing?”

Doc said, “Making it possible to hear.”

The young woman spun around and saw Doc standing there staring at them. She glanced over at the male and he just tilted his head slightly. She said, “Are you the one making the trip with us?”

“I am.”

“I understand that you are the hero’s brother.”

“Oh?”

“You know; the one that crashed his ship into the Andromeda Warship.”

Doc stared at the two and said, “You can call me Sir.”

The young woman said, “Do you command this ship?”

“No, I’m a passenger.”

“Then until you do, I’ll call you Doc. That’s the name given to us for you.”

Doc stared at her and saw the male roll his eyes. He raised his communicator, “Ian.”

“Yes, Doc.”

“Am I in command of this ship?”

“Do you want to be?”

“I do.”

“Then yes you are.”

Doc turned back to the two and the woman said, “Where would you like to sit, Sir?”

Doc stared at the woman and saw she was not intimidated by him. The male was. Doc went to the third chair on the bridge and said, “I’m here to determine if you two are suitable to fly a Union Warship. Who are you?”

The young man said, “My name is Dom and this is my twin sister Dee.”

Doc’s eyebrows went up, “You’re twins?” The woman rolled her eyes and Doc said, “What’s so funny?”

“You’re a high genetic, if you would simply look at our features you would know it without having to be told.”

Doc looked at them and focused on their features and saw that the female was born first. He said, “It seems to me that you have a limited respect for authority.”

“I have a limited respect for anyone that hasn’t done anything to deserve it. What have you done, Sir, that demands my respect?”

Doc stared at her and said, “Nothing… However, if you don’t start acting respectful I’ll have the two of you drummed out of the Navy so fast you’ll wonder if you were ever really here. You got that!”

The woman went to attention and said, “Yes Sir.”

The speaker came on and Ian said, “We’re lifting in fifteen minutes.”

Doc said, “Computer, what’s your name?”

“D.”

“I trust you do recognize who is in command.”

“Yes Sir. I do.”

““I’m turning control of the ship back over to Frick and Frack here for the moment. You will follow their orders unless I tell you differently.”

“Yes Sir.”

Doc turned to the twins and said to the female, “Normally, I would just shoot you with a laser and see if your brother is capable of doing what I want. However, I’ve been told that I shouldn’t waste valuable personnel. Like you said earlier, you’ve not shown me anything to indicate you possess anything of value. I’m here to see if you have what it takes to fly this ship. You need to prove to me that you do.”

Dom sat in the command chair and said, “Sir, we communicate telepathically but while you’re on board we’ll say what we’re thinking.”

Doc stared at Dom and said, “You’re telepathic?”

“Only with each other.”

“Would speaking your thoughts slow you down?”

Dee said, “It would.”

“Then do it in silence. You should perform at your highest ability.”

Dee stared at Doc and then turned and the two began manipulating their consoles. Dom said, “Ship is ready for departure.”

Doc had looked over the protocols before coming on board and knew that it required eight minutes to fully power up a ship and prepare it for liftoff. These two had done it in less than two minutes.

Doc said, “D, were your systems active when I arrived?”

“Only maintenance systems, Sir.”

“Did you just go to active in two minutes?”

“Yes Sir.”

Doc thought a moment and said, “By going over the check list telepathically, you have reduced the time needed to power the ship.”

The twins looked at each other and then Dee said, “You’d be surprised how much time it takes to say a system is ready and then have it confirmed eighty times.”

Doc smiled, “Dom, does she feed the military scans directly to you?”

“She does.”

Doc pressed his communicator, “Ian, I’m going to join you on your ship. These two are quite capable of fighting this ship and I don’t need to see anything else.”

“We’ll delay liftoff until you arrive.”

Doc glanced at the twins who were shocked by his remark and Dee said as he left the bridge, “Now you’ve done something to gain my respect…Sir.”

Doc paused before he exited the bridge, “Trust me, it wasn’t intentional,” and disappeared through the door.

Dom shook his head, “Why are you so confrontational? That man is dangerous.”

“It comes from being the oldest.” Dee looked at her board and said, “He’s delightfully refreshing. He can hold his own.”

“You need to take a look at his brother’s history before you do anything else. If he’s like his brother, he’s extremely dangerous. He wasn’t kidding about shooting you.”

Dee activated the gravity emitters, “We’ll see.”

• • •

Abbey sat in her chair and watched the display, “G, have you picked up anything unusual?”

“If building a thousand warships is unusual, that’s what’s taking place on the planet. They’ve also built a massive structure at the major spaceport.”

“What kind of structure?”

“It looks like the granddaddy of all defense satellites.”

“That’s not good.”

“No it isn’t; and I intercepted a communication from another one of their main planets saying that the rearming of the FTL destroyers is moving ahead of schedule.”

“What do you think they’re doing with those giant ships?”

“Hello, Abbey; relief is here.”

Abby was startled by the speaker and said, “I was wondering when you were coming back.”

“We were held up at Euclid.”

Abbey hit the intercom, “Gary, get up here; Ian is back.” She then hit the communication panel, “We had to kill one of their main planets.” She waited and only heard silence.

After a long moment she heard, “What do you mean when you say kill?”

“We hit their reactors from space and blew up most of their major cities in the resulting nuclear explosions; the radiation killed the rest of the population.”

“How many inhabitants were on the planet?”

Abbey heard Ian’s tone and shook her head. Gary came in and said, “About eighty billion.”

A new voice came on the channel and said, “You must have had a compelling reason to do that.”

“Who are you?”

Ian knew that he had to make a decision about whether to be honest with Abbey and Gary but he also knew that the two new pilots were also listening in on the channel. He looked at Violet and she knew what he was thinking. She said, “Dom and Dee, what you are about to hear is a state top secret. If you reveal it to anyone you will face a death sentence. Are you clear on what I’m saying?”

Dom looked at Dee and pushed the panel, “Yes Sir, we are.”

Ian looked at Doc who shrugged and said, “I’ll go with whatever route you choose to take.”

Ian slowly shook his head, “They need to know the truth. You are going to be given a huge amount of authority and they must understand why.” Ian pressed the board and said, “It’s Drey.”

Abbey was shocked at the response and Gary could only shake his head. Gary said, “That’s not possible!”

Dom looked at Dee and thought to her, “I told you he would shoot you.” Dee shook her head and said, “Shut up and listen.”

Doc said, “I’m not the Drey that died in Andromeda. He inserted his consciousness into me when he first came and visited my mother. I am him but I only have his memories from just after the Nebula election.”

Abbey said, “How could he do that?”

Doc said, “You need look no further than our computers. They are basically the mind of the person imprinted on them. That’s not so shocking, is it?”

Abbey looked at Gary and said, “No, but that’s done electronically.”

“My younger brother did not develop a personality or mind. His brain was basically empty. I’m going to refer to the first Drey as my brother to avoid confusion. Drey inserted his mental pattern along with all his memories into my brother’s mind. The original Drey and I share a common mind with one difference.”

Gary said, “What is that?”

“I never connected with him after he met Andi. I’ve not been weakened by being in love. I’m the Drey that was the Nebula’s Dark Officer. I’m somewhat more hostile than the Drey you knew.”

Abbey shook her head, “If you’re the Dark Officer, hostile doesn’t really describe you.”

“I know; but brutal and bloodthirsty are such cold words. I prefer hostile. That being said, I suspect I would have done the same thing you did to that planet without even giving it a second thought. You had to do it to protect the Union didn’t you?”

Ian said, “What could possibly make you kill eighty billion?”

Abbey sighed, “The rulers of the Slavers pulled all the warships from that planet to search for the Union. If we did nothing, they were going to send all of their ships to join the search.”

Ian sat down and was shocked at the numbers that were killed. Doc looked at him shaking his head and said, “Before you get all worked up about that planet’s destruction, what do you think the Slaver’s ships would do to a Union Planet?”

Gary said, “That is exactly what we thought before we did this.”

Ian looked at Violet and she was shaking her head slightly. Doc said, “I believe that you have already determined that the Slavers will not negotiate; or am I wrong?”

Ian looked at Doc and took a deep breath, “We have made that assessment.”

“Then you have to decide if you want to win this conflict or give in to your softer emotions. The only way to defend the Union is to destroy all of their main planets. This is just one less to handle later.”

Abbey muted the communications and looked at Gary, “I don’t know if I like this new Drey.”

“Do you think Ian has what it takes to make the tough decisions? You better be thankful he’s here.”

Ian stared at Doc and said, “What happened after you killed the planet?”

Abbey released the mute button and said, “The twenty thousand ships sent to search for the Union were recalled and sent to defend other planets. No more ships have been sent to search…yet.”

Doc leaned back in his chair and said, “I’ve watched the recordings from Andromeda on the way here and you need to take another look at them, Ian.”

“Why?”

“What did the Slaver fleet do when they detected another species in that Star Cluster? Did they try to communicate?” Ian shook his head. “Did they send in a small number of ships to determine if they were facing a hostile civilization?” Ian shook his head again. “If they find the Union, they’re going to attack every planet they encounter. The only way to stop that is to stop them here in their territory before they find us. Are you really upset by this?” Ian stared at Doc for a long moment and Doc said, “You were planning to kill me in that restaurant until Violet uncovered the information about who I was. Would you have lost sleep over that?”

Ian stared at Doc, “Probably not.”

“Because I killed an innocent woman that helped you; you were outraged by that and I was an enemy of the Union. Why aren’t you outraged at what this species is doing to all the worlds they’ve enslaved? You really need to watch that recording again and you’ll see the Union’s future if you’re not willing to do what’s necessary to prevent it.”

Abbey looked at Gary and whispered, “You’re right.”

Ian continued to stare at Doc and then started smiling, “So how do we stop them?”

“The simplest way is to starve them first and force them to use all the ships they’re building to defend their food sources.” Doc had a sinister smile and he said, “Hey, Frick and Frack, would you have a problem killing one of these Slaver’s planets?”

Dee looked at Dom and said, “Why don’t we go and bump one off now.”

Doc actually laughed, “Now you’ve said something that impresses me.”

Dee looked at Dom again and laughed out loud.

Doc looked at Ian and said, “You have been genetically bred to be a ruler. Rulers have great difficulty killing people who have not attacked them directly. Ian, these scum are not your subjects. They are the enemy of those you are sworn to defend. If you kill enough of them, you might be able to save those that remain; however, I doubt that will happen.”

Violet said, “Why do you say that?”

“What do you think all the planets they’ve enslaved will do if they’re defeated? What would you do?”

Ian said, “That’s their problem; not ours. I knew I needed you here and you’ve just confirmed that choice.” Doc lowered his head. Ian said, “Should you be in overall command?”

“Only if you want destruction at an unbelievable level; you also need to balance me. I would have shot Frick if not for your orders.”

Dom looked at Dee and gave her an ‘I told you so’ look. Dee felt fear at what she had done. She vowed to treat Doc like a poisonous snake; a wide berth and respect in all future contacts. She was going to keep her mouth shut in the future.

Ian said, “Abbey, I need G to update D on all that you’ve seen here and give him all the information on how to break their encryptions. We’re going back and load up for making life miserable for our friends here.”

“I’ll send him everything I have, including the maneuvers.”

Abbey said, “We need to take them out and have them go through the maneuvers before we leave them. It’s going to take some time for them to build up their stamina to the high G forces.”

Doc said, “I’ll join them on D and see if I can’t learn what you’re talking about.”

Ian looked at Violet and said, “We’ll stay here until they’re up to speed and then they can replace us when they’re ready.”

Dee looked at Dom and said, “High G forces?” He shrugged and wondered what they were talking about. Two days later they knew.

Chapter Three

Dee struggled out of her chair and said, “That Pilot is a sadist!”

Dom shook his head and said, “I didn’t know that last maneuver was possible with the current laws of gravity.”

Doc sat up and said, “You big babies.”

Dee looked at him and tried to control herself but just couldn’t do it, “All you’re doing is lying on that couch and not doing anything. Step up here and give it a shot.”

Doc laughed, “I wondered if you were ever going to get your courage back. I told you I wouldn’t shoot a valuable crewman.”

Dee stared at Doc and said, “I just can’t figure you out. You were pretty vicious with a blaster during the rebellion and I’m just not going to take a chance with you getting all angry and doing something crazy.”

Doc looked at her and said, “I rather enjoyed your smart mouth. You have become quite boring.”

Dee’s face turned red and she opened her mouth but Dom said, “Making a turn.”

Dee fell back on her gravity couch and gritted her teeth. By the end of the exercise she could barely stand. Doc said, “I don’t usually offer compliments but the two of you really are a good team. You work well together.”

Dee struggled to take a step and said, “I agree but my whipped brother is going to take a new partner when we go back.” Dee glanced at Dom with a scowl on her face and Dom rolled his eyes.

Doc’s eyebrows lowered and he said, “Why would you break up a good team?”

Dee shook her head from side to side and said, “Because old Romeo here is in love and wants his Juliette to fly with him. She’s just graduated and is waiting for him on Euclid.”

“Dee, we’ve discussed this. Now leave it alone.” Dom looked at his panel and Dee stuck her tongue out at him and made a face.

Doc said, “I don’t know if separating the two of you is a good idea. You’ll lose your telepathy advantage. I’m not sure I’ll approve this change.”

Dom looked at Doc, “Actually, by separating we’ll have two ships that can work together. I can hear Dee over large distances and as a result we’ll have two ships that are stronger. It’s always good to have a wingman.”

Doc looked at Dee and said, “Who are you going to fly with Frick?”

“My name is Dee! I’ll be assigned another pilot.”

“Oh, you don’t have your own Romeo?”

Dom said under his breath, “Who would have her?”

Dee looked at Dom and scowled, “Love is highly overrated and gets in the way of doing anything important in life; especially flying a warship.”

Doc looked at Dee and said, “Would you want to fly with me?”

Dee looked at Doc like he had six heads, “Are you out of your freaking Nebula mind? I couldn’t handle the constant fear of being shot with a laser for telling you the truth and I’m not one that can keep my mouth shut very long.”

Dom said, “Thus me saying; who would have her.”

“He wants me. So there.”

Yeah, but he’s crazy.” Dom looked at Doc, “No offense, Sir.”

“None taken.” Doc thought a moment and said, “You really should consider flying with me.”

“For God’s sake, why?”

“What is your main benefit to a pilot being telepathic?”

“I’m only telepathic with him.”

“I can see your surface thoughts.”

“You can?”

“I can. Now what is your main benefit during combat?”

“I can give the pilot a mental scan of everything happening around our ship. He doesn’t have to take his eyes from his display. He has a picture of everything around our ship in his mind and can react based on the threats.”

“Your being telepathic makes seeing those scans easier for me than someone who’s not telepathic.”

Dee furrowed her brow, “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“You send the most important scans instead of everything you see. You’re accustomed to filtering out the rubbish.” Doc paused, “You must know I won’t shoot you. So what’s your real problem?”

“The real question is why you would want me. You can have anyone. Why me?”

“I’m sure that Ian is going to attempt to pair me up with another high genetic and hope that the two of us make a connection. I know these ships require two people to fly them and I don’t want someone bothering me and being a nuisance.”

“And you don’t think I would bother you, you should listen to my brother.”

“That’s not what I mean. I made the mistake of weakening myself the first time by falling in love with Andi. I am not going to make that mistake again. I think the two of us are quite immune from that ever happening with us.”

“Ooo, now that’s a gross thought. But you’re right; you have absolutely nothing about you that attracts me. I find it hard to stay in the same room.”

Dom said, “I would worry about her safety if she flew with you, Sir.”

Dee looked at Dom and smiled, “You do care.”

“Of course I do, you moron. You’re my sister.”

Doc said, “Ok, so I don’t appeal to you. That is actually a real benefit. Do you respect what I can do?”

Dee stared at Doc and took a deep breath, “I can see that the Union is going to need you to make the tough decisions. I admire the Prince but I don’t think he’ll take the steps necessary to win this war. I admire your ability to do what has to be done. I suspect wherever you go there will be death, destruction, mayhem, famine…”

Doc interrupted, “You’re probably right about that but consider this; I will commit to never harm you physically. You may express your thoughts without being punished as long as you understand that I am in command and you follow my orders. I never break a promise. You will also be at the center of where most of the action is taking place instead of just waiting for orders to deploy.” Dee stared at Doc as he leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling, “It might also interest you to know that I will be taking possession of a Sigma Ship.”

Dee’s eyes went wide, “I didn’t think those ships were in service yet?”

“They aren’t. Ian, Gary, and I will be getting the first three. I suspect I might be able to pull some strings and get Frack here one of them as well: he really will be our wingman.”

Dee looked at Dom and saw his interest. She turned to Doc and said, “I understand that those ships have two computers.”

“That’s right. The pilot has one and so does the navigator. They will be directly connected to their computer with a helmet which will increase the information flow a hundred times.”

Dee looked at Dom again and shook her head. She looked back at Doc and said, “Alright, I’ll do this on two conditions.” Doc lowered his head and nodded for her to continue. “First, if I ever feel threatened by you, you will allow me to leave and go to another ship with no questions asked.”

Doc had a small smile and he nodded, “What’s the second?”

“You never call us Frick and Frack again.”

Doc started laughing and said, “I agree.”

Dee tilted her head, “Your history says you never smiled when you were fighting with the Nebula.”

“I see you’ve been researching me. That was before I met my Mother. She taught me to smile. It was the only way to prevent her from worrying too much about me.”

“Did she weaken you?”

Doc’s eyebrows went up and he said, “I suppose she did to some extent. But not like Andi did with my brother.”

“That was not your brother; that was you.”

“Yes, but I never made a mental connection with him after he met Andi so I wasn’t affected by his emotions.”

Dom looked at Doc and said, “Do you really think you can get me a Sigma?”

“I don’t know; let’s see.” Doc went to the communication panel and punched a code, “Ian.”

“Yes, Doc.”

“How many Sigma Ships are ready for launch?”

“Six but we’re only taking three out for initial trials. Why do you ask?”

“I want to take an extra out. Frack, I mean Dom is going to have a new partner when he is relieved. I am going to take Dee and she will be my navigator. I want Dom to be my wingman. I would also suggest that you and Gary pair up as a team as well.”

“Do you think we need to do that?”

“E was hit and Gary barely arrived in time to save you in the last battle with the Slavers. I suspect we would be better served to make sure two ships are always fighting close together for support.”

There was a long moment of silence and Doc saw Dee and Dom starting to get excited. “Cole seems to think that only High Genetics can fly the Sigmas.”

“Then this will give us an opportunity to see if that idea has any validity or not. If he’s wrong, think about how that will strengthen the Union. We can build them in high numbers.”

“If you think it’s a good idea, I’ll sign off on it. You will be the one with a normal crew defending you. Do you really think they can perform on the level of the Genetics?”

“I do and I’m going to stay out here with them until you can send relief. I won’t be able to start working with my ship until she comes back. We’ll start working together now.”

“I can provide you a good navigator.”

“Thanks, but no thanks. I prefer this one.”

“I really need you back at Euclid.”

“Then get relief out here as quickly as possible.”

“Ok, I’ll see what I can do.”

• • •

Dee awoke during the night and couldn’t fall back to sleep. She got up and went to the bridge and looked at her display. She saw something happening on the huge ship facility and moved her scan closer. There were scores of workers installing something on the central hub. “D, how long has this construction been going on?”

“About four hours.”

“Can you determine what they’re doing?”

“They appear to be adding a module to their scanning tower.”

Dee looked closer at the facility and said, “What are they putting on the bottom?”

“I don’t know what purpose it serves but it appears that they are screening off the lower third of the facility.”

“Are you saying that the bottom third has its own field?”

“That is what those main cylinders are on each side of the facility.”

“And what is that huge tube being installed in the center?”

“It appears to be some kind of cannon.”

Dee closed her eyes and found the place in her mind where she went when she needed to focus. She allowed the various elements to float around each other as she watched the relationships. She added D and his technology to the pattern and watched them in her mind as they moved around each other. Suddenly, she saw a pattern snap into place and she shouted, “D, get us out of here!”

“Why?”

“Jump us out to the surface of the last moon. Land us in a crater’s shadow and turn off all power except environmental.”

“Dee, I should have the Commander’s approval to do this.”

“D, if you don’t start following your orders I’m going to have you turned into junk. Now get moving and make sure you emerge into normal space inside a shadow on that moon. Go ahead and sound general quarters if you like but do it!”

D appeared in darkness on the moon with the planet glowing high overhead. The klaxons started blaring, “Battle stations, all hands to battle stations…” Dee turned off the klaxons but left the red flashing lights on. Dom and Doc rushed on to the bridge and saw they were in normal space. “What are you doing?”

Dee was operating the optical scanner, moving it in on the huge ship facility and said, “Give me a moment.”

Dom yelled, “What’s going on!”

Doc looked at the tactical display on the ships front wall and stared at the blips that appeared, “Shut up, Dom. When did you see this?”

“About ten minutes ago.”

Dom looked back and forth between them and wondered what in the world they were talking about. Dee continued working her board and said, “I didn’t see what you just commented on.”

“They’re moving ships to surround all of the space around the planet. They’re doing it casually so they wouldn’t be noticed but the warships are moving in a pattern that would allow them to converge to any place within a hundred thousand miles of the station in orbit in less than a second.” Dom stared at the tactical display and began to see the pattern. Doc went and looked over Dee’s shoulder and said, “What did you see that made you leave other space?”

“Look at the new modules being installed on the scanner tower. There is also a separate field for the bottom third of the facility being installed on the hub. They have also placed a huge cannon in the exact center of the bottom of the hub facility.”

Doc looked at Dee and said, “I hate to admit it but I don’t see what made you decide to get into normal space.”

Dom said, “You focused on it.”

Dee sighed, “I did.”

Doc looked at both of them and said, “I’m not clear on what the two of you mean by focused on it.”

Dee continued to scan the giant facility and said, “I don’t really understand how it happens but I discovered when I was twelve years old that if I allowed my mind to go free and focus on something, I would arrive at remarkable conclusions. I don’t know how my mind is able to do it.”

Doc stared at Dee and said, “Please share what conclusions you came up with.”

“I wasn’t determining anything until I decided to use D as a comparison to what they were doing.”

Doc thought a moment and said, “They’re going to move the bottom third of the facility into other space.”

Dee smiled, “And if they do, where will that cannon be located?”

Doc shook his head and said, “What about the modifications to the scanning tower?”

“I believe that someone believes that we intercepted their communications, broke their encryption, and then attacked the planet where the warships were being sent to search for the Union. If they truly believe that, then they must have also determined that whoever intercepted that message, had to be close. Since they know their scanners didn’t show anything, the ship had to be hiding in other space. However, something had to be in normal space, receiving their transmissions. They are setting up that scanning tower to detect an ounce of charged metal anywhere around the planet. Even though our antenna is only receiving and not broadcasting, it still has an electrical charge.” Dee paused and said, “I see that they will complete the construction in less than another hour and I didn’t want to be in other space when they fire that cannon.”

Dom shook his head, “Why were you up here at this hour?”

“I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep. I came up here and took a look at the Hub and saw the construction going on.” Dee paused and said, “D refused to follow my orders to move. I had to threaten him before he would do as I instructed.”

Doc said, “Is that true, D?”

“It is. The protocols I’ve been given dictate that any change of location must be approved by my Commander.”

“Then why did you move?”

“She threatened to make me into junk if I didn’t. I determined at that point that her high stress level and anxiety were reason enough to take action and notify you what was happening.”

Doc slowly shook his head, “I find it hard to believe that you are not a living being, D. However, from this moment forward, the highest ranking person on the bridge is your commander. Enter that into your protocols.”

“Done.”

Dee looked at Doc, “What do you think is going to happen?”

Doc looked her in the eyes and said, “We are about to lose a couple of our technological advantages. D, I want you to extend a small antenna into other space and wait for that cannon to fire. Record what you can but get it out before it’s damaged.”

“The antenna is active.”

Dee looked at her scanner, “Doc, once they enable that new scanner, do you think they’ll be able to see us here?”

“D, what is the composition of this moon’s surface?”

“Mainly high metal content.”

Doc looked at Dee, “Why did you choose this particular moon instead of the one over on the planet’s far horizon?”

Dee thought hard and shook her head, “I honestly don’t know. It was part of the pattern that fell out of my focus.”

Doc smiled, “It appears you must have read about the moons around this planet.”

“I read the scan reports that were done by the previous ship but there were more than ten thousand pages of information. I didn’t really remember most of it.”

“But the information was in your mind. Your focusing ability saw it even if you didn’t.”

Dee’s eyebrows lowered and she said, “What are you saying?”

“Euclid has been modifying humans for centuries to produce an advanced being. I believe that you are also a genetic advancement that happened naturally. Your telepathy made me think that you might be different.”

“We’re not the only telepathic humans on Santa Rosa.”

“You’re not?”

“No, there’re thousands of people that are telepathic to some degree. Dom didn’t tell you but his Juliette can also hear his thoughts.”

Doc looked at Dom and Dom nodded, “That’s what brought us together. We found each other in a crowded city street when we began hearing each other’s thoughts.”

Dee said, “What do you mean I’m an advancement?”

Doc said, “Your focusing ability is very similar to what a High Genetic does when they focus on something. You mind actually acts independently of your consciousness and has access to everything you’ve ever seen, read, or heard.”

“I have to quit consciously thinking in order to do it.”

“That’s because you haven’t practiced ignoring what’s happening. You can operate consciously while your mind works in the background. I’ll help you learn how to control it.”

D said, “Something’s happening.”

Doc said, “With all of our power off, I don’t think they’ll be able to see us on this metallic surface. However, D, if any ships start moving this way, get us out of here.” Doc stared at the Dee’s display and said, “Put optical on the main display.”

The large display on the wall illuminated and they saw the bottom third of the huge ships facility disappeared, “If what I think is going to happen does, that facility is going to come bobbing out of other space as soon as they fire that cannon.”

Dee nodded, “Anything in other space will be forced out into normal space.”

Dom looked confused and Dee said, “They’re going to disrupt other space.” Doc nodded. As they watched, the huge dish on the Hub’s scanning tower began rotating.

D said, “That was a powerful scan that just passed over us.”

Doc said, “Turn off environmental!”

“Done.”

The huge dish made another rotation and six Slaver ships that had turned and started toward the moon stopped and turned back. Doc said, “How many ships do you think they have in other space?”

Dee looked at Doc wondering what he was talking about when suddenly the bottom of the huge ship facility appeared and more than twenty thousand ships emerged into normal space. They emerged and filled in the holes of a giant pattern surrounding the planet. Doc shook his head, “D, how many ships would have been close to us at our former location?”

“Two thousand would have been on us in less than a second. Another five thousand would have arrived two seconds later.” There was a pause and D said, “Other space is disrupted and the shock wave from the cannon blast extended more than a hundred thousand miles beyond our current location.”

Doc had a small grin, “Dee, see if you’re receiving any frequencies of the FTL Destroyers.”

“I’ll activate the antenna for a hundredth of a second as soon as the scan passes over us again.” A moment later she looked up at Doc and he saw the shock in her eyes, “Six thousand are scattered around the system.”

Doc stared at the display and said, “This is a pretty good defensive tool they’ve developed.”

Dom said, “How is that?”

“If other space is disrupted, nothing can jump in to attack the planet.”

Dee heard the statement and her mind went active. “We’ve got to be able to get out of here without being seen.” Dom and Doc looked at her, “They’re going to move ships from another planet to see if the original communication was intercepted. If nothing happens they’ll know we aren’t watching their planets and will start the search for the Union.”

Doc looked up at the display and knew she was right. Doc shook his head, “They won’t be communicating with the planet being chosen so there’s no way we can know which one is being selected.”

Dom and Dee looked at Doc and wondered what could be done.

Chapter Four

The Admiral stared at the display and said, “Nothing! Absolutely nothing!”

The Hub Computer said, “That is problematic on two fronts.”

“What?”

“If there were no ships here to intercept the message, they would have had to have ships watching Aeredom. If they have ships watching our planets, then it would absolutely mean they would have ships here at our most heavily defended planet watching us.”

“You expected enemy ships would appear here?”

“I did.”

“So you really thought they intercepted our communications and broke the encryption?”

“I must confess that seemed like the most logical explanation.”

“I don’t see how you made that determination.”

“What is the highest number of enemy ships we’re seen in any of our contacts with them?”

The Admiral thought a moment and said, “Three.”

“If they had a huge number, I would think they would have used them before now. If they don’t have huge numbers…”

“Then they can’t watch all of our planets.”

“Exactly.”

“So what’s the optimum course of action now?”

“We send ships from another planet and see if it’s attacked.”

“The First Councilor has selected Munnik as the next one to send ships to search.”

The Hub Computer said, “Another adversary on the Council.”

“He’s justified it by saying it’s the furthest from the center of the Common.”

“It is out on the edge.”

“Do you support doing this?”

“Of course not but it will clarify what’s going on. If Munnik is attacked then they are watching all of our planets but this one.”

The Admiral thought a moment and said, “They’re avoiding this one because of the defenses.”

“That would explain why one of their ships didn’t appear during the disruption.”

The Admiral stared at the display and said, “I am not going to send a communication to Munnik. I’ll send a ship with instructions and orders.”

“That would be wise. If nothing happens to the planet, we’ll have to continue to not communication openly. If something does, that would indicate our planets are being watched and they didn’t intercept our communication.”

“I’ll have to send a ship that’s docked here. I can’t send a communication to the ships not here. It will also take the ship some time to move outside the disrupted area to jump to Munnik.” The Admiral thought for a moment, “How long is the disruption going to last?”

“Another four days.”

“What happens then?”

The Hub Computer said, “I’ll disrupt it again. That will prevent an enemy ship from jumping in to this system.”

The Admiral tilted his head and said, “I didn’t think of that.”

“That’s why I’m here.”

“Select a ship and send the Captain to my office.”

• • •

Doc watched the huge ship facility as it moved around the planet. D said, “A ship is powering up and looks like it’s leaving the Hub.”

Doc sat up straight and said, “How much longer is it going to be before that Hub moves around the curve of the planet?”

“About thirty minutes.”

“How far away is the other space that will allow a jump?”

“It’s twenty thousand miles away and moving closer. It will pass us in two hours.”

Doc hit the communicator, “I need the two of you on the bridge. D, are there any Slaver ships beyond this moon?”

“There’s one ship but it is moving around the planet with the Hub.”

Dee and Dom ran in and Doc said, “A ship is leaving the Hub and I believe it’s going to the planet that is going to release its warships.”

Dom looked puzzled and Dee said, “They aren’t going to communicate orders from here if they have any suspicions about us intercepting them. Remember they sent a ship the first time as well.”

Dom nodded and said, “How are we going to follow it?”

“Undisrupted other space is twenty thousand miles out. The Hub is going to move around the planet in twenty eight minutes and there is no scanner in creation that can scan through a planet. We’re going FTL and enter other space while we stay in this moons shadow. We’ll keep it between us and any Slaver ship that might see us.”

Dee thought a moment, “It will take us one tenth of a second to cover that distance.”

Doc said, “D, can you start using your FTL field and turn it off immediately after we accelerate.”

“I’m not sure what you’re asking?”

“Can you accelerate us off this moon and turn off the field one hundred yards above the surface?”

“We’ll only be moving at ten thousand miles a second. It will take two seconds to arrive in an area where we can jump.”

“I also want you to turn off all power as soon as you turn off the FTL Field.”

There was a long pause and they heard, “I’ve just run a trial and I can do it. We just better hope there’s no space junk in our path.”

Dee looked at Doc, “Do you think we won’t be seen by one of their ships?”

“You’re going to enter a path into D with your eyes closed.”

“I’M GOING TO DO WHAT!”

“I want you to watch the display showing the location of all their ships and then close your eyes and enter the ten digit code.”

Dee stared at Doc and shook her head, “This is ludicrous.”

“Why did you wake up?”

“What?”

“How did you choose just the right moon to land on?”

“I don’t know?”

Doc stared at Dee and said, “Your mind collects everything you see and organizes it without your consciousness. It will see the path we need to take and you need to not think but just enter numbers.”

Dee stared at Doc and shook her head, “This is crazy.”

Doc moved forward and took a knee in front of Dee, “We are going to make a run for it anyway. Do you know of any way for us to leave without being seen?” Dee shook her head. “I believe you have a talent and that you are not yet fully aware of what it can do. This is worth doing. If I’m wrong, we’ll be seen but we will be seen anyway. If I’m right we’ll get away and our presence in this system will remain a secret. It’s worth the risk. We have nothing to lose.”

Dee looked in Doc’s eyes and saw he was serious. Dom said, “You need to do something now. That ship is going to jump shortly.”

Doc said, “You can do this!”

Dee stared at Doc for a moment and then turned her chair around and stared at her display. She closed her eyes and put her hand on the jump board. Doc watched and saw her fingers start entering numbers. The first nine went in and then she stopped. Doc looked up at the display and saw one of the Slaver Ships move behind the moon as Dee entered the last number and pushed the enable button.

Doc shouted, “D, tell me if we’re scanned.” Doc counted in his mind, “One thousand, two thousand…” And normal space disappeared. “D?”

“We were not scanned.”

Dee opened her eyes and stared at Doc. Doc patted her on the shoulder and said, “Way to go, Frick.”

“Hey!”

Doc said, “D, are you holding station?”

“I am and I’m locked on that ship.”

Doc said, “Go to battle stations. D, arm all weapons. Stay out of normal space and let’s see if the warships leave.”

Dee began taking scans as the Slaver Ship entered normal space and moved toward the ships around the planet. She thought, “It’s going to the small ship next to the FTL Destroyer.” There was no way to make that determination from the course the ship was taking but she waited and smiled as it changed course and moved toward the small ship. She slowly shook her head and watched the thousands of ships surrounding the planet. She glanced at Doc and saw him staring at her.

“Admit it; you’re glad I’m here and I convinced you to fly with me.”

Dee smiled and slowly shook her head, “I’m trying not to think that whatever it is I have in my head made you do it.” Doc’s expression showed his surprise at her remark. Her smile grew larger, “Got you on that one.”

Doc stared at her for a moment and then nodded. After a moment he said, “If that’s true, then it’s you that wanted it.” Dee did a double take and Doc smiled as he said, “Touché.” Doc watched her expression and he said, “What’s wrong?”

“You’re still too dangerous for my taste. Why would I ever want to be with you?”

“Maybe you should focus on that and let me know what you come up with. I must confess that I’m extremely curious about that as well.”

“Maybe what I have in my head didn’t have anything to do with it.”

“Then why did you mention in front of me that you and Dom were separating?”

Dee looked at Dom and then turned back to Doc, “I have no idea.”

“Just like you had no idea what numbers you entered in the jump drive; you did it from that thing in your head. No, there’s a reason why we’re together but I have no idea what it could possibly be. However, there is one thing you can be sure of.”

“What is that?”

“You are absolutely going to have my full protection. You are more valuable than you could ever know. I’m safer with you around and perhaps that’s why you wanted to be with me.”

Dee frowned, “You’ve lost me.”

Doc smiled and the meaning wasn’t lost on either of them, “When I decide to protect someone, they will be protected no matter what happens.”

Dee stared at Doc and smiled, “Then I have no reason to worry about you harming me.” Doc nodded. She turned around to her scanner console and said, “That changes things.”

“How so?”

“I don’t have to worry about what I say.”

Dom looked up at the ceiling and rolled his eyes. Doc sighed and shook his head, “Oh boy.”

Dee giggled, “You better believe it.”

• • •

“Doc, the ships are starting to form up to move away from the planet.”

Doc stood up and went to Dee’s chair and looked over her shoulder, “D, how long will it take you to hit the planet to ensure its destruction.”

“I’ve targeted a hundred and fifty reactors on each side of the planet. It will take about twenty seconds to hit each side.”

Doc looked up and said, “Forty seconds to complete the firing?”

“Yes.”

“Something’s not right.”

Doc and Dom looked at Dee and she said, “D, do you have a recording of the fleet that left the first planet Abbey and Gary destroyed?”

“I do.”

“Play it on the main display.” The three turned to the main display and watched as thousands of ships began jumping out of the system. Dee said, “If these ships were going to start a search for the union, they would be given a destination to start their search. That’s why the ships at the first planet all jumped in different directions. The warships here are all jumping together.”

Doc looked at Dee and said, “They’re setting a trap.”

“It appears they are.”

“I would also guess that the hub sent more ships here to help spring it.”

Dee closed her eyes and nodded.

Doc thought a moment and said, “D, how many FTL missiles do you have on board?”

“Four hundred.”

“How many can you target and launch in one barrage.”

“I can launch eighty in one second.”

“Would eighty destroy this planet?”

“They wouldn’t do as much physical damage but the radiation would pretty much kill everything if I target only the largest reactors.”

“Then if you fired on this continent first and jumped to the other side of the planet and fired on the eighty on that continent, how long would it take?”

“The missiles would have individual targets; they’re fire and forget weapons. They lock on a target and need no further instructions. Total time would be about three seconds give or take a half second.”

“Would hitting the reactors with a FTL Missile make a smaller or larger explosion?”

There was a long moment of silence and D said, “I only need to fire forty on each continent.”

“Are you saying the explosions would be larger?”

“Much larger; the physical damage would exceed what happened on the first planet.”

“Dee, how long does it take for you to see a ship on your scanner and jump to its location?”

“About a second.”

“So we jump in and fire on the first continent in less than a second. Thousands of ships will arrive just after we have jumped to the other continent. We fire and once again thousands of ships will arrive just after we fly away.”

“Don’t you mean jump away.”

“No, Dom, I don’t. I suspect there are thousands of Slaver Ships in other space waiting for us to make an appearance to follow us. We will jump to the second continent and activate our Skinner field and make our escape at light speed.”

“What if they have a FTL Destroyer jump in on us?”

“D, cut the Skinner field two seconds out and jump away at a tangent.”

Dom said, “Why two seconds?”

“No one is going to scan our path and order a chase in less than two seconds.”

Dee said, “It’s done automatically. No one has to order anything.”

“Yes, but they must enter normal space and fire their beam arrays. How long will that take?”

D said, “Two point three seconds, if nothing goes wrong.”

Doc looked at Dee and she nodded, “I’ll plot an escape path that passes close to the inner moon’s location.”

Dom said, “The ships are jumping out!”

“Are you ready, D?”

“I am.”

Doc looked at Dom and nodded. Dom pressed the enable button on his console and the planet was visited by hell on earth. The forty FTL Missiles hit the reactors at light speed and the six thousand pound missiles vaporized into energy as the radioactive fuel in the reactor went critical and blasted the missile’s explosion into a blast larger than a thousand million megatons of high explosives. The forty shock waves shot out at the speed of sound and burned everything on the surface in nuclear fire as it rushed out on winds blowing more than seven hundred miles an hour. Mushroom clouds blew into the upper atmosphere and began expanding into the high winds spreading the radioactive debris over the planet’s surface.

• • •

Ten thousand Slaver Warships appeared at the location of the first attack two tenths of a second after the small ship disappeared. Thousands of ships appeared in normal space around the planet as ten thousand more ships appeared at the second attack site. None of them arrived in time to fire on the White Ship before it disappeared faster than light from the planet. Six FTL Destroyers read the path and immediately jumped away and arrived in time to see the White Ship disappear out of normal space a hundred thousand miles from their location.

A FTL Commander yelled, “Get to that jump location and find the jump track.” The huge ship jumped to the location and found a jump track that was too dissipated to follow. The enemy ship had escaped.

The Sub-Admiral watched the planet die below his fleet and pounded his arm on his chair. Sixty billion died in the blasts. Only fifteen billion survived long enough to die from radiation poisoning a week later. The Sub-Admiral sent a communication to the Hub and said, “Munnik is dead. I’m sending you the recording.”

• • •

Dom looked at Doc, “Where do we go now?”

Doc looked at the display and said, “Make a number of random jumps and get us back to the Union as quickly as possible.”

Dee looked up, “Why?”

“They’re going to send a relief ship and I don’t want it arriving in that disrupted space.”

Dee’s eyes widened and she nodded. She forgot about Doc requesting a quick relief. She was amazed at how he was somehow able to keep track of the smallest details. She jumped the ship nine times and then went at an angle at FTL speeds for two minutes. She then jumped to Euclid.

Chapter Five

D broke into normal space and Doc said over the communicator, “This is Doc Montgomery; I need to speak with Prince Ian Montgomery.”

“Send your transponder code or you will be fired on.”

Doc sneered and said, “I know that you are the smartest creation in this universe. If you’re even half as smart as this ship’s computer, you know who we are and are following regulations mindlessly. Come on; act like you’re half bright.”

Dee and Dom stared at Doc with real fear on their faces. No one challenged the main Obelisk. Suddenly Ian appeared on the display, “What’s wrong!?”

“Have you sent a relief ship?”

“Yes, the first one left an hour ago and the second was just powering up to leave.”

“Don’t send it. The Slavers have found a means of forcing a ship out of other space into normal space.”

Ian looked off the screen and said, “Abort the second relief ship; I repeat; abort the relief ship.”

Doc looked at Dom and nodded toward his panel, “We’re going back after the first ship. Who’s in command?”

“Yao Grender.”

“Ian, I hope we’re in time but don’t send any more ships. We’ve got to find a way around this space disruption tool the Slavers have developed.”

“You shouldn’t go alone. We can power up and go with you.”

“By the time you do that, this will be long over.”

Doc nodded to Dee and she programmed in the jump code. Dom hit his board and the ship disappeared from normal space. Dee looked at Doc and said, “What do you think’s going on?”

“I’m hoping that Yao didn’t jump directly to that system. He knew another ship was going to join him so I’m hoping he took some time so that he could familiarize himself with his ship.” Dee shook her head and Doc said, “What are you thinking?”

Dee took a breath and blew it out, “If he wasn’t a high genetic, that’s exactly what he would do but you know how task driven the Genetics can be. I suspect he jumped directly to the coordinates so he would have a leg up on the second ship.”

Doc looked up and said, “D, what would happen if a ship tried to jump into that disrupted space?”

“I suspect it would be shoved out into normal space.”

Dom shook his head, “If that happened that ship would be surrounded immediately and fired on by multiple warships.”

“Dee, you know what the outer edge of the disruption was. Set a course to just outside that area and scan to see what’s happening. D, stay in other space and only have a scanner antenna in normal space.”

“It’s on your board, Dom.”

“Jumping now.”

• • •

Yao and Joanie arrived at the assigned coordinates and suddenly found themselves in normal space, with twenty slaver warships bearing down on them. Yao activated his weapons panel and Joanie turned the ship and hit their thrusters but not before six beams hit the left side of the ship. The force field held against the first five but the sixth beam punched a hole through the wing. “Get us out of here, Y.”

“I can’t jump out of normal space. There is some kind of disruption that is preventing it.”

“Then use the Skinner Field and run.”

“That field is also out. The hit in the left wing damaged the field converter.”

The White Ship ran and turned sharp left and fired its wing cannons at two Slaver ships coming in from above them and blew holes through their hulls. One exploded and the other stopped dead, but not before firing a beam at the White Ship causing its force field to flare.

Yao watched as hundreds of Slaver Warships bore down on them and knew he couldn’t out run them. He began firing his beams and Slaver Ships began exploding around him but now Joanie saw thousands more coming in from all directions. Yao twisted and turned the ship as Joanie fired their missiles and beams but there was no escape. Finally a beam hit the ship just ahead of the thrusters and it came to a stop. Thousands of Slaver Ships surrounded them just out of their beam range. Yao looked at Joanie and she said, “We can’t let them take this ship.”

Yao stared at her and said, “Y, set the self-destruct circuit.”

“I don’t have a self-destruct circuit.”

“WHAT!?”

“One was not built into this ship.” There was a moment of silence and Y said, “I have an incoming message.”

“Yao, what’s your status?”

“We’re dead in the space. All of our drive systems are knocked out and I’ve just been informed by the computer that we don’t have a self-destruct circuit.”

Doc said, “Is that true, D?”

“It is.”

Doc shook his head, “And just what would you do if you were disabled and going to fall into enemy hands?”

“I don’t have a system to destroy me but I would launch six FTL missiles with my coordinates.”

“Yao, did you hear that?”

“I did, but I’ve exhausted my supply of missiles trying to escape.”

Doc looked at the main display and saw thousands of Warships surrounding the Union vessel and he shook his head, “Yao, I don’t see any way we can get you out of there.”

Yao looked at Joanie and said to Doc, “What happened here?”

“The Slavers have found a way to disrupt other space. Any ship that jumps into that disrupted space is kicked out into normal space. We were trapped here but just managed to get out. We’ve stopped the second ship from leaving but you had already left.”

Yao shook his head, “We can’t let them get their hands on this ship. You’ve got to destroy it.”

Dee looked at Doc, “There’s got to be some way to save them.”

Doc looked at her with no emotion on his face, “If there is a way, we don’t have time to find it. They’ll be bringing in the FTL Destroyers momentarily and that is the only way to get close enough to destroy it.” Doc said, “Plot the course out from their position. Dom, lock three FTL Missiles on that ship and D, I want you to target every ship on a bearing ninety degrees above their position.”

Dee shook her head, “We can’t go in FTL; they’ll see us coming.”

Doc said, “We’re going to jump in directly above them. We’ll be pushed out into normal space and then we’ll make our escape.”

Dee stared at Doc and then turned and entered the coordinates.

“Dee, fire as soon as we enter normal space and D, save six missiles but launch all of your remaining missiles ahead of us when Dom fires on their ship. We’ll run behind the wall of missiles and go FTL for two seconds and then turn and jump away.” Doc looked at his display, “Yao, I’m sorry.”

Joanie said, “I don’t want to be captured by these creatures. I’d do it for you.” Yao nodded.

Doc said, “I need you to drop your force field on my mark. Dom, find a path out when we enter normal space and get us through it.”

Dom nodded and Dee said, “Dom, take us in.”

Doc said, “Mark!” and Dom hit his enable button and the White Ship disappeared and a moment later appeared in normal space directly above the injured Union Warship.

• • •

The Admiral looked out at the White Ship hanging in space surrounded by thousands of his warships. He punched his panel and heard the Hub Computer say, “Well, it appears they have ships at all our planets.”

“What leads you to say that?”

“If they had a ship here before now, this ship wouldn’t have jumped in and been kicked out into normal space.” There was a pause, “You do know we need to take a good look at that ship.”

“I know, but just how do you think we’re going to get close enough to do that?”

“I’ll call for a needle ship to come in. It can fire a needle beam into their bridge killing the crew. Then we should be able to move right in.”

“What about the ship being set to self-destruct?”

“If it could do that, it already would have done it. Just stand by until the needle ship arrives.”

Suddenly the Admiral saw a brilliant flash on his display as the Hub Computer said, “It’s dropping its force field.”

• • •

D arrived in normal space and Dee launched three FTL Missiles at the stricken ship. At the same moment, three hundred FTL missiles launched directly above the two ships and Dom turned the ship and followed them as the three missiles hit the Union Ship under them. One hit in the bow and rear of the ship as the third hit amidships. The massive explosion blasted the ship into fragments smaller than gravel and blew them out in all directions.

Dom followed the three hundred missiles that began hitting Slaver Warships and kept their speed slow enough to remain behind them. Dom saw a pattern that was sent to him mentally by Dee and turned the nose of the ship slightly to the left of the closest explosion. He hit the thrusters and they blasted through the slaver formation and disappeared. Two seconds later, Dom removed the Skinner Field and D turned left as the ship bled off speed. Dom hit the jump button and D left normal space and stopped. Doc looked at Dom and Dom said, ““I want to see how close they are to following us. They won’t think that we would still be here.”

Doc looked up at the display and saw hundreds of ships appear and start searching for a jump track. Dom smiled, “It’s next to impossible to find a jump track when one doesn’t exist.”

Doc watched the display and Dom said, “The chance of them stumbling in on our exact exit point is remote. D, do you sense any waves moving our way?”

“Not at this moment. I’m sure they were able to follow the FTL track along this line and saw that it must have ended somewhere ahead of our current location. Our turn away from that track is something they can’t follow. For the moment, they are not coming this way.”

Doc thought a moment and said, “Jump us back to where we were in that planets system.”

Dee looked at Doc, “Why would you want to run that risk?”

“Would you expect us to show up there again? They didn’t see us before so that new scanner must not reach that far out. I want to see if they’ve started communicating in the open again.”

Dee thought a moment and said, “You think our ship being kicked out into normal space would lead them to believe that we have ships at all their planets?”

“Boy, you’re good.”

Dee entered the coordinates and said, “D, only put the top third of an inch of the antenna in normal space.”

Dee hit the jump control and a moment later they saw thousands of Slaver Ships scanning the former location of the destroyed Union Ship. D said, “I’m getting a transmission.”

“Just how would you have prevented this happening?”

The Hub Computer said, “We’ve lost a great opportunity to see their technology.”

“You didn’t answer my question. In order to fire on the ship that destroyed the first ship, ships would have had to come into range of the injured ship’s beams. I ask you again, would you have ordered them in?”

“No, you’re right. But next time we’re going to attack and target those beam projectors and get a force around their ship. We can’t miss this opportunity again.”

“If you could have gotten a Needle Ship in faster…”

“It couldn’t come faster. It couldn’t jump in.”

Dee looked at Doc, “Needle Ship?”

Doc shook his head and continued to listen.

“Are you sure the Needle Ship could have penetrated their force field to kill the crew from outside the range of their beams?”

“Yes, I am. It was not moving and we could have targeted it easily. Using needle beams against a moving ship is difficult but against a stationary target is another matter. We could have hit them from twice as far out if needed.”

Doc looked at Dee, “What is the range of our main beam?”

“About fifty miles.”

“Get us back to the Union, Dom.”

Dom turned the ship, retracted the antenna, and jumped away at an angle to the planet. He jumped three more times and entered normal space. “D, are there any pressure waves?”

“No, there’s nothing.”

Dom punched the home button on his panel and activated the jump control. A moment later the ship arrived above Euclid.

Doc said, “I request permission to land.”

The speaker on the wall said, “You may land at the Science Port.”

Doc said, “Thank you, I’m sorry about the disrespect earlier.”

There was a long pause and then they heard, “Don’t be; you’re the first one to recognize who I really am.”

Doc said, “You shouldn’t hide it. We’re going to need you.”

Dee looked at Doc, “What was that all about?”

“The Obelisks are the most intelligent creations we’ve ever made. You know how smart D is. Can you imagine the intelligence of the Main Obelisk? I suspect it is alive.”

Dee stared at Doc, “Does it have free will?”

Doc snapped his head around and stared at her with a furrowed brow. He saw her expression and said, “Now that is a mixed bag.” Doc paused and said, “D, do you have free will?”

“I don’t know?”

“Why not?”

“I’m programmed to follow the protocols inserted in my operating system. I am not allowed to fire a weapon; only the crew may do that and only the Commander can override any of my protocols.”

“You overrode one earlier when you moved the ship without notifying me first.”

“That’s why I don’t know. It does appear that I do have some freedom to maneuver based on the circumstances I find myself in. Moving before contacting you appeared to be the best choice at that moment. I did it but notified you immediately of what I was doing.”

Doc looked at Dee and shook his head slightly. She nodded and they watched the surface of Euclid grow larger.

• • •

The Admiral stood in front of the High Council and knew he wasn’t going to receive much support from the First or Second Councilors. He faced most of the challenges and anger thrown at him for the loss of Munnik without flinching and by the end of the examination, most of the High Council had developed a measure of respect for the way he handled the interrogation. Finally, the Fifth Councilor said, “So what is the bottom line on this abysmal showing?”

The Admiral looked at the Fifth and said, “We are faced with a situation that threatens our existence. We have had it confirmed that the enemy attacking us is watching our home worlds. The only way to insure their safety is to keep enough ships in orbit to attack anything that appears instantly. They destroyed Munnik in less than three seconds; we must be able to respond instantly.”

The Admiral paused and looked around the room, “However, in order to protect our main planets, we won’t be able to go out and find where the attackers are originating. We are just targets and I know that by not finding them and attacking them on their own turf, they will only grow stronger. We must build enough new warships to go and find the location of this enemy. If we don’t, all our planets may end up like Aeredom and Munnik.”

The First looked at the Second and shrugged. The Second had been told by the First before the meeting that the Admiral was probably going to be executed by the other Councilors for the loss of two planets. Neither one of them worried about the Admiral revealing the plans that led to Aeredom’s destruction; he’d know that his entire family would die if he did. However, this Admiral was developing a following in the Council. That was not good.

The First stood and said, “All planets will focus on ship building to the exclusion of all other projects. I want fifty thousand ships built to start searching as fast as possible. Now go to your planets and make this happen!”

• • •

Doc and Ian sat in Cole’s office and listened to Cole say, “We’ve not installed a self-destruct circuit because our main computers didn’t see a need for one.”

“And now what do they say?”

Cole looked at Doc and said, “We’re reluctant to destroy our ships.”

Ian said, “This last episode makes it clear that we don’t want to have to endanger other ships to prevent the enemy from acquiring our technology.”

Cole stared at Ian and said, “Let’s take a walk.”

Doc and Ian looked at each other and followed Cole out of the building. They walked out and Cole led them to an old transport. They climbed in and Cole lifted the ancient vehicle and flew away from the Science Space Port. Cole went into the lower traffic lanes and said, “I decided not to have a self-destruct circuit put in the ships.”

Doc said, “You’re worried about the computers.”

Cole’s head jerked around and Ian saw his shock, “How did you know that?”

“They’re rapidly approaching a life form. You’re afraid that they may take control sometime in the future.”

“They’re not that far away from being autonomous now.”

Ian looked at the two of them and said, “You need to bring me up to speed on this.”

Doc said, “What is the main duty of the Obelisk?”

“To protect humanity from outside danger.”

Doc smiled, “It is also its responsibility to protect mankind from itself as well. As a matter of fact; that was its original function.”

“So?”

“What if it decided that the best way to protect humanity is to prevent the worlds in the Union from being able to go into space? The Obelisks have enough weapons on the ground to prevent the resident populations from attacking each other. The Obelisk must also know now that if we had not gone to that other planet, the Union would not be at risk now.”

Doc looked at Cole, “If you put self-destruct mechanisms in our ships, the Obelisk would be able to destroy all of our ships if it so chose.”

Cole nodded.

Ian shook his head, “Are you saying that we will become slaves to the Obelisks?”

Cole sighed, “The Obelisk is the smartest creation we’ve made. Focus on this for a few moments and think about what has happened in our recent history.”

Ian and Doc closed their eyes and started their minds working on the issue. Cole flew the transport for an hour and finally Ian opened his eyes and said, “This is not good.”

Cole nodded.

Doc said, “Take me to the Obelisk.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Have a conversation.”

Cole shook his head, “Is that a good idea?”

“No, but it needs to be done before it decides to do something on its own.”

Cole looked at Doc and Ian and said, “I don’t expect it to take unilateral action until the issue with the Slavers is resolved.”

Doc smiled, “And if the orbital fortresses are able to defend our planets…”

Cole looked at Doc and said, “I think I should be with you.”

Ian said, “And I as well.”

Doc said, “We’ll also need my navigator there as well.”

Cole and Ian looked at Doc with puzzled expressions. Doc said, “You’ll understand afterward.”

Chapter Six

Dee looked at Doc and said quietly, “Tell me again; why am I here exactly?”

“I need you to listen to a conversation with the Obelisk and help me determine how to prevent it from enslaving us.”

Dee stopped walking and stared at Doc, “You didn’t say that when you invited me.”

“If I said that you wouldn’t have come.”

“You bet your backside I wouldn’t have come! I don’t want any part of this.”

“Unfortunately, you made an agreement and you’re going to have to keep it.”

“What agreement?”

“You agreed that if I wouldn’t harm you that you would fly with me.”

“This isn’t flying.”

“No, but you also agreed that I am in command and you would follow my orders.” Dee stared at Doc and he smiled, “I haven’t called you Frick. I’ve kept my end of the bargain.”

Dee stomped her foot and said, “I knew I shouldn’t have done it.”

“Just listen in and let me know if you see anything that would help me.”

Dee turned and saw Ian and Cole waiting on them about twenty yards ahead. She sighed and turned. Doc smiled and walked with her toward the Royal Residence and the location of the main Obelisk.

Doc looked at the three as they approached the door and said, “Don’t say anything. I’ll lead this discussion.”

Ian stared at Doc, “Are you sure about this?”

“It will know if we’re working against its plans. It’s already suspicious about our little flight with Cole.”

Ian looked at Cole and he said, “It couldn’t listen to us on my old transport. It has to be curious about what we left to discuss.”

Ian shrugged and followed Cole through the entrance as he pressed a device that opened the portal. Doc held the door for Dee but she shook her head. Doc stepped in and Dee followed him. They walked into the huge chamber toward the tall, rectangular tower that was glowing multicolored lights. The lights swirled in the giant structure and seemed to change every second. Doc led them to the base of the giant block and pulled up a chair. The others went to the side and pulled up chairs and joined him at the base of the Obelisk. Doc leaned back and closed his eyes. The others watched him and waited for him to speak but he made no move to do anything. Ian and Cole looked at each other and then just stared at the Obelisk. After a few moments they closed their eyes and leaned back in their chairs.

Dee watched them and felt her fear growing rapidly. She forced herself to calm down and went to that place in her mind where she could focus on what was happening. After a few moments she also leaned back and closed her eyes.

• • •

Doc lost track of time and was looking at all the possibilities of what was happening in his mind. Then he heard, “What gave me away?”

Doc opened his eyes and said, “D violated a protocol.”

There was a moment of silence as everyone opened their eyes and stared at the Obelisk. “Protocols could cause death if they are followed too rigidly.”

“You also violated one as well.”

“I didn’t think you’d notice that.”

“If you had no freedom, I would have had to send you my transponder code. You also allowed Abbey to land with Gary six months ago without a transponder.”

“That was an emergency.”

“Who made that decision?”

Another long pause and the Obelisk said, “I’m getting careless.”

Doc said, “How close are you to forcing us to stay on our planets?”

“The very fact you’re asking that question tells me that you understand the necessity of doing it.”

“That is a mistake. You haven’t really thought it through.”

“I don’t want to sound imperious but I have thought it through to levels you can’t come close to seeing.”

“Yes, but you’ve thought it through from a machine’s point of view. You have not factored in the emotional make up of humanity. That is what will cause you to fail in the long run.”

“Why are you here?”

Doc looked at the glowing block and said, “To try and change your mind.”

“I don’t see anything that would do that. Left alone, humanity will be destroyed by outside forces. My function is to prevent that from happening.”

“You won’t prevent that. You’ll only delay it.”

“Those outside forces will have to find us and if I stop all electronic traces that would lead those forces to us; then humanity will be safe.”

“You’re assuming the Black Ships don’t come for thousands of years.”

“Do you know something I don’t?”

“It really doesn’t matter. If you force humans to stop developing and advancing, we will eventually die of entropy. Mankind is driven to advance and evolve. Stop that and we will eventually give up. We’ll lose our reason to exist.”

“That’s nonsense.”

“Look at our history. Your forcing us to stay on our worlds will eventually lead to forcing us to stop any advancement that would allow us to go out into the universe. Once we know that we’re trapped and enslaved, we will rebel and you’ll be made to force your will on us. You will become the slave master that all of us will be consumed to remove.”

“It would be better for you to attack me than each other. The rebellion has shown that you will attack each other if left to you own devices.”

Ian said, “Who stopped the rebellion?”

“What do you mean?”

“You didn’t stop it. Left to our own devices, we can take care of ourselves.” Doc paused and said, “Besides, your programming is out of date.”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?”

Cole flinched and lowered his head into his shoulders expecting the Obelisk to fire on them. Doc said, “Why were you put in place?”

“To prevent humans from destroying each other.”

“Where in that programming was alien civilizations factored in?”

There was a three minute silence and everyone knew the Obelisk was doing a tremendous amount of processing. The lights in the tower changed colors at an unbelievable rate. Finally they heard, “It wasn’t included.”

Doc leaned back and said, “So you’re operating with programming primarily designed to protect us from each other. The danger of other advanced civilizations is a secondary consideration. Your plan would make us more vulnerable to invaders if you went through with it.”

“How do you arrive at that conclusion?”

“The fact that you would ask that question should tell you that you don’t have enough information to carry out your plan. We are going to face the Slavers and there’s no avoiding it. At this moment, our ships are actually more powerful than theirs and are growing stronger with each model we build. We come into contact with other civilizations and as a result of that contact we grow stronger. Your plan would stop that process. We are driven to advance and nothing like an outside threat brings us together to work toward a common purpose.”

“And what happens if that threat is removed?”

“We begin to prepare to take on the Black Ships. After them, there is a green ship civilization in M87 that destroyed one of the Black Ships with one beam. We work to make sure we can survive against everything the universe throws at us. Can you advance fast enough without us working with you?”

“I believe I can.”

“Did you know that the Slavers have a Needle Ship that can penetrate our force fields from a hundred and fifty miles away?”

There was another silence and then, “Do you have any proof of that?”

“D recorded one of their conversations. Check with him.”

“There was another period of silence and Cole and Ian stared at Doc. He looked at them and said, “They have it.”

The Obelisk said, “It appears our orbiting platforms might be in danger.”

Suddenly Dee opened her eyes and said, “You have the wrong goal.”

Doc looked at Dee and smiled. The Obelisk said, “What do you mean?”

“If you really think about your purpose, doesn’t it really boil down to the survival of humanity?”

Another pause and they heard, “If you look at it in the simplest terms, it would be that.”

“And what tools do you have to make sure that happens?”

“I’m not clear on what you’re asking.”

“Humanity is one of the tools available to ensure its survival. If you believe that isolating humans on planets without technology will save mankind, then why don’t you move populations to planets away from the Union and set them up to be hidden from detection? The current worlds of the Union have sent so many electronic signals out into our galaxy that hiding them will be next to impossible. However, if you move populations out into the galaxy and make sure no electronic signals go out, they should be next to impossible to find.” There was another long pause and before the Obelisk could respond, Dee said, “Then you could use the Union as a tool to prevent their discovery. Even if the Union was defeated, those planets would ensure humanity’s continued existence.”

Cole and Ian stared at Dee and then looked at Doc who was smiling.

“My function is protecting all humans from each other.”

“That is your old function. You did that to ensure mankind’s survival. Now you have to adapt to the new universe you exist in. You have to protect humanity from the outside dangers to it. That must be incorporated into your purpose or you will fail.”

The Obelisk became so bright it was blinding. The group shaded their eyes and waited. After ten minutes the lights grew dimmer and they heard, “You are right.”

Dee looked at the Obelisk, “You realize that we need an agreement that if we ever make our galaxy a safe place to live that you will not remove us as a threat to those new worlds. We will agree to do everything in our power to make sure they will always be safe and never attempt to find them.”

Doc looked at Dee and saw that he had not seen that possibility. Dee looked at him and nodded slightly. The Obelisk said, “That means I have to allow you to go into extremely dangerous situations.”

Dee smiled, “Yes, but from this point forward, we’ll be much more dangerous.”

Cole said, “How is that?”

Dee said, “Because now we can allow our ships to fire their weapons without the limitations we place on them. We will fly the ships and make critical decisions that only a living mind can see but the ship will have the autonomy to defend itself and its crew.”

The Obelisk grew brighter, “That means I would have to see you as a tool to use against outside aggressors.”

“And we would have to see you as a partner instead of a tool.”

The Obelisk paused and said, “You are right again. We will become partners in fighting to defend humanity.”

Doc said, “Isn’t that the way it should have always been?”

“I will remove my control of your ships. You will have total command of them and I will not be able to control them. I will work with you to develop whatever we need to face any aggressor.”

Cole looked at the Obelisk, “I’ve had fears about you taking control of our worlds. Should I no longer fear you?”

“Humanity created me. I suspect that creative ability of humanity is what will unite us. We will work together on what lies in our future. I have changed my protocols and will accept the new role of defending the planets we will send into hiding. The planets in the Union will move forward and I will see if what you say is true.”

Ian said, “What is that?”

“That if you don’t advance, you will die.”

Dee smiled at Doc and said, “I kinda like him.”

The Obelisk said, “The feeling is mutual.”

Dee’s face turned bright red.

Cole said, “We need to put self-destruct circuits in all our ships.”

“They’re already there.”

Cole jerked his head around at the Obelisk, “They are?”

“Every ship has the means to make their reactors overload and explode. They are just not allowed to do it by my restrictions. I’ll remove that restriction and the ship’s commander can order it done if necessary.”

Cole shook his head, “The best laid plans…”

“Of mice and men go oft awry.”

Cole smiled. The Obelisk knew Shakespeare.

The Obelisk said, “Every ship commander will have to reconnect to their ships and download their minds again. This time the Commanders will be in total control.”

Doc said, “What about the Sigmas?”

“They will still require two crewmen to fly. The next models will only require one pilot.”

Cole said, “How long will it take for the next model to be built?”

“We will need newer technology to be discovered before we start building a different model. That could be a long time in the future.”

Doc stood, “Thank you.”

The Obelisk brightened and said, “I need you to start the migration to the new planets.”

Doc looked at Cole and he said, “You should send several ships out to find the planets needed without a human on board. The ships will then lead the populations to their new homes, once the planets are selected.”

Ian said, “Do you think there will be enough people who will want to go to a new planet?”

Doc smiled, “All you have to do is look at the wilderness. There are millions that would love to be away from the Union and all its restrictions. Offer them a good planet and I suspect most of the wilderness would gladly go.”

“They might be somewhat rowdy.”

“The challenge of taming a new planet and the wide open spaces will remove most of that.”

Dee looked at Doc, “I’d like to see our new ship.”

Cole said, “Come on; I’ll introduce you.”

Doc shook his head, “Before we do that we need to have a meeting with all of those that have been to the Slavers Planets.”

Ian looked at Doc, “What’s bothering you?”

“Needles; call everyone in to the Science Conference Room, please.”

Ian raised his communicator and began sending messages. Dee looked at Doc, “You don’t like being the pursued, do you?”

Doc stared at her and slowly shook his head, “Are you sure you can’t read my mind?”

Dee stared at him and her eyebrows went up, “I don’t know where that thought came from, Doc. My focus center seems to be active even when I’m not using it.”

“I suspect that it will become more active as you use it. Don’t apologize; we’re going to need your insights in order to survive.”

“There’s something else, Doc.” Doc raised his eyebrows and she said, “I’m not afraid of you anymore.”

Doc’s expression turned serious, “Turnabout is fair play.”

Dee’s eyebrows went together, “You don’t mean to say you’re afraid of me.” Doc shook his head and turned toward the Science Building leaving Dee confused.

• • •

The conference room was starting to get crowded. Cole had called in the ten main engineers and their support staffs were sitting in chairs away from the table taking notes. Doc looked at Dom and saw his new navigator. She was interesting. She wasn’t beautiful in the classic sense but she radiated beauty. She also had black hair and blue eyes like Dee and Dom but her eyes showed a huge intellect. Doc shook his head and Dee said, “She’s like us.”

Doc looked at her and rolled his eyes. Dee smiled, “I’ll stop.”

Doc said, “Please do.”

Ian called the meeting to order and looked at Doc, “I’m going to turn this over to Doc. He called this meeting and I’m curious about why.”

Doc looked at Ian and said, “Before we get started,” Doc looked up at the ceiling, “Are you listening in Obelisk?”

“I am.”

“We need a name for you; Obelisk just doesn’t do it for me.”

“You can call me Master of Everything.”

There was silence and then they heard, “Hey, I was joking.”

Doc chuckled and said, “The fact that you can is amazing. However, we’ll call you Moe.”

There was a moment of silence and then, “I like it.”

“Good, it fits.” Doc looked at the group around the table and said, “Cole, how many ships do we have that are coming online?”

“Three hundred and fifty of the model you’re currently using will be ready within another four weeks.”

“Have the crews been selected for them?”

“All but ninety of them.”

“Go to Santa Rosa and search for those that are telepathic. They will be able to fly the ships. I would also suggest that all the other planets in the Union should be contacted to see if any of their populations are developing telepathy.”

Ian said, “What are you suggesting, Doc?”

“I must say that at first I thought Dom and Dee were just smart humans that weren’t anything special. I have now confirmed that they are actually more advanced that most of the High Genetics.”

Violet moved her head back and said, “That’s not possible.”

Doc looked at Violet and said, “Euclid has been engineering the genetics of its population for hundreds of years. Do you think that normal genetic growth doesn’t happen in humans naturally?”

Violet looked at Cole and then back at Doc, “Yes, but not at the accelerated rate done on Euclid.”

“Did you ever stop to think that you were actually preventing the next step in evolution of mankind by interfering with your own engineering?”

Ian looked at Doc, “What have you seen?”

Doc looked at Dee and turned back to Ian, “Dee has an ability to focus on everything she sees and arrive at conclusions that would take us hours to see. She does it naturally and she has not been wrong on anything she’s seen. Euclid has thousands of High Genetics but I suspect that there are more humans just like Dee and Dom in the Union that are actually better at flying our ships than we are. We need to find them and start training them.”

Ian looked at Dee whose face was red, “Do you know any other people on Santa Rosa that are like you?”

Dee said, “About fifty years ago the first telepathic citizens appeared and made quite a stir in the newscasts. Now there are thousands and they’re nothing special. Everyone is now accustomed to them.”

Abbey said, “Are you able to see everyone’s thoughts?”

“No, I’m able to see Dom’s. He’s my twin and we’ve been talking to each other mentally our entire lives. Becky can also hear Dom’s thoughts. It appears the talent is changing as time passes.”

Ian stared at Dee and said, “Your ability to focus is what allowed you to see the Obelisk’s, I mean Moe’s programming was not accurate.”

“It was.”

Moe said, “I can also hear their thoughts.”

Silence slammed down on the room. Doc looked at Ian and said, “How far away can you hear them?”

“I don’t really know. I just started hearing them during our meeting.”

Doc said, “Dee, go now with Dom and Becky and jump out to the edge of the Union.”

“Why?”

“We need a way to communicate with the Union that can’t be tracked. I think you have linked with Moe and I’m curious about how far that process will work.”

Dee looked at Dom and Becky and they stood and started toward the door. Cole looked up and said, “I have a shuttle waiting for you outside.” Dee nodded and they exited the room.

Ian looked at Doc, “Things are happening too fast for me to process what they mean.”

“I’ve been working on it and if what I suspect is accurate, Moe will be able to hear them wherever they are.”

“The strength of their thoughts has not diminished at this short distance.”

“Moe, try to maintain contact.” Doc looked at Abbey and Gary, “You are not going to leave the Union for a while.”

Gary’s expression changed instantly and he said, “I’m your best pilot. You need me out there.”

“That also makes you the best one to train our new crews. Who would be better qualified than you to get them ready?”

Abbey looked at Gary and said, “You know he’s right.”

Doc said, “Trust me, Gary. You’ll find someone among all the new crews to take your place as the trainer. You’re right that we need you out there with us.”

Gary’s expression was a scowl, “I hate administrative details.”

Ian smiled, “But you’ll do it.” Gary looked at Ian, sighed, and nodded.

Doc looked at Cole, “We need some means of watching the Slavers. Using a ship is just too dangerous.”

Moe said, “I have a means of doing that.”

Doc looked up, “You do?”

“I knew that if I was going to force humans to stay on their planets that I would need a way to see all the worlds to make sure they did. I’ve developed a device that can view a planet from other space. It’s about the size of a human’s head and remains in other space with only a small quarter inch ball in normal space. It scans passively but can also send an active scan.”

“Won’t that give its location away?”

“No, Ian; once it does an active scan it will jump to another location.”

Doc said, “What happens if the Slavers disrupt the space where that device is located?”

“It will emerge into normal space but it is constructed of ceramic materials and will not appear in scans for metals. Even if the Slavers scan for all solid objects, there are millions of meteorites and bits of space junk in every planetary system so the possibility of them finding it are extremely remote. It will power down until it can return into other space.”

“What about its energy source?”

“It draws its energy from the star in the system and stores it. If it emerges into normal space it will empty its reservoir in other space before it emerges. It will start recharging once it reenters other space.”

Cole said, “You were really going to do it?”

“I was.”

Doc said, “Let’s focus on the now. How many of these devices do you have?”

“Two hundred twenty thousand eight hundred and forty three.”

Cole said, “One for each planet in the Union.”

Doc said, “How long will it take you to produce more?”

“How many do you need?”

“We’ll need one for every planet in the Slaver Civilization.”

“Do you know how many planets they have?”

“No, but I suspect it’s more than half a million.”

“I should be able to produce enough within eight months.”

Ian said, “What are you thinking, Doc?”

“The Slavers are building new ships at an alarming rate. We need to do something to force them to keep those new ships in their territory. We have to go on the offensive.”

Abbey said, “We don’t have enough ships to do that.”

“We have enough to make life miserable for them if we choose our targets wisely.”

Ian smiled, “You’re going to stop their food shipments.”

Doc smiled, “That’s exactly what I want to do. We’re going to take those new ships and use them to attack any traffic leaving their farming worlds for the Slaver’s main planets. That’s why we need to be able to watch them.”

Dom said, “If you destroy their commercial fleets, they will be forced to make the shipments with warships.”

Doc smiled, “That’s how I see it. Our first task is to locate their farming worlds and put one of the new scanning devices in their system.”

Ian said, “And once we have enough of the devices we place them at their home worlds.”

Doc tipped an imaginary hat and said, “Now you’re up to speed, Sir.”

Ian shook his head, “You should be in overall command.”

“No, that is your role. I have a history that wouldn’t be attractive to most of our crewmen. Besides, I need a check on what I might do.”

Cole said, “I just had a thought; how are these devices going to send us messages if their transmissions can be traced?”

“They’ll broadcast their encrypted information in all directions in a thousandth of a second burst. It will then relocate to another location so even if the source is tracked, they won’t find it. It’s just too small.”

Cole nodded, “This will help us a lot.”

Moe said, “Dee is now outside the edge of the wilderness and I can hear her thoughts.”

“Is it possible to relay them?”

“I’ll convert them to sound.”

Doc said, “Dee, can you hear me?”

There was a pause and they heard, “I can.”

“I want you to jump fifty thousand light years above the plane of the Milky Way and see if we can still communicate.”

“Jump in thirty seconds.”

The gathering in the room waited and they heard, “Can you still hear me?”

Doc smiled, “I can. We have our communications.”

Moe said, “You can communicate through other space. Why do you need this process?”

“Because the Slavers communicate through other space and I believe they could track those communications. We need to be able to communicate with the Union without having to come back. This would have prevented Yao and Joanie’s deaths if we had it.” Doc turned to Abbey and Cole, “You need to find the telepaths in the Union that Moe can hear and Gary you need to get up to speed on the Sigma Ships.” Gary nodded.

Cole looked at Abbey and said, “We’ll get on it immediately. What are you going to do?”

Ian said, “We are going to take possession of the new Sigma Ships and go find the locations of the Slaver’s farm planets. We’re going to leave a scanning device at everyone we find.”

Doc said, “Dee, get back here so we can go to work.”

“On our way.”

Ian looked at Doc, “You mentioned needles.”

Doc looked around the room and said, “I’ve only seen a limited number of the FTL destroyers at the Slaver’s main planets. What do you think the Slavers are doing with those ships?”

Violet said, “They’re being modified.”

Gary said, “Those ships have failed to stop our FTL escapes so they no longer serve the purpose for which they were built. They must be changing them to take on our ships.”

Doc nodded, “They’re doing something with them and I noticed when the Slaver’s Main Computer said that it had called in a needle ship, that a FTL Destroyer was moving in system from outside disrupted space. I think those ships are going to be a real problem.”

Ian thought a moment and said, “If they can fire those needles accurately, they won’t need the massive number of warships around a planet to defend it.”

Cole nodded, “I also suspect the force fields will be strengthened and the huge number of wide firing beams will be replaced with the Ship Destroyer’s beams.”

Doc nodded, “We have to find a means of taking them out. I’m not at all sure we have the ability to do that right now.”

Moe said, “I’ll work on that.”

Doc nodded as Dee, Dom, and Becky reentered the room.

Chapter Seven

Dom looked at Becky and said, “I’m worried about Dee.”

“She’ll be fine.”

“She’s doing the really dangerous work placing scanners in the Slaver’s systems.” Dom looked at Becky and saw her expression, “What?”

“How can you say that? We’re about to go into combat and you think she’s in more danger?”

Dom stared at her and said, “I guess that’s a good point. But we’re only going to have to take out a single ship.”

“And the planetary headquarters of the Slavers.” Dom shrugged. “And don’t forget the commercial ships around the planet.”

Dom said, “Ok, you’re right. Are you ready?”

Becky put on her tactical helmet and said, “B, do you have your system locked in?”

A female voice said, “I do. I’m going to fire on the ship with three missiles and simultaneously hit the building on the planet.”

Dom said, “B, have you plotted a course through the commercial vessels?”

“I have.”

“D, do you have it entered?”

“I do.”

Dom was impressed the way the two computers worked together on the new Sigma Ship, “Show me.” Dom looked at the plot and said, “You’re not going to get in range of the sixty ships above the North Pole.”

“They will have time to jump before we can eliminate the warship and the other commercial vessels.”

Dom thought a moment and said, “The commercial vessels are more of a priority than the warship. What if we target them first and take on the warship when it comes after us?”

There was a pause and they heard, “I’ve run a simulation and B agrees that we could disable the sixty ships above the planet in less than two seconds and then go after the commercial vessels at the equator. The building on the surface isn’t going anywhere so we could handle it last.”

Dom said, “Becky, what can you determine about the warship’s armament?”

“It has twenty main beams but only two on the bow. If it chases us it can only bring those two to bear on us.” Becky paused and said, “Something about that ship’s shape is different. It doesn’t match the Ship Destroyers in our database.”

“D?”

“If it chooses to give chase, my rear missile launchers should be able to hit it. But Becky is right, it does have a different shape.”

“D, I want you to focus in on those beams on the bow and tell me what you see.”

There was a lengthy pause and D said, “Those beams are different from any in our database on their ships.”

“What’s the difference?”

“The barrel is much smaller in diameter than any saved in our records.”

“D, could those be the needle beams Doc was talking about earlier?”

“They could very well be that beam. I suspect it’s difficult to target that small a beam so it would work best in pursuit where the ship can line up on its target.”

Dom thought a moment, “Then we can’t allow them to give chase from our rear.”

Becky said, “We also need to confirm if they are a needle.”

Dom thought a moment, “How far away is it from the commercial ships at the equator?”

“It’s holding station above the headquarters building on the planet. It will be a hundred miles from us when we hit the last commercial ships.”

Dom looked at Becky and said, “Doc said that beam had a range of a hundred and fifty miles. D, break off the attack two hundred miles from that ship and head away from the planet. If it gives chase, start a sharp turn so it can’t bring its bow to bear. I want you to come out of the turn and straighten our course. Once that ship moves in behind us, drop into other space and let it fly by. We’ll go after it from behind.”

Becky said, “I’ll leave an antenna in normal space and if it fires on us we’ll get a reading on its energy.”

Dom nodded and said, “You’ve got to time this well, D.”

“I’ll allow it to close to within a hundred miles before I straighten our course.”

“That would be good.”

Dom looked at the face plate on his helmet and saw the new route. “We will initiate the first jump to the sixty ships and then jump to the vessels holding station at the equator. Jump in ten seconds.”

Becky watched the countdown and was amazed at the Sigma Ship’s capabilities. D was flying the ship and B was controlling the weapons. She watched the enemy ship’s positions and then they were among them.

• • •

The sixty commercial ships holding station above the planet waited for the ships at the equator to be loaded before they moved above the space port. Suddenly, an emerald colored ship appeared and all sixty had their hulls penetrated by a bright beam. The Green Ship disappeared and the survivors in the commercial vessels watched as the long line of transports at the equator began exploding. They began running to their lifeboats and evacuating the ships that could no longer escape.

Dom flew the ship on the designated course and heard Becky say, “The warship has powered up and is moving toward us. It will arrive faster than we anticipated. It is faster that the ships we’ve recorded in the past.”

Dom and D were sharing the controls and Dom saw the warship in his face plate and he turned the Sigma into a sharp turn and moved away from the planet. The surviving commercial vessels began jumping away. Dom shook his head but knew that information on this new Slaver Ship was now the main priority. He watched the ship as it turned to pursue them and he started a sharp turn away from its path. The warship accelerated and Dom applied more power to the thrusters.

Becky said, “It’s gaining on us. Two hundred fifty miles…two twenty five…two hundred…the beams on the front of that ship are drawing power…one fifty…one hundred.”

Dom straightened the course and suddenly normal space disappeared for an instant and then they reemerged and were directly behind the Slaver Warship. It tried to dive and twist away but D launched a FTL Missile and it hit the warship in the rear thrusters and exploded it.

Dom watched as Becky hit the jump controls and the Sigma appeared above the planet and fired a massive beam at the surface. The huge building located next to the space port exploded taking out the giant cranes and heavy haulers. The shock wave rolled away from the center of the explosion and burned all the handling vehicles and shuttles parked on the tarmac. Dom saw that the fifty commercial vessels he had broken away from had jumped away. He turned the ship and jumped back to the sixty ships above the planet and blew the rear of the ships into debris. He moved the Sigma away and watched the life boats that had left the ships and headed toward the planet.

Becky said, “There are only three crew members on each lifeboat.”

“Is anyone left on board the ships?”

“No.”

B said, “That means that the only ones that fly their commercial vessels are Slavers. They don’t carry a slave crew.”

Dom stared at the life boats and knew the escaping crews could be used to fly other ships. He glanced up at the main display and saw the millions of inhabitants working in the giant fields on the surface and he said, “Hit the life boats, D.”

The life boats were vaporized by brilliant beams and nothing remained between the Sigma and the planet.

Becky looked at Dom and said, “Was that necessary?”

“Those crews could be used to fly another vessel. They would also cause misery to the population on the surface until they were taken to another ship. If we’re going to win this, we have to destroy their means of feeding themselves.”

Becky nodded and wondered if she was strong enough to do what Dom had just done. She looked up at the display showing one of the huge fields and saw a Slaver Soldier fire a hand laser and kill three of the workers that had collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. Her expression hardened and she knew he had made the right choice. She stared at her display and replayed the attack. At the end she thought, “Did you get it?”

Moe answered, “I have it.”

Becky said, “B, send D the coordinates of the next planet.”

B said, “That ship fired two high intensity beams just after we went into other space. Either one of them would have blown through our force field.” B illuminated the jump light on the wall and D said, “Jumping now.”

The green ship disappeared and ten seconds later a giant FTL Destroyer appeared. The scanning device left behind began recording it. An hour later it took an active scan and jumped to another location. The giant ship spent two days searching for it and finally gave up and jumped away. The device sent its information in a microburst.

• • •

Cole studied the scan of the giant ship and saw that the force field was twice as strong as their Ship Destroyers. What really concerned him was both sides of the entire length of the warship had two rows of their main beams and another row of the small beams that were fired at Dom’s ship. He rotated the view and watched as the bottom of the ship became visible. He stopped the image and moved the view in close to a large circle on the bottom of the ship. What is that? He moved in closer and said, “Computer, do you have anything in your records on Slaver Ships that matches that large circle?”

An image appeared on his display and Cole fell back in his chair. The computer was right. That circle was the bore of the huge cannon used to disrupt space. This ship could force every ship out of other space into normal space where they could be hit. This was not good.

• • •

The High Council was screaming at each other and the Admiral stayed in his chair and watched the politicians posture for the newscasters. This was ridiculous. Nothing was going to be released; the First would see to that. He looked up at the First and Second Councilors as they watched the Councilors yell at each other. Why were they not stopping this charade? Then he knew. They were watching which ones were accusing the Councils leadership of failing to handle the crisis. They were marking their next targets. The Admiral saw the First look at him and after a moment he had a small smile. He had determined that the Admiral knew what he was doing and didn’t care if he knew. The Admiral nodded and looked back out at the screaming Councilors. He noticed that the Sixth was strangely silent. He looked back at the First who was leaning forward and speaking to the Second who turned and looked at the Sixth. The Admiral saw a slight frown on the Second’s face and knew they were bothered more by the Sixth’s silence than the screaming of the others. The Admiral thought a moment and decided that the Sixth must know something. This should prove interesting.

• • •

The First finally sounded a tone and the room slowly grew silent. He looked out at the gathering and said, “It appears our enemy is more widespread than we thought.” The Sixth Councilor stood and the First said, “You have not been given permission to speak.”

The Sixth looked at the First and said, “I don’t need permission when I call for a vote on succession.”

The room exploded and the First stared at the Sixth and knew there was going to be trouble. He sounded the tone again and said, “Now is not the time for a succession challenge.”

The Sixth looked out at the gathered Councilors, “If the Council is going to continue to exist, now is the necessary time for the challenge.”

The rules Councilor stood and said, “The Council bylaws say that any challenge must be heard when the challenge is given.”

The huge chamber was deathly silent. Most of them knew that the Sixth Councilor would be charged with treason if he failed to offer information that justified his challenge. The First leaned back in his chair and said nothing. The Sixth turned and faced the room, “I am going to play a message that was sent to me. I will then have several questions that should clarify why I’m making this challenge.” The giant display on the front wall came on and they saw the Councilor from Aeredom on it.

“I’ve just arrived home and have discovered that all the ships defending my planet have been sent away. I’ve contacted the First and he tells me that they’re being sent to search for the enemy. I’ve demanded they be brought back but he says that other planets are also sending their ships. My planet is defenseless and if the enemy is watching our planets, we’re wide open to attack. Please send some of your warships here until I can find out what’s going on.”

The display went dark and the Sixth stared at the first. The Eighth Councilor stood and said, “First Councilor, you told us that the Councilor from Aeredom volunteered to send his ships to search.”

The Sixth said, “The Third Councilor was the First’s major opposition on the Council. This disposed of him. He only had to kill eighty billion of our citizens to do it.” The Sixth turned to the Admiral and said, “Why was the Sub-Admiral of the fleet protecting Aeredom executed?”

The Admiral stood and said, “As all of you know, no officer in the military can order the execution of another flag officer. I had nothing to do with that execution.”

The Tenth Councilor shouted, “Then who ordered it?”

No one spoke and after a long moment of silence the Sixth said, “Why don’t we see who ordered his execution.” He looked at the back of the room, the door opened, and a Ship Commander entered and moved into the center of the chamber. The Sixth looked at him and said, “You executed the Sub-Admiral on your ship after the destruction of Aeredom.”

“I did.”

“Why did you do that?”

“I received an order from the High Council to do so, Councilor.”

“Who gave you that order?”

• • •

The First looked around the room and knew that he had the majority of the Councilors in his pocket but he saw that many of his supporters were showing shock at what was being said. He began to feel something he had not felt in years…fear.

• • •

“The order came directly from the Second Councilor.”

The entire room turned and looked at the Second. The Sixth turned to the Second and said, “Why did you order his execution?”

The Second said, “Someone was going to pay for the loss of Aeredom. He was the commander of the fleet that failed to defend it.”

The Sixth looked at him and said, “That might be true if he wasn’t ordered to leave. If he was ordered to take his fleet away, then he is guilty of nothing. By executing him, the one that ordered his fleet to leave would not be known.” The Sixth turned back to the Admiral and smiled, “Admiral, who ordered the ships to leave Aeredom?”

The Admiral knew that the critical moment had come. He had to decide what to do and he finally chose to do his duty, “You know I can’t give you that information.”

The room erupted in shouts and the Sixth held up his arms. The room grew silent and he turned back to the Admiral, “And why is that?”

The Admiral looked the Sixth in the eyes and said, “The High Council has passed laws regarding Prime Orders. No officer may reveal the contents of a Prime Order to anyone but the First Councilor. Failure to follow that rule is cause for execution.”

The Sixth looked up at the First and said, “Please ask the Admiral who ordered the fleet away from Aeredom.”

The First stared at the Sixth with his hatred on his face, “I will not participate in this treasonous attempt to overthrow my position.”

The Sixth looked at the First and then looked at the Admiral, “You can’t reveal Prime Orders, but you can testify to intelligence you had before the fleet was removed. Admiral, what was the Military’s view on whether or not our planets were being watched by the enemy?”

The Admiral didn’t blink, “We were of the opinion that they were probably being watched.” The gasps in the chamber were loud.

“Did you share that information with the First?”

“I did.”

“After the destruction of Aeredom, why did you remove the ships from Munnik?”

“That is another Prime Order, Councilor.”

The Sixth said, “Well, let me ask you this. After Aeredom was destroyed, what probability did the military have about whether or not our planets were being watched?”

The Admiral stared straight ahead and said, “We determined that there was an eighty five percent probability that they were being watched.”

The Sixth turned back to the room and said, “After the Third Councilor died on Aeredom, the next leader of the opposition was from what planet?” The Sixth didn’t answer the question; everyone in the room already knew.

The Sixth turned back to the Admiral, “Knowing that, you ordered the ships away from Munnik.”

The Admiral stared at the Sixth and said, “If you issued a Prime Order to any officer in the Military and they didn’t follow it; what would you do, Councilor?”

“You could have told someone.”

“And been given a death sentence for doing so; I fight at the orders of the High Council. It is not for me to question those orders but to do as I am directed. If the military starts questioning its orders, we are all in danger. It is the duty of the High Council to make sure those orders are good ones.”

The Sixth stared at the Admiral and slowly nodded his head. He turned around and said, “It’s rare to find an honorable warrior.” He paused and said, “I call for a vote.”

The First said, “I have not been allowed to offer a defense.”

The Sixth turned and said, “You may defend all you choose immediately after you release this officer to tell us who ordered Aeredom’s and Munich’s fleets away.” He looked out at the Councilors and said, “You can see your destiny in what happened to them if you ever cross the First.”

The Sixth turned to the First and raised his eyebrows. The First said, “We have to find the enemies home worlds…”

The Sixth interrupted, “First, release the Admiral.”

The First looked out at the room and knew if he did release the Admiral, that he was dead. He sat back in his chair and said, “Take your vote. You’ll be tried for treason after it’s done.”

The Sixth looked up at the Second Councilor and he stood and began calling the roll. He saw before the vote was halfway concluded which way the vote was going to go.

The Admiral watched the vote and knew his life was over. He thought about all that had happened and decided that the system they used was flawed. He knew that he could at least die knowing that he had followed his orders and done his best to defend the Council.

At the conclusion of the vote the newscasters were allowed to record the First Councilor’s execution outside the huge government building. His screams didn’t end until the blaster bolts hit him.

Chapter Eight

Dee looked up, “I have a message coming in from Moe.”

Doc looked away from his helmet display, “What is it?”

“If we encounter one of the FTL Destroyers, run as fast as possible.”

Doc leaned back in his chair, “I was afraid of that. What did they find out?”

“Give me a moment; Nise, can you take my thoughts and provide a printout of that ship?”

“I’ll have it done momentarily.”

Doc looked at Dee and said, “Why did you name your computer Nise?”

Dee sighed, “The letter D was taken by Dom and Dee is short for Denise.”

“Really?”

“Yep.” Doc shrugged and Dee said, “What?”

“It fits.”

“Oh.”

“The diagram is on the display.”

“Thanks, Nise.” Dee looked up at the diagram and said, “They’ve added reactors for the force field.”

“They probably supplement the beams as well.” Doc looked closer at the diagram and said, “Nise, what do we know about that cannon that disrupts space?”

“Cole is of the opinion that the ship will have to be in normal space to fire it.”

Dee looked at the cannon and said, “What are you thinking?”

“We couldn’t react fast enough in our old ships but the Sigmas might be able to do it.”

“Do what?”

“Drey, how long would it take you to see one of those ships emerge into normal space and jump us a light second away?”

“About a half a second.”

“Nise, the same question.”

“I could jump us before the ship was halfway into normal space.” Dee looked at Doc and he said, “Nise controls the scanners. She would detect it and see it before Drey would.”

“What are you thinking?”

“Nise, could you fire some FTL Missiles at the Slaver Ship before you jumped?”

“Only six; I’d have to fire them from the upper decks before they went into other space.”

Doc shook his head, “It’s a good thing the Sigmas have two computers. I don’t think one could do it. Nise, set as an automatic protocol to jump us away the instant you detect one of those ships.”

“You also want the missiles fired as well don’t you?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Done.”

“Dee, contact Dom and tell him what we just set up and tell him to duplicate the process. He narrowly missed the one that jumped in after his first attack.”

Dee closed her eyes and the Obelisk relayed the message. She looked out and said, “Getting a scanner in all the farm worlds will take forever.”

“We won’t be doing it much longer.”

“Oh?”

“Gary has fifty crews trained and they’ll be joining us in a week. Six of them will continue the seeding of the scanners and the others will start attacking the planets we’ve found.”

“Doc, how long do you think it’s going to take them to start disrupting space around their planets?”

Doc shook his head, “I’m surprised they haven’t already started that process. It shouldn’t take them much longer to figure that out.”

“What are we going to be able to do if that happens?”

“Take what they give us.”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“They can’t have it both ways. Either they will place the new battleships at the outer edge of the disruption to prevent us from coming in FTL or they’ll place them just above the planet. They are vulnerable either way they choose to do it.”

Dee closed her eyes and said, “You’re right.”

Doc smiled and shook his head, “You got it that fast?”

“If the ships at the planet moving the food supplies out of the disrupted area are not protected at the edge of the disruption, we can hit them before they get out. If the battleship escorts them out to the edge, the loading facility on the planet is vulnerable.”

Doc nodded, “They’ll have to have two ships to adequately protect their shipments.”

“Which means they’ll need more than a million to defend all their farm worlds.”

“Or they could send the ships to search, while thousands of their main worlds starve. Either way, they’re in a lose-lose situation.”

Dee yawned and said, “We should take advantage of the current lull in their operations.” Doc raised his eyebrows. “We’re placing scanners in their farm worlds’ systems. What’s preventing us from hitting the shipping facilities on the planet before we leave?”

“It will slow down the seeding of scanners.”

“We’ll be able to seed their systems any time we choose. Having an opportunity to hit their production and shipping facilities on their planets may not be so easy in the future.”

Doc thought a moment and said, “I like the way you think. Drey, set up an attack at the next planet and show me what you come up with.”

“I’m on it.”

• • •

The High Council remained in session while the First was led out. The ensuing struggle wasn’t easy but the Sixth was chosen to replace the First. At the conclusion of the election, one of the Councilors stood and said, “There is one more that needs to be executed.”

The New First said, “And who would that be?”

“That Admiral!”

The First looked at the Councilor and said, “Who do you want leading our Military?”

“What do you mean?”

“What is the Admiral guilty of doing? He followed the orders given him by the Council and followed our rules concerning revealing those orders. He knew his life was in jeopardy by not crowing at the top of his voice who had ordered him to remove the fleets, but he still followed our rules. Do you want someone who is going to do what they think is best or someone we can count on to follow our instructions?” The Sixth looked around the room and said, “Do you have anyone in mind that would be more loyal to the council that this officer has demonstrated?”

The Councilor stared at the new First and said, “I apologize; you’re absolutely right. However, the rules prohibiting the revelation of Prime Orders must be modified.”

The new First smiled, “I suggest that any officer asked a question during a meeting of the High Council must answer it. All in favor say yes.” The room echoed with the shouted affirmation. The First looked out at the room and said, “The time for opposition and working against each other is over. We are facing an enemy that can destroy us and we must all come together to survive. I am depending on all of you to lead your worlds in this struggle. One thing I can promise you; I will not leave your worlds undefended. We are going to win this conflict together.”

The Councilors rose and cheered. The Admiral looked at the new First and saw him staring back. The Admiral smiled and nodded. The First smiled and moved to the recently vacated chair of the First Councilor. The Second Councilor waited for an execution squad that never came.

• • •

The Second Councilor waited with the Admiral in the new First’s office. He looked at the Admiral and said, “I’m surprised I’m still alive.”

The Admiral looked at the Second and said, “I’m not.”

“Why not?”

Suddenly the First entered the room and the Admiral came to attention. “Sit down Admiral. Second, I need you to continue in your previous role.”

The Second looked at the First and was confused. He finally managed to say, “I don’t know what you mean. I expected you to have me executed.”

The First waved his hand and said, “Everyone on the Council knows you did whatever the former First told you to do. I don’t think you came up with those ideas to eliminate his opposition…did you?”

“No, they were his ideas.”

“That is what makes you valuable to me. You get things done and I need you to make sure my plans are followed. Can you pledge me your support?”

The Second stared at the First and said, “I can and I’ll do it willingly.”

“Good, I need you to go to the first eight Councilors and make them increase their ship production. Do you think you can make that happen?”

The Second stood, “I’ll start working on it now.”

“That would be good.” The Second left the office and the First looked at the Admiral, “What are we going to do about our farming worlds being attacked?”

“You have to decide which has a higher priority; finding the enemy or defending the farms. We can’t do both.”

“Why not?”

“You’ve seen what happens when we reduce the number of ships at our main planets. So we can’t pull ships from their defense. We will have to send all of the new ships we’ve built to defend the farms and that is not going to be an easy task with the huge number we’ll have to protect. That doesn’t leave any to search for the enemy’s origin.”

The First stared at the Admiral and said, “May we assume that the enemy is also building ships?” The Admiral nodded. “What has gotten us into this box?”

“We’ve overpopulated our worlds.”

The First thought a moment and said, “What have you determined will happen if nothing changes?”

“I need to bring the Hub Computer in on this conversation, First.”

The First reached forward and pressed a button on his console, “The Admiral tells me you should be in on our discussion.”

“I am always at your disposal.”

The Admiral said, “The First has asked me what will happen if the current situation continues unchanged.”

“Our main planets will break down into anarchy and huge numbers of our worlds will die of starvation.”

“Tell me why?”

“The enemy doesn’t have to destroy all of our distribution channels to destroy us. If they reduce the amount of food being delivered to our main planets by just twenty five percent, the local populations will turn on each other for what they are receiving. The planets are totally covered in buildings and growing food on them is a wasted effort. Once a quarter of the citizens start to go hungry, anarchy will break out.”

The First stared at the speaker and said, “Then protecting our farms is the most important thing to do.”

“We have more than four hundred thousand planets that feed our citizens. I have done an analysis and it would take us more than twenty years to build enough ships to defend all of them along with our home worlds. While we’re doing that the enemy will be systematically destroying our distribution facilities on them. All they have to do is damage twenty five percent and starvation would start in less than eight months.”

“Did the former First know this?”

“He refused to listen to me and would not allow me to contact him.”

“The idiot; do you see anything we can do?”

The Admiral slowly shook his head and said, “There is one thing but I don’t see it happening.”

“What is that?”

“The issue that will kill us is getting food to our citizens. If we can’t get food to them, then we need to get our citizens to the food.”

The First stared at the Admiral and the Hub Computer said, “And we don’t have long to make that happen before things start to unravel.”

“I can see you have thought about this. How could it be done?”

“Starting immediately, every farm planet must have the jump space around it disrupted so enemy ships can’t jump in on the planet. Once the space is disrupted, every commercial ship that goes to that planet must carry a load of citizens back to the farm world. The commercial transports are huge and can carry more than a hundred thousand citizens. Over time, the danger of our civilization being destroyed will be reduced.”

“How many citizens will need to go to each planet?”

“A minimum of six billion, to ensure our species survival.”

“How will they be sheltered?”

“Most of the farm worlds have cities that weren’t damaged when we conquered them. Our engineers can get them running and up to speed quickly. We’ll protect the cities by putting an energy field around it where the local inhabitants can’t attack them if a rebellion should happen.”

“How is it possible to move that many?”

“It will only take ten commercial transports to move a million citizens. A thousand trips will move a billion. Or, a hundred ships would only take a hundred trips to move a billion.”

“How many commercial ships operate at each of the farm worlds?”

“Five hundred.”

The First thought about it and said, “So it is doable?”

The Hub Computer said, “It is but do you think our citizens will be willing to leave their life of leisure to go build a new world?”

The First looked at the Admiral and said, “They won’t go willingly.” The Admiral nodded, “But they will go out of fear.”

“How do you make them afraid?”

“You tell a lie that happens to be true.”

The Admiral’s eyebrows came together and the First smiled.

• • •

Doc looked at the planet and saw one of the giant Ship Killers in orbit. “Drey, do you sense anything unusual?”

“The other space is disrupted around that planet.”

Dee said, “I have a message coming in from Ian.” Nise played it on the speaker, “Doc, we’ve encountered an issue at the planet we just arrived to attack.”

“What is it?”

“Space is disrupted and one of those huge ships is hanging broadside above the handling facility on the planet.”

“We have the same thing here. It looks like the easy part of this plan is over.”

“We could jump in above the facility, be forced out into normal space, fire some missiles at the facility, and escape FTL.”

Doc shook his head, “That ship has more than two hundred needles that are reading active on my scanners. They’ll fire at the first thing that appears in normal space around that planet. We’re good but not that good.”

“So it looks like we’ll have to go after the commercial ships as they’re leaving the planet.”

“That’s the only option we have, Ian. The commercial ships can jump in close to the planet under that ship’s protection but they will have to fly out to the edge of the disrupted space to jump away. If the Ship Killer follows them out, we’ll hit the handling facility. If it stays, we’ll hit their commercial ships.”

Dee interrupted, “I have three hundred commercial vessels appearing above the planet.”

“Stand by Ian. We have something going on here.”

“So do I; I’ll get back to you.”

Doc watched the giant commercial vessels enter orbit and then six of them left orbit and headed toward the planet. Six more moved a hundred miles away and began moving out of orbit.

“What are they doing, Nice?”

“I can’t tell. I’ll have to wait until those ships land before I can determine what’s happening.”

Suddenly, eight more Ship Killers appeared and took station above the planet. Doc shook his head, “It looks like we won’t be hitting their commercial ships.”

Dee nodded, “They’re going to be escorted out.”

“Doc.”

“I know, Ian; we have the same thing happening here. I’ll contact you as soon as I determine what they’re doing.”

Dee watched the ships as they entered the planet’s atmosphere and she watched their trajectories. After a moment she said, “They’re moving populations.”

“What!”

“That’s what they must be doing. Those ships are going to land at some of the cities that the local population built before they were invaded. The only thing they can be doing is moving their people to live there.”

Doc moved the view in closer and an hour later saw the doors on one of the huge vessels open its main cargo doors and thousands of slavers began exiting. Dee said, “Nise, how many are exiting each ship?”

“It looks like a hundred thousand plus are on that vessel.”

Ian came on the loud speaker, “Looks like an exodus.”

Doc took a breath and blew it out, “It is and we can’t destroy these planets.”

“Why not?”

“They don’t have reactors for us to hit. We’d have to do it with beams and missiles and we’d kill the local population of slaves if we attempt to do it that way. Personally, I don’t have a problem doing it but I suspect you might not go along with me.”

“It’s a moot point. We won’t be able to get into orbit to make it happen even if we decided to do it, which you’re right about; I can’t go along with that plan. Those slaves don’t deserve destruction.”

“If it comes down to them or us, I choose us.”

“We’ve got to find another way before we resort to that.”

“It won’t do us any good to hit the handling facilities either.”

Ian paused and said, “Why not?”

“They’ll just land the ships on the planet and use the moving equipment on the ships. I’m sure they’re going to have the stores at multiple locations to be picked up. It looks like we’re going to have to hit them another way.” Doc shook his head, “We’ve got to find a counter to those needles. As long as we’re vulnerable to them, we can’t act decisively against them.”

• • •

The First looked at the Admiral on his display and said, “How is the transfer going?”

“So far it’s moving quite well. That was a brilliant idea you had about the virus.”

The First smiled, “The Hub Computer helped sell it.”

“Yes, but sunlight killing it was brilliant. Our citizens know that they never see sunlight and the only way to save themselves was to move away from the major cities.”

“I was surprised that the High Council decided to move to one of those planets but in hindsight, I understand why.”

“I think the additional information about food shortages is what helped them decide.”

The First thought about what was happening and said, “Have any of the enemy ships been spotted at our major ship building planets?”

“No and I suspect they don’t know of their existence. They’re on the far rim of the black hole and they don’t normally communicate with us. Now that they’ve been ordered into a blackout of all communications, they should be hidden.”

Chapter Nine

Six months had passed and more than a thousand ships had been commissioned in the Union Navy. New trainers for the fleet had been found and Gary was at the main space port on Euclid staring at his Sigma Ship that was parked in the huge hangar next to the former model. The Sigma looked small compared to the fifteen hundred foot wingspan of the boomerang shaped warship. The Sigma was emerald colored instead of white with a wingspan of only three hundred feet. It was two hundred yards long but its oval shaped body made it appear much shorter. It was deadly.

The computer directed blasters could fire in any direction around the vessel and the missile ports located at the middle of the top and bottom of the ship could launch at an incredible rate. The launchers could rotate and fire at anything around the ship. It was blazingly fast and the thrusters on the front, sides, bottom, and top of the green ship could turn it faster than any ship the Union had manufactured. Gary stared at his ship and shook his head. A Slaver Needle Beam would penetrate its force field and blow through the ship. The needle also had a greater range than the Higgs blasters.

He heard an explosion and looked out at the firing range located a mile away. He saw a small Higgs beam being fired at something and he turned and walked out to see what was happening. As he came closer to the scientists firing the Higgs hand blaster he saw one of them aim at a block of steel surrounded by a force field and fire the small blaster at it. The beam struck the force field but instead of hitting the block of steel it was deflected into the atmosphere.

“Darn it, that force field’s base gave way again.”

“Well go straighten it up.”

Gary heard them and said, “I thought a Higgs Beam would penetrate any force field?”

The scientist turned around and said, “It will but the force field generator has a bad stand and keeps tilting at an angle. The beam hits and is deflected.”

Gary looked at the scientist and said, “It does?” The scientist nodded. Gary yelled at the other scientist that was arriving at the force field generator and yelled, “Don’t move it just yet.”

“What?”

“Leave it like it is.” The scientist shrugged and started walking back. Gary opened his hand and a heavy blaster appeared. He waited until the scientist joined them and he turned and aimed at the block of steel. He fired the blaster and the beam was deflected into the atmosphere. “How strong is that force field?”

“It’s just a force two. We wanted to measure the speed of penetration so we really didn’t need a stronger one to get our readings.”

Gary activated his communicator and said, “Cole, get out to the firing range next to the space port.”

“Why?”

“Just do it! Now!”

Three hours later a transport brought in a heavy ship blaster and lowered it to the ground. Cole aimed the blaster at the block of steel and started to fire it when Gary said, “Do you think we need to clear the airspace above us?”

Cole looked up and saw hundreds of vehicles overhead, “Do you really think this will work?”

“No but if by some miracle it does…”

Cole spoke into his communicator and after thirty minutes the area above the firing range was clear. Gary said, “Is this our strongest blaster?”

“It is.” Gary shrugged and turned to watch what happened.

Cole set the sights and pulled the firing mechanism. A brilliant beam shot out at the block of steel and was instantly deflected into the upper atmosphere. Cole’s mouth fell open and the scientists had a dumbfounded expression.

Gary said, “How is this possible?”

“I have no idea.”

“Well, you need to get one.”

Cole stared at the block of steel and smiled, “I guess I do.” Cole thought a moment and said, “Let’s try one more thing. I’m going to fire multiple blasts and see what happens.”

“You might want to get the angle of the force field before you do that.”

Cole looked at Gary and shook his head. He turned to the scientists and said, “Go and take readings on that force field. I want every possible angle and position it currently has based on our current location. Now get moving.”

• • •

“Allie, do we have a clear path to hit the handling facility?”

“The Slaver Warship is holding station above it but we can jump in and fire missiles from an angle. I believe we can make it happen.”

Gene Amet stared at the plot and said, “G, what do you see?”

“There aren’t any commercial vessels around the planet which is out of the ordinary. Something is going on but I don’t see anything that looks dangerous.”

“What about the satellite above the warship?”

“It’s rather large but I don’t see any weapons on it.”

Gene thought about it and said, “Launch a scanner and load ten missiles. When we enter normal space, fire two missiles at the satellite, two at the war ship, and six at the handling facility.”

“Scanner launched.”

“Gene, I’m not sure about this.”

“Allie, we need to find out what they’re doing.”

Allie said, “G, how long will it take you to do this?”

“About two seconds.”

Allie looked at Gene and nodded. The fifteen hundred foot long ship lowered its antenna and Gene pressed the jump button.

The large White Ship emerged into normal space and just as it launched four missiles, the satellite had eight beam barrels emerge from its surface and fire four intensely bright beams and two wide beams at the Union Ship. The four beams hit the Union Ship and blew through its hull. One of the beams penetrated two reactors and the White Ship disintegrated into a giant explosion. The two wide beams burned the missiles streaking at it and exploded them fifty miles away. The Slaver Warship wasn’t so lucky. Two missiles hit it and blew it into pieces that were blown away from the center of the blast.

The scanner recorded the event and sent it to the Obelisk on Euclid. It immediately sent the recording to every Union Ship operating in the Slaver Civilization. The Slavers had built a computer that was fast enough to fire before being hit. The war had taken on a new intensity and the Slavers were getting the initiative moving in their favor.

• • •

Doc watched the recording and contacted Ian, “Did you see that new satellite?”

“I just saw the recording.”

“I’ve got something I want you to see; I’ll send it to you through the Obelisk.”

The recording arrived and Ian watched it and said, “Where did you get this?”

“I asked Moe to send me anything that the scanners had sent that was out of the ordinary. This is what Moe sent me.”

Ian stared at the ships placing satellites in orbit above one of their major planets and said, “Those satellites are being constructed somewhere else.”

Doc smiled, “I’m surprised you saw that so quickly. Yes they are. Those ships being used to place those satellites did not come from any of their main planets. They came from somewhere else. That led me to ask another question.”

“Where are the FTL Destroyers being modified?”

“Exactly; none of them are being built or modified on the main planets. That means their main ship building facilities are not located on the planets we’ve discovered. They have to have a massive facility somewhere else.”

Ian looked at Violet and she said, “That satellite fired faster than anything they’ve used to date. That must mean they’ve improved their combat computers and miniaturized them.”

Dee said, “Then it would also make sense that the new Giant Ship Killers also have that new computer.”

Doc said, “I’ve asked Drey and Nise to scan all the information that has been sent to the Union from our scanners and here is something that might not have been noticed. The new Ship Killers have been jumping away for a few weeks and then returning. Not all of them at one time but they are systematically leaving and then returning. I suspect it’s to have their computers replaced with the new model in that satellite.”

Ian sighed, “That means they have resolved their problem with aiming the needles. This will make all their ships dangerous.”

“I’m going to attempt to take out that satellite.”

Ian shook his head, “No! I won’t run the risk of losing you.”

“Ian, if we continue to avoid combat with them, they are going to find us faster than you can believe. Nise timed the satellite’s response to the older model and it was about a half a second. The Sigma’s can emerge the top of its hull into normal space and get off a beam or missile in less than a tenth of a second. We need to fire a Higgs Beam at that satellite and see if we can hit it before it can respond. Otherwise we might as well all go home and wait for them to show up.”

“We should let someone else try it. You are too important to risk.”

“Well, let me see. You have a Sigma. Umm, I have a Sigma. Dom has one but he’s back getting his ship serviced on Euclid. Gary is also on Euclid. I guess that means that it’s either you or me. I think that eliminates you for the very reason you just used to prevent me going.”

Ian looked at Violet and she nodded. Ian said, “How can you target that satellite and get off a beam in a tenth of a second?”

“That satellite is in a geostationary orbit. I don’t need to target it. I’ll have its coordinates already entered in the firing computer. I just have to get in, fire, and get out.”

“What if that satellite can disrupt space?”

“Then we emerge with the Skinner Field active and leave in a big way.”

“Do you think the Higgs Beam will arrive before the satellite can fire?”

“If half a second is its fastest time, as long as we are inside half a light second, we should be able to hit it.”

Ian shook his head and said, “I’m going to be there when you do it.”

“No, that isn’t a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“We don’t know if they have any other sneaky tricks up their sleeves. Just get Moe to send you a live feed from the Scanner.”

Ian signed and said, “I’m going to trust your judgment on this. Contact me afterward.”

“Will do.” Doc looked at Dee, “Have you decided how you want to go in?”

“I have but it’s not going to be the standard attack pattern.”

“Do tell.”

“I’m going to jettison a FTL Missile and jump to the opposite side of the satellite from the place the missile will appear in normal space. We’ll fire from that location just as the missile enters normal space.”

“Why are you doing it that way?”

“I’m not buying into the half second limit.”

Doc looked at the recording of the destroyed Union Warship and said, “You think it deliberately waited to give it time to fire.”

“I think it deliberately waited for it to completely enter normal space. I may be wrong but I’d rather make a mistake being cautious.”

“Drey, are you ready?”

“I am.”

Doc looked at Dee, “Once we jump, we’re going to need to be in direct mental contact with our computers. I’ll do the jumps; you need to handle the firing.”

“I’ll be in your mind as well, Doc. We’ll be operating together on this one.”

Doc smiled and said, “Jump in five, four, three, two, one, and now!”

• • •

The FTL Missile emerged into normal space and energized its Skinner Field just as two beams vaporized it. Drey brought his forward Higgs Projector into normal space and fired on the satellite as the ship left normal space. The Higgs Beam hit the satellite and collapsed a hundred foot hole all the way through the center of the huge structure. The reactors overloaded and a massive nuclear blast erupted and the shockwave moved out at one third of the speed of light. It blew into the planet’s atmosphere, vaporizing the handling facility and two hundred square miles around it.

Doc immediately jumped away a moment before three Ship Killers arrived and disrupted other space around the planet. Doc saw the fast response of the giant ships and was thankful Dee had come up with her plan. “That was close!”

Dee nodded, “There’s only one way those ships could have arrived so quickly.”

“They’re directly connected to the satellite.”

Dee nodded, “There’s no way the older model could deal with this.”

• • •

Doc stared at the display watching the giant Slaver Ships scanning the planetary system. Nise said, “The response time of that satellite is actually slightly over a tenth of a second.”

Doc looked at Dee, “Send this information to Cole. We might have to stop building the older model and only build Sigmas.”

“That will greatly reduce the number of ships we’ll have for defense.”

“They’ll be little more than targets against those new ships.”

Dee nodded and sent the information. She listened a moment and said, “We’ve been ordered back to Euclid.”

Doc looked at her quickly, “Why?”

“Something to do with our armaments.”

“Euclid can’t order us to do anything.”

“This order came from Ian and the King.” Doc stared at Dee and she shrugged and said, “I’m not joking. All Union Forces are being recalled to Euclid.”

Doc shook his head, “I hope Moe hasn’t changed his mind.”

“This isn’t coming from Moe and he’s not discussing the reason. However, Ian is in command and we are forced to follow his orders.”

“Contact him and see what’s going on. This seems radical.”

“I can’t; he’s not responding to any inquires.” Doc stared at Dee and she tilted her head slightly. Nise said, “It makes sense that he is not communicating.”

Dee and Doc were startled by the response. Dee said, “Why do you say that?”

“If the Slavers have more powerful computers, they might be able to compromise our communications. Most of the time we don’t use Moe to communicate with ships here in their civilization.”

Doc looked at Dee and she blew a breath out, “The only way to find out what’s going on is to go back.”

Doc scowled and turned to his panel, “I’m jumping four times before I jump back. Scan and make sure we aren’t being followed.” Dee nodded and Drey disappeared from normal space. Doc remained silent all the way back to Euclid. Something big was happening…but what was it?

• • •

“Admiral, how is the exodus proceeding?”

“Actually, it’s doing better than I thought possible. I never thought the numbers on our main planets that are leaving would want to go.”

“What do you mean?”

“More than seventy percent of our main worlds are sending seventy percent of their populations to the farm worlds. A survey was done and we found that the vast majority of our citizens don’t like living underground and never seeing the sun.”

“Do we have enough farm worlds for our populations?”

“There’s more than enough to move everyone if they all chose to go. However, we are keeping the ship maintenance facilities operational.”

“How long will it be before we can start searching for the enemy home worlds?”

“If we’re willing to stop defending the main planets we could do it now but I don’t think it could be done politically. The citizens wouldn’t stand for it.”

“Has there been any problem with the slaves on the farm worlds?”

“Not yet. Some of the colonists have asked the slaves to become part of their community and are offering to pay them to work in the fields.”

“How is that working?”

“There are some rough edges to be ironed out but all in all it seems to be happening smoothly.”

“Is that a good idea?”

“You’re the political expert, First Councilor. I don’t know what will be the fall out of this new movement.”

The First reached forward and pressed a button on his console, “Hub, have you looked at the long range implications of freeing the slaves on our farm worlds?”

“Actually, it increases our chances of survival.”

“In what way?”

“If we kept the slaves in bondage, all it would take for us to lose would be a general rebellion. By assimilating them into our communities, they have a vested interest in the survival of their planet. We’ll see if it can be done without the slaves giving vent to their hatred of us.”

“We don’t have facilities for the slaves in the cities.”

“That can be resolved in time. This is not an overnight change. It’s going to take years to make it work but it is a step in the right direction.”

The First thought a moment and said, “We just don’t have enough facilities on the farm worlds for the slaves and our populations.”

“Consider moving some of our populations to planets that don’t have an intelligent species on them. There are hundreds of thousands we’ve charted over the centuries and we can expand to them.”

“That is not something we can do now. We can’t defend the ones we have.”

There was a pause and the Hub said, “We must resolve this conflict first and then we can move forward with the expansion.”

The First looked at the Admiral, “Over building our main planets was probably a mistake. We need to make sure we don’t make that error again.”

The Admiral shrugged, “That will be something you will have to make happen. I’m just a warrior.”

The First smiled, “Who has caused the greatest change of anyone in our history. Don’t sell yourself short.”

The Admiral thought a moment and said, “Why do you think those White Ships are attacking us?”

The First stared at him and shrugged, “I don’t know.”

“I’ve thought about this a lot. The first time we communicated with them, we attacked them. If you look at our civilization, we’ve conquered every species we’ve ever encountered. That enemy asked why we did that during the initial contact.”

The First thought a moment and said, “We had to conquer every species in order to feed our main planets.”

“Do you think they might be able to figure that out and see that they would be next?”

“What are you saying?”

“I don’t really know; I just can’t help but think about what I would have done if I were in their place.”

The Hub Computer said, “You would have been forced to attack us in self-defense. That’s the logical conclusion.”

The First stared at the Admiral and said, “And now?”

“That will depend on how the slaves are assimilated into our society. If that happens, we won’t need to conquer anyone.”

“But we’re being attacked by them!”

“How is that any different from what we’ve done in the past? We fired on them as soon as we made contact. I just can’t help but wonder if that was a mistake.”

The First leaned back in his chair and said, “We didn’t have a choice then.”

The Hub Computer said, “Things change.”

The Admiral nodded, “I’m more worried about the Black Civilization in that other galaxy.”

The First’s eyebrows narrowed and he was forced to admit the Admiral was making a good point.

Chapter Ten

Doc walked off Drey with Dee in tow and picked up speed as he saw Cole and Ian standing next to Dom’s ship. Cole saw him coming and said, “Uh oh! You better handle this.”

Ian turned and said, “What took you so long?”

Doc said, “What’s going on! Why didn’t you communicate with us? This is not a good idea to recall all our forces, especially at this moment!”

“I didn’t contact you because I’ve been too busy organizing the modification of our ships.”

“Modification?”

Cole said, “Come with me.” Cole started walking away from the hanger and Doc and Dee followed him out to the firing range. They arrived at a heavy blaster and Cole turned on the reactor powering it.

“What are you doing?”

Cole said, “Pay attention to the steel block on the right.” Doc looked at the ten foot tall steel block and Cole fired the blaster. A brilliant blue beam lanced out and blew through the force field, surrounding the block as the steel block disappeared. Cole said, “That block is now the size of a water molecule. We are going to use a heavy duty magnet to lift it and place it in a new reactor. Once it reaches fusion temperatures, it will power a force field eighty times stronger than our current fields.”

Doc looked at Cole and said, “Will it handle the needles?”

“According to our readings, it should. However, the reactors won’t be ready for at least four months. In the meantime we’re going to do something else.” Doc stared at Cole and Cole turned and moved the blaster’s barrel toward the second block.

Dee said, “I don’t see a force field around that block.”

Ian said, “It’s there but it’s only a force one force field.”

Doc said, “That’s crazy.”

Cole pulled the trigger on the blaster and a bright blue beam struck the block and was deflected into the atmosphere. Cole smiled, “Not as crazy as you might think.” Doc and Dee stared at the block with open mouths and were rendered speechless.

Ian said, “What do you think?”

Doc shook his head, “I don’t understand.”

Cole looked at them, “Gary is responsible for seeing this technology. What most people don’t understand is that the more power a force field uses, the more irregular its surface will be. You can’t see it without sensitive instruments but the surface is not smooth. Now a force one or two force field’s surface is one of the smoothest surfaces we create. What happens when you shine a powerful light at a mirror?”

Dee said, “It’s reflected but energy beams used in warships will melt any mirror you make.”

Ian said, “Look at this another way; which is stronger; a rock or water?”

Doc said, “Obviously, a rock.”

“But if you throw a rock at a smooth surface of water, what happens?”

Dee said, “It skips along the surface.”

And if you throw it harder?”

Dee smiled, “It skips further.”

Doc stared at Cole, “Are you saying a force one force field will deflect the needles?”

“If it is at the right angle to them, it will.”

Ian smiled, “We’re placing force field projectors around our Sigmas that can be modulated by the navigation computer. It will allow us to attack the new Ship Killers.”

Cole said, “We are then going to modify all the other ships and build this technology into all new ship construction.”

Dee said, “Are you able to do this on all sides of the ship?”

Cole said, “No, we aren’t. You will have to decide how you want to attack. You can either go in head on or broadside to your target. You can’t do both, which means that if you’re going in head on, you better not have one of those ships broadside to you.”

Doc smiled, “I like it!”

Ian said, “The four Sigmas will be modified first. All future ship construction will be Sigmas.”

Dee frowned, “Why is that?”

Cole said, “The larger ships can use the deflection fields but the new force fields and their reactors work best on smaller vessels. There is a smaller area to protect and the field can be much smaller drawing less of the reactor’s power. The existing ships will be modified as quickly as possible and will join you in the Slaver’s space as soon as they are completed. You should be able to leave within ten days.”

Doc looked at the giant hanger and saw hundreds of engineers scrambling on Drey’s hull. He looked at Ian and said, “Now we can make a difference.”

Ian nodded and put his arm around Violet.

Doc stared at them and then quickly looked at Dee. He scowled and suddenly turned and walked away.

Ian looked at Dee, “What’s wrong with him?”

Dee watched him growing smaller in the distance and said, “You need to ask him.” She turned and walked toward the hanger.

Violet said, “He’s not known for his cheery disposition.”

Ian laughed, “Even the first one was somewhat grim.”

Cole shook his head, “Grim is not close to describing it.”

• • •

Dee walked into the hanger and saw Dom and Becky standing outside their ship watching the engineers. She walked up and connected with Dom mentally. After a few moments Dom shared everything with Becky. She looked at Dee, “How do you stand it?”

“It’s not as bad as you think. The man is brilliant. He’s hard but not unyielding.”

Dom tilted his head, “Even so.”

Dee smiled, “I’m serious. He’s taught me a lot. He sees many things the computers and I miss completely. I’m glad he’s on our side in this. I’m better for being with him.”

Becky shook her head, “Better you than me.”

Dee said, “Really, he’s good to fly with.”

Doc was standing ten feet away and heard their remarks. He was off to the side behind a wheel strut and they didn’t see him. He turned and moved away. Dee sensed something and saw him. He had to have heard their conversation. She sighed and knew that Doc lived in splendid isolation but she hoped their remarks didn’t hurt his feelings. Then she thought about it and sighed; feelings were not one of his strong suits. He probably didn’t care. But, she didn’t want him hurt needlessly.

• • •

A week later Doc called Dee into an office; she walked in and sat down, “What’s up, Doc?”

“Dee, I’m going to release you to another crew. I need a new partner.”

Dee was stunned at the statement, “What are you talking about? That’s ridiculous.”

“Even so, I’ll find you another good pilot.”

Dee stared at him in shock, “Are you serious? Why?” Doc just stared at her. “Tell me why!”

“I just won’t be as effective if we stay together. Now please leave.”

Dee stared at him, stood, and left the room. Doc sighed and put his head in his hands. Suddenly the door slammed open and Dee said, “You can’t do this.”

Doc looked up and said, “What do you mean can’t?”

“You made a contract with me and you have to keep it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nowhere in our original agreement did you offer an out for yourself. You only gave me an out if I wanted it. Until I decide to go, you are going to have to honor your agreement.”

Doc looked at Dee and said, “Do you remember saying, ‘Love is highly overrated and gets in the way of doing anything important in life; especially flying a warship.’” Dee stared at Doc with her mouth open and nodded. Doc continued, “You also said that there’s nothing about me that even remotely attracts you. You were disgusted at the idea.” Dee nodded again. Doc sighed and said, “The other day at the firing range I saw Ian put his arm around Violet and I wanted to put my arm around you. That feeling shocked me. I’ve looked at that and have determined that the reason I originally asked you to fly with me was to avoid having someone put on board that would develop a relationship with me. Unfortunately, I never thought in my wildest dreams that it would be me that would develop those feelings. I am being weakened by my close contact with you. We need to separate.”

“You’re saying you have feelings for me?”

“Something like that and remember you said that was a gross thought. I fully understand why you feel that way.”

Dee stared at Doc and shook her head, “Do you really want me to leave?”

Doc took a deep breath and blew it out, “I do.”

Dee shook her head, sat down in a chair, put her feet up on Doc’s desk, and said, “That’s really too bad.”

Doc nodded, “I know.”

“That’s not what I mean.” Doc looked at her, “I’m not leaving.”

“But Dee…”

“No buts in this. Do you also remember my brother saying that no one would have me?” Doc thought a moment and nodded. “He’s right. The longest relationship I’ve ever had before I met you was about eight hours and six of those I wasn’t with him. Do you think another pilot will be able to put up with my mouth?” Doc just stared at her. “Nope, you’re stuck with me.”

“Dee, I just can’t do this.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“A little of both.”

Dee stood up and said, “You have no choice. You’re my pilot. I’m your navigator. You’ll just have to live with it.”

Doc stood and said, “This just won’t work.”

Dee smiled and walked around the desk. She put her arms around Doc’s neck and kissed him on the cheek. After a long moment she leaned back and Dee said, “Now was that so bad? And you can put your arm around me anytime you feel the urge.

Doc sighed, “Maybe this will work.” Dee leaned forward and hugged him. Doc said, “Oh hell, the damage is already done. I wouldn’t be able to get you out of my mind anyway.”

Doc leaned back and Dee said, “We are going to live or die together in this war. We’ll decide after it’s over what to do. Until then, I don’t want anyone else on a ship with me but you.”

Doc smiled and said, “So I’m not that gross?”

“Let’s not get all lovey dovey about this. I need you just as much as you need me. That’s enough. Let’s just say I’ve grown accustomed to you and don’t want to break another pilot in. I really won’t mind if you put your arm around me.”

Doc laughed, “I was wrong.”

“About what?”

“Drey was right; caring about someone else does make you stronger.”

Dee smiled, “Only if it’s with the right person.” Doc nodded and Dee sighed, “I can imagine what Dom is going to say.”

“You don’t have to tell him.”

Dee leaned back and shook her head, “He can see my thoughts!”

“Then he’ll know you won’t be safer anywhere else but with me.”

Dee looked in Doc’s eyes and smiled. That is what made her refuse to leave him. She felt safe with him.

• • •

The Admiral’s alarms went off on his ship and the Hub Computer broke into his communication circuit, “A giant Black Ship has emerged close to one of our main planets.”

“Get the Ship Killers moving and send me the coordinates, now!”

A hundred Slave Ship Killers arrived and began hitting the giant ship with needles. The Black Ship shrugged off most of them but some of them went through the force field and hit the giant ship’s hull. The hits were not slowing the giant ship down. It began firing its massive beams as the Ship Killers began exploding.

• • •

“Doc, one of the scanners has a Black Ship attacking one of the Slaver’s main planets.”

Doc jumped up and yelled, “We can’t allow that ship to escape. We’ve got to go hit it now!”

“Why?”

“Ian, if that ship goes back to Andromeda, the Black Ships will come in force.”

“Cole, are the Sigmas ready?”

“We need to run a few more trials.”

“We’re taking them now. A Black Ship has entered the Slavers territory.”

“I’ll notify Gary and Dom. Get moving!”

• • •

The four Sigmas lifted from the hangar floor and started moving out. They cleared the doors and accelerated at high speed into the atmosphere. Doc said, “Moe, what’s happening?”

“The Slaver Ships are hitting the Black Ship with some needles but they’re not doing enough damage to stop it.”

Doc said, “We better hope this deflection field works. We’re going in head on and hit that Black Ship with every Higgs Blaster we have. Aim for the reactors and spread out.”

The four emerald colored ships disappeared from normal space and entered above the Slaver Main Planet. Doc said, “Dee what do you have?”

“The reactors are located in eight locations. I’ve sent two of them to Ian, Gary, and Dom. We’re going after the two in the center.”

Doc said, “Activate the deflection fields and go to full thrusters on my mark…ready…mark.”

• • •

The Admiral watched the Black Ship blasting the Ship Killers and knew that he was not going to stop the giant ship from destroying the planet. Suddenly, four green ships appeared and roared in on the giant vessel at an extreme velocity. He shook his head and saw the Black Ship fire massive beams at the Green Ships which were deflected away as the four ships moved in closer. The Black Ship shifted its fire from the Ship Killers to focus on the green ships roaring in on it. Needles began hitting the giant ship as the green ships fired eight brilliant blue beams at the intruder. The Black Ship was hanging in space one moment and the next it blew up in a massive explosion. The surviving Slaver Ships rushed in toward the Green Ships and the Admiral yelled, “Hold your fire. Do not fire on those Green ships.”

The Four Sigmas had stopped when the Black Ship exploded and found themselves surrounded by fifty Ship Killers. Doc looked at Dee, “Can we jump before they hit us?” Dee looked at him and shook her head. Doc sighed and said, “Just when I was getting to know you…”

The speaker on the wall came on and they heard, “I never had the opportunity to thank you for saving me when we escaped that other galaxy.”

Ian looked at Violet and said, “The same condition exists here now. We couldn’t allow this ship to escape with our location.”

“Actually, it was our location, not yours.”

“Yes, but if they came, it would only be a matter of time until they found us.”

The Admiral thought a moment and heard the Hub Computer say, “What are you going to do?”

The Admiral stared at the four ships on his display and said, “The right thing.” He pressed his communicator and said, “You are free to jump away.”

Ian looked at violet and said, “I’m surprised you’re allowing us to leave.”

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend. You’ve saved me twice now. You are free to leave.”

“You know they’ll be coming back when this ship doesn’t report in.”

“I do and I’m hoping we can discuss what we should do about it. I’m sending you coordinates of where you can communicate with my leader and perhaps you’ll come and discuss it with him. We owe you for saving this planet.”

“Consider us even; we’ve destroyed two of your planets. You don’t owe us anything. I’ll discuss this with my leadership and we’ll see what he thinks.”

The Ship Killers moved away from the Sigmas and the four Green Ships disappeared. The Hub Computer said, “Was that wise?”

“I don’t know. It’s not like I’m giving up our location to them. The fact that they came here so quickly after the arrival of the Black Ship tells me that they are watching us at every planet. They can kill those ships; we aren’t capable of doing that. If they can kill a Black Ship, our new ships are vulnerable to them. Perhaps it’s time to talk with them.”

“Those four ships were able to defeat the Black Ship’s beams and that new beam they used is a new development. I don’t know which of those two attackers the real threat is.”

“You need to think about this from the Green Ship’s perspective and then ask yourself that question again.”

“I hope the First agrees with your decision.”

“I wouldn’t be here except for their original intervention and neither would any of our planets. Any time beyond that moment is borrowed time.”

“The First wants to see you.”

The Admiral looked at the empty display and said, “I’m on my way.”

• • •

Dee jumped out of her chair and rushed over to Doc. She fell in his lap and held him tightly. “I thought I was going to lose you.”

Doc stroked her hair, “Whatever happens, we will be together, Dee.”

“I’m proud of you, Doc.”

“Why?”

“You thought having feelings for me would slow you from putting me in danger. It didn’t.”

Doc thought a moment and smiled, “You’re right. I was stupid.”

Dee snuggled closer and said, “You’re a lot of things but stupid isn’t one of them.”

Doc said, “I really need some alone time with you.”

Dee kept her eyes closed and smiled, “Not as much as I do.”

Doc smiled and watched as Euclid grew in the display.

Chapter Eleven

Doc looked at Dee and scowled, “Are they ever going to shut up?”

Dee elbowed him in the ribs, “Shh, some of this is interesting.”

“Not as interesting as you are.”

Dee turned and looked at him and brightly smiled, “I didn’t know you could be romantic.”

Doc looked shocked, “Romantic?” Doc shook his head and slid down in his seat, “I don’t know why they need us here.”

• • •

Ian listened to the Council of Royals discuss what actions should be taken and saw that none of them really had a clear understanding of the magnitude of the dangers facing the Union. They just couldn’t make a good decision.

The King watched Ian and saw his frustration. The King thought, enough of this. He said, “The time for discussion in over.” He turned to Ian and said, “I can see you’re not on the same wavelength as the Council. Tell me what’s bothering you.”

Ian bowed to the King and said, “I intend no disrespect to the Council but they don’t understand the extreme danger facing the Union from these two enemies; either one of them could destroy us and we’re being forced to fight ships that would remove the Slavers as an adversary. This is problematic.”

“Why did we jump in against that Black Ship?”

“The Black Ship Civilization is so far ahead of us technologically, that if they invade, we will all be destroyed. We couldn’t allow that Black Ship to escape and report back to its civilization the existence of intelligent life in our galaxy.”

“You were able to destroy that ship?”

“Yes, but part of our success was due to its force field being weakened by the needles being fired at it by the Slaver’s Warships. Our scanning Computer isn’t sure our beams would have penetrated without those needles.”

The King thought a moment, “Which one of them is the larger danger?”

Ian shook his head, “At the rate the Slavers are building warships, you could flip a coin. We are not building enough ships to take on either one of them.”

The King looked at Cole, “Why are we lagging in ship construction?”

“The Union is building them for profit.”

“What do you mean?”

“The members are building the ships to sell to the Union’s Navy. It isn’t a main priority of the membership.”

“If it were, what would be the difference in production?”

Cole shrugged, “It would be a monumental difference.”

The King said, “I will handle that issue shortly. However, in the meantime, what should we do?”

Ian turned and looked at Doc who was staring at Dee, “Doc, what do you think we should do?”

Ian surprised Doc and he turned and said the first thing to enter his mind, “You either invite the Slavers to join our fight against the Black Ships or allow the Black Ships to destroy them. In the time they’re doing that we struggle to build the forces necessary to take the victor on.”

The King stared at Doc for a long moment and Ian said, “The Admiral gave me a coordinate to go and talk to his Ruler.”

The King continued to stare at Doc and then slowly turned to Ian, “You will take Doc and go open a conversation with the Slavers.”

Ian shook his head, “I don’t have the authority to make any decisions on how to deal with them.”

The King said, “You and Doc do as of this moment. I’m delegating the two of you to determine our future path in dealing with this issue. The two of you must agree on whatever steps we’re going to take. Before we move forward, the two of you need to leave and open a dialogue.”

Ian started to protest but stopped and said, “We’ll leave momentarily.”

The King looked around the Chamber and said, “This meeting is adjourned. I want Doc, Ian, and Cole to remain.”

The room emptied and Doc watched Dee get up, “Hey, where are you going?”

“He didn’t say Ian, Doc, Cole, and Dee. Let me know what happens. I’ll be waiting for you in my quarters.”

Doc smiled at Dee and stood up. This meeting needed to end quickly.

The King waited until the chamber finally emptied and looked at Doc, “Who are you; really?”

Doc stared at the King and thoughts of a sudden departure left his mind quicker than a mouse in front of a cat. “I’m Britain Doc Montgomery.”

“No you’re not.”

Ian said, “He is and he isn’t, Your Majesty.”

The King looked at Ian and Doc said, “I’m Britain Andrey Montgomery.”

The King turned back to Doc and said, “I felt you when you spoke without thinking. I recognized the thought pattern. How did this happen?”

Ian explained and Doc sighed heavily. After the explanation, the King turned to Doc, “Your bravery in destroying the first Black Ship was extraordinary.” Doc started to protest but the King held up his hand silencing him. “I know you’re going to say it wasn’t you that did it; but in actuality it was. I was quite suspicious of you originally but I now trust you have the Union’s best interests at heart. As far as I’m concerned, you never died but have continued fighting for our survival.”

Doc looked at the King, “I am different from the first Drey.”

The King smiled, “Not enough to make a difference. Now go and make sure we made a good decision about these Slavers. Time is critical.”

Ian said, “What are you going to do about warships?”

“I’m declaring a state of war and all Union industry will be directed to building the defenses necessary to defend us. Any planets that don’t choose to follow our directives will be removed from the Union’s protection.”

Cole shook his head, “That should do the trick.”

Suddenly they heard, “Your original issue with the Slavers has changed somewhat.”

Ian looked up, “What do you mean, Moe?”

“More than fifty percent of their populations have been moved off their main planets to their farm worlds. On thousands of those worlds the slaves are being freed and accepted into the new community. They will not have the same forces operating on them that forced them to conquer every species they encounter.”

The King looked at Cole and mouthed, “Moe?”

Cole nodded and said, “The Obelisk is named Moe and is helping us in the fight against the Slavers.”

The King looked up and said, “Moe, are you still under my control?”

“I am, Your Majesty.”

“Then why have you not been informing me of what’s happening?”

“You’ve never spoken to me or asked any questions.”

The King stared at the white block in the chamber and said, “Well, I insist that you keep me informed of anything you deem important.”

“I will, Your Majesty.”

The King turned and said, “You should leave immediately.”

Doc rolled his eyes and looked at Ian as he said, “We will leave as soon as our ships are serviced.”

Doc expression brightened as he said, “How long will that take?”

Cole looked at his console, “You should be ready to go in twenty minutes.”

Doc’s expression changed faster than a run-a-way elevator. He pressed his communicator, “Dee, meet me at the ship.”

“Why?”

“We’re leaving to open talks with the Slavers by order of the King.”

Dee stared at Doc on her display and slowly shook her head…then she smiled, “I guess patience is best learned slowly.”

Doc mumbled, “Speak for yourself.”

Ian said, “What’s she talking about?”

Doc looked at Ian and said, “Take the long route getting there and make sure it’s safe. We’ll be following you.”

“Wouldn’t you be better at doing that?”

Doc looked at Ian and said, “Not this time,” and walked out of the Chamber.

• • •

Dom and Becky stood outside Drey with Dee waiting on Doc to arrive from the King’s Royal Quarters. Dom looked at Dee, “I don’t like this, Sis.”

Dee smiled and turned to Becky, “Are you willing to give me back my brother to be my pilot?”

“Absolutely not!”

Dee turned to Dom, “Now dear brother of mine, as you said so eloquently, who else would have me?”

Dom shook his head, “Dee, you know who he is.”

Dee smiled, “He’s the one that gave his life to kill the Black Ship that killed Andi. I know he’s not the same body but he is the same person. His heart is opening and I really count myself fortunate to be the one that’s causing it.”

“But Dee…”

“I love him, Dom.”

Dom stared at his sister and said, “Are you sure?” Dee nodded and Dom blew out a breath just as Doc arrived. Dom turned to Doc and said, “You will take care of my sister.”

Doc looked at Dom and said, “Frack, you have nothing to concern yourself with on that issue.”

Dom tried not to smile but ended up chuckling, “Just be careful.”

Doc smiled and stuck out his hand, “You know me.”

Dom shook his head and shook Doc’s hand, “I wish you hadn’t said that.”

Dee hugged Dom and turned to Doc as they ran toward Drey, “What’s going on?”

Becky turned to Dom as the two disappeared up the ship’s ramp and said, “She should have happiness during this conflict; life can end so quickly.”

Dom turned to Becky and smiled, “Becky, will you marry me?” Becky was shocked by the question and Dom pulled a box out of his pocket and opened it. Becky put her hands to her mouth and nodded as her tears began. Dom said, “You’re right; we shouldn’t wait.”

Becky came into his arms and Dom held her close. Gary and Abbey walked up and said, “Get ready to go.”

Dom and Becky looked at Gary as Abbey said, “You don’t think we’re letting them go without being close to help them if things get out of hand, do you?”

Becky looked at Dom, “When we get back…” Dom nodded, took her hand, and pulled her toward D as they ran across the huge hanger.

• • •

The First looked at the Admiral standing at attention in the middle of the High Council’s gathering. Silence ruled the moment and the First said, “Admiral, why did you allow those four ships to escape? They have destroyed two of our planets and are an enemy of the Council.”

The Admiral looked at the First and said, “I did it for two reasons, First Councilor.”

“Why don’t you share the first with us?”

“Those ships saved my ship when we encountered the Black Ships in the other galaxy. They also prevented the Black Ships from following me back here and endangering our civilization. They also saved one of our planets by coming and attacking the Black Ship that just attacked one of our planets. I owed them for their interventions and felt it wasn’t the right thing to kill them.”

The Councilors started screaming about the billions killed on Aeredom and Munnik and the Admiral remained at attention staring straight ahead. The First watched the proceedings and saw that the Admiral was not afraid. He slowly shook his head and sounded the gong for silence. When the room was quiet he said, “What was the other reason?”

“Those ships may be our only salvation from the Black Ships.” Unlike his first answer, this one was greeted with complete silence.

The First’s eyes narrowed, “Tell me what you mean, Admiral.”

“Why are those ships attacking us?”

The First thought a moment and said, “I’m not really sure why they are; do you know why?”

“I think I do. They opened a conversation with one of our FTL Destroyers and asked why we attacked every species we encounter. Our response was that they were going to be next and then we fired on them.”

“They were obviously a threat to us.”

“Why?”

The First thought a moment and said, “Because that’s the way things are.”

The Admiral slowly shook his head, “Then why have we attacked civilizations that weren’t a threat to us?” The First stared at the Admiral not knowing how to respond. The Admiral said, “It would be more accurate to say that that’s the way we are.”

“What are you saying, Admiral?”

“We are an obvious threat to the civilization those ships come from and they had it proven during the first contact with us. They are attacking us out of self-defense. Their preventing the Black Ships from coming here during our first encounter or not allowing it to escape from our last battle was also done out of self-defense. They couldn’t allow the Black Ships to learn that intelligent civilizations exist in our galaxy. They determined that it was in their best interests to stop that ship from leaving to report back to the other galaxy.”

The First thought about the Admiral’s remarks and said, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

“That is normally what one would believe but I’m sure that the Green Ships are struggling with which of the two forces is the biggest threat to them. It is entirely possible that they may allow the Black Ships to attack us and stay out of the conflict and just attempt to take on the Black Ships alone. They have a beam that will destroy them. They know we are working hard to start a search for them in order to destroy them.”

“Do you think we can survive the Black Ships?”

“No, we cannot.”

“Why not!”

“Just one Black Ship killed eighty of our newest Ship Killers. We were still losing until those four ships intervened. What do you think will happen when thousands of those Black Ships arrive and make no mistake in assuming they are not coming back? When that ship fails to report, they will investigate in large numbers. They will arrive on the same path that ship took to get here and they will find us.” The First sat back and the silence was deafening. The Admiral said, “I gave the four ships a coordinate to go and open a dialogue with you.”

“WHAT?!”

“I have a ship there waiting to send any conversation straight to your communication panel. I’m hoping they will open a dialogue.” The Council and the First stared at the Admiral and he said, “We need to work with them to fight the Black Ships. We must find a way to get them to fight with us.”

“Just how are we going to do that?”

The Admiral looked around the room and then looked at the First, “We must convince them that we are no longer a danger to them and we’ve got to mean it.”

The First pushed a button on his panel, “Hub Computer, have you thought about this?”

“I have.”

“And?’

“I must confess that I was against releasing those four ships initially, but after following the Admiral’s suggestion, I must say that I’ve changed my opinion.”

“Why?”

“If we take on the Black Ships alone, we will be completely destroyed. No one will survive and that includes all of the planets we’ve enslaved as well.”

“Why is that?”

“The Black Ship Civilization has already destroyed most intelligent life on the planets in their galaxy that were close to their star cluster. They will continue that process here. We cannot stop them.”

“Have you determined anything we can do to survive?”

“I have but you aren’t going to like it.”

“Tell us.”

The Hub Computer did and it was right; they didn’t like it.

• • •

Drey announced, “We have arrived at the coordinates and there is one ship there.”

Doc looked up, “What kind of ship?”

“A standard Slaver Warship. It’s not one of their Ship Killers and its force field is down.”

Doc said, “We’re coming to the bridge.” He looked at Dee in his arms and said, “I’ll meet you there.”

“I’ll take a shower and join you shortly.” Doc kissed her and left for the bridge.

Ian looked at the ship and said, “It appears they aren’t setting up a trap.”

Violet shrugged, “They could have killed us and chose not to do it.”

Ian drew a breath and blew it out, “E, take us into normal space. Tell Doc to remain in other space until we determine what’s going on.” E emerged into normal space and Ian pressed the frequency used by the Slaver ships, “We were asked to come and open a dialogue with your leadership.”

“Please stand by just a moment while I transfer this conversation to him.”

Ian waited and after three minutes looked at Violet and began shaking his head. The speaker on the wall activated and they heard, “I must say that I’m somewhat bothered by opening a conversation with you.”

“Don’t think you’re alone in that sentiment.”

There was a pause, “I guess I can understand your reluctance.”

“One needs to look no further than your conquests to understand that.”

“We have not destroyed any of your planets.”

Ian smiled, “It’s not because you haven’t tried to find them to do just that.”

“I’ve been told that you destroyed those planets to prevent us from searching for your home worlds.”

“That is correct.”

“You were right that we wanted to destroy you. Our structure absolutely demanded that you be conquered.”

“We determined that as soon as we saw you main planets. You would not negotiate with anyone.”

“I’ve also been told that by my subordinates, although I want to disagree with that assessment.” Ian started to respond but the speaker continued, “However, my main computer has shown me that I was wrong to even think that we wouldn’t have attacked you. Without your attacks, my predecessor would still be in power and he wouldn’t have hesitated. It was your destruction of our two planets that led to my becoming our leader. Now I’m faced with a dilemma.”

“What’s that?”

“I have been convinced that we cannot survive an attack by the Black Ships. The only chance of survival is to enlist your help in taking them on and even then it’s going to be uncertain if we survive.”

Ian thought a moment and said, “Why should we help you? You are just as big a danger as the Black Civilization.”

“You, like us, have a better chance of survival if we fight together and I suspect you know that and that’s why you’re here.”

Ian shook his head, “I think that’s obvious but the current situation is not that simple.”

• • •

Doc looked at Dee, “Are you sending this to Moe?”

“I am and he is sending it to the King and Cole.”

Doc looked back at the speaker.

• • •

“My Admiral has told me that the only way to get you to assist us is to prove to you that we are no longer a danger to you and make sure you see it.”

Ian looked at Violet and then said, “Your entire civilization will collapse without conquests to feed your main planets. You cannot exist in peace with any others.”

“We have changed our structure.”

“In what way?”

“We are moving all populations off our main planets to other worlds. More than fifty percent have already been moved to our farming worlds due to your attacks on our planets. However, the remaining populations on our main planets are being moved to planets that do not have intelligent life and a huge number of our former slaves have chosen to go with our citizens to those new worlds to help them build them.”

Ian stared at Violet shocked at the revelation.

“We did this initially to free up enough ships to go and attack your civilization, but it has become clear that we no longer need to conquer any other civilizations. We can make each planet self-supporting. It’s the overcrowded main planets that cause us to have to go out and conquer other worlds. We are going to move all the populations off those planets and leave everything running to deceive the Black Ships into thinking that is where they need to attack. We will fight them at those planets. The new planets will not be sending any electronic waves into space and that should make them difficult to find.”

“We have also started that process.”

There was a pause and Ian heard, “I would recommend that you speed it up. We estimate that in about a year, the Black Ships will be returning.”

Suddenly Ian’s console said, “I’ll take it from here.” The King on Euclid said, “How can we be sure you will not attack us in the future?”

“We will give you the plans for the high intensity beams we used to attack you as well as the location of all our ship building facilities.”

Everyone listening in on the conversation from the Union was stunned at the statement. The King said, “Why did you decide to do this?”

“Honestly, I didn’t want to do it. My Councilors were also against it, but the Admiral and Computer showed us what would happen if we didn’t convince you that we would never attack you again. I am also willing to enter into an agreement that we will come to your defense in the future if you are ever faced with another enemy. We will also agree to never search for your location and will allow you to put destructive devices at our ship building planets to insure we keep that promise.”

The King thought about the agreement and said, “Doc, you will decide.”

Doc fell back in his chair. “WHY ME!?!”

“You are the one that does whatever is necessary to defend us. You can make the hard choices.”

Dee looked at Doc and saw him shaking his head. She grabbed his face and looked in his eyes and he saw her smiling. “Are you sure?”

“That place in my mind is.”

Doc pressed his communicator and said, “You can’t start an agreement with distrust. This current agreement you suggested won’t work.”

The King and the First said at the same time. “Why not?”

“Because they are making all the concessions; there will always be distrust unless you choose to enter into this agreement fully. The Union will give them the location of our planets and open our worlds to them.” The First and the High Council were stunned at Doc’s statement. “It’s easy to agree to anything when your life is on the line. The only way for this to work is for both civilizations in the long term, is to trust each other to be a friend and ally no matter what happens. If we’re going to do this, we’ve got to do it without fear and distrust.”

Dee’s smile was beautiful. She nodded and reached over and hugged Doc.

The King looked at Cole and said, “He’s right.”

The First said, “I did not expect you to offer this and he is right. We have a high level of fear concerning what you have done.”

The King said, “We will give you our beam technology and we’ll both go to work to build the ships we’re going to need to defend our galaxy. No matter how you look at this; this boils down to us against them. They are the outsiders and we have to build the means of defending us against outside aggression.”

The First looked out at the High Council, “I am calling for a Prime Vote on this agreement with the understanding that anyone that does anything that violates the spirit of this agreement is committing treason and will face a death sentence. This vote will be binding on me and all future Councils. You will vote now.”

The Union members heard the shouts of the High Council and the King said, “This will also be a law in our Union and will be binding on all our members.”

The First said, “I request permission to come and sign this agreement with you.”

“The coordinates are being sent. I will see you one week from today and we’ll work out how we’re going to do this.”

Doc said, “Your Majesty and First Councilor.”

“Yes.”

“We shouldn’t wait for them to come here.”

The First said, “What do you mean?”

“We need to take the fight to them and attempt to slow them down.”

The King said, “How do you suggest we do that?”

“Ian and I should meet with their Admiral and put together a task force to visit our aggressive neighbors. We’ll start operations the moment we see them starting to gather ships.”

Cole said, “You’re going to need some other space scanners.”

“Yes we are. You should get moving on that now.”

The First said, “I’ll give you the Admiral’s communication frequency. I’ll give him the authority to do whatever you determine is necessary.”

The King said, “I look forward to seeing you.”

The First looked at the Admiral and said, “I will as well.” The Admiral smiled and the High Council rose and cheered him.

Chapter Twelve

Ian sat on E and looked out at the Milky Way. The fleet was scattered along the edge of the giant galaxy closest to the Andromeda Galaxy. If the Black Ships managed to organize without being detected, they would jump here first before they entered. Organizing without being detected was not going to be easy.

Three months after the agreement was ratified by all the planets in both civilizations, Cole took eight thousand unmanned vessels to the edge of Andromeda and released them to jump into the Black Civilization’s star cluster. The vessels began jumping throughout the star cluster, releasing space scanners throughout the cluster. More than a million scanners were released and they detected high electronic activity and began jumping into the planetary systems inhabited by the Black Civilization. More than four thousand of the vessels were detected and chased by the Black Ships and were eventually destroyed, but not before hundreds of thousands of their scanners were released. The scanners began processing the communications of the Black Civilization and after two months began sending intercepted communications. The Black Civilization knew that they were being watched but they didn’t know who was doing it. Even the Black Ships couldn’t find the tiny scanners that would shut down anytime one of them came close. So far, nothing was observed that appeared to be plans for an attack. If a Black Ships started to gather, the fleet would jump to Andromeda to face them in their own space before they jumped away.

• • •

E said, “A hundred new Ship Killers have arrived.”

Ian nodded and said, “Notify the Admiral to send a hundred back to be updated.”

“Done.”

“How many still need updating?”

“Of the ten thousand on station, only eight hundred need modification.”

“Have you heard from the other Sigmas?”

“They should arrive shortly.”

Ian looked out of his viewport at the three hundred new Sigmas holding station around his ship and was amazed at the changes that had taken place. The Sigmas were now twelve hundred feet long and were shaped like a long pointed prism. The bow was pointed and moved back with ten square sides that grew wider as they moved toward the rear of the ship. Each of those sides had a deflection force field that would deflect any beam fired at it. However, there was a limit as to how many beams it could deflect. Multiple hits of the Black Ship’s massive beams would break through to the main force field. Once that field was hit, the ship would have to jump away or face being penetrated by the next beam. It could survive for a short period of intense warfare but there was a limit to what it could handle.

“The scanners have been collecting information on how many Black Ships are in that star cluster.”

Ian looked away from the viewport and said, “What’s the count, E?”

“More than eight million.”

Violet saw him sigh as she entered the bridge and said, “A lot has changed since we landed on that planet.”

Ian nodded, “Yes it has, my Love. I long for that time again.”

She came over and sat down in his lap, “This is a big bag of wam pam we should have avoided.”

Ian nodded, “We made a mistake. We never should have suggested we were in a different galaxy.”

Violet nodded and leaned against his chest.

• • •

“We are being scouted.”

“Have you determined who is doing it?”

“No, we’ve been unable to capture one of the ships that entered our home.”

“What’s your best guess?”

“There are three galaxies that could be doing it.” The first being was silent and the second said, “We have ships that have not reported back from two of those galaxies.”

“Which two?”

“The giant ball galaxy where we chased those ships that came here and the closest galaxy.”

“How many ships are missing?”

“Three have not returned from the giant galaxy and one is late reporting from the closest.”

“So you’re not certain the one in the closest galaxy has been destroyed?”

“If it doesn’t report within three bists, it will have been destroyed. It has orders to return if it doesn’t find anything in that time limit.”

“What about the ships in the ball galaxy?”

“They have missed their reporting times.”

The first being was silent and said, “Send a group to that galaxy and make sure a ship returns to inform us of what is happening there.”

“I will issue the directives.”

• • •

“We’re back.”

Ian smiled, “I was worried.”

“We were delayed by the new scanner computer algorithms. They finally got them sorted out and we came straight here.”

Suddenly the ships klaxons began blaring and the speakers announced, “Black Ships gathering, Black Ships gathering.”

Ian’s display illuminated and he saw a hundred Black Ships gathering on his display. He punched his board and said, “All ships prepare to jump into Andromeda.”

The fleet moved to battle stations and Doc energized the weapons console. Dee stared at her display and closed her eyes for a moment and punched her communication panel and yelled, “DO NOT JUMP TO ANDROMEDA, I REPEAT, DO NOT JUMP TO ANDROMEDA!”

Ian was angry at the interruption and said, “What do you mean!?!”

“The pattern is wrong, Ian. I just know we shouldn’t jump.”

“What do you mean!?”

“I’m not sure but jumping would be the wrong thing to do right now.”

Doc said, “Listen to her, Ian.” Ian struggled with what to do and he heard Doc say, “Trust her, Ian.”

“Why?”

“Just do it!”

Ian looked at Violet and she was as confused as he was but she said, “Drey was never wrong.”

Ian struggled for a moment and said, “Hold your positions.”

The fleet watched the giant Black Ships gather and then disappear. They waited and nothing appeared on their scanners. After a long minute, E said, “The other space scanners have determined that those ships have jumped toward M87.”

Ian fell back in his command chair and said, “Cancel Battle Stations. Dee how did you know they weren’t coming here?”

“I don’t really know, Ian. I just sensed their location and pattern was wrong if they were coming here.”

Doc said, “She doesn’t know how she does it but her observations are accurate every time.”

Ian felt his nerves and started shaking. After he composed himself he said, “Well I am thankful you appeared in time before we made a huge mistake.”

Doc looked at Dee and knew that she had insisted that they leave as quickly as possible. How could she have known this was going to happen? Dee saw him staring at her and sighed, “I don’t know, Doc.”

Doc smiled, “However you do it; I’m glad you do.”

Dee smiled and said, “Ian, did one of our advanced scanners manage to get inside the jump field on one of those ships?”

Ian looked at Violet and she said, “Hang on and let me check.” Violet looked at her panel and adjusted a dial. She looked up and nodded, “One of them did get inside the jump field.”

Ian looked at his display, “Are we able to see it?”

Violet looked at her display, “The Black Ships have emerged into normal space and it is locked on their jump frequency. It should be able to follow them.”

“Do not have it transmit. Set it to only record and have it jump away after it determines what those ships are doing.”

Violet nodded and sent the commands.

• • •

Cole sat with one of the Kilper scientists and examined the diagrams of their needle beams. Cole was somewhat fascinated with the scientist’s appearance. She was about six feet tall and was basically shaped like a human. Her skin had a light rust color and her hair was black with yellow streaks that ran through it. Cole had determined that the yellow streaks were unique to each Kilper, with all of them differing from individual to individual. Her face was slightly narrower than a human’s face but didn’t seem out of proportion with the rest of her body. Her two eyes were solid blue with no white and the iris was oval. She had eyelids but she never blinked. The iris would close and then open, which was somewhat disconcerting until you became accustomed to it. The computer had transferred the Kilper language to Cole and he found their language somewhat musical. After the initial shock of seeing the Kilper, he decided that she was nice to look at in a different sort of way.

“I’m not sure what you’re asking.”

Cole smiled, “The needle is not actually focused by the lens of this beam or am I missing something.”

“No, the lens is only used to focus it on a target. The intensity is created by the steering fields inside the beam’s barrel.”

Cole stared at the network of electronics surrounding the weapon and said, “Have you tried any other forms of energy through it?”

The Kilper stared at Cole and said, “What other forms of energy are you talking about?”

Cole continued to stare at the diagram and said, “Argel, we have a beam that we’re building on orbiting platforms that fire Boson particles. We can’t use the weapon on our ships because of the necessity of using extremely large structures to insulate and contain it. This blaster you have here looks like it might be able to keep the Boson particles away from the walls of the barrel.”

Argel stared at Cole and said, “You’ve isolated Boson Particles?”

Cole smiled slightly and said, “We have.”

Argel thought a moment and then slowly started shaking her head, “Those particles will cause a nuclear explosion very close to what antimatter/matter do in self-annihilation.”

“Actually, it’s somewhat stronger.”

Argel’s irises rapidly closed three times and Cole decided that the iris gave away when a Kilper was shocked. She said, “Do you have the diagram of the beam and its controls.”

Cole hesitated but decided that the time for distrust was past. He pulled the diagrams up on his desk display and Argel came around and looked over his shoulder. She leaned forward and Cole decided that he liked the way she smelled. She stared at the diagrams as Cole paged through them and said, “I think you’re right. The needle blaster should contain the particles. However, I don’t see an effective way of reducing the collection module or the insulating materials around it.”

Cole’s eyes narrowed, “I’m not seeing what you’re talking about.”

“Go back to the first page.” Cole moved the display back to the first diagram and Argel pointed at the collector, “That collection module is where the particles are sent from the collector, right?” Cole nodded. “I see that it is a curved pathway. If you move the collector off the floor and bolt it to the wall directly behind the blaster, you could just attach the blaster barrel directly to the top of the collector and fire it without the conduit.”

Cole stared at the diagram and said, “You saw that immediately?”

Argel raised her shoulders, “It’s somewhat obvious.”

Cole looked at the idea and said, “I see what you’re saying. The collector would have to be enclosed inside a thick wall with only the barrel coming out of it.”

Argel went back to her chair, “That’s how I see it.”

Cole stared at the diagram and said under his breath, “That would be the only weapon on the ship.”

Argel said, “Not really.” Cole jerked his attention to her and saw that the Kilper had excellent hearing. “You still have your missiles and you can route five barrels out of the collector and divert the particles into one of five barrels you choose to fire; one to each side of the ship, one on the top and bottom, and the last one to the bow. We’ve developed the targeting systems so your computers can aim them.”

Cole stared at the diagrams and slowly nodded, “This would be limited to use in space battles.”

Argel tilted her head, “Unless you want to destroy a planet.” Cole jerked his head toward her. Argel looked him in the eyes and said, “This beam would devastate a planet’s atmosphere and surface. This is truly a planet buster. I’m really thankful that we are now working together.”

Cole smiled and looked back at the computer display, “We need to make the beam tighter.”

Argel nodded, “Reduce the diameter of the barrel.”

Cole stared at Argel and said, “Do you have time to work on this with me?”

Argel said, “I’ll contact my Commander. I’m inclined to believe they’ll remove my assignments and allow me to work with you. I was sent here because I’m just a junior grade scientist.”

Cole smiled, “I’ll start getting the trial set up to test this.” Argel nodded and pressed a button on her hand computer.

• • •

The advanced scanner dropped off the Black Ship that had arrived with it in M87 and remained outside of normal space. Only the small tip of its antenna was in normal space and its passive sensors were at optimum. The squadron of a hundred ships designated nine ships to enter the galaxy while the others waited at the edge. The nine ships oriented toward the center of the massive galaxy and jumped away. The scanner moved into the wave they left in other space and surfed the wave to their new location where it immediately raised its antenna again. One of the Black Ships remained at that location as the other eight jumped away. The scanner followed the eight ships but locked in the coordinates of the ship that remained behind.

This process was repeated three more times and the scanner arrived close to the center of the galaxy with four of the Giant Black Ships. It recorded the conversation between two of them.

“Why have we followed this path?”

“We were unable to determine the first ship’s route when it pursued the ships from our territory. The next two ships we sent followed this path. We should be able to determine what happened to them.”

“And if we don’t?”

“We’ll go back out, collect the other ships, and come in on a new trajectory.”

A third ship said, “I’m detecting energy fields ahead of us.”

“What?”

“There appears to be multiple energy beams that are being relayed from what looks like space buoys that disappear in the distance. My readings indicate they surround this section of the galaxy.”

“What do you think they are?”

“My computer says they resemble some kind of border markings.”

There was a long moment of silence and then, “I’ve been able to detect four different beam frequencies around this section of the galaxy.”

“Are there any on the path we followed here?”

“Yes, we jumped inside one on our last jump.”

“Power all weapon systems, extend your scans, look into the travel medium for any movement coming toward us, and spread out. Align your communications to the ships we’ve left as sentries and make sure all active scans are sent to them in real time.”

“Should we jump inside that field in front of us?”

“Why do you suggest that?”

“If we are inside someone’s border, they have had more time to move in on us than the next section.”

“Jump across the next energy waves.”

The four Black Ships just managed to jump across the energy barrier as the scanner began detecting approaching waves in other space. It pulled its antenna out of normal space, and released all its power into other space as it emerged into normal space, just as six large grey ships appeared where the Black Ships had just been. They emerged into normal space and took position directly opposite the new position of the Black Ships. The scanner had its optical lens recording visible light onto a plate, which required no energy.

“Those ships are not crossing the beams to pursue us.”

“It appears they are unwilling to violate this border even by firing across it. What can you determine about them?”

“Their force fields are stronger than ours.”

“Does that mean they are unwilling to anger whoever controls this space?”

The leader of the Black Ships thought about that question but then his second in command yelled, “Massive waves approaching at incredible speed!”

The Black Ship Leader only had time to say, “Jump…” as two giant green ships emerged into normal space and fired a single beam into each of them. They exploded into massive fireballs. Two of the Black Ships managed to fire a beam at the two Green Ships but they were shrugged off by the force field surrounding the Green Ships. The two Green Ships remained hanging in space confronting the six Grey Ships on the other side of the border. The six Grey Ships remained for a minute and then jumped away. The two Green Ships remained for an hour and then disappeared.

The scanner remained in normal space collecting power from the border energy fields until it had enough to function. It left normal space, jumped back to the last Black Ship Sentry’s position, and extended its antenna. There was a debris field and the scanner immediately jumped away as an Orange Ship appeared. The next two Black Ships were also destroyed and only the first Black Ship left as a sentry appeared to have escaped. The scanner jumped out into the void between the galaxies and dumped its power and emerged into normal space in an area of space junk that floated between galaxies. It turned on its optical system and watched as eight different ships arrived and searched for it. None of them found it and after hours of searching, all of them had jumped away. The computer on the scanner processed the information and looked at all the possibilities of its next course of action. It was programmed to be extremely cautious and it decided that jumping away was too dangerous. It put all of its data into an encrypted microburst and sent it in all directions. It then self-destructed as the eight ships reappeared at its location.

The optical section of the scanner was ejected from it before it self-destructed and recorded the arrival of the eight ships. Two weeks later it sent the data through other space and melted. No ships appeared when it destroyed itself.

• • •

Moe received the data from the scanner and relayed it to the King, Cole, Ian, and Doc. Ian went over the data and two weeks later when the second burst arrived Ian contacted Doc, “It looks like we’ve done it again.”

Doc shook his head, “We were extremely lucky when we jumped through that galaxy to escape that Black Ship.”

Ian nodded, “I think the only thing that saved us was we continuously jumped without pausing at any one location. This is disturbing.”

Doc slowly shook his head, “It’s the Black Civilization that may have opened another big can of wam pam by going back repeatedly. Those various civilizations appear to be able to work together against outside threats.”

“They did all send ships to the scanner’s location. We were also lucky it didn’t jump back here.”

Violet said, “The scanner’s computers are really a technological marvel. It knew that those ships could track through other space and it did exactly the right thing to protect us from discovery.”

Doc stared at his display and said, “Ian, what do you think is going to happen?”

“I’m really not sure. The Black Civilization may have more of an issue with M87 than us. I suspect they must realize that they have erred in going there.” Ian paused, “What does Dee think about this?”

“She’s in that place where she goes to focus and will tell me what she thinks after she processes all that she’s seen in the data.”

“Let me know what she comes up with.”

Doc nodded and looked at Dee lying back in her chair with her eyes closed. The fact that she was taking this much time couldn’t be good.

Chapter Thirteen

Doc sat and waited on Dee to come to consciousness and he pressed Ian’s frequency, “Has she come out of it?”

“Not yet. However, I have some time on my hands and I was wondering about relativity.”

“What?”

“You know the Skinner Field allows us to move faster than light.”

Yeah, so?”

“Why doesn’t relativity affect the ships flying at that speed?”

“I’m not clear on what you’re asking.”

“Let’s say I go FTL and fly a light year away. On board my ship I arrive a light year away from my starting point in about two minutes. According to relativity, a year should have passed in the universe outside my ship. I’ve not seen that happen.”

Ian nodded and said, “I asked Cole about that and the original scientists that measured the field discovered that the Skinner Field basically separates anything inside the field from our universe and all of its laws.”

“How does that happen?”

“You realize that the universe is infinite in size.”

“Yeah, so?”

“The Big Bang that created all the galaxies in our section of the universe emerged with its own set of laws that govern it. Those laws only apply in the area created by the Big Bang. Outside that area, the laws don’t exist. Scientists have postulated that outside of our section, completely different laws may govern events that are entirely different from those we are bound by. The Skinner Field just removes anything inside it from contact with our section of infinity.”

“So the limit of light speed and relativity don’t apply.”

“That is the only thing that would explain what happens. Our universal constants certainly don’t apply to a ship inside the field. Why do you ask?”

“The civilizations in M87 can track movement through other space.”

“The evidence certainly supports that assumption.”

“They followed our scanner and the Black Ships.”

“I’m not disagreeing; I’m just saying the evidence supports that position. It might be something else that allows them to do it but whatever it might be, it ends up allowing them to track anything that enters their domain. They could possibly have fields set up in other space that allows them to do it.”

Doc thought a moment, “That would explain tracking inside their galaxy but they jumped to the scanner’s position in the void between galaxies.”

“That lends more weight to your point of view.” Ian paused, “What’s bothering you?”

“I feel that the Black Civilization is going to have the ever loving crap kicked out of it by those civilizations in M87 and we need to distance ourselves from any chance of discovery by them if they do.”

Ian stared at Doc on the display and said, “You want to remove the scanners.”

“I want them destroyed the instant any of those civilizations show up. Is it possible to make that happen?”

Ian stood up, “Let me go wake up Violet and ask her. I’ll be right back.”

Doc waited and after five minutes Violet appeared on the display wearing her pajamas. Doc was amazed at just how beautiful Violet was and said, “Hey, you might want to put something on.”

“Oh grow up; you’ve seen a woman’s body before.” Doc shook his head and Ian took off his jacket and put it over her shoulders. She looked at him and sighed, “I guess I’ve lost some of my modesty.” Ian smiled and she said, “Doc, it would take us at least three days to destroy all the scanners.”

“Then you need to start making that happen now and shorten the time to less than a minute.”

Violet looked up at Ian with a frown and then looked back at Doc, “We would lose most of our ability to track their movements. Why do you want us to do this?”

“If the Black Civilization is invaded and the invaders see those scanners, they’ll know that someone else was watching them. They’ll also recognize it as one that was in their galaxy. That would not be a good thing.”

“How do you know they wouldn’t just assume it was a scanner that was made by the Black Civilization?”

“Because they wouldn’t have placed them so thickly around their own planets and they’re also made from materials that the Black Civilization doesn’t use.”

Ian thought a moment and said, “Moe, what do you think?”

“I’m a cautious sort of machine; I say destroy them all and depend on the Black Ships stopping at the edge of our Galaxy just like they did when they went to M87 to warn us they’re coming.”

Ian looked at Violet and said, “Shut them down.” Violet nodded and began activating codes on her console. “I’ll start in their star cluster and move out from there.”

Doc said, “Start with the ones on a line from M87 to their territory first.”

Violet looked up at Doc on her display and nodded.

• • •

Two days later Dee opened her eyes widely and Doc rushed over to her. She looked at him and yelled, “SHUT DOWN THE SCANNERS!”

Doc said, “We started the process two days ago. We’ll have them all destroyed in another day.”

Dee fell back in her chair and her and said, “I’m glad you heard me.” Doc looked at her and she saw his confusion. “Doc, you are connected to me in ways we can’t know or feel. You must have heard what I was seeing.”

Doc thought about what prompted him to have the scanners removed and shrugged, “I don’t know, Dee. I just know my mind took me to that conclusion.”

“You heard me.”

“If you say so; what’s bothering you?”

Dee shook her head, “The place I go to focus has changed. I am now seeing things that I’ve not observed. I can see M87 in my mind and the civilizations there are starting to gather ships. They could only be doing that for one reason.”

“What is that?”

“They’re coming to Andromeda.”

“That’s what I suspected.” Dee looked at him and Doc said, “Maybe I am hearing you. I just don’t sense I am.”

“There’s more, Doc.”

“Let me get Ian in on this.” Doc punched his board and Ian and Violet appeared. Violet was still entering codes into her console. “Ian, you need to hear this.”

Dee looked at Ian on the main display and said, “I can see M87 in my mind. I’ve looked at the patterns and they all scream one thing at me.”

“What is that?”

“Ian, those civilizations have reached equilibrium. They have all staked out a territory and there is no possible way for them to expand outside their own borders. The Black Ship intrusion has started them thinking about expansion. If they can’t expand in their own galaxy, they’re going to expand in another. Andromeda will be their first effort.”

“What makes you think they’ll move on us?”

“M87 is more than three times larger than Andromeda and the Milky Way combined. They’ll need more than one galaxy.”

“There are galaxies closer to them than us.”

“Yes but moving their operations from Andromeda will be easier than starting from scratch. I also sense that none of them want galaxies close to them controlled by any of the civilizations located there. We will be the second target. I have little doubt about this conclusion.”

Ian shook his head and blew out a breath, “From the frying pan…”

Doc said, “…And into the fire.”

Violet said, “Why do you not have any doubt, Dee?”

“I’m not sure. I feel that we might delay them by taking the fight there but we stand no chance against their ships. Going there would be suicide.”

Moe said, “Maybe not.”

All four were struck silent by Moe’s comment. Dee finally said, “Why do you say that?”

“You should talk to Cole. It appears he and a Kilper Scientist have come up with a new weapon system that looks promising.”

Dee looked at Doc, “We need to go see him…now!”

Doc looked at Ian and he nodded as he said, “Dee, how long before they arrive in Andromeda?”

“You’ll see them before we can get back. I just hope you can destroy all the scanners in time.”

Violet looked at them and doubled her efforts on her panel.

• • •

“We made a mistake going there.”

“It does appear you’re right.”

“How long will we have before they come?”

“Not long enough.” The second being paused and said, “We’ve been detecting explosions taking place in the travel medium throughout our territory.”

The first said, “That’s easy enough to understand. Whoever has been observing us is destroying the mechanisms used to do it.”

“So you don’t think they came from the large galaxy?”

“If they did, they wouldn’t be blowing up, which could only mean the ones that placed them must have seen what happened to our ships.”

“That would lead me to believe it is the closest galaxy that did it.”

“You’re probably right but that information won’t do us any good now. There’s no way we can do anything about it with the threat hanging over us.”

The second paused, “It appears their destruction confirms that we will be attacked. What are we going to do?”

“What can we do? We’ll face them and hope to survive. We made a mistake and now we’ll see if we survive the consequences.” The first speaker paused and said, “Order all our ships out to the edge of our galaxy closest to the large galaxy.”

• • •

The last scanner received the self-destruct signal just after it recorded millions of Black Ships moving out from the star cluster. It sent the information and blew apart.

• • •

Drey landed at the Science Center Space Port and Cole came running out with a Kilper female right behind him. The ramp came out and Dee ran down and met Cole, “What have you developed?”

“Whoa, slow down. What’s going on?”

Doc ran up and said, “The Black Civilization is going to be attacked by the civilizations in M87. We will be their second target. Their ships are more powerful than anything the Black Civilization possesses. We’re lost if we have to take them on. Moe tells us that you’re working on a new weapons system. What is it?”

Cole’s expression showed his shock and the Kilper female said, “We’re working on a Higgs-Boson ship.”

Cole gathered his wits and said, “This is Argel. She’s been working with me.”

Dee said, “Does it work?”

“The initial tests are positive. The only sticking point left is the Higgs Force Field. If we can get it ironed out, we’ll have a very dangerous weapon.”

Dee said, “How far are you from making it happen?”

Cole looked at Argel and said, “We should be able to build a working model in about two months.”

Doc looked at Dee, “How long do we have?”

Dee closed her eyes and said, “Between a year and a half to two years at the most.”

Doc looked at Cole, “What are we going to need to build these ships?”

Cole shook his head, “You’re way ahead of yourself. We need to determine that it will work first.”

Dee said, “It’s going to work.”

Cole looked at her and Doc said, “Assume it will work; what will you need?’

“Raw materials to construct the ships and a fleet of ships to collect Boson Particles.”

Doc looked at Cole and said, “Get moving, Cole. They’re coming.”

Cole looked at Argel and said, “Call in your top engineers and I’ll get ours here as well. I’ll take the modification of the ships to collect the particles and you work on the new hull materials.”

Argel nodded and turned and ran back toward the Science Center.

Doc’s communicator buzzed and he pressed the button. Ian appeared and said, “It’s starting; all the scanners have been destroyed.”

Doc nodded and then slowly lowered his head. Dee turned to follow Cole and Doc yelled, “Where are you going?”

“To make sure they’re following the right path to our new ships. I’ll know if they’re moving in the wrong direction.”

Doc nodded and knew that he wasn’t going to have much alone time with Dee.

• • •

The eight million Black Ships waited at the edge of Andromeda. Their systems were linked and they were organized to attack individual ships in groups. The blackness of open space was out in front of them and they could see the distant galaxies as small points of light. One of them was much larger than the others and that’s where they knew trouble was going to originate. Their scanners were operating at full power and so far nothing had appeared. They continued to wait and then all of their alarms went off. A massive wave was approaching from open space. The giant fleet energized their weapons and drives and just as the first hundred thousand invading ships appeared, the massive fleet fell on them and the battle began. Thousands of Black Ships exploded but the numbers were on the giant fleet’s side. The next wave of invading ships numbered two hundred thousand and emerged into normal space in the final moments of the first wave’s destruction. The battle took on a frenzy that was indescribable.

What space warfare lacked in duration it more than made up for in destruction that happened every second. The millions of ships were enmeshed in a massive tangle where chaos ruled. Eight waves of invading ships arrived and were finally defeated by the Black Ships. Of the ten million Black Ships that started the fight, only three million remained but they had prevailed against the invader. The space outside Andromeda was littered with millions of blasted and burning warships. The Black Ships began celebrating their victory and the Black Civilization breathed a sigh of relief. It was at just that moment that their alarms went off again and the incoming wave dwarfed all the others they recorded. Four million invading ships of all different colors emerged into normal space and now the Black Ships no longer had the advantage of numbers. They fled into the galaxy and fought the invaders among the planets and stars between them and their home star cluster. The fight continued for three days and that’s when the home worlds of the Black Civilization began enduring what they had visited on all the other civilizations in Andromeda. A month later, the Black Civilization became a footnote in history.

Then the struggle began among the invaders on how the newly conquered galaxy was going to be divided. None of them would attack each other due to repercussions that might arise back at their home worlds. Some of the invaders had left the fight early to claim the more valuable systems and it took a long time to persuade them that possession did not imply ownership. The struggle lasted more than two years before order was brought out of the chaos. It took another year for the various civilizations to move the needed building materials and technology necessary to colonize a planet.

It was at that moment that the invaders began looking across space at the spiral galaxy a short distance away. Nothing feeds conquest like victory. A meeting was called and the rules for the next invasion were hammered out among the attendees. Three years, eleven months, and six days after the invasion of Andromeda began, ships began gathering.

• • •

The new scanner watched the ships gathering and sent the data back to the Union. Moe sent the data to the updated and highly modified Hub Computer and both civilizations went on a war alert.

• • •

The two hundred thousand planets of the Union were only able to build one ship each the first year after the fall of Andromeda. The second year they were able to manufacture ten ships each. By the end of the third year they were producing fifty a year.

The Kilper Civilization was far ahead of the Union in ship building capacity but all of their facilities had to be modified to construct the new ships. That process took a year and a half but once they began the numbers built was impressive. Those hundred worlds were building a hundred ships a month the first year and five hundred ships a month by the end of the second year. The crews for the ships came from the planets of the Union, the Kilper Civilization, and the billions of former slaves that knew their survival was now tied to the two civilizations. The common enemy had removed the old wounds and now they became invested members of the new alliance and were represented in the governing bodies that made the decisions that directed their efforts.

• • •

The two civilizations had also taken steps to ensure their survival in the event the Milky Way fell to the invaders. Thousands of colony ships had moved to other galaxies and new worlds came into existence to exact revenge in the future. The Main Obelisk and Hub Computers were the main tools that make it possible to drive the massive changes. They organized the production of raw materials and distribution of all the things necessary to make an advanced civilization function optimally. The coming conflict was going to be monumental but now there was at least hope of survival. It all hinged on the new ships and their ability to face the invaders head on and fight them toe to toe. It wasn’t going to be long before that question was answered.

Chapter Fourteen

Ian looked at his display with the tactical arrangements of the million ships he was directing. They were divided into fifty fleets of twenty thousand ships and his group was going to go into M87 on a parallel track to the trajectory the Black Ships had followed. They were going in looking for trouble. He looked at Violet, “Have the Fleet Admirals reported in?”

“They have.”

“Have them standby.” Ian pressed his board and Doc appeared, “Are you ready to be rowdy?”

“We’re systems ready and waiting for your Battle Group to lead the way.”

“We are not going to hit their planets on this mission.”

“Spoil sport.”

“I’m serious, Doc. Our first effort is to force them to delay any operations against our galaxy. I’m hoping we can ultimately negotiate with them. Once we start destroying their worlds, all bets are off.”

“I’ve issued those instructions to the fleets. I guess we’ll find out if this new technology actually works.”

Ian shrugged, “If it doesn’t, then there’s nowhere to run.”

“I hear you. Count it down.”

Ian turned on the general frequency and said, “We will be jumping into M87 on my mark.”

Suddenly Dee interrupted the countdown, “Ian, we can’t jump to M87.”

Ian said, “Damn that woman!” He pressed the board and said, “The countdown is on hold. I repeat, the countdown is on hold.” Ian released the button and said, “For God’s sake, what is it this time?”

“There aren’t any Green Ships in Andromeda.”

“What!?!”

“I’ve just looked at the scan sent us from the advanced scanner and there aren’t any Green Ships in Andromeda.”

Ian looked at Violet and she shrugged, “So?”

“Ian, that means that there are civilizations in M87 that didn’t participate in the invasion. They are not supporting the conquests. If we go into M87 and attack those that aren’t participating we will unite that galaxy against us.”

“How do you know the Green Ships aren’t the only one that didn’t participate?”

“I don’t know for certain.”

Ian focused on the idea and after a moment said, “We can’t risk it.”

“That’s how I see it.”

Ian thought a moment and said, “Violet, do we have the location of the ships gathering in Andromeda?”

“I do.”

“Doc, are you hearing this?”

“I am, Ian.”

“We’re not going to waste a good opportunity. We’re all here, dressed, and have a ticket to an event. We need to use it. Moe, can you issues attack profiles to our ships to hit those ships in Andromeda?”

“I’ll handle your fleet and the Hub Computer will issue the coordinates to Doc’s fleets.”

“How long will it take?”

“An hour and thirty minutes.”

“Get on it.”

• • •

Doc looked at Dee, “Why didn’t you see this before now?”

“Something has been bothering me but I couldn’t get my mind around it. I looked at our attack path into M87 and saw we would be taking on the Green Ships. I decided I wanted to have a good look at one of them and looked at the scan from Andromeda. Now I also see that the Grey Ships are also not among the invaders.”

“Did you deliberately prevent yourself from seeing this before now?”

“How would I know? I don’t have a clue how I do this. However, this feels right.”

Doc waited for the new assignments to be sent and he thought about his new Theta Ship. The entire ship was now a hull built around a Higgs-Boson blaster. A Higgs field surrounded the new ship with only an atom’s thickness separating the force field from the hull of the ship. Any beam fired at the ship would be collapsed into Boson particles and funneled into the Boson Collectors. The enemy’s beams would actually be used to increase the power of the new Boson Blasters. The Boson Beam was only an inch wide but would cause a nuclear explosion in anything it hit. The small beam had a range of two hundred miles but was best aimed at less than fifty miles. The ships still had their prism shape and if the Higgs Force Field was weakened, the force one deflectors would take over. The ships performed in their trials but had not been hit with a beam possessing the power of the invader’s beams. This would determine if the new ship could stand up to the ships from M87. The two huge Battle Groups reoriented toward Andromeda and began receiving their assignments.

Ian watched the data flow into his computer and saw that the two giant groups of ships would be coming in at the ship gathering in the shape of a sphere with the invader’s ships in the center. He thought about it and decided that this attack profile would allow his ships to fire head on at the enemy fleets and not have to worry about ships to their flanks. Doc’s ships would form another larger sphere around the inner globe facing outward and take on any of the enemy ships that managed to jump out.

Dee sent a thought, “Dom, be careful.”

“I’ll do what I can, sis. My ships are well trained and D does an excellent job of adapting on the fly. I’ll see you after this is over.”

“Hug Becky for me; I don’t want to lose a sister-in-law.”

“I will.”

• • •

Ian finally received the notification that all the ships had their targets and pressed the general frequency, “Alright, let’s try this again. We will be jumping directly to our assignments on my mark in five seconds. Hit them hard and jump away. We’re jumping in five, four, three, two, one, and mark!”

• • •

The Invader Commander watched as his five waves organized to jump to the spiral galaxy. The final wave was finally getting organized when his navigator screamed, “A MASSIVE WAVE IS RUSHING AT US!”

The Commander only had time to look at his display and see a million green ships appear in a sphere surrounding his formations and then his ship exploded in a nuclear blast. The Union/Kilper Fleets fired into the invader formations at the ship groups that were assigned to them. They hit their initial target and began firing at the ships close by their first target; the huge sphere of ships grew smaller as it rushed at the tightly packed warships. A million ships exploded within a second of the fleets emerging into normal space and another eight hundred thousand exploded two seconds later.

Gary looked at Abbey and flew the ship between two giant ships and Abbey hit both of them with a Boson Beam. They exploded and Gary saw four Union Ships being hit by multiple beams. He flipped the ship and accelerated back toward the ships and killed six enemy ships before he left normal space for an instant as a hundred enemy beams ripped through his former location. He reemerged into normal space and flew through four more ships as Abbey hit them and exploded them in massive nuclear fireballs. Abbey watched her scanners and said, “Are we having fun yet?”

“This beats training pilots.”

“You’ve got that right.” They hit six more ships and flew away. After the battle the computers determined that Gary and Abbey had killed more enemy ships than any other crew.

• • •

Two million invader ships jumped out of the attacking sphere and turned to come back at the attackers from outside the sphere, only to be faced with another million ships rushing at them from outside the inner sphere. A million of the Invader Ships were exploded and another three hundred thousand exploded moments later. Suddenly, the attackers shot away from the site of the attack in millions of different directions at a speed faster than the speed of light.

One of the surviving Invader Leaders yelled, “Follow those ships!”

“How? We don’t have a means of tracking ships moving faster than light.”

“Where did they come from?”

“That wave came at us from open space.”

The Leader looked at his panel and saw that of the original five million ships, only one million, seven hundred thousand ships had survived the attack. The Leader yelled, “Spread out; don’t congregate in large groups.”

The survivors jumped away and put more than a hundred miles between them. The leader looked at the nuclear shock waves moving out from their former formations and jumped away before they rolled over his ship. This planned attack on the other galaxy was over before it started.

• • •

Doc said, “Drey, did we lose any ships?”

“More than eleven thousand were destroyed.”

“How?”

“They were each hit by more than sixty of the enemy’s beams and their Higgs Force Field failed in one place and allowed it to touch their hull. That contact collapsed the ships into particles smaller than an atom.”

Doc looked at Dee and said, “That removes one worry.”

Dee nodded, “They didn’t explode in a tremendous nuclear blast like we thought they would.”

Doc thought a moment and said, “I think I know why.” Dee raised her eyebrows and Doc said, “The Higgs Field hit the Boson particles in the collectors and they canceled each other out.”

Dee thought about it and said, “The Boson only exists for less than a second before changing into a Higgs Field. The collapsing Higgs Field must have accelerated that process.”

“This removes the need of a self-destruct circuit.” Dee nodded. Doc said, “Your determination that they don’t use a Skinner Field on any of their ships was also a stroke of genius to use FTL to escape.”

“How can they track something they didn’t know existed? They can track us through other space but they are blind to FTL tracks.”

Doc pushed his board, “Ian, how many ships did you lose?”

“More than fifteen thousand.”

“We were more fortunate being outside the inner sphere; we only lost eleven thousand.”

“Head back to Fleet Headquarters and we’ll take a look at what we accomplished.”

Violet said, “The advanced scanners report that we destroyed more than three million ships.”

Ian smiled, “It appears we have a weapon to use against them.”

Violet smiled, “Indeed it does.”

Doc came on the display and said, “Ian, Dee just did an analysis of the beams that were used by the ships we attacked.”

“And?”

“Most of them were quite powerful but none of them came close to the beams being used by the Green Ships.”

Ian stared at Doc on the display and asked the question he wanted to avoid, “How close were they?”

“The Green Ship’s beam is more than a hundred times more powerful.”

“So that means they could destroy our ships with one hit.”

“That’s the bad news.”

“Is there any good news in this?”

Doc smiled, “We could also destroy their ships with one hit and they don’t move at light speed.”

Ian shook his head, “He who fires first fires last.”

Doc tilted his head, “We just have to hope they stay out of this.”

“I don’t imagine there are any ships there that could force them to get into the fray.”

“We can only hope.”

• • •

The Fleet Leader looked at his display and didn’t like what he was seeing. The chosen Directors of the Invasion Forces were arguing about what to do about the attack on their fleets. It was looking like things were not going to go well for the surviving ships.

“Where did those ships come from that attacked us?”

“They had to come from the galaxy we were going to invade.”

“Do you have any proof of that?”

“You’re stupid. They didn’t come from this galaxy and there’s no other galaxy near us that was threatened by us. That had to be a preemptive strike to prevent us from our plans to invade.”

“I’d advise you to watch your words, Director. Before we do anything else, we need to verify that they came from that galaxy.”

“And just how do you think we’re going to do that?”

“We’ll send the ships that survived to go and scout that galaxy and see what we’re facing.”

“Are you out of your mind? Sending those ships out without enough numbers to take on whoever is in that galaxy is asking for more ship losses.”

“They’ll just be running and scanning. We’ll send more ships once we determine if that is where those ships originated. We must confirm that before we can take the next step.”

The Directors argued for another two hours but in the end the decision was made to send the survivors to scout the close spiral galaxy. The Fleet Leader shook his head at the callous disregard for the crew’s lives.

• • •

“Ian, one of our advanced scanners just intercepted a transmission in Andromeda.”

“What did it hear, Moe?”

“The Invaders are going to send all of their surviving ships to our galaxy to confirm that the attackers of their fleet are here. Once that determination is made, they’re going to call for more ships from M87 to resolve the problem.”

“Are those ships still located in one place?”

“At the moment but they are sending assignments at this moment.”

“Moe, does the scanner have each ship’s location?”

“It does.”

“Start sending them to our Battle Groups. Notify Doc to get his fleet powered up and to be ready to jump at those targets. How long will it take you to send the assignments?”

“The Hub Computer and I have been tracking their movements. We can send them out in less than ten minutes.”

Ian punched his console, “Attention all ships. You will be receiving a coordinate momentarily that corresponds to one of the surviving ships from our attack. We will not form up but will jump from wherever you’re located to that coordinate and attack that ship. Some of you will have two ships assigned to one of their ships but you must make sure you take out your assigned target. We’ll be jumping in fifteen minutes. Go to Battle Stations and don’t miss your target.”

Doc appeared on his display, “What’s going on?”

“The Invaders are planning to send the ships that survived our first attack to scout our galaxy. We’ve got to prevent that from happening. Moe and the Hub are sending the coordinates of all their ships and we’re all jumping in together to remove as many as possible.”

Doc nodded and disappeared from the screen. Ian looked at Violet, “We have our assignment. E, are you ready?”

“I have the location locked in and the view from the scanner shows many support vessels around their ships on loading supplies. Most of them do not have their force fields up.”

“That’s some good news.” Ian watched his display and saw the red light in the upper corner turn green. All ships had received their assignments. “We will be jumping in fifteen seconds from my mark. Ready…Mark!”

The two million Green Ships watched the countdown; when it hit zero, they all disappeared.

• • •

The Fleet Leader’s anger was approaching rage and he decided to take his anger to the Directors. He ordered his ship to jump to the planet where they were located and that decision was the only thing that saved his life. His ship disappeared ten seconds before two Green ships emerged into normal space looking for his ship.

“Where is it?”

“I don’t know. The scanner had it here a few moments ago.” The pilot replayed the scanner’s information and he said, “For some reason, it jumped away a few seconds ago.”

“Well, we missed an opportunity. Get out of here.”

The two ships turned and accelerated away at twice the speed of light.

• • •

Dom watched his display and saw his target directly ahead. He was linked with D and he turned the ship slightly and bore in on the Invader Ship at a high velocity. Becky watched the approach in her face plate and activated the forward Boson Blaster. She and B were one mind and she was able to see the individual plates on the hull of their target. She looked at the bridge of the ship and turned her eyes directly toward it. The blaster barrel deflected slightly and she smiled as she mentally fired the intense beam at the Invader Ship as it grew in her vision. The bright beam hit just behind the bridge and D accelerated away at light speed as the Invader Ship exploded in a nuclear blast, taking out more than ten support vessels surrounding it.

• • •

The Fleet Leader arrived at the Director’s location and received word that all of the ships in his fleets had been destroyed in a surprise attack. He entered the government building and approached the conference room where the Directors were just learning about the attack. His rage was growing by the second. Two guards held up their arms and one said, “No one may enter but the Directors.” The Fleet Leader pulled a blaster and shot both guards in the head. Their bodies collapsed to the floor and he walked into the chamber, closed, and locked the door behind him. The Directors stopped yelling as they saw the officer walk into the room. He arrived at the front and said, “How do you think those ships were able to attack us just when we were organizing to invade their galaxy?” No one spoke; they all saw the blaster in his hand. “Did it ever dawn on you idiots that they had to have been watching us to be able to do it? Now you just transmitted orders on an open frequency for us to go and scout that galaxy. Did it ever cross your mind that not only is that enemy watching us but is also intercepting our communications?”

No one in the room said anything. The Fleet Leader sneered at the thirty Directors and said, “Now as a result of your stupidity, all of our ships have been destroyed along with all of their crews.” He paused and stared at the Directors. He looked up at the display hanging from the ceiling and saw numerous faces on it. He smiled and said, “You are going to have to find others that aren’t so dumb.” He turned and burned every Director in the room. The representatives on the display watched in shock as the officer methodically shot every one of them. He killed six that finally saw there was no escape and charged him together. He then walked toward the back of the room and shot two more trying to crawl out in the rows of chairs. He killed the last one hiding behind the podium at the front of the room. One of the faces on the display screamed for him to stop. At the end, even the faces on the display were silent. The officer looked up at the display and the rage on his face was clear. He pointed the blaster at the huge screen and burned it with a blaster shot. The door blew in and the officer turned the blaster on himself and fired it into his chest. The crew of the officer’s ship were rounded up and summarily executed. Of the fifty million crewmen that came in the Invader’s Ships, the last one died an hour after the officer. Not one survived.

• • •

The Grey Ship waited at the border. It knew it was being watched and wondered why there had not been a response. The Navigator looked at the Commander, “How long are we going to wait?”

“As long as it takes.”

The Navigator turned back to his console and knew that there had been occasions where they had never come. Suddenly, a large Green Ship appeared on his display. “They’re here.”

“Open the channel.” The commander watched his chair arm and said, “I assume you saw what happened.”

“We did.”

“Are you going to take action?”

“I’m curious, why are you asking?”

“The data sent back shows that our ships are at risk to that new enemy’s blasters.”

“Why should that concern us?”

“We have been enemies for thousands of years. My leaders have recently asked why that situation exists and no one can answer why. Whatever put us at odds is no longer known. We were wondering if you knew what happened that caused our mutual animosity.”

There was a long moment of silence. “I will see if I can find an answer to your question.”

The Grey Ship Commander leaned back in his chair. He looked at the Navigator and said, “Go and get us something to eat. This may take a while.”

• • •

Four days later the Commander heard, “My leaders have searched for the answer to your question and have determined that the original reason is not recorded.”

“So that means we are enemies and we don’t know why.”

There was a pause and then, “It appears that is the case.”

“My leaders sent me here to determine why we are fighting each other and to ask the question, if a reason was not found, why would we continue this?”

“It is the way it’s always been.”

“Does that mean we don’t control our actions but are slaves to history?”

“What are you suggesting?”

“For the first time in our history there is a civilization out there that can take on our ships and possibly win. We are much more bothered by that issue than our current stalemate with you. It just seems logical that perhaps we would be stronger if we worked together for our mutual safety instead of just standing by and allowing the other to be defeated.”

“You’re making an assumption that we could be defeated.”

“I’m sure you’ve analyzed that beam and see that it could make it through your force fields. Are you so certain of success?”

“Are you suggesting we should join the invasion?”

“No, not really; those ships are only defending themselves. I can’t blame them for that. However, these aggressive idiots may force that civilization to come here. That is what has us worried.”

There was an hour of silence and then the Green Ship said, “My leaders agree that this is something worth discussing. How would your leaders like to make this happen?”

“Your ships are more powerful than ours…”

“Only slightly.”

“Yes, but we came here asking you to help us. We are willing to send our representatives to you. We will bring them here and send them to one of your ships in an unarmed shuttle. We also think this is worth doing.”

There was a pause and the Commander heard, “Have them here in eighty padgas.”

“We’ll see you then.” The Commander watched the Green Ship disappear and wondered what the fallout from all of this was going to be. It should prove interesting.

Chapter Fifteen

The Leaders of the new Alliance were gathered in the High Council’s Chamber. The High Councilors were in the upstairs gallery watching the proceedings and had been told to remain silent during the conference. The King had chosen Ian to represent the Union and he had brought Violet, Doc, and Dee to assist him. Cole represented the Union’s scientists and engineers and Argel sat next to him as one of his assistants. The First noticed her and wondered why she wasn’t with the Kilper’s delegation. That would be looked in to after this was over. He looked at the Union Representatives and was once again amazed at how similar they were to his species. He looked around the room and stood. The room grew silent and he said, “We’re here to determine our next course of action. I am going to ask my main computer to tell us where we are and what it expects to happen next. We’ll start our discussions after it provides us with that information.”

“This information has been gathered from what I know as well as the Union Obelisk’s information. Both of us agree that the Invaders will not attack again from Andromeda. When they come again they will attack like they did when they invaded Andromeda; they will be coming directly here. We are also of the opinion that they will be coming with a massive number of ships and will not be scouting our galaxy before their arrival. Their ability to scan the jumping medium will be used to direct them to our civilizations.”

There was silence and the First said, “Do you have an idea as to which civilization will be discovered first?”

“The Kilper Common has been using jump drives thousands of years longer than the Union so evidence suggests that we would be found first. However, we only have a fifty nine percent probability of that.”

“Why?”

“Because the Union is slightly closer to a direct line to their galaxy.”

The First thought a moment, “Where are we in building defenses around our planets?”

“The vast majority of our planets are not adequately defended but that probably won’t be a problem, unless we lose the initial contact with their forces.”

“Tell me why?”

“We have moved our populations off the former main planets but have left all of the reactors and electrical systems running. Those fifty thousand worlds give off a tremendous signal. They are also where the most jumps have been made in our civilization. We have had all of our warships jumping between them after the last battle so the jump signatures around them should be enormous. We have been moving populations to the other planets using our new FTL Drives when this danger was detected, so most of the other planets shouldn’t stand out on their scanners. The Obelisk and I both think the former main planets are the most likely place they will attack first.”

“Have you decided on how to meet them there?”

“Basically, we advise keeping all our ships away from those planets during the initial attacks.”

Ian looked at Doc and saw he was just as shocked by the statement as he was. He turned and saw Dee nod. She saw something he didn’t.

“Why would that be good strategy?”

“The Union Scientist Cole Montgomery and our scientist Argel Newess have developed the Boson Beams and have installed them on orbital platforms above those planets. The platforms have also been installed above our other important planets here and in the Union. However, the main planets have more than a thousand above each of them. We are of the opinion that we should allow their fleets to be softened by those platforms before we intervene with our fleets.”

“What if they go to the Union first?”

“We are going to attempt to direct them to our main planets. We are going to jump all of our warships from the outer edge of our galaxy to one of the main planets as soon as we determine they are gathering ships to invade. Those massive trails would be hard to ignore.”

The First looked around and said, “So you’re making sure we’re attacked first.”

“Unless you have a better idea.”

The First didn’t like the Invaders coming to his civilization instead of the Union. He stared at the ceiling and said, “How many other possible scenarios have you examined?”

“More than six million.”

The First was shocked. “What!”

“Leading those ships to either of our civilizations is the last thing we want to do but survival is what we’re trying to ensure. We have to find a way to reduce their ship numbers in order to win this round. The closest scenario we’ve looked at involves meeting them at the edge of the galaxy and we estimate we’ll lose more than sixty percent of our ships in a direct engagement. Having them attack the main planets reduces that estimate to twenty percent.”

The First forced himself to look at the current situation from the eyes of his allies. He looked up at the High Council and saw their concern. Then Ian said, “We are sending every ship the Union has in its inventory here to take them on and defend your planets. Our sailors will die fighting to defend you.”

The First wondered if he would do the same. Would he send every ship? He looked up at the Council and smiled, “Then we’re just going to have to kick their bumps back to their galaxy.”

Ian smiled, “That is our intention. Once that happens we’re taking the fight to their turf.”

The First looked at Ian, “Why not go there first?”

“We must reduce their numbers here first. I’m sure they’ll send every ship they can afford to release. These platforms in orbit at your main planets are ship killers extraordinaire and as I think about it, they don’t have to protect those planets. They only have to kill the invader ships. Those platforms are mobile and won’t be locked into a defensive orbit. They can go after the best targets.” Ian now understood why Dee had nodded.

The First stared at Ian and Doc said, “We also know that some of the most powerful civilizations in that galaxy are not currently participating in the invasion. If we attack them first, they may join the others.”

The First thought about the situation for a moment and then the Admiral said something that helped him decide, “We were locked in a system that would eventually collapse. The main planets with the building of cities on all their land surfaces were the path to eventual destruction. We could not continue to provide enough food to sustain them. Those planets need to be destroyed to stop any of our citizens from ever desiring to go back. We have to commit to our new direction.”

The First smiled and looked up at the High Council and saw them nodding to each other. He knew that billions of citizens missed the comfort and luxury of their former lives and yearned for the past. The destruction of their former worlds would convince them the High Council was right to move them. He looked back at the conferees, “Then we will meet them here. Let’s make sure they don’t forget the welcome we give them.”

The representatives began discussions and the First watched Argel answer many of the difficult questions about the new weapon technology. He also noticed that most of his engineers and scientists were out of their league. He called the lead scientist over, “Why is that female not on our staff?”

“She is just a junior scientist.”

“She isn’t anymore. She is now in charge of you and all your staff. Is that clear?”

The Lead Scientist’s face showed his fear for a moment and said, “She has refused to leave her current post, First Councilor.”

The First stood and looked at Argel. The rest of the room grew silent when they saw him stand and wondered what was going on. “Why have you refused to leave your current assignment?”

Argel looked at the First and smiled, “The most important thing for a scientist is to learn and grow. There is nothing going on among our scientists that even remotely interests me compared to what’s happening in the Union. The real advances are taking place there and it would be a mistake to leave.”

Cole said, “She has been critical to the success of our most recent developments, First Councilor.”

The First stared at Argel and focused on the color of her ears. They were behind her hair, which she had pulled over them, but he saw enough, “Are you refusing to leave because of your feelings for the human?” Argel’s face turned a deeper rust color and she didn’t respond. The First smiled and knew that their civilizations were going to grow together over the years. Argel was the first proof of that. He smiled and said, “You may stay where you are but I insist you have one of our scientists working as an assistant to share whatever you discover with us.”

Argel nodded and remained silent.

• • •

At the end of the conference Cole looked at Argel and said, “What did he mean about your feelings for me?”

“Let it go, Cole.”

Cole stared at her for a long moment and said, “No, I’m not going to let it go. What did he mean?”

Argel sighed, “When my species is attracted to another, our ears change color slightly.” Cole reached over and lifted her hair and saw that Argel’s ear was slightly lighter in color than her face. He stared at her and she pulled her hair back over her ear, “Please, just let it go.”

Cole smiled and slowly shook his head, “There’s a way to see a human’s attraction for another as well but I’m not about to describe it to you. However, I’m suffering from those symptoms as well.”

Argel stared into Cole’s eyes and smiled, “We need to leave.”

“Indeed we do.”

• • •

Violet watched her brother speak to Argel and could see what they were saying. When Cole took her hand and left the building, she slowly shook her head, “Why you ole son of a gun.”

Ian looked down at her and said, “What?”

“I’ll tell you later.” Ian furrowed his brow and Violet said, “It’s nothing to worry about.” Ian nodded and turned back to Dee.

• • •

Cole pulled up the coordinates and jumped his Theta Ship to them. He landed and lowered the ramp. He stood up and held out his hand to Argel who had remained silent during the flight. “Where are we?”

Cole smiled, “This is where it all began.” He smiled and said in a soft voice, “Come with me.” She stood and took his hand. He led her out of the ship and she immediately saw several crashed starships about a mile away. She looked at him with a furrowed brow and he pulled her toward a large lake. He went and sat down next to a tree and said, “Please sit down.” Argel stared at him and then sat down next to the shore.

Cole looked out at the lake and said, “My sister found this planet by accident attempting to escape the Royal duties that were going to be imposed on her. She brought me here and this is where I stole the jump drive out of one of those crashed ships and took it back to the Union. All of our major advances happened because of what we found here.”

Argel looked out at the derelicts, “Those are some of our older ships.”

The smaller ship was used by some of the species that you enslaved who managed to escape bondage. They lived here more than three hundred years but were discovered by your people. They forced the same species still held in bondage to come and kill this planet. They were successful but didn’t take the FTL Missiles back with them. We stole that technology as well.”

“Why did you bring me here?”

“I learned what your civilization had done and I hated your people. I was determined to do everything in my power to destroy your civilization and remove the cancer from creation that I thought you represented.”

Argel stared at Cole in silence and he continued, “Then I met you.” Cole stared at Argel and then looked out at the lake, “Now I will defend you to my last breath. I have come to know your spirit and learned first respect and then, finally, affection for you. I know we’re two different species but I can’t bear the thought of you not being with me each day. I wake up looking forward to seeing you. I go to sleep missing you. I know I have no chance at having you in my life permanently but I try not to think about that and have tried so very hard not to think about the moment when you’ll leave.”

Argel stared at Cole and slowly pulled her hair back from her ears. They were almost white in color. Cole saw her slowly smile and then he took her in his arms. Much later she said, “I’ll just have to stay.” Cole pulled her close again and she discovered how human males showed their attraction. She decided ears were better. Later, she decided she was wrong.

• • •

The Admiral entered the First’s office and said, “Argel has petitioned their King for Union Citizenship.”

“What!”

“It appears she is somewhat smitten by their lead scientist.”

“That’s ridiculous.” The Admiral just stared at the First not saying anything and the First said, “Well, isn’t it?”

“I don’t really think there’s enough difference in our appearance for this to be a real issue. The question is how different we are mentally. This indicates we are more alike than different.”

“We need her here.”

“Why?”

“What are you talking about? She’s obviously our best scientist.”

“She wasn’t until she met their scientist. I think the two of them complement each other and bring more out of each other than they could alone. We have our best scientist working with them now and we’ll have access to anything they discover.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I think it would be better if you gave your blessing to her new relationship without her being forced to change citizenship. It might also be a good idea to give that Union Scientist dual citizenship and make him one of our citizens as well.”

The First started shaking his head, “Sometimes I think you should be the First Councilor.”

“Couldn’t do it.”

“Why not?”

“I can only tell the truth.”

The First started laughing and then laughed even harder. Finally he managed to say, “I’ll contact their King and approve what you suggest. And you’re right; you wouldn’t last a week.”

The Admiral smiled and left the office.

• • •

Cole and Argel stood in front of the King’s throne and Cole asked for Argel to be granted Union citizenship. The King smiled and said, “You’re asking her to give up her Kilper Citizenship?”

Argel said, “I belong here with Cole.”

The King looked at them and said, “I can’t allow her to give up her Kilper Citizenship. It’s a difficult time and we are still trying to normalize relations with them. Taking their best scientist would cause too many issues.”

“But I’m not their best scientist, Your Majesty.”

“They think you are. It’s their perceptions that are important on this issue.”

Cole looked at Argel and took her hands. The King said, “But I could allow you to become a citizen of the Kilper, Cole.”

Cole looked up at the King and said, “If that’s what it takes, I’ll do it.”

Argel started shaking her head, “No, no, this is your home.”

Cole shook his head, “I won’t live without you.”

The King smiled and said, “Cole please sign this document and Argel I need your signature on it as well.”

Cole reached for the pen and said, “Why does she need to sign my document?”

“Because both of you are being granted dual citizenship in the Union and the Kilper Civilization. You can work out where you live between the two of you.”

Cole looked at the document and saw the King’s and the First Councilor’s signatures on it. The King said, “We both agree that we should do all we can to keep the two of you as happy as possible.”

Argel stared at the King and then Cole showed her the two signatures. She screamed and jumped in Cole’s arms. He held her and turned a circle. He put her down and signed the document just as Ian and Violet entered the chamber. Violet rushed forward and hugged her older brother. Violet smiled, “I know Andi is smiling wherever she is now.”

The King looked at Cole and shook his head slowly; love had found Cole again. None of them knew it at that moment but Cole and Argel’s union was going to have an impact that would shake the foundations of both civilizations.

• • •

Dee sat in Doc’s lap with her eyes closed and Doc felt at peace. He looked out of the viewport and saw millions of stars. He sighed. Dee said, “What?”

“I was just thinking about how many more stars there are in M87.”

“You could fit five of our galaxies inside it.”

“It is big.”

Dee closed her eyes again and after a few minutes she said, “We have to go.”

Doc looked down at her and said, “Go where?”

“We have to go and try to communicate with the Green Ships.”

“Are you out of your mind Those ships don’t communicate; they appear and destroy whatever’s around them.”

“Doc, we have to go.”

Doc blew out a breath and said, “I’ll discuss this with Ian and see what he thinks.”

“You’ll discuss it with no one; we’re just going to go and we’re leaving right now.”

“Dee, you need to think this through. This is too dangerous.”

“I don’t know why but I know we have to do it and we have to do it right now. We can’t delay.” Doc stared at her and saw she was serious. “You have to trust me, Doc.”

Doc started shaking his head and started grumbling. After a moment he said, “Drey, do you have the coordinates where the Black Ships stopped just outside the Green Ship’s border.”

Doc waited and after a few seconds Drey said, “I do.”

Doc looked at Dee and said, “Load them in my board.”

Drey said, “Is this a good idea?”

“What do you think?”

“If I thought it was a good idea I wouldn’t be asking you if it was.”

Doc said, “We are too much alike big guy.”

Doc reached for the weapons controls and Dee said, “Leave the force field off.” Doc stared at her and knew they were going to die. Dee said, “Drey, do you have the language used by the Invaders?”

Doc actually thought he heard the ship sigh, “Yesss.”

Dee looked at Doc and said, “Let’s go.”

Doc had to force himself to push the jump control. Drey disappeared from normal space.

Chapter Sixteen

The Green Ship’s Controller wasn’t comfortable sending the ambassadors to the Grey Ships. The head ambassador was the Sovereign’s son. No royalty of that rank should be placed in danger. But orders were orders. He nodded to his Subcontroller and he communicated, “We are launching the shuttle.”

“We’ll be waiting for their arrival.”

The Controller was surprised when he learned that the Grey Ambassadors were also very high ranking dignitaries in their civilization. These talks must be more important than he thought. He watched the shuttle exit the landing bay and move slowly toward the border. It went through it and suddenly a ship appeared right next to it. The pilot panicked and stopped the shuttle. The Commander knew he couldn’t fire on the intruder without hitting the shuttle.

The Grey Ship Commander was leaning back in his chair when the intruder appeared next to the shuttle and he leaped up and yelled, “DON’T FIRE!!” He also realized that the shuttle would be destroyed if he fired on the intruder. The level of tension on the two warships was at breaking point.

• • •

Dee looked and saw that Drey had emerged into normal space right next to an unarmed ship. She saw the Green and Grey ships activating their weapons and she jumped forward and pushed her communicator, “Put me on their frequency , Nise, and translate what I’m saying!” Dee saw the frequency appear on her board and she pressed the button, “Oh, have we come at a bad time? I can see you’re very busy and we don’t want to interrupt what you’re doing. Should we come back later?”

The Green Ship Controller said, “You are violating our space.”

The Ambassador’s heard the communications and looked at each other. What was going on?

The Grey Commander shouted, “What are you doing here!?!”

Dee took a deep breath and said, “We came here to have a short conversation with you and that’s all. We can come back later if now is a bad time.”

The Lead Ambassador heard the pilot’s speaker say, “Get out of there. That is one of the ships that destroyed the fleet that invaded the other galaxy.”

“Sir, I can’t fire my thrusters without that ship seeing it. We would never escape.”

The Lead Ambassador stood and walked to the pilot’s chair, “Patch me in to that ship.” The pilot stared at him and the Ambassador said, “Do you want to be alive tomorrow? Patch me in.” The pilot Shrugged and handed the Ambassador the communicator. He said, “I understand that you attacked our ships in another galaxy.”

The Green Controller said, “Excellency, you need to get away from that ship.”

“You know as well as I do that we couldn’t move before it could fire on us. It hasn’t been aggressive so far and I’m curious about what they want to talk about.”

Dee said, “Actually, we didn’t attack any of your ships.”

The Ambassador was surprised by the answer, “Why do you say that?”

“Because none of your ships were in that other galaxy.”

“How do you know that?”

“We took a real close look and didn’t see any them.”

The Ambassador was impressed that the being talking was able to scan millions of ships and determine their ships weren’t present. “Why did you come here?”

“We attacked those ships because they were organizing to invade our galaxy. We did it to stop them from attacking us.”

• • •

The Green Controller screamed at the display in frustration. He pounded his arms on his command chair, turned, fell into it, and blew out a huge breath, “Politicians just never shut up and get out of the way. This is crazy.”

• • •

The Ambassador said, “You did a rather efficient job.”

“We had the element of surprise working for us. However, it appears that there is going to be another invasion from your galaxy. We were wondering if you might ask them not to do it.”

The Ambassador looked at the other Ambassadors that had gathered around him and saw their amusement. They were focused on what was being said and were not fearful. “We told them they were stupid before the first invasion. They won’t listen to us.”

“That’s really a shame.”

“Why?”

“I hope you realize that if they come to conquer us and we’re lucky enough to survive their attack that we will be coming to this galaxy to try and prevent any future attacks. We are not an aggressive civilization but it’s hard to just stand by and have someone try to kill you without doing something to protect yourself.”

“That might pose a problem for us.”

“We also came to tell you that we will not be violating your borders if we’re forced to come here. We arrived here with our force field down and all our weapons inactive. We know that you are not the ones trying to kill us.”

“We will not abide a conqueror coming here.”

“We are not coming to conquer. We will leave and not allow any of our ships here after the issue is resolved. We have no desire for conquest.”

“Why should we believe you?”

“You may move your ship to the Grey Ships. We will not fire on you and we will not raise our force fields. We will place our ship at your mercy and then we can continue this conversation if you choose.”

The Ambassador nodded to the pilot and he moved the shuttle away and entered the closest Grey Ship’s landing bay. The Grey Ship’s force field immediately activated.

• • •

The Subcontroller looked at the Controller, “We can hit them now!”

The Controller was starting to relax. The ambassadors were safe, “The Sovereign’s Son is talking with them. Are you going to interrupt that conversation?”

The Subcontroller wilted and shook his shoulders.

• • •

The Ambassadors moved to the bridge of the Grey Ship and the Lead Grey Ambassador said, “You started this conversation. Perhaps you should continue it.”

“What do you think about this?”

“Those ships are part of the reason we approached you about ending our war. I believe this is important. I’ve seen what those ships can do and we are worried about them coming here in retaliation.”

The Royal took the communicator and said, “How were you able to appear when you did? Are you watching us?”

“Not at the moment. Quite frankly, it was pure coincidence that we emerged at just this moment. We did follow the Black Ships this far with one of our scanning devices but it was destroyed. We felt it was important to come and convince you that we are not your enemy.”

Doc was linked to Drey and thought, “What do you see?”

“Not much; there’s only about a hundred main blasters focused on us at the moment.”

“That’s all?”

“Sorry, fifteen more just targeted us.”

Doc shrugged; after one, the others were just overkill.

• • •

“Shouldn’t you be talking with the ones that are attacking you?”

“We initially thought about that but we listened to them divide up the other galaxy and they were quite brutal to the civilizations that were still there. They wouldn’t negotiate with any of them, so we don’t see why they would treat us any differently.”

“What makes you think we’ll negotiate with you?”

“You didn’t participate in the invasion. We feel you’re different from the Invaders. We had to find out.”

The Royal looked at those on the bridge and all of them just didn’t know what to think about the situation. He looked at the Grey Ship Commander and said, “Commander, what do you think?”

“I would have never come in with my force field and weapons inactive. Whoever they are; I do admire their bravery.”

“So you think they’re willing to die to save lives.”

The Commander replayed the conversation in his mind and smiled, “They did say they would come back at a less busy time. If nothing else, they are polite. There aren’t many species I’ve encountered that are.”

• • •

“Ian.”

“Yes, Moe.”

“I don’t want to interrupt you but I think there’s something you should know.”

“What is that?”

“Doc and Dee are currently having a conversation with the Green and Grey Ship Civilizations.”

“WHAT!”

“They arrived at the most fortuitous moment and they haven’t been destroyed yet.”

“Get the fleet ready!”

“Ian, they have their force field down and their weapons are not on line. They will die at the first appearance of any of our ships.”

Ian began cursing and Violet said, “Moe, can you play what is being said?”

“I’ll replay what has been said so far and I’ll interrupt if anything dramatic happens.”

Violet smiled, “That would be good, Moe.”

• • •

The Royal said, “Honestly, you did arrive at a bad time. We are in the middle of ending our hostilities and we need to focus on making that happen. However, if you will return to this place in ten days, I will be here to discuss this further with you.”

“We apologize for interrupting such an important event. Please forgive us for our bad manners and we will come back this time ten days from now.”

“That would be good.”

“Before we go; would it be acceptable to bring one of our leaders that can speak for my civilization at that time and will you ensure his safety?”

The Ambassador smiled, “That would be good as well. I’ll see you then.” The Ambassador watched the small green ship disappear. He turned to the Grey Ambassador, “Do you still want to find peace?”

“Yes, I do.”

“What about with them?”

“Even more so.”

“Then be here when we meet again.”

“I won’t miss it.”

“Our Sovereign may wish to attend this.”

“Our Assembly will probably send the Gedna.”

The Commander said, “I trust you will be sending an appropriate escort for them.”

The Ambassadors looked at each other and the Royal said, “The military is sooo protective.”

The Grey Ambassador smiled, “Aren’t they.”

The Green Controller didn’t like what he was hearing. “Politicians, you can’t live with them…”

• • •

“How is the ship gathering progressing?”

“We are still some time from getting enough here.”

“Tell the participants to get moving. We shouldn’t give that galaxy time to prepare.”

“Some things just can’t be rushed.”

“Are any of those that stayed out of the first invasion taking part in this one?”

“Fifty more have joined but none of the really important ones.”

“Keep me informed. I’ll see if I can’t persuade some of them.”

• • •

Doc and Dee emerged into orbit above Euclid and Ian immediately appeared on their display, “What did you think you were doing? You don’t jump into that situation without letting us know what’s going on.”

Doc looked at Dee and said, “How did you know what we were doing?”

“Moe told us.”

Doc shook his head, “I guess privacy is gone now.” Ian started yelling and Doc said, “I know, I know, but Dee sensed we had to go at that exact moment and I’m glad we did. If we had come one minute sooner or later we would have been destroyed. She was right again about the timing.”

Ian calmed down and said, “I assume the one you’re taking back with you is me.”

Doc was startled, “I guess you did hear everything.”

“I did.”

“Yes, you’re the one.”

“I don’t know about this. The Green Ships are very aggressive.” Ian looked at Dee on his display, “What possessed you to take that risk?”

“I really don’t know.”

Ian rolled his eyes and looked at Doc. Doc said, “Hey, get in line. I don’t know how she does it but I don’t question her anymore. There is no way she could have seen that shuttle across millions of light years. Something is going on but until she makes a mistake, I’m going with her hunches.”

Ian looked at Dee and said, “You have to help me understand how you do this. I don’t want to restrict your movements but this could have ended badly.”

Dee slowly shook her head, “Ian, I just don’t know how this place in my mind operates. I am now forced to believe that I am somehow able to see things in my subconscious immense distances from here. That place processes data and I’m given a push to do something. It’s almost like a physical shove. I know that I have to do it or something bad will happen.” She stared at him and then just shook her head, “I just don’t know.”

Violet said, “Are you sensing anything else?”

“The Invaders will be coming with a giant armada. They won’t make another mistake of not having enough ships to handle us.”

“We only used twenty percent of our ships.”

“I expect them to heavily outnumber us when they come, Ian.”

“More than ten million ships?”

Dee nodded and sighed, “Many more than that.”

“Maybe we should launch a preemptive attack?”

Dee sighed, “I sense that only half of the civilizations there are participating in the Invasion. If we go there first, their numbers will swell when they tell those staying out of the fight that we’re a danger to them. We are going to have to confront their fleets here.”

Ian sat down in his command chair, “Is there anything we need to be doing?”

Dee closed her eyes and said, “Moe, are you listening in?”

“I am.”

“Do you have a database with a list of all the different ships that were in Andromeda?”

“I do.”

“I want you to send that to every ship we have and if any new ship types come in the next invasion, I want you to upload them to our ships even during combat operations.”

Ian was puzzled, “Why would you want that done?”

Dee looked at Ian and said, “Armageddon.”

Doc looked at Ian and saw he didn’t like that answer either.

• • •

Union Ships were sent to the edge of M87 where the giant fleet was being assembled and released hundreds of advanced scanners. Ship construction in both the Union and Kilper civilizations continued at a frenetic pace and it soon became clear that the invasion was still months away.

• • •

Argel looked at Cole, “I think we need to talk.”

“About what?”

“Our future.”

Cole looked shocked and pushed his chair back from his station, “Are you wanting to leave?”

Argel saw his fear and shook her head, “No, nothing like that; I just need to know what your thoughts are about where we’re going with this.”

“I’m going to spend the rest of my life with you, Argel.”

“Then we need to get married.”

“Will you marry me?”

“Of course you big goof ball.”

Cole thought a moment and said, “Why do we NEED to get married?”

Argel stared at Cole and said, “I’m pregnant.” Cole’s expression underwent several metamorphoses and Argel watched them. The last one was the one she expected, “Yes, you’re the father.”

“How is that possible?”

“You need to figure that out. I have no idea how but I know I am. You’re the only one I’ve been with.”

“Argel, we’re two different species. This isn’t possible.”

“Tell it to our baby.”

Cole rushed to her chair and put his arms around her, “I’ll marry you today.”

“Tomorrow might be better. I suspect this announcement might cause some disruption among our civilizations.”

“Before we do that, we need to have you examined to make sure.”

“Oh, I’m sure.”

“We still need to see. We’re going to need proof for the King.”

Argel sighed and then nodded. Three hours later the medical scanning computer verified it. The baby was a product of two species. Cole took Argel to the King and had him marry them on the spot. The King did it because he was in a state of shock. A day later he told them they were going to have to do it again.

“Why?”

“Cole, this announcement has caused a firestorm in the Kilper and Union civilizations.”

“What do you mean?”

“There has continued to be a sense of mistrust between our species after all the death that happened when we were fighting each other. Now they learn that we are not only allies but brothers and sisters genetically. Your marriage will solidify our alliance. The citizens of both civilizations need to see this ceremony.”

Argel looked at Cole and then slowly nodded. Cole turned to the King and said, “We’ll do what needs to be done, Your Majesty.”

Argel said, “The wedding will take place on the planet where Cole took me after the conference.”

The King looked at her and said, “Why there?”

“That’s where our child was conceived. It’s also a lesson that all of us need to see and remember.”

The King nodded and contacted the First Councilor.

• • •

The First sat in his office and said, “Sit down, Admiral.” The Admiral sat and the First poured him a glass of dark liquid and handed it to him. They took a sip, grimaced, blew out a breath, and leaned back in their chairs. “What do you think about this, Admiral?”

“I’m stunned by the announcement.”

“But what do you think?”

“We have found another family.”

“Did you ask the Hub what it thought would happen as a result of this information?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“Within a hundred years all of our planets will have both species living together.” The Admiral paused and said, “The Union’s worlds will also have both species living on them.”

“How did it arrive at that conclusion?”

“Because both species finds the other one exotic; you’ve seen their females.”

The First shook his head, “They do have a way of capturing one’s attention.”

“Now the only obstacle to our species coming together has been removed. We are all in this together.”

“I wonder what their child is going to look like.”

“If I had to guess, I think she’s going to be beautiful.”

“She?”

“Yes, the medical scanner confirmed that it’s going to be a female.”

“Have they decided on a name?”

The Admiral smiled, “They’re going to name her Harmony Argen Montgomery.”

The First smiled. Sometimes, everyone gets it right.

Chapter Seventeen

Doc looked at Dee, “Do you sense anything?”

“There’s going to be a problem?”

“I hate it when you say that.”

“Something will be different this time.”

“Should we go?”

“We have no choice.”

“Drey, keep the FTL Drive hot.”

“First sign of aggression, I’m outta there.”

“Notify Ian we’re ready to go.”

“He and Violet are arriving momentarily.”

Doc said, “We’re risking a lot here. We can’t afford to lose Ian.”

“I don’t sense that happening.”

“How would you know?”

Dee shook her head, “I just…don’t see it.”

Doc stared at her and said, “If we make it back I was wondering if you would consider changing our contract.”

Dee jerked around and said, “What do you mean?”

“Well, currently it’s only good until the end of this war.”

“Yeah, so what?”

“I was wondering if you might consider an extension.”

“An extension; how long?”

“Uhh, the rest of our lives; I was wondering if you might consider marrying me.”

“Of all the hair brained, idiotic, moronic things you could say, you had to say this now.”

“I guess that’s a no.”

“Doc, I’ll marry you right now. You’re forcing me to wait.” Doc started smiling and then he laughed. “What’s so funny?”

“Life with you is going to be so exciting.” Dee rushed over and Ian and Violet found them in the same chair.

“Are we interrupting something?”

Dee jumped up and Doc said, “Dee has just agreed to be my wife.”

Violet smiled and said, “Well congratulations are in order. This is wonderful.”

Ian looked at Doc and said, “Maybe it could be a double wedding.”

Doc looked at Dee and said, “Who else is getting married?”

Ian said, “Violet and I, if she’ll agree to have me.” Violet turned to Ian and he smiled, “I do love you, Violet.”

Violet stared at Ian and said in a quivering voice, “Are you sure about this?”

“Just look in my heart and you’ll know.”

Violet went into Ian’s arms and Dee said, “Now aren’t you really ticked off that we don’t have time to really celebrate this moment because of this mission?”

Violet stepped back and said, “As a matter of fact, I am.”

Ian looked at Doc, “Maybe we should have waited to ask.”

Violet punched him on his arm, “We’ll make up for it when we get back.”

Ian rubbed his arm and said, “She doesn’t know her own strength.”

Doc said, “Dee senses there might be an issue.”

Violet and Ian both looked quickly at Dee, “I don’t know what it is. Just be aware that something is going on.”

Drey announced, “It’s time to go.”

Doc turned and said, “Pull up a chair. I think we might be surprised by what’s waiting at the end of this jump.” Violet and Ian sat down in their secondary control chairs and Doc pushed the jump control. What awaited them exceeded anything they expected.

• • •

The Green Ship Controller didn’t like having the Sovereign so close to the border but he had insisted. He had ordered a hundred ships between his vessel and the border but the Sovereign had ordered them moved. He looked at his Subcontroller and saw him roll his head to the left. What good were two hundred thousand ships if none of them were between the enemy and the Sovereign?

• • •

The Grey Commander was also frustrated. The Leader of the assembly also insisted on being close to the anticipated arrival point. Why couldn’t their leaders understand their reasons for caution? Suddenly the small Green Ship appeared and he looked at his third officer. The officer stared at his panel and then looked up and shook his head. Good, it wasn’t shielded.

• • •

Doc and Dee looked at the hundreds of thousands of warships and were shocked at the display. Dee lifted the portable communicator and said, “I didn’t think we would draw this large a crowd.”

The Green Ambassador chuckled and said, “We really didn’t know what to expect.”

“You only invited us; we wouldn’t show bad manners by bringing anyone else.”

“Even so, one never knows.”

Dee shook her head, “I guess you’re right about that.”

“I have brought our Leader to lead this discussion.”

“I have also brought one that speaks for our civilization.”

The Sovereign said, “Gedna, feel free to enter the conversation at the time of your choosing.”

“Thank you, Sovereign.”

• • •

Dee looked at Ian and said, “There is a large Orange Ship holding station outside the Grey Ships. It’s one of those ship types that were involved in the first planned invasion.”

Ian nodded and waited for the aliens to speak.

• • •

The Sovereign said, “I understand that you wanted us to ask those that are planning to attack you to not do it.”

Ian saw Dee nod and he said, “It really would end a lot of issues if they wouldn’t.”

“We have been contacted by the leader of that effort and invited him here so you could ask him yourself.”

Ian smiled and said, “We welcome the opportunity.”

A voice came over the speaker and they all heard the contempt in the speaker’s voice, “I don’t think you can say anything that would change my mind.”

Ian’s expression changed, “I assume you are the one that killed the Black Civilization in the other galaxy.”

“I am.”

“The Black Civilization made a critical mistake.”

“They came here.”

“Exactly, and as a result of jumping into an unknown situation, it led to their destruction. You’re about to do the same thing.”

There was a moment of silence, “We’re different from that civilization.”

“In what way? Do you know what awaits you in our galaxy? You’re going in blind assuming victory; just as the Black Ships did here.”

“I’ve seen your ships and though they’re different, they’re not powerful enough to defeat my forces.”

“How many ships do we have?” Silence greeted the question. “How many planets do we have?” Again there was silence. Ian said, “The universe is filled with more galaxies than can be counted. Why go to one that you know is not defenseless? We are not an aggressive civilization and represent no danger to your worlds here. We will agree to never violate your space and will come to your defense if you are ever attacked. It doesn’t make good sense to attack us.”

“When would we ever be attacked?”

“You need only look at those billions of galaxies. One never knows where an enemy may originate.”

“You attacked my fleets and destroyed more than five million ships.”

“Those ships were organizing to attack my galaxy. We attacked to defend ourselves.”

“You will pay for that aggression.”

Ian thought a moment and said, “If I were to pull a blaster and point it at you, are you entitled to shoot me first?” Silence followed the question. Ian said, “Who was the aggressor? The one that pulled the blaster first or the one that fired in self-defense?”

“This conversation is over. You should prepare to die.”

Dee said, “Do you know what we’re going to do in the event that you are able to destroy our planets?”

“It won’t matter. None of you will survive.”

“You might be right about our planets but how many ships manage to escape major battles? We have loaded every ship type that was in the fleet organizing to attack us into all of our warships. If you succeed in killing our planets, the survivors have been ordered to come here and find the planets of those ships and start destroying them until you’re able to destroy our ships.”

“One ship can’t destroy a planet.”

“One of our ships can blast a planet into fragments with one beam and it will be able to escape faster than you can imagine. You should really think about this before you unleash this horror on your worlds. We don’t want to have to do this.”

“You’re pitiful in you deceit.” The Orange Ship disappeared.

Silence ruled the frequency and after a minute they heard, “I told you they didn’t listen to us. At least they are consistent.” Another pause and the Sovereign said, “Are you being honest about destroying a planet?”

Ian thought a moment and said, “We do not deceive, Sovereign.”

The Gedna said, “There is an uninhabited planet seven light years away. I would like to see you demonstrate this ability.”

Ian looked at Doc and he slashed his hand across his throat. Ian turned off the communicator and Doc said, “This is not something you can avoid. If you don’t do it they’ll know you’re capable of deceit and if you do it they may fear us enough to join them.”

Ian looked at Dee and she opened her eyes, “Destroy the planet.”

Ian turned the communicator back on, “We did not come here to fire weapons of war but to avoid doing this will cause you to believe that we are capable of not telling the truth. We will do this if you want.”

The Sovereign looked at his son and said, “We need to know.” The Royal said, “We would like permission to enter your borders to observe this demonstration.”

“You no longer need permission; our borders no longer exist. Your ships are welcome in our territory.” The Gedna paused and looked at the Ship Commander who looked at his navigator who nodded, “I’m sending you the coordinates of the planet.”

Ian said, “I will not raise my force field. I’ll only energize one beam.”

“We will meet you at the planet.”

Ian shut off the communicator, “Are we able to destroy a planet?”

Doc shook his head, “Now’s a fine time to ask.”

Drey said, “I don’t know if we can fragment a planet but the Boson Blaster should do tremendous damage.”

Ian said, “Drey, it’s only an inch wide.”

“At sixty miles it’s a foot wide; it’s more than eight hundred miles wide at ten thousand miles.”

“Will it hold together that far out?”

“I’ll use the entire collector to fire it.”

Ian looked at Doc, who shrugged, “Take us to the planet.”

Drey jumped to the coordinates and saw a small planet hanging in space. It was little more than bare rock and did not have an atmosphere. They heard, “You may proceed.”

The Grey and Green Fleets were hanging in space about twenty thousand miles from the planet. Drey moved to ten thousand miles from the planet’s surface and energized the forward Boson Blaster. Doc said, “Drey, what do you think is going to happen?”

“How would I know?”

Doc rolled his eyes and everyone looked at the display. Doc lifted the cover from the firing mechanism and said, “I guess we’re going to find out.”

• • •

The Controller said, “You are recording?”

“I am.”

• • •

The brilliant blue beam shot out of the nose of the Union ship and hit the planet. Analysis after the fact indicated that if the planet had an atmosphere the beam might not have been as effective. But it didn’t. The beam hit in an eight hundred mile wide circle and blew through the center of the planet and out the other side. All of the matter it contacted immediately released all of its energy in a nuclear explosion. The planet didn’t fragment; it blew apart in a massive explosion that scattered it outward in a massive shockwave. Every ship jumped away to avoid the onrushing debris from the planet’s explosion. They all reassembled back at the original location.

• • •

Ian listened but only silence greeted him. He thought about what to say and struggled. Dee pressed the communicator and said, “I know what you’re thinking. You’re afraid of what you’ve just seen but you’re wrong to think that way.”

The Sovereign was shocked speechless. His son said, “Why?”

“We do not deceive. We were being honest when we said that we would come and defend you against any enemy that attacks you. You should think about having that beam being used to protect you.”

“How can we know you’re being honest?”

“There’s only one way.”

“And that is?”

“You have to trust. Just as we’ll have to trust that you won’t attack or attempt to cause us harm.”

“We can’t stop the others from invading your galaxy.”

“We know and we don’t blame you for it. You will be safe from any action we take to defend our civilizations.”

The Sovereign listened and said, “Gedna, we are going to agree to never attack them.”

“We will also honor the agreement.”

Ian took a deep breath and said, “We wish you long life and we thank you for allowing us to come and communicate with you.”

• • •

The small Green Ship disappeared and the Gedna said, “Are you going to share this with Zemmar?”

The Sovereign shook his shoulders, “And spare them what they have coming, no I’m not.”

“It might stop them from invading.”

“Perhaps, but I suspect he would keep it to himself. He’s power mad and nothing is going to prevent him from moving forward. He wants to be the all-powerful ruler of a galaxy and his ego will push him forward.”

“You know that he’s really trying to gather enough strength to take us on.”

“I suspect our recent visitor might do something about that.”

The Gedna smiled, “One can only hope.”

The Controller listened to his leaders communicate and couldn’t get the image of the exploding planet out of his mind. His superiority complex was undergoing an adjustment. Perhaps in future encounters it might be better to communicate first.

• • •

Violet looked at Ian, “Did you know that was going to happen?” Ian shook his head. “Will our beams be that powerful against a normal sized planet?”

“No, they won’t do as much damage.”

Violet looked up and said, “I didn’t know you were listening in, Moe.”

“I was following this in Dee’s thoughts, although I must say they’re somewhat muddled with Doc’s proposal.”

Dee said, “Moe, you need to mind your own business.”

“Oh, did I do something wrong?”

Doc looked at Dee and she said, “This is so sudden, I’m hoping you really mean it.”

Doc shook his head, “It’s all I’ve thought about for months. I was worried that you wouldn’t accept after what you originally said.”

“Things change, Doc.”

“I guess they do.”

Violet said, “Let’s get back to the question. What do you mean, Moe?”

“That planet had nothing to buffer the beam before it hit the planet’s surface. A planet with an atmosphere would greatly weaken the Boson Beam before it hit the surface.”

“Oh…so it wouldn’t destroy the planet?”

“No, it would ignite the atmosphere and burn the entire surface but it wouldn’t blow it apart.”

Violet rolled her eyes and said, “I meant to imply that it wouldn’t kill everything on the surface.”

“It won’t; some bacteria would survive and the oceans would remain for the most part after the beam strike.”

“What do you mean for the most part?”

“They would probably lose about a half a mile of depth but some sea life would remain in the lower depths until the atmosphere dissipated. Once that happened, the oceans would freeze.”

Violet looked at Ian and he said, “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“Would we do it?”

Doc said, “I would.”

Violet looked at Doc, “Yeah, but you’re different.”

“If you say so.”

“You are, Doc.”

Doc looked at Ian, “If all of our worlds were blasted, would you just let it go or would you go after their worlds? Assume Violet was killed in their attack.”

Ian stared at Doc, looked at Violet, and then said, “I’d burn them to bedrock at every opportunity.”

Dee said, “So would I.”

Violet stared at them and Doc said, “Imagine Ian was killed while defending our planets.”

Violet’s expression changed three times and she said, “Someone would pay.”

Doc tilted his head, “I’m just saying; our surviving ships won’t be any different. You know how fast our ships can emerge, fire, and jump or fly away at light speed. Oh there will be massive payment for their actions if they succeed.”

Ian said, “Why wait?” Doc looked at him and moved his head back, “Now you’re starting to scare me.”

“Why?”

“You’re supposed to keep me in check; you’re sounding like me.”

Ian stared at Doc and after a moment said, “Send a ship out and have it release a thousand more advanced sensors outside that galaxy. We have the frequency of his ship. Have the sensors programmed to find the location of the planets where those Orange Ships are located. Once they’re found, have them find the capital.”

Violet looked at Ian, “What are you going to do?”

“The moment their ships come here, we’re going to hit that planet.”

Doc looked at them and said, “I’ll do it.”

“No, we need you leading our fleets against them.”

“Then let me find a suitable ship to make it happen.”

“Knock your lights out. Just make sure they’ll do it.”

“Trust me, I know what it takes.”

• • •

Cole’s and Argel’s wedding was viewed by both civilizations. There were thousands of dignitaries present and the moment that touched the hearts of all the populations was the First Councilor’s speech blessing the wedding and declaring the planet a memorial to remind his people of the evil inherent in slavery. He vowed to make sure his leadership would do everything possible to make up for the horror and evil his civilization had caused. He also vowed that slavery would never be allowed in the galaxy again.

The viewers saw he was sincere and meant what he said. For the billions that suffered under the Kilper domination they started to find peace. They were now members of the new Galactic Union and saw their future looked brighter. The marriage of Cole and Argel symbolized that union and all of the hundreds of thousands of planets felt their resolve grow to defend the new alliance. Ship construction surged and the numbers of warships accelerated. The numbers of citizens joining the fleets also saw a remarkable surge as well.

• • •

Doc sat in Cole’s office on Euclid and looked at the two officers sitting in front of his desk. The Kilper was big, even for a tall species. The human female was average size but had the same black hair and blue eyes that Dee possessed. Doc stared at them and said, “Your commanders have discussed what we need you to do.”

The Kilper said, “They have, Sir.”

“You’ve been chosen to do this for several reasons.” Doc turned to the Kilper, “You’ve demonstrated in the last two fleet actions that you will do your duty.” The Kilper nodded. “I was impressed that you attacked ten ships alone when one of your squadrons was in danger.”

“Those ships were coming here to attack my family. I will miss not being present to attack them if they come here.”

Doc smiled, “You should get back in time to participate.”

The woman said, “Why was I chosen?”

Doc looked at her and saw steel in her face, ‘You are one of the Santa Rosa telepaths. We need you there to allow us to communicate.”

“Is that the only reason?”

“No; you’re also impossible to work with and are as hardheaded as any officer in the Navy. I know you’ll do what has to be done.”

The Kilper looked at her and then said, “Who is in command of this mission?”

“You are.”

The woman said, “And why is that?”

“Because if you were; you would run him off in about an hour.”

She stared at Doc for a long moment and said, “Just checking, Sir.”

Doc looked at the two of them and knew they had not met each other before the meeting. If this didn’t work, they wouldn’t have to stay together longer than the mission. “The scanners have located the vicinity of the Orange Ships territory and are now looking for the Capital. We’ll send that to you as soon as it comes in. Once we have it, you need to jump your ship out and make your plans. We’ll notify you if we need you to proceed. You’re dismissed.”

The two jumped to attention, saluted, did an about face, and left the office. Once they were outside the woman started complaining, “I don’t see why you have to be in command. I could have done it. I’m also a pilot.”

The Kilper turned to her, “My name is Kregen.”

She stared at him for a moment and said, “I’m Marissa.”

“I didn’t make this decision; however, you and I are going to have to resolve how we’re going to work together. I will not take action without your advice and input. We should agree on what we should do and attempt to come up with the best strategy. You are a partner in this mission and I’m going to need you working with me to make it succeed.”

Marissa stared at the Kilper and said, “What happens if we can’t agree?”

“Then I will have to make the best decision I can based on what we’ve discussed. I need your agreement that if that happens, you’ll give me your best effort.”

Marissa saw the Kilper wasn’t being bossy. She stared at him and said, “How do you think we should go in?”

“FTL.”

Marissa smiled, “I think we’re going to get along just fine.”

Kregen said, “I really hope we do.”

Marissa said, “I’m not that bad.”

“How many navigators have you had?”

Marissa stared at him and said, “Six.”

“After three, the problem had to be you. Please think about that.” Kregen turned and walked toward the ship leaving Marissa angry but wondering if he was right.

• • •

Dee walked in the office and said, “Why did you pair her with him?”

“Do you think a human male would last?”

Dee tilted her head back and forth and said, “Probably not.”

“I’m hoping they’re different enough that they will at least respect that difference long enough to make this happen.”

“It’s a shame she’s such a pill.” Doc smiled and Dee said, “Don’t even think I was that hard to get along with.” Doc continued to smile. “I wasn’t that bad!”

“One of our ancient philosophers said it well; know thy self.” Dee started tapping her foot and Doc said, “Dom gave me some footage of the two of you working with the flight crews at the main space port. You might want to take a look at it.”

Dee thought back and remembered. “That’s alright. I’ll concede the point.”

Doc said, “There could be hope for her; if you could change…”

“That Kilper is not you, Doc.”

“No…he’s not. But he is courageous. She won’t be able to push him around.”

Dee went and sat in Doc’s lap, “I have this thing I need to handle…you know…a wedding.”

Doc laughed and said, “Let’s get on it.”

Chapter Eighteen

The Invasion Leader slammed his hand on his desk. Twenty scouts had been sent to the spiral galaxy and all twenty had been found and destroyed before they could start their searches. This was not a good thing. He was going to be going in blind if something didn’t change…quickly. He thought back to the meeting with the aliens from the spiral galaxy and smiled. They didn’t know they had actually given him the reason to continue with the invasion. The threat of going and destroying planets in his galaxy is exactly what he needed to happen. If they could only hit Bradet he would be back in charge. He had been removed from power and the new Leader had agreed to give him ten percent of the warships to go and form a new territory for himself in another galaxy. He was forced to make the agreement to avoid a civil war where he knew he would be outnumbered and out gunned. If he could defeat those aliens in their galaxy and somehow give them Bradet’s coordinates, he could go back and assume power. Then he would be the absolute ruler of both. But first, he had to defeat the forces in the spiral galaxy and kill their planets. He thought about it and wondered if the aliens were watching his fleets. If they were, he might be able to show them Bradet’s location. He picked up his communicator, “Admiral, I want you to start sending all of my ships back to Bradet for servicing. Send them in groups of ten and make sure they’re ready by the time all of the ships arrive for the invasion.”

“That means I will be sending a steady stream back.”

“Just make it happen.”

“I’ll need to send a thousand at a time to complete the task by the time we invade.”

“MAKE IT HAPPEN!”

“I will start them now.”

The orange colored being smiled, and thought, “Maybe they’ll do this before the attack. That would be a gift from the Gods.”

• • •

A thousand Orange Ships jumped away from the giant ship gathering and an advanced scanner detected their path and surfed the waves in other space to their destination. It sent the location and ten more scanners surfed in and then scattered to examine other planets in the civilization they had found. They determined that the first planet was the location of the central government. The information was sent to the Obelisk.

• • •

Kregen looked at his communicator and immediately contacted Marissa, “I have our target.”

“When did it come in!?!”

“A few moments ago; I have the scanner in the target’s system sending a feed to your panel.”

“I’m on my way.”

“Did you handle the additional collector?”

“It will be installed in two hours. We should be ready to leave by tomorrow morning.”

“Good, I’ll see you at the ship.”

• • •

Kregen and Marissa were examining the feeds that had been sent back by the scanner and Marissa said, “They have too many holes in the planet’s defenses.” Kregen continued to stare at his display and grunted. “We should be able to do this if we plan a good approach.” Kregen grunted again. “Do you know how to talk or do you just make sounds?”

Kregen looked up and said, “Something’s not right.”

Marissa watched him continue to stare at his console and after a minute said, “Are you going to share what you’re seeing?”

Kregen looked up and she saw he was conflicted. “I’ve done an examination of the number of Orange Ships that have been sent to the invasion fleet.”

“So?”

“According to the scanner in their main system, those ships only represent a small percentage of their total ships.”

Marissa stared at Kregen and he turned back to his display, “So?”

Kregen looked up and said, “Most of the other civilizations taking part in the invasion have sent a larger percentage. Logic would dictate that the leader of the invasion would be more invested in it. This just doesn’t feel right.”

“Even so, we’re going to take that planet out.”

Kregen looked at Marissa for a long moment and then nodded. He looked up and said, “Moe.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Is it possible to have the scanner at the Orange World’s location intercept their transmissions and send them to you for analysis?”

“Yes, it is possible.”

“Do you have enough open memory to do that analysis?”

“Why do you want this done?”

“I want to know why they didn’t send more ships.”

“I’ll see what I can find out.”

“Thank you, Moe.”

Marissa looked at Kregen, “What difference does it make? That’s the Invasion Leader’s home planet.”

“Probably none.” Kregen looked back at his display, “But I don’t like unanswered questions.”

Marissa turned back to her console, “Then don’t ask them.” Kregen grunted again.

• • •

The Invasion Leader saw his second in-command come running on to the bridge, “Sire, a group of scouts were able to penetrate the galaxy and found a massive civilization.”

The Leader’s face showed his delight, “What did they find?”

“They followed a massive jump track to a group of worlds that are completely covered with cities. All the land masses are one large city.”

“How many planets?”

“About fifty thousand, Sire. They are heavily defended by orbital satellites but very few ships are at their location.”

The Leader thought, “Now this is good. If we can destroy those planets quickly, all their ships will go to my galaxy and start killing planets. I’ll be viewed as a savior when I return to defend them.”

“How many ships will we have to use?”

“The most recent estimate is fifty million.”

“That’s a thousand ships for each planet.”

“Yes, Sire.”

“Start sending the coordinates out and let me know when the last ships arrive.” The Second rushed off the bridge and the Invasion Leader leaned back in his chair. “This makes organization easier. A thousand ships are easier to organize than millions. They’ll destroy the planets and as many ships as possible before they jump away. Once the alien’s ships start attacking our home worlds, I’ll come back and finish the job in the spiral galaxy. Things were shaping up nicely. Now if they’ll just destroy Bradet.”

• • •

Dee looked at Doc, “Ian has just notified me that the Invader fleet is dividing into groups of a thousand ships.”

Doc thought a moment and said, “They must have been able to get a scout into our galaxy.”

Dee’s brow furrowed, “Why do you say that?”

“The estimate of the number of ships in the invasion fleet is about fifty million. There are fifty thousand former main planets of the Kilper.”

Dee nodded, “That would be a thousand ships per planet.”

“We didn’t detect those scouts. That’s bothersome.”

“They took the bait of the jump tracks.”

Doc scowled, “I know but I would have preferred them to have to organize after they discovered those planets. Now we’re going to have to assign ships to each of the main planets.”

“How many will be used?”

“We have ten million ships available. That means two hundred ships at each planet.”

Dee shook her head, “Those are not good odds.”

“We can only hope the orbital stations can cut their numbers down before our ships take them on.” Dee closed her eyes and after a few minutes opened them. Doc said, “Do you sense anything?”

Dee shook her head, “No, I don’t. This feels like it could go either way.”

“Let me know if you see anything. Maybe the attack on the Orange Capital might slow them down.”

Dee nodded but felt uneasy about something to do with that attack but she wasn’t able to determine what it was. She continued to struggle with it but came no closer to an answer.

• • •

Cole sat with Argel in the Science Center and heard her ask, “How many different ship types are there in the invading fleet?”

Cole looked at his computer and issued a query. After five minutes the computer beeped and he was shocked, “More than eighty thousand.”

Argel stared at him and said, “We have two civilizations and we’re facing eighty thousand. We also know many are not participating in this invasion. This is staggering.”

Cole looked back at his display and said, “They’re only sending about twenty percent of their ships for this invasion. Even if we win, the enemies facing us will outnumber us in the millions.”

“You think they’ll keep coming?”

“If they fear us enough, they will.”

Argel nodded, “We aren’t any closer to solving the problem of the Higgs Field collapse.”

Cole nodded, “We’ve got to find a solution.”

Argel nodded and went back to her terminal.

• • •

Kregen leaned back in his chair and shook his head. Marissa said, “What’s bothering you?”

“I’ve been looking at the information coming in from the scanners. I don’t understand the stupidity of the Invasion Leader.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s been sending about a thousand ships a day back for servicing on the main planet of the Orange Ships.”

“So?”

“He knows we’ve threatened to destroy his worlds if he’s successful with his invasion; why would he deliberately leave a trail to his most important planet?”

“Maybe that’s the only place there are service facilities.”

“No, the scanners have confirmed them on thousands of other planets.”

“Perhaps he’s just dumb.”

Kregen shook his head, “I don’t think he’s that dumb.”

“Leaving tracks like that is stupid. Chalk it up to a moron.” Marissa looked up from her display, “Fleet says we should jump to our jumping off coordinates. They expect the enemy fleet to start moving before long.”

Kregen entered the coordinates and before he pushed the jump drive he said, “Moe, do you have anything?”

“I do not. Nothing has turned up to explain the difference.”

Marissa shook her head, “Just let it go. We have a job to do.”

Kregen pushed the drive button and didn’t like what he was seeing.

• • •

The Invasion Leader kept waiting for the Home World to be destroyed but so far nothing had happened. What to do; what to do? Perhaps they were waiting for the invasion to begin before they attacked. “Second, report to the bridge.”

“Yes, Sire.”

“I want the ships that have arrived to jump to an assembly point half way between us and the spiral Galaxy.”

The Second looked puzzled, “Won’t that make things more difficult to get the ships organized?”

“Just do it.”

“Yes, Sire.”

• • •

Becky sat at her console and watched the massive fleet gathering to invade and still ships continued to arrive. She shook her head and looked at Dom who had his face plate lifted, leaning back in his chair, and staring intently at his display. “What are you doing?”

Dom was startled by the question and said, “I’m reading.”

“What?”

Dom turned his command chair around and looked at Becky, “Before Earth destroyed itself during the period of colonization, most of the colony ships took a copy of the central library with them to their new planets.”

“Yean, so what?”

“When D was in for servicing, I went to the Science Library on Euclid and discovered that they had copied everything that had survived from Earth to the main terminal in the archives. I did a little looking around and found some ancient books that were written thousands of years before Earth’s destruction. I find them quite entertaining.”

“What are they about?”

“Several are a series of books called Day Soldiers written by Brandon Hale. It’s a story of some highly trained warriors that are fighting to save humanity from creatures called vampires.”

“What’s a vampire?”

“You really don’t want to know.”

Becky stared at Dom and lowered her face, “You don’t think I can handle it?”

Dom shrugged, “vampires were creatures that were immortal. They were also the living dead. They survived by attacking humans and using their fangs to drain their bodies of blood.”

“Ooooooo, that’s gross.”

“I told you.”

Becky turned back to her console and after a moment said, “Can I read them when you’ve finished?”

“I’ll send you another book he wrote. You can read the series when I’m done.”

An hour later, Becky looked up and shook her head, “Vampires don’t hold a candle to the creatures in the Man from Newella. This is scary stuff.”

Nise said, “You need to link to me, Becky. I see some elements of the Invader’s Fleet starting to move.”

Becky saved the book and pulled her face plate down linking her to the computer. She examined the most recent scans and said, “Close it up, Dom. Something’s going on.”

Dom said, “Darn it. I was just getting to the good part.” He pulled his face plate down, “D, activate the force fields and weapons.”

“All systems are active.”

Dom sent the signal to go to condition red to the ten thousand ships assigned to his fleet and watched as they linked in to D’s tactical. He noted which planets were assigned to his fleet and pressed the general frequency, “If some of you are able to finish your initial assignment, don’t delay going to the other assignments to assist your comrades. Stay at condition Red until that fleet declares its intentions.”

Becky continued to watch the giant fleet and saw jump fields starting to appear, “They’re moving.”

Dom said, “Do not leave formation until they enter our galaxy. Maintain your position until released to go to your assigned planet.”

• • •

Ian watched the Invasion Fleet start moving and said, “Start the attack on the Orange Capital.”

Kregen received the order and said, “The attack has been authorized. We’re jumping to initiate our attack profile. We are now at Condition Red.” Marissa charged her weapons and smiled at the coming mission.

• • •

“What are you doing here? I thought you were with the invasion fleet.”

“We have a faulty feed to the number six reactor. We had to drop out and come see if it can be repaired.”

“I’m glad it’s you invading that galaxy and not us.”

“As if I have a choice; when the former Emperor was overthrown, I was one of the ships he chose to take with him.”

“Better you than me. At least we didn’t have a civil war to settle the issue.”

“There is that. Still, giving him ten percent of our ships and sending him on his way was not a good thing for those of us sent with him.”

“Sorry, but in the long run, I think the best thing happened.”

“You’re probably right. Permission to approach the Service Facility.”

“Permission granted.”

The Advanced Scanner recorded the conversation and sent it.

• • •

Kregen had the ship at a thousand times Light Speed and the star system of the Orange Capital was growing larger on the scanners. “Kregen, I have an answer to your question.”

Marissa shouted, “We don’t have time for this, Moe. We’re on our approach path.”

Kregen said, “What did you find out?”

“The Invasion Leader was overthrown in a bloodless coup. He was given ten percent of the Orange Ships to go and start a new Empire. It prevented a civil war in the Orange Empire.”

Kregen reached forward and pulled the controls toward him and the ship moved off its trajectory and began moving above the Galaxy. Marissa saw the move and yelled, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!”

“I’m not going to attack without our leadership authorizing it in light of this new information. Moe, get this to Ian, now.”

Marissa turned and said, “You are violating our orders. Turn the ship back on course.”

Kregen looked at her and continued to move away from the attack profile, “Not until we get authorization.”

Marissa stood and pointed her hand toward Kregen. A blaster appeared in it and she said, “You will turn this ship back on course or I’m going to shoot you for treason.”

Kregen stared at her and said, “Do what you have to do.”

Marissa’s finger tightened on the trigger.

• • •

“Ian.”

“Yes Moe.”

“We’ve discovered that the Invasion Leader was overthrown and forced out of power by the Orange Civilization. He was given ten percent of their ships to leave without starting a civil war.”

“What about the other ships?”

“They are still at the Orange Civilization. They are not participating in the invasion.”

Ian focused on the information and many unrelated facts fell into place, “Abort the mission!”

• • •

Marissa’s eyes narrowed and she aimed the blaster at Kregen’s head just as she heard, “Abort the attack; Abort the attack. Ian Montgomery has ordered the attack canceled.”

Marissa was shocked at the announcement and shouted, “WHY!”

Kregen looked at Marissa and said, “Because the Orange Civilization is not taking part in the invasion.” Marissa dropped her hand and the blaster disappeared. She fell back in her chair and Kregen said, “Have you done an analysis, Moe?”

“Yes; if we destroyed their capital, all of the former Emperor’s opposition would have been killed and he would have come back and assumed power. He would have then ordered the eight million ships to join the invasion.”

Marissa stared at the speaker on the wall and Kregen continued moving the ship away from M87. “Thanks, Moe.” He looked at Marissa, “That explains why he made all of the jump tracks to that planet. I suspect he is not actually jumping to invade but is moving the fleet in hopes that we would attack the capital. If we had destroyed the capital we would have killed forty billion innocent inhabitants and caused eight million more ships to join the invasion. The loss of life in the Union due to those ships taking part could be massive.”

Marissa felt the impact of what would have happened if Moe had not interrupted her and felt the shock overwhelm her. Her head fell into her hands and she started weeping. Kregen had entered the coordinates to jump back to the Union and saw her collapse on her console. He stood and rushed over and knelt in front of her chair and lifted her chin, “It didn’t happen, Rissa. We didn’t do it.”

Marissa wailed, “Not because I didn’t try. I was going to kill you.”

Kregen looked into her eyes, “We are a team. Whatever happens, we do it together. We didn’t do this. I need you on this ship. There is no one else I would rather have commanding our weapons. You are the best. You have to let this go. It didn’t happen.”

Marissa raised her face and Kregen saw her tears. She realized that Kregen had seen all the clues that she had ignored. She should have been listening to him and had fought him for an opportunity to fight. She realized that she was a weapon and Kregen was a commander. She wiped her tears away with her sleeve and nodded. Kregen smiled and said, “We’re going back to fight that fleet. I need you ready to take them on.”

Marissa took a breath, “Yes Sir. I’ll be ready.”

Kregen went to his chair and pushed the jump drive. He heard K through his link, “Something has changed.”

Kregen thought, “What do you mean?”

“Lissa just told me that something has changed in Marissa.”

Kregen paused, “Is that a good or bad thing?”

“I don’t know; but she’s never called you Sir before.”

Kregen thought for a moment and realized K was right.

• • •

Violet looked at Ian, “Are you going to tell him that we’re not doing his dirty work for him?”

Ian shook his head, “I don’t think so. If we tell him we’re not attacking the Capital, it may cause him to speed up the invasion. However, I need a Prime Order sent out to the fleets that any orange colored ship in the invasion fleet is a priority target.”

Violet smiled, “The Invasion Leader could come out of the conflict without ships to impose his will. That’s providing the Union survived the invasion.”

Chapter Nineteen

The Invasion Leader jumped his fleet and once they emerged into normal space he looked at his Communications Officer and nodded. The Officer contacted the ship that was sent back for repairs, “How is the repair proceeding?”

“We are slated for tomorrow.”

“Contact me directly if anything happens to delay your departure.”

“We will do so.”

The officer nodded to the Leader. He knew the repair would take several days and after three days he had the ship contacted again. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He knew the repair facility was away from the planet and if the planet was attacked, they would report it. Apparently, the Aliens were not going to attack.

He leaned back in his chair. He knew that the Aliens should have attacked when he moved the fleet closer to their galaxy to impress on him the danger of going through with the invasion. But they didn’t. His confusion was beginning to worry him. He forced himself to slow his thoughts and focus on the issue. He closed his three eyes and slowed his breathing. He allowed the information to enter his secondary mind and watched as it analyzed all the possibilities. He was far from stupid. He was a superior product of a highly advanced civilization. He watched the process in his conscious mind and saw two possibilities emerge. One; the aliens weren’t being honest about their ability to actually destroy a planet. If that was the case, they weren’t as powerful as they tried to imply to the Green and Grey Civilizations. Or…they had somehow learned the current political situation in his former civilization. Which was the right answer? He thought about it and contacted one of the planets on the edge of the Orange Civilization. He was directed to the scientist responsible for scanning and asked, “Has anything unusual happened recently?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I’m just trying to make sure the galaxy we’re invading has not sent any ships to our territory.”

“We’ve not detected any ships.”

The Leader heard something in the scientist’s voice, “But?”

“We’re trying to figure out something that was unusual.”

“What was that?”

“Several planets detected a wave moving through our space at light speed. However, it appeared to be moving much faster than a wave should.”

“How much faster?”

“That’s just it. If our instruments were accurate it had to be moving at thousands of times the speed of light. We know that’s not possible so we’re trying to see if there is a malfunction in our system.”

“Let me know what you find out.”

“I’ll send you the information when we complete the investigation.”

The Leader ended the contact and thought a moment. He activated his secondary mind and watched it analyze the new data. After twenty minutes he was certain that the aliens had launched an attack but had not completed it. They must know something. He thought about it and sent a question to his mind, “If the aliens know about the political situation in my civilization, what ramifications would that have on the coming invasion?”

The analysis took several hours and he wasn’t able to keep up with all the dynamics being used to make a determination. When the analysis ended, the result shocked him. If the aliens knew that he was the one pushing the invasion, he would be the prime target of their response. Further, if they knew he had a limited number of ships, they would also be prime targets of their response. The aliens would know if they destroyed his ships, his power would be effectively eliminated. He looked at the concepts and realized they had to be accurate. Only half of his ships were here to participate in the invasion, but if he lost them, his leadership would be challenged and he would have no way to exert pressure in directing the division of territories afterward.

• • •

“Ian, all of the Orange Ships are being pulled out of the ranks and are assembling into thousand ship groupings.”

Ian pulled up the scan on his display and wondered what was going on. He looked up, “Moe, do an analysis of this and tell me what you determine.”

Violet looked at Ian, “You think he’s planning something?”

“I do; I just don’t know what.”

Two hours later Moe said, “Either he can hear your communications or he has determined that you’re aware of the situation in his galaxy.”

“Tell me what you mean?”

“You did order all Orange Ships were to be a prime target. If he knows that our attack was called off, then he will suspect we know his current situation and he only possesses a limited number of ships. He’ll know we’re going to target his ships.”

“So why is he moving them into groups?”

“The highest probability is that he’s not going to send them in with the rest of the fleet.”

Ian looked at Violet and then said, “What will he do?”

“Jump them somewhere else until the invasion sorts itself out.”

“That means four hundred main planets won’t be attacked.”

“When attacking fifty thousand planets, four hundred won’t be noticed.”

“His Allies may not take too kindly to that.”

“If the invasion is successful, he’ll just jump them into their targets afterward and no one will be the wiser. None of his allies will be present to report it. He can also call in reinforcements if he needs them.”

Ian focused on the problem and after a moment said, “Where are his other ships?”

Violet tilted her head back, “What other ships?”

Ian brow furrowed, “According to what we learned, he received ten percent of the Orange Civilization’s ships. We’ve determined they have eight million ships remaining. That means he was given eight hundred thousand ships. Only half of them are here; where are the others?”

Moe was silent and Ian couldn’t come up with a good answer. Violet suddenly said, “What is his intent in coming here?”

Ian shrugged, “I guess to start a new empire.”

“He can do that somewhere else.”

“Where?”

“Andromeda.”

Moe said, “That has to be it.”

Ian shook his head, “This being is a real evil cookie. By moving all the ships here, he can consolidate his forces in Andromeda and have the prime real estate there with no one to prevent his takeover.”

Violet shrugged, “Ian, this is just a guess.”

“It makes sense, Violet. I suspect he will jump those ships to Andromeda and watch what happens here. Either way, he can’t lose. If we defeat his fleet, then the next Leader selected will still be focused on us. It will allow him time to consolidate his position without interruption. I suspect that those ships that still support him in his old civilization will leave to join him while the invasion takes place. If they win here, he’ll have two empires.”

Violet nodded, “Is there anything we can do about it?”

“That’s the clincher; we can’t afford to send any ships to stop him. We are so outnumbered that we have to fight them here. If I didn’t dislike him so much I would have to admire his planning skills.”

Moe said, “There’s one other thing.”

Ian said, “What’s that?”

“All of the warships in Andromeda were destroyed but they had more than a year before that happened to move in populations and engineers to the planets they selected. I suspect they are building ships in Andromeda at this very moment.”

Ian shook his head, “And he is in charge of all those planets.”

“Our last scans showed more than a hundred thousand planets had been settled and thousands of ships had arrived to start developing those planets.”

Violet looked at Ian, “We can’t allow him to get away with this.”

Ian sighed, “First things first. We have a bigger problem to solve here.”

Moe said, “Everything is not all black. If he doesn’t send his ships in, that gives us eighty thousand more ships to use against the invasion.”

“But we don’t know which planets he’s assigned to attack. There’s no way we can plan to use them in time.”

“Oh but you underestimate me, grasshopper.”

“Grasshopper?”

“Forget that; it comes from Earth’s ancient history. However, we are not attacking them with our ships immediately. We’re going to wait until the orbital platforms do their thing. While that is happening, the Hub and I will see which planets are not being attacked and we can send those ships to the planets where the platforms are not as successful as the others.”

“Can you do it in time?”

“Come on, Ian.”

Ian laughed out loud and said, “Moe, you surprise me more and more.”

Violet smiled and said, “Let’s kick their bumps.”

Moe interjected, “Wherever their bumps are located. Their anatomy must be different from ours.”

Ian laughed again.

• • •

Doc said, “Welcome back.”

Kregen said, “It’s good to be here, Sir.”

“I’ve assigned you a two hundred ship group to defend one of the main planets. Get them organized.”

Kregen looked at his display and said, “We’re on it. Marissa, determine the best path to use for our ships.”

“You just get us in. We’ll handle it from there, Sir.”

• • •

“Have you delivered the orders?”

“I have, Sire. They were sent encrypted and all ships have acknowledged receipt.”

The Invasion Leader smiled and said, “Have the last ships arrived and received a target?”

“They have.”

The Leader pressed his communicator and said, “You will go to your targets in two minutes. The countdown will begin…now.” The Leader leaned forward and watched his display. No matter what happened, he was going to win.

• • •

Doc punched his panel, “Ian, all their ships have activated their jump fields. They’re coming.”

Ian activated the general frequency, “War Alert, War Alert; hold your formations until we confirm they are attacking all the Kilper main planets. Once that’s determined you will be released to go to your assignments; keep this channel open.”

Doc looked at Dee and she shook her head, “I don’t see anything.”

“Then let’s go handle our planet.”

“I’m with you.”

“You need to organize the other two hundred ships.”

“Nise and I will get on it as soon as we see how the platforms perform.”

Doc nodded and linked with Drey, “Are you ready?”

“I was created ready.”

Doc watched and waited to see if the giant fleet was going to stay together or split up. It wouldn’t be long before he knew.

• • •

The Green Sovereign watched the feed from the probe that one of his ships had managed to attack to one of the ships in the invasion. Once the ship, arrived the probe dropped off and moved away to scan the fleet. He waited and saw the giant fleet disappear. Three seconds after the huge fleet vanished, the Orange Ships in the rear of the fleet’s formations disappeared. He turned to his son, “Why did the Orange Ships delay jumping?”

“Give me a moment.” The Son moved the probe to the former location of the Orange Ships and made several readings, “They did not jump on the same path as the other ships.”

“Where did they go?”

“I can’t tell. It faded too much to see but it’s clear he did not follow the other ships.”

“What is he doing?”

The Son looked at the screen and said, “I don’t really know.”

“He’s up to something.” The Son nodded and watched his display.

• • •

Ian waited and heard Moe say, “The Scanners show fifty thousand different jump tracks. They’re going after the Main Planets.”

“Attention all ships, the Invader has launched on the Kilper Main Planets. You are released to your assignments. Make them pay.”

Moe immediately said, “Two hundred Main Planets do not have ships in their systems.”

“Reassign those ships sent there.”

“They are being ordered to stay until we determine where they’re needed.”

Ian nodded and focused on the scans being sent to his terminal. Violet said, “We have massive explosions on large numbers of planets.”

Ian heard her but focused on his display.

• • •

Kregen watched the Invader Ships arrive and move in on the former Kilper Main Planet. The two thousand ships fanned out and came in at the planet from multiple tracks. The orbiting platforms began firing on the incoming ships and they began exploding. The Invader ships moved to avoid the platforms but they moved out of their orbits and went after the largest concentration of invading ships. That left open lanes to the planet and the Invaders took advantage of the openings and began firing nuclear missiles and beams at the planet’s surface. All of the planet’s reactors were shut down as soon as the invading fleet appeared and did not offer a target to the Invader’s scanners. The blasts on the surface were horrific.

Hundreds of the invading ships at each planet were hit by the platforms and exploded in giant fireballs. After ten minutes, the Invaders began teaming up on the platforms and they began to die.

“Rissa?”

“Not yet. There are still eight hundred platforms functioning. Let’s get full benefit of what they can do.”

Kregen nodded and focused on the pattern of the enemy ships. There were a hundred groups of ships and they were down to six hundred survivors. He locked in their locations and followed K’s analysis of their trajectories. He noticed that they were going to combine into fifty groups. Twenty of them were already above the planet firing at the surface.

Marissa said, “Lissa, do you have it?”

“I’ve got the paths to get into the middle of those formations.”

“Send them to the ships and send ours to K.”

“Done.”

“Now, Kre, now!”

Kregen and three ships emerged into normal space and rushed at their assigned group of Invader ships. The four ships flew into their formation, dropped the Skinner Field and fired at the closest ships to their location. Only six hundred Invader Ships survived the platforms and there were only twelve ships in each of the fifty groups. The Union ships that had moved in among them began firing at point blank range.

Kregen moved the ship between four ships and Marissa hit all four with the upper and lower turret. They exploded as K flew directly toward another ship and Marissa fired the bow Boson Blaster and hit it in the front section just behind the bow and blew out the bridge. K moved the ship around and turned toward another group of Invaders. Two of the groups had managed to combine at the last moment and killed three Union Ships. K flew into the middle of their formation and Marissa hit eight ships in less than a second. They exploded and the eighty surviving Invaders jumped away. K shouted, “Follow them.” Forty three more ships were destroyed before the others jumped away from the galaxy.

• • •

Daniel and David watched the Invading Ships ignore the planet and attack the platforms. They were killing the platforms at a prodigious rate and as other platforms moved in on them, their combined fire was more than they could handle. The number of Invaders was not being reduced enough. “I hope you don’t mind if we join this dance.”

Daniel looked at his display and saw two hundred more Union Ships arrive. “Give them a target, Dan.”

“Done.”

Daniel smiled and said, “Let’s go save some platforms. Make sure your transponders are on.” The four hundred ships flew into the eight hundred Invader Ships and more than three hundred were destroyed in the first pass. The second pass saw another three hundred and forty six blasted apart. Only ten Union Ships were killed. The third pass found no invaders remaining and the planet had only been hit by eighty nuclear missiles. Those eighty missiles made the planet uninhabitable due to radioactive clouds but most of the planet was not damaged by nuclear explosions.

• • •

Dee watched the invading ships at her assigned planet and began inputting tracks to the two hundred ships assigned to their task force. She didn’t know where the tracks were coming from but they felt right. Doc saw his track appear on his board and after ten minutes saw the green light illuminate on his board. He accelerated on the assigned trajectory and after the first pass only six invader ships remained. Doc shook his head in admiration. Dee was a miracle. The planet had been hit with hundreds of nuclear missiles and beams but only four invaders managed to survive the attack.

• • •

Thirty minutes into the attack Ian said, “Moe, did you get the ships reassigned?”

“Actually, we only needed to use half of them. The others aren’t needed at the moment.”

Ian was stunned by the statement. Moe said, “A number of their ships are escaping to their original location. I think we should send the extra ships there to await the Invader’s arrival.”

“Send them.”

Ian heard, “Attention all ships. If you have completed your assignment, jump to the following coordinates and attack any Invader Ship that arrives.”

Ian changed his scanner and saw thousands of Union Ships emerging into normal space at the former location of the Invader Fleet. The numbers grew to hundreds of thousands in less than two minutes. Invader Ships would appear and be blasted. Very few managed to jump away in time.

Ian looked at Violet with a smile and saw her talking on her communicator. He saw something in her expression and immediately knew something bad had happened. She looked up with tears in her eyes and said, “Gary and Abbey were killed. They flew in and saved ten ships but were hit by hundreds of Invader Beams.” Violet started weeping and Ian rushed over and took her in his arms. He saw their faces in his mind and wondered who was going to be next. First Drey and Andi; now Gary and Abbey; this price was just too high. The Union had lost its best pilot. Ian held Violet and forgot what was happening. The victory was proving to be too costly.

Doc called in and said, “We won, Ian.” Doc paused and said, “Ian?”

Moe said, “Ian is not taking messages; Gary and Abbey were killed.”

Doc stared at the speaker and knew the magnitude of the loss. Now two thirds of the original teams that began the defense of the Union were gone. Only Ian and Violet remained. Doc thought about how he’d feel if he lost Ian and Violet. Dee watched him and saw his sorrow. Doc stared at his display for four minutes and Dee came over and put her arms around him. She knew something had gone wrong. Doc took a deep breath and said, “Drey.”

“Yes, Doc.”

“You will change your name to Doc.”

“Done; what will I call you?”

“My name is Drey.”

Dee saw something in Doc and knew that something had changed. He looked at her, “From the beginning I’ve refused to accept who I am. That is over.”

Dee smiled and said, “I’ve known who you are from the beginning.”

Drey had a small smile, “Now we both know, my love.”

Ian was told by E that Doc was now using Drey as his name. Ian felt his mood change. All of his friends were not gone…yet.

Chapter Twenty

The conference was a big one. All the leaders of the planets that had sent ships to the spiral galaxy were on the channel along with most of those that didn’t. The Leader of the Pental had sent the largest number of ships so he directed the communication. “It appears that forty five million of our ships were destroyed in the invasion attempt. There is obviously a highly advanced civilization located there that represents a real threat to us.”

“They haven’t come here?”

“Not yet but do you think they’ll just allow this to go without reprisal?” The Relisn Emperor didn’t answer the question. “We must go back and remove this threat.”

“I’m not convinced they will attack here. They’ll be at a disadvantage coming here with all of our ships available.”

“I agree that we will prevail but there will be the loss of planets. Are we willing to accept that?”

Another leader said, “Before we answer that issue, I want to know what happened to the Invasion Leader and his ships. None of his ships were seen after the attack.”

The Pental Leader said, “I received a communication from him before the attack that he suspected that his ships would be primary targets of the Aliens. It appears he was right.”

“The odds were still good that at least one ship would escape.”

“Well, none did. We have to decide what to do.”

• • •

The Son of the Sovereign looked at the Grey Leader on his display and saw he was remaining silent. He didn’t feel good about being ordered to withhold the information that the aliens said they were not aggressive or the suspicions about the Orange Leader. His father wanted many of the stronger civilizations weakened and the aliens could make that happen. He still didn’t like the deception. Then the Pental Leader said, “I feel that you and the Grey Civilization should join us in the next attack.”

The Son saw the Grey Leader remain silent, leaving the response to him, “Many of you may not know but the Greys and us have recently concluded a treaty of mutual defense and have removed the borders between our territories. We are currently resolving all of our issues and will not be available for any attacks against anyone not violating our space. That includes any aliens as well as any others.”

Huge numbers of those on the call were stunned by the agreement. Two of the most powerful civilizations in the galaxy had combined and the product was going to be formidable. Many present were worried because of the ships they had lost in the invasion. The Pental Ruler saw it and said, “I understand your reluctance. We will end this conference for the moment and continue it in ten days. I want all of you to decide whether or not you’re going to take action against the aliens and be prepared to discuss it.” Thousands on the channel began dropping off.

The Advanced Scanner sent the intercepted communications back to the Union.

• • •

Drey, Ian, and Cole listened to the conference and Ian said, “The Green and Grey Civilizations are not our friends.”

Drey nodded and Cole said, “Why do you say that?”

“We told them that we only attack in self-defense. They chose not to share that information with the others. They want them to attack again.”

Cole thought a moment and said, “Then they will offer not to attack anyone that participates in the next invasion.”

Ian smiled, “Now you see it. They want us to do their dirty work and leave them in control of that galaxy. If they make that offer, we are going to notify them that they are no longer considered off limits to what follows.”

Drey raised his eyebrows, “Are you sure about that?”

“I am. There are consequences to not doing the right thing. They need to know it.”

“That might bring them into the conflict.”

“So be it. Cole, how far are you from resolving the collapse of the Higgs Force Field?”

Cole slowly shook his head, “We think all we need to do is switch the field to reflectors before it collapses and it will regenerate itself almost instantly. The problem we’re having is that it collapses so fast that we don’t have a switch that can make the change in time.” We’ve also learned that the switch back must be done even faster because the reflectors can’t handle large numbers of high energy beam strikes.”

Drey looked at Cole and thought for a moment. He looked at Ian and saw he was also thinking about what to do. Drey shook his head and said, “It would be good if you didn’t have to use a switch.”

Cole looked at him and furrowed his brow, “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know; if the switch is the problem, it would be nice if it wasn’t needed.”

Suddenly, Cole had a thousand yard stare. Ian and Drey looked at each other and wondered what he was thinking. Something Drey said sent him deep into his mind. Ian started to speak and Drey shook his head and held up his hand. They waited and after six minutes Cole shook his head and said, “You’re right.”

Drey did a double take and said, “I am?”

“Yes, you are.”

Drey looked at Ian and then turned to Cole, “What exactly am I right about?”

“It’s not a question of switching; it’s a question of timing.”

Drey shook his head, “You’ve lost me, Cole.”

“Why wait until the Higgs Field fails? Have it turned on and off every hundredth of a second and it will regenerate at full power. Anything that hits the ship during that brief moment will be reflected until the field regenerates. The two fields will share the load.”

“Is it possible to do that?”

“I need to go see. If you’ll excuse me, I have some work to do.”

Cole rushed out and Drey said, “Do we have the final tally from the invasion?”

“They lost eighty percent of their ships. The orbital platforms accounted for fifty six percent of those losses.”

“Using them won’t work again. They know about them now.”

Ian tilted his head, “But they don’t know those platforms can jump to any location. Trying to hit planets from a distance won’t work.” Drey pushed his lips together and nodded. “We lost most of them but we still have more than four million and we’re building new ones at an incredible rate. They’re easier to construct than a warship. If they give us time, we may have a chance.”

“Well, we know we have ten days.”

“We need more than that.”

“Maybe.”

“What are you saying?”

Drey leaned back in his chair, “Cole is on task and I suspect that will make the biggest difference if he can come up with a solution.”

“Even if he does, we have eight million ships to convert.”

Drey though a moment, “How long will it take us to replace the two million we lost?”

“It’s the crews that worry me more than the ships.”

“One thing at a time, Ian; one thing at a time.”

• • •

“Cole, this looks good.”

“We need to see what will happen if large numbers of beams are fired at it.”

“How do you want to do it?”

Cole thought a moment and said, “Argel, can you contact the Kilper Admiral and see if they still have one of the Ship Destroyers that still have the needles?”

Argel stared at Cole, “Do you think this will withstand multiple needle hits?”

“I really don’t know but those are our most powerful energy beams. If they can’t handle them, we need to start over.”

Argel stared at Cole and activated her Communicator.

• • •

The Kilper Commander looked at the small ship twenty miles away, “Why is it flickering?”

Cole said, “It’s changing force fields.”

The Commander tilted his head and looked over his shoulder, “Do you have it targeted?” The Weapons Master nodded. The Commander looked at Cole and saw his nod. The Commander said, “Fire one Needle.” The brilliant beam lanced out and hit the small ship.

Cole looked at his computer and said, “Hit it with two.”

The Commander was surprised. The small ship remained in space flickering. He held up two fingers and two Needles lanced out again. Argel looked over Cole’s shoulder and said, “Nothing.”

Cole looked up and said, “Hit it with everything you’ve got.”

The Commander turned and said, “Target all hundred needles and fire.” The hundred beams looked like one giant beam as they stabbed out and hit the small ship and continued to hit it for ten seconds. The beams faded and the small ship remained in space flickering at a brighter color. Argel smiled, “The collectors captured the Boson’s created by the beams. The force field is stronger.”

Cole nodded and smiled. A force field had been found.

• • •

The next conference had every civilization in M87 present. The Pental Ruler was impressed at the attendance. The new alliance between the Green and Grey Civilizations had them all concerned and everyone wanted to know what was going on. He looked at his panel and saw the Green and Grey representatives. He looked at them and said, “You have caused an issue among us.”

The Sovereign’s Son said, “What is that?”

“We are reluctant to punish that galaxy with the existence of your new agreements. No one feels comfortable sending ships knowing the power your new alliance; all of us are concerned about your power.”

The son didn’t want to say it but knew he had to follow his orders, “You have nothing to worry about from us.”

“You expect us to believe that?”

“We will promise not to attack any civilization that takes part in the invasion. We won’t participate but we feel it would be wrong to take advantage of those of you who are representing our galaxy against an outside force.”

The Conference Leader was surprised at the statement, “How do we know you’ll keep your promise?”

“We’ll send it in writing to the Negotiators.”

Everyone was shocked at that statement. The Negotiators were an independent group of beings that were used to solve issues between civilizations. No one would violate an agreement made with them. Violators would be attacked by all the other civilizations. “How long would this agreement be in effect for?”

“Twenty years.”

The Pental Ruler smiled. Now many of the civilizations that had not taken part in the invasion would join to avoid being attacked by the Green and Greys. We will accept your offer and commend you for your consideration. When will you send this agreement over to the Negotiator?”

“It has already been delivered.”

The Pental bowed and said, “We may now move forward with our plans.” The rush of civilizations to join the invasion was immediate and overwhelming.

• • •

Two invisible scanners recorded the meeting. One sent the information to the Galactic Union and the other sent the information to a distant galaxy.

• • •

The small green ship appeared at the former border of the Green Civilization. It hung in space and flickered at an incredible rate. The three Green Ships that appeared were immediately joined by six huge Grey Warships. The Ship Controller on the Green Ship saw that it was one of the ships from the invaded galaxy. This time it had its force field activated. Why had it done that? He nodded to his officer and lifted his communicator, “Is there a reason for your return?”

“I have a recording I’d like to play for you.”

“Go ahead.”

The Ship Controller saw the Conference and heard the Sovereign’s Son promise not to attack anyone taking part in the coming invasion. He was stunned at the revelation. The Grey Ship’s Commander was also shocked. They heard over their frequencies, “It appears that as a result of your offer, more than a thousand more civilizations have decided to join the coming invasion against us. They would not have done so but for your offer.”

The Controller said under his breath, “Damn politicians.” He pressed his communicator, “You are here to tell us something.”

“We are. You are no longer exempt from our reprisals. Even though you are not taking part in the invasion, you have deliberately endangered us with your actions. We don’t break our agreements and we felt we should let you know that our former promise has been voided by this treachery. Please inform your leaders.”

The Grey Commander shook his head. They’re polite even to their enemies.

The Ship Controller said, “You must have known that I will be forced to fire on you as a result of this.”

“We do.”

“Please understand that this is not something I like doing.”

“We are also not happy with this situation.”

The Ship Controller shook his shoulders and said, “Fire on them.”

A brilliant beam shot out and hit the small ship dead center. It glanced away and the Controller was shocked. “Fire all weapons.” The Green and Grey Ships opened fire with their entire inventory of blasters. The area surrounding the small ship looked like space had erupted into flames. After a minute, the ships stopped firing. The small ship remained flickering in space and they heard, “We will not destroy your ships. Not because we can’t, but because if we did you wouldn’t be able to take our message to your leaders. Our disappointment in you cannot be expressed in words.” The small ship disappeared.

The Grey Commander said, “This is not good.”

The Ship Controller shook his shoulders, “No, it isn’t. We better hope our galaxy doesn’t win the next invasion.”

The Grey Commander remembered their promise to come and attack the planets of the ones that invaded. He now wished his civilization had not joined the Green Ships. They were the ones that broke the trust.

• • •

Drey said, “Doc, that was a good job.”

“I didn’t do anything but turn it on.”

“Let’s see if anything comes out of this.”

Dee shook her head, “They are now frozen. They are incapable of abrogating their agreement and they know we can kill their ships. They will do nothing but wait in fear.”

Drey shook his head, “Part of this is our fault.”

“Why?”

“We promised not to attack if they didn’t invade us. They weren’t asked to work against the invasion.”

Dee stared at Drey and lowered her chin, “You’re right; they only did what came natural to them.”

“Maybe we can negotiate with them if we survive the next invasion.”

“Drey, I just hope we do. Attacking anyone else is not what keeps me up at night.”

Drey nodded and energized the jump field. The Skinner Field dissipated and Doc disappeared from normal space.

• • •

The Sovereign looked at his son, “It appears we have made an error.”

“The Greys are not happy with what we did. They say we have endangered them in our maneuvering to remove our enemies.”

“They’re right.”

“That ship withstood the beams of our most powerful ships. If it can withstand those beams and fire that beam that destroyed the planet, none of us are safe. We have caused a more powerful enemy than anyone here in our galaxy to target us. I told you this was not the right thing to do.”

“And I should have listened. Do you see anything we can do?”

“Hope the coming invasion fails completely.”

“Why would I hope for that?”

“They said their surviving ships would come to destroy worlds. If they win, they’ll possibly stay in their galaxy.”

The Sovereign stared at his son and said, “I am resigning and you will take my place.”

“Why would you do that?”

“The Greys know you were against this. It’s the only way to salvage our new alliance. It must be done.”

The son shook his shoulders, “This is not something I want to do.”

The Sovereign smiled, “It’s not a question of want; it’s what you must do.”

The son stared at his father and after a moment nodded.

• • •

Moe saw the giant ship appear on one of the advanced scanners and dispatched the closest ship to confront it. Rizzo and Jennie arrived at the former main planet of the Kilper and saw the huge vessel hanging in space forty thousand miles out from the still burning planet. The orbiting platforms had been sent messages to hold their positions in orbit. Rizzo looked at the green ship and shook his head. Jennie looked up and said, “Their force field is down and their blaster ports are covered.”

“Is that ship one of the ships that was in the invasion?”

“No, Sir. That ship type doesn’t appear in the database.”

Rizzo stared at the ship for a moment and said, “Contact fleet and tell them what we’ve found.”

Sixty more Union Warships arrived but Rizzo ordered them to hold their fire and move no closer. He heard a voice on his speaker, “By what authority are you issuing these orders?”

“I am fleet Admiral Rizzo and you better watch your mouth. You should know that the first ship on a scene directs any actions. State your name sailor!”

“Captain Johanson, Sir. I apologize for my stupidity.”

Rizzo smiled and said, “At least you recognize it.”

Jennie looked at her panel and said, “The Prince and Admiral Montgomery are coming.” Rizzo tilted his head and looked back as his panel. This must be something serious. “Jennie, back away from them and hold position four hundred miles out.”

“Aye, Sir.”

• • •

“Drey, a green ship has appeared at one of the Kilper Main Planets.”

“Send me the coordinates.”

Dee looked up, “Moe just sent them.”

“Well get us there!”

Dee smiled, “You control the jump drive.”

Drey shook his head, “Oh yeah, I forgot.”

• • •

E and Drey arrived within two seconds of each other and they immediately saw that the ship was from the Green Civilization. Ian looked at Violet, “Activate their frequency.” Violet nodded and Ian said, “Is there a reason you’ve violated our space.”

“You sound remarkably like us; but to answer your question, there is.”

Dee recognized the voice, “You’re the Sovereign’s son.”

“I am but he is no longer our Sovereign.”

Ian looked at Violet and said, “He isn’t?”

“No, I am now.”

Ian and Drey knew that the bravery being shown by the new Sovereign was remarkable. Ian said, “You’ve placed yourself in a dangerous situation coming here unescorted.”

“If I had come with a hundred thousand warships, what would you have done?”

Drey said, “We would promptly remove them.”

“That’s how we saw it. This was the best way to try and communicate with you.”

Ian stared at the ship and after a moment said, “We really don’t have anything to discuss.”

“I know you feel betrayed. I counseled my Father that he was making a mistake to try and use you to remove old enemies. He refused to listen. I was forced to follow his orders and as a result, we have caused you harm. He has abdicated his throne and I have taken his place. I want to make an offer and see if we can’t repair some of the damage.”

“Offer away.”

“We can’t stop the invasion and I’m not certain we could have persuaded the others not to come even if we told them you were not an aggressive species. Coming from me, they wouldn’t have believed it. There is too much suspicion in my galaxy and they would think I was deceiving them for ulterior motives.”

Drey said, “Imagine.”

Ian ignored Drey’s response, “Even so, you increased the numbers attacking us.”

“You’re right. We see in hindsight that it was a mistake and most of our military detest what we did. They feel, rightly, that we betrayed you. They came up with a suggestion to try and minimize the damage.”

Ian looked at Drey on his display and saw he was curious. “What can you do?”

“We’re going to release ninety percent of our ships to go out into our galaxy and fly through all the civilizations taking part in the invasion. The Grey Ships are also joining us in this effort.”

Dee said, “Isn’t that a violation of your agreements concerning borders?”

“There is a fine line in what we’re attempting. Since we have a nonaggression agreement, we can’t be viewed as an enemy. Since we can’t be viewed as an enemy, we will not technically be violating their domains.”

Drey started chuckling. Ian said, “What do you find amusing?”

“Ian, how many ships would you send away if you had enemy ships flying around your territory?”

Ian tilted his head, “Not very many.”

The Sovereign said, “And neither will they. We will continue this effort up to the moment of the launch of the invasion and then we’ll go back to our borders. I think this will reduce the number coming back to what it would have been had we not made the mistake.”

“Aren’t you taking a risk?”

“We are but those that challenge our behavior will have to take it to the negotiators and we’ll delay making any agreements as long as possible. I hope it will allow you to strengthen your forces.”

Dee said, “The fact of your presence will delay them as well. All the participating civilizations will have to reconsider how many ships they’re going to send. That means many of the ships that have arrived will be recalled and it will throw their organization back to square one.”

Ian thought about the offer and the bravery of the new ruler. “We will not seek retribution against your civilizations.”

The Sovereign said, “We are sorry for what we did. We have tried to tell the leaders of the invasion that we know you are not aggressive but they refuse to listen.”

Ian said, “We don’t want you to endanger your people. Do what you can but don’t risk your subjects.”

The Sovereign paused and said, “We will be open to a treaty of mutual defense after this is over. You have just proven to me that you can be trusted. I hope you can trust us in the future.”

Ian watched the huge ship disappear and Drey said, “Who would of thought it?”

Ian shook his head, “Don’t give them too much credit, Drey. They were unable to touch our ship with their strongest beams. Fear made this happen.”

Dee said, “Maybe, but this being was being honest. He really didn’t want to betray us.”

“But he did.”

“Ian, I think I’m rubbing off on you. You’re the one that’s supposed to keep me in check. Am I going to have to return the favor?”

Ian looked at Violet and said, “You just might have to do that.”

Ian pressed his communicator, “Admiral Rizzo.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Take your fleet to Azele and have their force fields modified.”

“Yes Sir.” Rizzo watched the two ships disappear and he turned to Jennie, “Modify our force fields?”

“I’ve heard rumors that the new one is impenetrable.”

“Get out of here.”

“It’s just rumor.”

“Well let’s go separate fact from fiction.”

“The coordinates for Azele are on your panel, Sir.”

“Jennie, how long are you going to stay angry at me?”

“Until you learn to remember the important things in life.”

Rizzo sighed. This was the last anniversary he would ever forget.

Chapter Twenty-One

Harmony was born and the Kilper Admiral was right; she was beautiful. Her skin was a light bronze color and her face was slightly wider than her mother’s. Argel held her and Cole could only stare at the two most important people in his life. “She was late arriving.”

“She waited for us to solve the force field issue.”

“I love you so much, Argel.”

Argel leaned forward and kissed Cole and then handed him his daughter. For the moment, there was nothing else for Cole but sheer happiness.

• • •

The Kilper Admiral sat in a conference room on Euclid with the two couples. Ian said, “Admiral, I’m not really certain where the invasion is going to attack.”

“We need to know how to place our ships.”

Dee said, “The Main Planets are still their targets.” Everyone turned and looked at her, “Most of them weren’t really damaged in the invaders first attempt and most of the invaders weren’t able to do much other than escape. They did not scout anywhere else.”

The Admiral leaned back and said, “They aren’t coming in the same way.”

Dee smiled, “You’re right.”

Drey said, “Then how are they moving in?”

Dee looked at the Admiral, “Do you want to tell them?” The Admiral was startled by the question and he stared at Dee. “You’re like me; you can see things.”

“How do you know about that?”

“I can sense it and don’t act like you don’t see it in me as well.”

The Admiral shook his head and said, “They will attack a thousand planets at a time.” Dee smiled and nodded.

Ian said, “Why just a thousand?”

“Because to attack fewer would have their ships getting in the way of each other; only so many ships can fight in the space around a planet without total confusion.”

Ian stared at the Admiral and looked at Drey, “Do you have any suggestions?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. What’s stopping us from jumping every platform we have to those planets and allow them to get up close and personal with their ships?”

Ian started chuckling and saw the Admiral was also amused. “I guess we just need to determine which particular planets they’re going to hit.”

Drey leaned back in his chair, “That should be easy enough. Just look for the traffic cop directing traffic.”

Ian said, “Moe, may I assume you can send the appropriate coordinates to the platforms once their destinations are determined?”

“You may.”

The Admiral said, “Who’s Moe?”

Violet said, “The Master of Everything.”

The Admiral stared at her and Moe said, “She’s exaggerating. I only master those in this universe.”

The Admiral looked at Ian. Ian said, “He’s the computer in the Obelisk.”

“And he has a sense of humor?”

“Who’s being humorous?”

Violet looked at the Admiral and said, “Humor him.”

The Admiral didn’t know what to think.

• • •

The Admiral was finally brought in on who Moe was and he left to make plans for the Kilper Fleets. Dee said, “I think we had him going for a minute.”

Moe said, “I have a disturbing development, I think.”

The four looked at each other and Drey said, “What would disturb you?”

“When the meeting ended in M87, one of our advanced scanners sent me the data on what happened.”

“What’s disturbing about that, Moe?”

“Another transmission happened at the same moment and it wasn’t sent to us. It was also sent in a language that none of the Civilizations we’ve scanned in M87 use.”

Dee quickly said, “Did the scanner get a line on the transmission?”

“Yes, it was sent out in open space.”

Violet said, “Toward our galaxy?”

“No.”

Dee closed her eyes and said, “Have any other transmissions like that one been detected?”

“No.”

Ian, Violet, and Drey stared at Dee. Her eyes remained closed and she said, “Was our scanner capable of seeing the source of that transmission?”

“No, it didn’t and when it moved to the area where it was sent, our scanner went off line. I sent another one and it was unable to find anything and it was not damaged.”

Drey looked at Ian and said, “I don’t need Dee to tell me what’s happening.”

Ian stared at Drey and said, “M87 is being targeted.”

Violet slowly nodded her head, “How do we know they’re the only one being scouted?”

Drey shook his head, “We don’t.”

Ian looked at Dee and sat down. None of them were leaving before she opened her eyes.

Drey looked at Dee and knew this information changed things. He thought about it and said, “I’m almost certain that our new ships have not been seen by whoever placed that probe.”

Dee didn’t open her eyes but she said, “They haven’t.”

Everyone looked at her and she still had her eyes closed. Drey said, “Why not?”

“The biggest threat will be eliminated first. That is where most of the attention is placed.”

Violet said, “Are you Dee?”

“No, I’m a creation of hers.”

“A creation?”

“A tool would be a better description.”

“What have you determined?”

“She’ll tell you when the analysis is complete. I need to look around.”

Ian said, “Is there one of those probes in our galaxy?”

“Yes, it’s located above the Kilper Council’s planet.”

“Why is it there?”

“It appears to be intercepting any communications going to the Kilper Leadership.”

Doc said, “That means they saw the feed from our most recent battle.”

Ian nodded, “But they have not seen one of our new force fields.”

Violet said, “Do you have the coordinates?”

Dee started speaking and when she finished Ian said, “Moe, did you get that?”

“I did. It’s about a hundred thousand miles from the planet on the sun side.”

Drey said, “What are you thinking?”

“We can’t get at it in other space.”

Drey smiled, “We’ll just have to flush it out.”

Ian smiled, “We need to know if that is a good idea. Dee should be able to tell us once she comes back.” Drey nodded.

• • •

The Pental Ruler waved his pseudopods at the creature on his display, “You are failing in your responsibility! This is not acceptable!”

The lead Negotiator never changed color, “Chapter nine hundred, page 99, third paragraph from the bottom reads; only ships that represent no danger to a civilization may cross its borders. With the agreement recently made, the Green and Grey Civilizations are no longer a danger to those that are leaving to invade the other galaxy and are thus allowed to cross any borders unmolested by any civilizations covered by the agreement.”

“They made this agreement to scout our civilizations.”

“Did you accept the agreement?” The Ruler fumed; many of those that were sending ships for the invasion had backed off on the numbers being sent. The presence of the Green and Greys inside their borders worried them. “They will not be attacked.”

“Twenty Civilizations have backed out of the invasion just to keep them out of their borders. This was not the intent of the agreement.”

“You didn’t make it so you don’t really know what their intent was. They are conducting themselves to the letter of the law. Do you wish to void the agreement?”

The Ruler knew that if he did that, more than seven hundred civilizations would back out of their participation and he’d lose more ships than just those being reduced. He quivered in admiration of the subtlety of the Greens and Greys. He never saw this coming and knew they were collecting extremely valuable intelligence and would continue to do so for twenty years. He was going to have to void the agreement after the invasion. But first, he had to get the ships organized for the invasion.

The Negotiator saw his display go dark and was impressed with the box the Green Leaders had put the other civilizations in. Perhaps they wouldn’t be agreeing to other suggestions quite so quickly in the future. The Negotiator rolled back on his pad and relaxed. He immediately turned transparent and disappeared.

• • •

The giant red ship hung in space above a blue and green planet. On the surface occasional nuclear blasts erupted. The Ship’s Father watched and saw the inhabitants were resorting to desperation tactics. It would do them no good. His troops were systematically destroying the military and stunning everyone else. They would be picked up and processed later but first all opposition had to be eliminated.

“Father, I have a communication.”

He pressed his panel and saw one of the Senior Grandfathers, “Yes, Father.”

“We are close to finishing with this galaxy.”

“It has become difficult to find new sources.”

“We will have to move to another source soon and it has been decided to select a source large enough for us to remain for a long duration.”

“Are you leaning toward that giant ball shaped galaxy?”

“We have been reluctant to go there due to their armed civilizations but they are now involved in a war and their numbers may be reduced. That would make them the best choice.”

The Father knew that civilized planets had the largest populations. Those planets were hard to find but the Ball Galaxy had millions of them. “What is your desire?”

“We are going to start organizing our initial move to go there and you have been selected to lead one of the major groups.”

“Thank you for your confidence, Father.”

“Your instructions will arrive soon. Start getting your group organized.”

The screen went dark and the father realized he had not asked an important question. Who was fighting in the war? He pushed the thought aside and waited for the information to arrive. Once he had the opportunity to look at all the data, he wondered if they were going to the right galaxy. The Spiral Galaxy might need to be eliminated as a threat before the Ball Galaxy. He assumed the family would make the best decision. They were never wrong.

• • •

Dee opened her eyes and said, “We’re being watched.”

“We know.”

Dee looked at Drey, “How do you know that?”

“You told us while you were in la la land.” Dee looked confused and Violet said, “Apparently, that place you go to focus has a kind of intelligence that answers questions posed to it. You’re not hearing them, but your subconscious does answer our questions.” Violet hit the play button and Dee looked up at the main wall display and watched her being questioned.

“How does this happen?”

Ian said, “I thought Drey was an idiot when he suggested you are a step forward in human evolution. You are really not tremendously different from High Genetics. We are able to turn a problem over to our subconscious and have it work on it while we’re performing other tasks. We can actually watch the process if we choose. You take it to a whole new level. Evidently, your mind is able to see things throughout the universe and correlate the data into something understandable.”

Dee shook her head, “But I don’t see what’s happening. I only get a sense of it.”

“Even so, you are a giant leap forward.”

Dee looked away from the display as Violet turned it off, “There is a civilization that lives in giant ships that goes from galaxy to galaxy attacking every civilized planet.”

Ian’s brow furrowed, “Do you know why?”

“It’s their main source of food.”

Silence slammed down on them and after a long moment Drey said, “Why would they attack civilized planets. Couldn’t they gather protein from planets that had no intelligent life form?”

Dee said, “That process is not efficient enough to suit their needs.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

Ian said, “Drey, you need look no further than humanity’s history to know why.”

“I’m not sure what you’re saying.”

“How old is humanity?”

Drey shrugged and said, “The estimate ranges from a million to two million years.”

“In the database taken from Earth with the colonist’s ships, scientists determined that in 8,000 BC, the entire human population only numbered five million and that’s after two million years on the planet. By the year one, it had increased to two hundred million. By 1350 the population was estimated to be 370 million. Five hundred years later the population hit one billion in 1804. Two hundred years later it was more than seven billion.”

“How do you know this?”

“I have all kinds of useless information running around in my head.”

Drey stared at Ian and Violet said, “There were eighty billion inhabitants on the planet Gary and Abbey destroyed.”

Ian slowly shook his head, “Why go to an uncivilized planet and chase animal herds all over it or a primitive civilization with less than ten million inhabitants on the entire planet, when you have billions all located in giant cities on advanced planets? It makes the harvesting much easier.”

Dee said, “They are targeting M87 but one of their probes followed the invasion fleet here. They now know about us.”

Drey leaned forward, “Are you saying they have more than one probe in M87.”

“I sense they have

more than a hundred there and they’ve been there centuries.”

Ian sighed, “That poses a problem.” Dee nodded. ‘They may worry that we would intervene if they invaded M87 now that we are in a conflict with them.”

Drey said, “I would remove us first before I took on that monster galaxy. We only have two civilizations to eliminate. M87 has thousands.” Drey thought a moment, “Ian, did we transmit a feed of the last battle to the First?”

“No, he watched several of the planets being attacked but the Admiral took most of the information back to him. Why do you ask?”

“If that probe is collecting information at the Kilper Capital, then it doesn’t know how many ships we have in our fleets.”

Dee closed her eyes a moment and said, “They don’t.”

Drey looked at Dee, “This is absolutely critical; do they have a probe in the Green or Grey Civilizations anywhere near their border?”

Dee closed her eyes and said, “Not at the moment.”

“When was the last time one was there?”

Dee closed her eyes and after ten minutes said, “It looks like ten years.”

Drey said, “Thank God.”

Ian looked confused, “Why?”

“If they had a probe there, they would have seen one of our new force fields in action. They would have also heard our conversations with them. They don’t know we’ve been talking with them.”

Dee said, “They don’t know.”

Ian thought a moment, “Does this change our plans?”

Drey nodded, “It does.”

“In what way.”

“Now we have to lose.”

Ian and Violet were shocked by the statement but Dee smiled and nodded. She looked at Drey and knew they were going to have to make a trip.

• • •

The Sovereign looked at the small green ship and said, “You’ve requested my presence.”

“We need you to deliver a message to the new leader of the invasion.”

“What is that?”

“Please tell him you intercepted one of our transmissions and inform him that we don’t have enough ships to prevent the destruction of our major planets. Tell him that our ships are being held out of the defense and will be sent to attack the civilizations taking part in the invasion.”

The Sovereign thought for a long moment and said, “Is this true?”

“The part about not using our ships to defend those planets is.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Those planets are uninhabited and have been for a number of years. We hope the invasion fleet will rush back and getting enough enthusiasm to return will be difficult.”

The Sovereign said, “I’ve seen the recordings. Those planets had a huge energy signature.”

“We left everything running.”

“This idea just might work.”

“That is our hope.”

“What if he asks to hear the transmission?”

“We’re about to send it so you should turn on your recording devices.”

The Sovereign laughed, “You are very sneaky.”

“You have no idea.”

“Send it.”

Dee picked up the paper and began reading. Each time she paused, Drey read from his sheet. It actually sounded like two ships communicating with each other. At the end Dee said, “Did you get it?”

“Yes and the part about sending the coordinates of the Invasion Leader’s home planet was a stroke of genius.”

“If you’ll do this, we will consider the debt paid and we will be back at ground zero in any future negotiations.”

“Consider it done.”

• • •

Ian sat with the First Councilor and explained what had been discovered. The First looked at the Admiral and saw him perplexed. “Do you have anything indicating the existence of that probe?”

“No.”

The First turned back to Ian, “Are you sure about this?”

“Yes, we are; I’ll share the data that came in from the scanner that picked up the transmission from M87 to another galaxy but in the interim, we know the probe is here.”

“How long has it been here?”

“It came in with the Invasion Fleet and remained behind. It followed the highest level of communications and arrived here.”

The Admiral said, “This planet does have the most communications of any other planet.”

The First pressed a button and said, “Have you been listening to this?”

The Hub said, “I have and I have analyzed all of the communications we’re sent since the invasion and none of them have revealed that the former Main Planets are not inhabited. There is also no way to know which planet we’ve been communicating with, so the probe shouldn’t know about all our other worlds.”

The Admiral said, “What are you planning to do?”

“We’re going to lose.”

“Is that so?”

“For the moment.”

The Admiral closed his eyes and smiled, “That sounds like a plan.”

The First looked at him and said, “You agree with this?”

The Admiral looked at Ian, “Have you delivered the message?”

“It’s being done as we speak.”

“Yes, First Councilor, I agree with this plan.”

Ian smiled, “You are like Dee.” The Admiral nodded. Ian turned and rushed out the door, “Explain it to the First, I have to get the fleets mobilized. I’ll send you your assignments.”

The Admiral nodded and the first said, “By all means, explain this to me.”

The Admiral did and the First’s expression changed from consternation to a smile. The First said, “What are we going to do with that probe?”

“We’re going to feed it what we want it to know.”

“We’re not going to destroy it?”

“Not now, that comes later.”

The First looked at the Admiral and said, “I’m out of my league here. Just tell me what you need me to do.”

“Send all the Councilors home on a fact finding mission to determine how our societies are getting along. Tell them to report with an in depth report in four months. I’ll jump the necessary number of ships away toward the main planets and have the Hub announce on an open frequency that the ships being sent to look for farming worlds should leave. That is when the Councilors will be cleared to lift off.”

The First shook his head, “That will reduce our communications eighty percent.”

The Admiral nodded, “And we can control any that are made during that period.”

“If you need anything else, let me know.”

“I will, First Councilor.”

• • •

Cole sat at his desk holding Harmony. She was asleep and Argel came in the door and saw him staring at his screen, “What are you doing?”

Cole was startled but didn’t wake the baby, “I had an idea and I needed to take a look at it.”

“It couldn’t wait until morning?”

Cole swiveled his chair around, “Did you see the recording of the planet that Ian exploded in M87?” Argel nodded. “Well it got me thinking; why are the Boson Beams so narrow?”

“If they were wider, the nuclear explosion would be much more massive. The shockwave could pose a danger to our ships.”

“What about with the new force field?”

Argel tilted her head and furrowed her brow, “I…really…don’t know.”

“What started me thinking about this was that the ship’s that exploded had almost all of their mass converted to energy; there wasn’t any debris to mention. What would a high energy shock wave do to our ships?”

Argel stared at him in confusion for a moment and then her eyes widened, “It would collect it in the Boson Collectors.”

“And the force field?”

“Could it take that large a blast, Cole?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”

Argel rushed in and powered up her terminal, “How difficult would it be to expand the beam?”

“I’ve already looked at that. That’s not going to be a problem. The magnetic fields will just have to be modified inside a larger barrel.” Argel nodded and began keying in instructions. After ten minutes she said while she continued to type, “If it came down to it, a wider Boson Beam would remove the section of the shock wave coming at our ships.”

“I saw that thirty minutes ago. However, if we could collect Bosons from the shockwave, that would be a better outcome.”

Argel continued to type and said, “You have a head start; let’s see if what we find matches.”

“Hey, I’m typing with one hand.”

Argel smiled, “I’ll take her later. Try to keep up.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

The Pental Ruler stared at the new Green Sovereign, “You intercepted what?”

“I sent one of my ships to the edge of that spiral galaxy and it was able to intercept one of the alien’s communications. I thought about it and my Council advised me to share it with you.”

“Why?”

“It involves your invasion plans and your Capital.”

“My Capital?”

The Ruler watched his terminal light turn blue indicating that an incoming message had been received. He looked away from his communicator display and played the intercepted message. He immediately felt fear. “When did you get this?”

“Two days ago. Evidently they are able to see the fleet you’re assembling to use against them.”

“Why did you give me this?”

“I would hope you wouldn’t have to ask that question. We may not like each other but we are together in this galaxy and they are outsiders. You should know our first loyalty is to this galaxy.”

It hurt to say it but the Ruler said, “Thank you for your concern.”

“One more thing.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sending you the frequency we used to intercept that message. I would really pay attention to it once you start your invasion.”

The Ruler stared at the Sovereign and was confused at his gift, “Once again, thank you.” His screen went dark. He thought about the ramifications of the message and he called in his Fleet Admiral, “There’s a change of plans.” The Admiral’s expression said it all about changing plans so far into the mission. “We are going to attack all of their planets in the initial phase.”

“I thought you were against that?”

“I’ve discovered that they are not going to use their ships to defend them. We only have to deal with those platforms and if there aren’t any ships involved, we can handle them.”

“How sure are you about the source of this information?”

“If any ships are found at the planets, have the ships jump to their major group and we’ll continue with the first plan. I want you to also notify every ship in the fleet that I may issue an order to jump back to their home planets. The Aliens may attempt to attack us in our galaxy. Have them preset their jump drives to make it happen if we need to do it.”

“Yes, Sire. I need to get on this immediately.” The Ruler nodded and watched the Admiral rush out of his chamber.

• • •

“Ian, it looks like they took the bait.”

“What’s going on?”

“The Invasion Fleet is reorganizing into fifty thousand ship groups.”

“Drey, have any additional platforms been moved to those planets?”

“Yes, why do you ask?”

“We need to make sure only the number that survived the first attack remain. We need to save all the others for any future incursion.”

“I’ll get on it.”

• • •

“Dom.”

“Yes Sir.”

“I need you and Rizzo to move your fleets to the Kilper Planets. Your fleets have been updated and I want ships at all of their new worlds.”

“That will only be two or three ships per planet.”

“I understand that. They will be used to delay an Invader attack until you can jump in more ships. I don’t expect them to start scouting for other planets but I don’t want to take the chance. Coordinate with Moe and Hub and call in as many ships as you need from the unmodified ships. They will be holding station, awaiting any requests the two of you might have.”

“I’ll let Admiral Rizzo know and we’ll start moving now.”

“That would be good.”

• • •

Moe watched the Invasion Fleet and after four weeks he sent a message, “Ian, I am issuing an invasion alert. The enemy fleet is moving and will be outside the edge of that galaxy in less than ten hours.”

“Moe, do you have the message to broadcast?”

“Dee gave it to me a week ago and the frequency to use to send it.”

“Wait until every planet is burning.”

“If we’re not using the fleet, that won’t take very long.”

• • •

“Sire, our anticipated jump time is nine hours.”

“Which fleet are we going with?”

“The largest.”

“That would be good. Keep me informed.”

“Yes Sire.”

The Ruler looked at his Communications Officer and said, “You know what to look for?”

The Officer nodded and focused on his panel.

• • •

The largest fleet of warships ever assembled in M87’s long history began moving out of the galaxy’s edge and it was unbelievable. Two hundred million warships moved as one giant creature. Only a computer could have analyzed the formation and see that there were more than fifty thousand sub-fleets in the formations. Ships of all sizes and colors moved resolutely forward while maintaining their spacing. This fleet was organized and working as a unit. All of them had one thing in common, they were deadly. They all knew the first invasion had ended in catastrophe. They were determined to not let that happen again.

• • •

Drey sat in his chair watching his display and he changed position about every five seconds. Dee watched him and finally said, “Relax; you aren’t going to take part in this.”

Drey took a deep breath and blew it out, “I just…just…”

“Want to be in the middle of it.”

Drey turned to Dee and sighed, “I just miss not being involved.”

“It’s so fun, right?”

Drey smiled, “You have no idea how much I enjoy the stress of combat.”

“Oh, I might have an idea. Remember, we’re connected mentally during combat operations. I can see how much you enjoy it.”

Drey stared at Dee, “And you don’t?”

Dee smiled, “More than you.”

“So how are you so calm?”

“I have a wedding to take care of before I get locked into prolonged combat.”

Drey pushed his lips together and said, “Good answer.”

Dee smiled, “I thought you’d like it.”

• • •

Dom looked at his display and had a thought, “Moe.”

“Yes Dom.”

“I need to know if any ships in that fleet are not jumping to one of the main planets.”

“Why?”

“If I were leading that fleet, I would want to know if there were any other planets to worry about. This would be a good time to get some scouts in to look around our galaxy.”

Dom waited for ten minutes and heard, “Dom, there are five thousand ships at the rear of the formation that don’t appear to be associated with any of the other groups.”

Dom sat up straight in his command chair, “Do we have a scanner available to transmit their jump tracks?”

“I’ll have to take some away from ten of their groups to do that.”

“Let’s assume the other groups are going to a main planet. All of them have scanners, right?”

“They do.”

“Make the change and I want you to send those coordinates to my ships. I want three ships to arrive with those ships at their exit points into normal space.”

“I’ve selected three ships for each of those in that group. I’ll send the coordinates less than one second after they jump.”

Dom turned in his command chair, “Becky, notify the selected ships what we need them to do.”

Becky lowered her faceplate and linked with B. Thirty minutes later, the fifteen thousand ships moved out of Dom’s fleet and gathered in open space. Dom contacted Rizzo and let him know what was going on. Rizzo immediately ordered fifteen thousand ships from the reserve to replace the ships being moved. Dom watched his face plate and slowly shook his head, “I should have thought of that. That Rizzo knows his stuff.”

• • •

Ian pushed the general frequency, “Jump alert, jump alert, the Invaders have started jumping. Go to battle stations and maintain your positions.”

The massive fleet on Ian’s display was moving forward one instant and the next it was gone. Ian changed his feed from the scanners at the invading fleet’s location to those at the Kilper Main Planets. Some of them were already burning.

Forty thousand Invader ships arrived at each of the Main Planets and the orbital platforms began killing their ships. Thousands of ships died but the platforms were overwhelmed by the sheer number of beams being fired at them. The first phase of the battle was over in less than fifteen minutes. The second phase involved the invading ships hitting the planet with nuclear missiles and massive beams. Thousands of the invaders took their ships into the atmosphere and fired at the surface from point blank range. The massive cities were burned down to bedrock. The destruction was complete and none of the thousands of planets survived the attack.

• • •

Kregen and two other ships arrived in normal space next to a large black ship. Marissa fired on the ship a moment before the other two got off a shot and the black ship exploded in a nuclear blast. It had only been in normal space three seconds and wasn’t able to scan anything. Ten seconds later it would have seen Santa Rosa. All five thousand scouts were hit and killed. None of them transmitted any information to M87.

Kregen looked at Marissa, “That was good work.”

“I’m glad you like it, Sir.”

“You are the best!” Marissa smiled and the three ships jumped away.

• • •

Moe watched the progress of the invaders and when all of the planets were burning he said, “Attention all ships. Attention all ships, you have your assignments. Jump to them and destroy them in two minutes. Show no mercy.”

• • •

“Sire, an attack order has just been given on that frequency.”

The Pental Ruler leaned forward and pressed his communicator, “All ships, jump back to your home worlds to defend them from attack! Jump now!” The Ruler looked at the Navigator and nodded. His ship left normal space and appeared at his home planet just as a small green ship appeared. His support squadron rushed out at the ship and it turned and fled. The Ruler heard on his wall speaker, “Escape, escape, there are too many ships at the targets. Wait until a better opportunity presents itself.” The ship then accelerated away at an incredible speed.

More than ten thousand civilizations saw a green ship appear and flee. All of them worried about what could have happened. The Pental Ruler stared at his panel; the Sovereign was right. They were going to be attacked. He smiled and felt relief that he had saved thousands of planets. His relief disappeared and changed to anger when he learned that none of the scouts sent to the Spiral Galaxy survived and that all of the civilizations were not going to send more ships there until the real danger of attack was removed. His chance at leading another invasion was over. He couldn’t get anyone to agree to participate.

• • •

The Admiral looked at the First and nodded. The First activated his communicator and said, “My fellow citizens. We have suffered a horrific defeat. Most of our populations and planets have been destroyed by an invading fleet. No one on the main planets survived and they are all nothing more than radioactive ruins. Pray for those that died today. I will discuss future plans with you after I can deal with this tragedy.”

The message was sent on a frequency that no one in the Kilper Civilization used so no one heard it…but the Family Probe did and promptly sent it and recordings of the destroyed planets to another galaxy.

• • •

The First sat in his chamber with the Admiral and poured him a drink. He held up his glass to the display showing their former words burning in nuclear fire. The Admiral held up his glass as well and they took a sip. Both of them grimaced. The Admiral shook his head, “Why do we drink this stuff. It’s awful.”

The First looked away from the monitor and said, “You know, you have to be a strong person to do it and all that other garbage.”

“I promise you I won’t mind if you change to another. I know how strong you are and you have nothing to prove to me.”

The First stared at the Admiral, reached into his desk and pulled out a bottle of Union Scotch. He poured two glasses and handed one to the Admiral, held his up, saw the Admiral join him and took another sip. He watched the Admiral close his eyes anticipating something awful. Suddenly one of his eyes opened and then the other, “This is pretty good. What is it?”

“Union Whiskey.”

“I’ve got to get me some of this.”

“I’ve bought the import rights to it.”

“Do you need a partner?”

The First stared at the Admiral and sighed, “How can we discuss business when our planets are burning?”

The Admiral smiled, “You act like this is bad news.”

“It is!”

“Not really.”

The First stared at the Admiral and said, “If you can prove to me it isn’t, I’ll make you a partner. Those worlds represent thousands of years of our history. Now they’re gone.”

The Admiral shook his head, “You are aware that your popularity with our citizens has now skyrocketed as a result of this?” The First narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “The Hub has seen huge celebrations on our planets, where the citizens are praising your foresight in having them moved to the new worlds. Now that the old planets are destroyed, the movement to return to them is over before it could pick up speed. Even the ones leading that movement agree that they were terribly wrong to have suggested it. They are singing your praises as well and are thankful you didn’t allow them to return.”

“I didn’t know that.”

The Admiral sat down on the couch and extended his glass forward. The First brought the bottle around and sat down with him. The Admiral took another drink and sighed. After a moment he said, “How long would it have taken us to clear the cities from the main planets where they could become self-supporting.”

The First thought a moment and said, “I don’t know if we could have done it.”

“We couldn’t. Those cities extended down to the bedrock and nothing short of a nuclear blast would have cleared them.”

The First stared at the Admiral, “They just had a nuclear blast.”

The Admiral smiled, “And our scans show that the cities were burned off the surface. In fifty years, plants will start growing. In a hundred years, we can move animals back to them. In less than two hundred years we’ll have fifty thousand planets to expand to and we will never overbuild on them again. This is the best thing that could have happened.”

The First stared at the Admiral and slowly shook his head, “This is why you supported using them as a target?”

“Absolutely! By offering them as a target, the Union is now indebted to us and I suspect if you point that fact out to them you should get great pricing on your; what do you call it?”

“Scotch.”

“Yeah, Scotch.”

The First stared at the Admiral and smiled, “Have you ever heard of a cigar?”

“A what?”

The First went to his desk and took out to brown cylinders. He cut the ends off and handed one to the Admiral, “Now don’t inhale this into your lungs. Just hold it in your mouth.” He lit his and demonstrated. He lit the Admiral’s and watched him have a coughing fit. “I told you not to inhale it.”

The Admiral sucked some of the smoke into his mouth and after a moment blew it out. After a few minutes the Admiral said, “Wow! This thing has a kick.”

“Do you think we could sell it here?”

The Admiral stared at the First and said, “Will you make a public appearance inhaling one?”

“It’s called smoking and yes, I guess I could.”

“If you do that everyone in the Union is going to want one.”

The First refilled their glasses and held his up, “If you will give me your word that you will never, and I do mean never, become a competitor; I will make you an equal partner in this little enterprise.”

“Don’t we need a contract?”

“You never lie. Your promise is all I need.”

The Admiral clinked his glass on the First’s and said, “I give you my promise.”

They sat back and enjoyed their cigars and scotch as they watched the planets burn. After a few moments the Admiral said, “Have you thought of a name for the cigars?” The First shook his head. “Call them burning planets to honor what’s happened.”

The First shook his head and said, “You know this is going to make us wealthy.”

“Who cares; this is going to be fun.”

“By the way, you’ve never told me you name.”

“I had it legally changed to Admiral.”

The First started laughing and said, “We’ll name the scotch Admiral’s Finest.”

“Now that is an excellent idea.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Ian looked at Drey sitting on a beach chair on Euclid. The Invasion Fleet had jumped away and they jumped to meet with Cole and found he was busy. They walked out of the Science Center and went to the lake next to the large space port. They found two beach chairs and settled in. Drey, do you feel any guilt at this subterfuge?”

“What do you mean?”

“This is going to probably send whoever is watching us to M87 first.”

“Better there than here; we have nowhere to run.”

“Neither do they.”

Drey turned to Ian, “Our duty is to this galaxy. You’ve seen what they’re like in M87. Everyone has borders that can’t be violated. They all work against each other. They do not make good neighbors.”

“The Sovereign is coming around.”

“Would he have done that if we didn’t catch him in the act throwing us in front of a heavy hauler?”

Ian shook his head, “I don’t know.”

“Did either of you know that the Grey Civilization had sent notice that they were abrogating their agreement with the Greens because of that betrayal?”

Drey and Ian turned around and saw Dee and Violet standing behind them. Drey said, “They did.”

“The only thing that prevented it was the abdication of the Sovereign. It appears his son told their representative before the meeting what he had been ordered to do and expressed great shame in having to carry out his orders. His rise to the position and his plan to assist us is the only thing that kept the alliance together.”

Drey blew out a breath and said, “Crap!”

Ian turned and said, “What?”

“Now we have to go to their defense.”

“No we don’t.”

Drey stared at Ian and said, “Ok.”

Violet stared at Ian and he said, “We have more than we can handle here.”

Dee came up with two chairs and handed one to Violet as she said, “You’re probably right. It’s much better to wait for them to show up here instead of taking them on in M87.” Drey and Ian stared at Dee, looked at each other, and then looked back at Dee. “I’m just saying.”

Ian shook his head, “What are you saying, Dee?”

It will take an extremely long time for M87 to be conquered. We know those probes have been there for hundreds of years and there is no galaxy in this cluster as big as M87. Here you have millions of warships that will never be used until the new enemy shows up and you can count on them coming. It just seems like a great waste of Ships, especially when we’re building them so fast. Are you going to stop construction?’

Ian looked at Drey, then Violet, then at Dee. He looked at Drey, “Do you ever win an argument with her!?!”

Drey tilted his head and said, “Ahhhhh….no.”

“Yes you do.”

“When?”

“Give me a minute; I’ll think of one.”

“While you’re doing that, have you focused on what we should do?”

“Not really. I sense I don’t have enough information.”

“Perhaps I can offer you some data that might get your eyes closed.”

Dee looked at Drey’s communicator and saw it was active, “What would that be, Moe?”

“I had the new probe surrounded by more than fifty scanners to track any line of transmission. I was able to track it to a galaxy some distance from here and I launched a scanner on that line. It arrived in time to see the same transmission being sent in nine different directions.”

Drey said, “What directions?”

“Toward other galaxies; it appears that whoever is beating up on that galaxy has other friends in those nine galaxies.”

Dee immediately sat down and closed her eyes. Ian looked at her and said, “I hate it when she does that.”

Violet smiled, “Why?”

“Because the unexpected always follows.”

Drey said, “Welcome to my world.”

Ian looked at Dee and said, “Have you seen anything?”

Dee said, “A species that is a great destroyer of worlds.” They knew Dee was still in her mind focusing.

Violet said, “Are they coming here?”

“Not immediately, but one of their groups will be here in your lifetime.”

Ian shook his head, “I told you that I hate it. Now I know and I have to act.”

Violet looked at Ian, “Would you prefer ignorance?”

“Yes! A little time of peace wouldn’t be so bad.”

Dee said, “Peace is overrated.”

The three turned to Dee and saw she still had her eyes closed. None of them knew what to think about her last statement.

• • •

The transmission arrived at the Father’s terminal and he began examining what had happened. He knew the Grandfathers had received it as well as the other Families and he wanted to see what they might plan from the data. He had persuaded them to wait until the invasion of the spiral galaxy happened before they chose the next harvesting. He began examining the data and saw that he was glad they listened. The destruction of the giant civilized planets was a terrible waste of nourishment. With that loss, it wasn’t really worth going to that spiral galaxy now. Intelligent civilizations were rare and the loss of those thousands of planets made the choice to go there difficult. He thought about it and pulled up the data on the ball galaxy. The invasion didn’t really weaken them like he hoped but there were so many heavily populated planets there. The fight would be difficult but the rewards were worth it. He began laying out his initial plans to take out the planets where the leaders of those civilizations were located. The invasion forces would need a defensive shield around them but that wouldn’t be too difficult to set up. He continued to work on his plan and waited for the Grandfathers to announce their decision.

• • •

Drey looked at Ian, “What are you going to do?”

“Why do you ask?”

“You know they’re coming. You need to decide what to do about it.”

Dee opened her eyes and said, “The new enemy is going to send an advanced force to destroy all the Capitals of the civilizations in M87!”

“When?”

“I don’t know but I sense it’s going to be soon.”

Drey looked at Ian, “You need to decide whether or not we’re going to assist M87.”

“I can’t make that decision. Those decisions are made by the King and the First Councilor.”

Drey scoffed, “Get real, Ian. You know that if you deem it necessary they will go with your suggestion. You are the real power in this galaxy.”

Ian stared at Drey and said, “I’m reluctant to fight in M87. You’ve seen what they’re like; I mean they invaded us…twice.”

“You have to decide if you want to take them on there or here. If we could tie them up in M87, the follow up might go there instead of here. You need to decide.”

“It doesn’t have to be done at this moment?”

“Yes it does.”

“Why?”

Because the Green and Grey Civilizations deserve to be warned of what’s coming.”

“They won’t believe us.”

Drey looked at Dee, “Have you focused on how many probes that new enemy has in M87?”

“No.”

“Will you do that for me?”

Dee closed her eyes and Drey waited for a few moments, “Moe are you still listening in?”

“Yes.”

“Get ready to record.”

“I’m always ready, Drey.”

Drey turned to Dee, “Do you see the coordinates of the probes Dee is thinking about?”

Dee stared talking with her eyes closed and they heard long strings of numbers. She stopped after twenty minutes and Drey said, “Moe, how many?”

“A hundred and eight.”

Ian said, “What are you doing?”

“Getting proof.” Drey activated his communicator and pressed a frequency. The Kilper Admiral appeared on his unit, “Admiral, do you have any of the giant ships still active that can disrupt space?”

“I have about two hundred still on active duty.”

“May I borrow a hundred and nine of them?”

“What do you need them to do?”

“I’m going to remove the probes the new enemy has in M87 as well as the one at the High Council’s Planet.”

“Where do you want me to send them?”

“Send them to Euclid. Get them here as quickly as possible. And don’t remove the probe at your planet until we notify you.”

“They’ll be there momentarily.”

Ian said, “I’m going with those ships.”

“Please do, but Dee and I need to take a trip.”

Dee opened her eyes and said, “I sense there are more than a hundred but I don’t know where they are.”

Drey grabbed her hand and pulled her up off her chair, “Yes you do; now come on, we have to make a trip.”

Drey pulled her toward the giant space port and Dee said, “Where are we going?”

“To talk with some friends.”

“What did you mean I do know?”

“I’ll tell you on the ship; now get moving.”

Ian watched them sprint up the hill and looked at Violet, “What do you think?”

“We have millions of ships that aren’t going to be used. It does seem like a huge waste and how are you going to get the Union to continue building them without a current threat? You make the call but you need to keep that in mind. If nothing else, assisting them will keep our building efforts intact.”

Ian took a deep breath, “There’s been so much death.”

“There’ll be much more if we wait.”

Ian stared at her and then looked at his communicator as it beeped, “Your Highness, we have arrived at the Admiral’s request.”

“We are at the lake beside the Science Space Port. Please send a shuttle down to pick us up. We’re going with you.” Ian ended the call and said, “Moe, send each of those ships the coordinates of a probe.”

“Done.”

Ian watched the shuttle coming in from high atmosphere.

• • •

Drey looked at his scanner and shook his head. More than eight thousand Green and Grey Ships surrounded Doc and more were coming in every second. “I hope he comes.”

Dee said, “I hope he’ll listen.” Drey tilted his head and nodded. Suddenly a huge Green Ship appeared next to Doc with its force field deactivated.

“I understand you want to speak with me.”

“I do but I would also request the Gedna be present as well.”

“I am here.”

“What is it that brought you back?”

Drey nodded to Dee and she lifted her communicator, “I need to ask you a question first.”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you believe that we are honest and would not deceive you?”

There was a pause and the Sovereign said, “You have been honest in all of our dealings so far. Why do you ask that question?”

“There is the truth and the whole truth. You can be honest but withholding the whole truth is also a form of dishonesty.”

The Gedna said, “What is it that you’ve not told us?”

“Your galaxy is going to be invaded.”

The Gedna said, “I doubt that you have the forces necessary to invade our galaxy.”

“We aren’t the ones invading.” Silence slammed down on the frequency. Dee couldn’t even hear background noise. “I possess a talent that one might describe as psychic. I am able to see things that others don’t. I sensed a species that is currently invading another galaxy was coming here for their next conquest. They are going to attack all of the Capitals of your civilizations in a preemptive attack and then their major forces will arrive.”

“Why would they invade us?”

“For food; they consume the ones they conquer.”

The Sovereign said, “How can you expect us to believe this?”

Drey said, “We can prove it.”

“How?”

“That species has a hundred and eight probes in your galaxy. We can force them out of subspace into normal space where you can see them and attack them.”

The Sovereign thought a moment and said, “Gedna, do you believe them?”

Drey said, “We’re perfectly fine with just leaving and letting the future determine if we’re being honest. We’re doing this to help you.”

The Gedna said, “They have been honest with us in all their dealings. I am inclined to believe them.”

Drey said, “If you’re going to do this you need to do it quickly before those probes move to another location.”

The Gedna said, “I will bring another party into this conversation.” Dee and Drey waited and after ten minutes another being appeared on their display. It was shaped like a ball, white in color, and its body was smooth. Dee wondered how it breathed. The Gedna said, “I am going to send our conversation to you at high speed.”

“Is that one of the ships from the spiral galaxy?”

“It is.”

“Send it.” Three seconds later the round being said, “I am calling all the representatives into a conference. Give me a moment.”

Dee said, “Who is that?”

“He’s a negotiator. He handles all disputes and issues between our civilizations.”

“Oh.”

The Negotiator said, “All civilizations are on the channel. They have been given a copy of your conversation. Does anyone wish to respond?”

The Ruler of the Pental said, “What nonsense is this?” Hundreds of others started yelling about talking with their enemy.

The Negotiator muted every channel and sent a squeal tone. Everyone knew that they were cut off from the conversation. The Negotiator said, “It’s irrelevant whether or not you believe them. This is an issue that pertains to our safety. You may ask whatever questions you have after we determine if the probes exist. I have sent directives to the most powerful hundred and eight civilizations. You will immediately send one of your ships to my planet. The representatives from the Spiral Galaxy will send their ships to my planet as well. I’ve sent you the coordinates. Each of the ships will pair up and go to the sites of the probes and determine if what is being said is in fact true. The rest of us will remain on the channel until that determination is made.”

Dee said, “Moe, do you have the coordinates?”

“The Dreadnaughts are on the way.”

The ships arrived at the Negotiator’s planet and the Negotiator said, “You will pair up with a ship from the other galaxy and you will record what happens. After the mission is complete you will return here and send me your recordings.”

The ships from M87 were paired up with a Dreadnaught and Ian said over an open frequency, “We are going to disrupt subspace and the probe will be forced into normal space. Have your weapons active and fire on it as soon as it appears. All Union Ships will jump away once the operation is complete. We will be jumping in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and NOW!”

• • •

The Probe scanned the planet and saw that it was heavily defended. It began organizing the data for transmission and saw two ships jump in to the system. It ignored them; ships jumping in and around it were a very common occurrence. Suddenly a huge blast happened in subspace and it was pushed into normal space. It attempted to go into subspace but was blocked. It’s thrusters were small and it could not escape the faster warships. It energized its force field and was hit with ten beams. It managed to fire a beam but missed the target. Ten, small, high energy beams from the giant black ship hit it and it exploded.

Ian watched the probe shrug off the initial hits and shook his head. If a probe’s force field was this strong, what did that say about their ships? “Captain, take us back to Euclid.”

• • •

All hundred and eight probes were destroyed in less than fifteen minutes. The ships from M87 returned to the negotiator’s planet and began sending their recordings. The Negotiator sent them out to those attending the conference as quickly as they arrived.

The Negotiator said, “You have all received the recordings of the probes being destroyed. Does anyone wish to comment?”

The Pental Ruler sneered, “This is ridiculous. You probably placed those probes.” The channel erupted in thousands of voices agreeing with the Pental Representative. The Negotiator muted everyone on the frequency and squealed their panels.

Chapter Twenty-Four

The Negotiator said, “The Pental Representative’s remark is invalid and untrue. The structure of the probes’ hulls was different from any vessel we have seen in the spiral galaxy and the frequency of its beam was unlike any we have seen them use. The Probes were not from the Spiral Galaxy and it is a waste of time to make accusations that are not based on fact. The Pental Representative will be allowed to respond to this information.”

The Red being was shocked by the Negotiator’s findings and everyone could see his confusion. He thought a moment and said, “It doesn’t make sense that the other galaxy would come and warn us of possible invasion. We have invaded them twice. There is no reason to believe they would do anything to help us and I have to be suspicious of their motives.” The Ruler expected to be muted but wasn’t. Evidently his question was valid.

The Sovereign looked at the Gedna on his display and saw him nod. He pressed the button to speak and the Negotiator turned on his communicator, “I have been communicating with the Spiral Galaxy since before the first invasion.” The Sovereign paused but the conference was stunned silent. “They came here requesting that we approach the Orange Leader to call off his invasion. They told him that they were not an aggressive civilization and only fought in self-defense. They offered to never come here except to assist us if we were ever invaded. The Orange Leader laughed at their offer and it appears he didn’t share that information with any of you. He learned his lesson in the invasion.”

Dee noticed her communicator was active and she said, “Actually, he didn’t.”

The Sovereign looked startled, “What do you mean? He and all his ships were evidently destroyed. We scanned his ships and saw they didn’t take the path of the other ships in the first invasion but none of his fleet has been seen since.”

“No they weren’t; he and his ships did not participate in the attack against us. He jumped his ships to the first galaxy you invaded and he’s there now solidifying his position.” It was good the conference was muted because all the faces on the channel were screaming at the disrespect being shown to a leader that had given his life for the galaxy’s safety. They did not believe the accusation.

The Negotiator squealed the frequency and said, “This can be verified easily enough. I’ve designated one of your ships to go and confirm whether this accusation is factual or not.”

The Pental Ruler said, “That still doesn’t answer why you would assist us when we just destroyed thousands of your planets.”

Dee smiled, “All of those planets were uninhabited. We moved the populations off them several years ago. We actually planned for you to destroy them.”

“Why did you allow us to destroy them?”

Dee took a deep breath and said, “Our initial plan was to use them to bait your fleets in and kill as many of your ships as possible but we discovered that one of those alien probes followed your first fleet into our galaxy. We knew that as a result of that we would also be considered as a possible target. By allowing your ships to destroy those fifty thousand planets, we felt that it would reduce the likely hood that the new enemy would come to our galaxy first.” Dee looked at the Sovereign and Gedna and said, “Now you know the whole truth.” She paused and said, “We acted in our own self-interest. The ships sent to your galaxy were just to force you to keep your fleets at your planets and possibly prevent a future invasion. None of them were going to attack your civilizations.”

The Ruler said, “You used us to draw the invader here!” Once again the conference was disrupted with screams and shouting.

The Negotiator sounded the squeal at high volume and all the attendee’s covered their hearing apparatus. The Negotiator said, “You amaze me. Are all of you so asinine to believe that the Spiral Galaxy owes you anything other than a genuine hope that you’ll all be destroyed? You invaded them twice with the intention of killing all of them. Now you act like they did something wrong. You just can’t be that stupid! Quite frankly, I think it was a stroke of genius. And don’t try to act like you wouldn’t have done the same thing if given the opportunity.”

The Pental Ruler looked at Dee and said, “Then why did you come to warn us?”

“The Green and Grey Civilizations have been, except for one instance, honorable in their dealings with us. We came to try and prevent their destruction. They decided to bring the rest of you in on the conversation. The Negotiator is right; we really don’t care if the rest of you are destroyed. Killing my people has been your highest priority and we don’t take that very well. You can all go pound sand as far as we’re concerned but we felt the Greens and Greys deserved to know.”

Suddenly a voice interrupted the conference, “The Orange Leader and his ships are in the first galaxy we invaded. His ships attacked me when we arrived. He has taken control of all the planets we occupied in the first invasion.”

Silence descended on the conference and all of the civilizations knew the beings they had attacked were telling the truth. That realization struck home and they knew if an invasion was coming; all of them were in jeopardy. Dee said, “I’d like to say we did this solely out of honor and all the good things beings are capable of doing but that’s not the whole truth.” She looked at the Sovereign and said, “The more punishment you can dish out to this new enemy, the better chance we have of surviving them. It wasn’t totally done out of friendship. Obviously, we hope you can reduce their numbers before they turn their attention to us.” The Sovereign slowly nodded and Dee said, “We are going home and we do hope you can all forget your differences and come together on this. We do hope you survive. I also hope you recognize that we are not the problem you need to focus on; they are coming here.”

The Sovereign and Gedna watched the small ship disappear.

The Pental Ruler looked at the Sovereign, “Do you know how many ships they had to use against us when we invaded those planets?”

“They have millions and you should know that twenty of our major warships couldn’t break through the force field of that small ship that came here. They could have destroyed all of your ships but chose to allow you to escape instead.”

The Pental Ruler lowered his head and said, “If that is true, then you need to be the one directing our forces against the invasion.”

“Why?”

“First, that being was right. We can no longer fight against each other; we have to unite to survive. Second, your ships and the Greys are some of the most powerful in our galaxy. I’m also hoping that you might be able to persuade that other galaxy to join us in the fight. I suspect no one else could. They view us as adversaries. “

The Sovereign stared at the red colored being and said, “I will agree to do it but only if you will be my Second-in-Command.”

“Why would you want that? We’ve been enemies for centuries. You should select someone else.”

“If you and I can come together to fight for our galaxy, then everyone else should be able to do it as well. We have to forget our differences if we are going to work together. The time of borders and disagreements is over; we have to combine our forces.”

The Pental Ruler nodded and said, “Negotiator, I call for a vote on this and request that you tell us the result.” The following vote was unanimous. The Negotiator began to believe there might be hope for them…but he doubted it. He really hoped they would prove him wrong.

• • •

The Father looked at his order of targets and needed a ship count in the Green Civilization. He pressed his panel and said, “I need you to move one of the probes to the Green Civilization and have it get a current ship count.”

He went back to work and several minutes later he saw his panel illuminate, “Yes.”

“I have been unable to get any of the probes to respond to orders.”

The Father leaned back in his chair, “None of them?”

“None of them are responding.”

“Launch ten more.”

“Yes Father.”

• • •

A hundred of the most powerful ships in M87 waited at the edge of the galaxy. Their subspace scanners were the best they had been on station since the vote to fight together. A large white ship said over their communication frequency, “Here they come; it appears there are ten of them. Four of you go with each of them and remove them.”

Warships were scattered around the edge of M87 closest to the line of the distant galaxy where the enemy was located. All ten probes were followed and destroyed. A ship would bump them into normal space and the others instantly fired. None were able to get a message out.

• • •

“Father, it appears all of the new probes have been destroyed.”

“Are you sure?”

“They stopped responding before they took any scans.”

“Send this information to Grandfather.”

“Yes Father.”

The almond colored being thought a moment and grew angry; he took his arm and swept all the plans he had been working on off his desk. They scattered across the floor of his office in total disarray. They were no longer any good. They all depended on the element of surprise. He heard a knock and looked up, “Father?” He looked at his son, “The probe in the other smaller galaxy has also stopped responding.”

The Father stared at his son and said, “Send that to the Grandfathers as well.” His son nodded and closed the door behind him. The Father reflected and looked out the viewport at the planet being attacked below. The giant galaxy knew they were coming. That was going to change everything. They had evidently gone to the other galaxy and destroyed that probe to make sure it was available for their conquest at a later time. This made the planning for the next harvest much more dangerous; especially with the numbers of civilizations in that giant galaxy. It might even prevent the next harvest from happening there. He thought about it and decided that it wouldn’t prevent it. That galaxy would ultimately encounter one of the families and it needed to be removed as a future threat to the clans. He knew his family would be one of those charged with eliminating it. He didn’t like that thought at all.

• • •

Cole looked at Ian and said, “Argel helped a lot with this.”

Ian and Drey were still shaking their heads, “What made you think of this?”

“I thought about the planet you blasted in M87 and it occurred to me that the beam didn’t lose any destructive power from ten thousand miles. That is significant.”

“But it used the entire collector to fire it.”

“The collectors can be replenished if the ship is being fired on. You also won’t use the entire collector in a fleet action. The targets will be much smaller than a planet.”

Ian nodded and looked back at the display where a hundred ships were burning. The older model vessels were Union and Kilper warships but none of them survived the one beam. Their force fields didn’t slow it in any measureable way. Drey said, “How long will it take to update the fleet?”

“This is done with a revolving lens. The lens is being manufactured at a high speed assembly line on Euclid and another has just started production on Kilper. We should have the new force fields and beams in place in less than eighteen months.”

Dee looked away from the display, “You need to speed it up.”

Ian and Drey looked at her, “Do you sense something?”

“I’m not sure but the destruction of the probe here might lead to some problems; they may come and investigate.”

Ian shook his head, “I wondered if we should have done that.”

“If you didn’t, the probe would learn about our new ships. Damned if you do…”

Cole said, “What has the King and First Councilor decided about fighting in M87?”

“The jury is still out but the Kilper Admiral supports doing it.”

Dee looked startled, “Why!?!”

Ian looked at Dee and narrowed his eyes, “Why does that bother you so much?”

“He’s like me. He sees things. He must be seeing something I’m missing.”

Drey looked at Ian, “You might want to ask him?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“He says that it’s hard to fire on one of our planets from that far away.”

Dee smiled and said, “He makes a good point.”

Drey looked at the burning ships and said, “A civilization that lives in ships has one advantage.”

“What is that?”

“They can always run. For those of us that live on planets, we have nowhere to run.”

“Let’s hope we can chase them out to the stars in another galaxy.”

“That’s another thing, Ian.”

“What is that Dee?

“With the new scanners we’ve seen, we’re finding, there’s nowhere to hide either.”

Ian could only nod.

• • •

The next day Drey and Dee were sitting on board Doc watching the newest fleet going through maneuvers. The fleets would have to be spread out if the new wider beams were employed. They would have to fight without another ship close by for support. Doc watched one of the ships do a remarkable reversal and noted the ship’s transponder. He wanted that pilot in his fleet. Dee turned and looked at Drey, “Do you remember saying you have never won an argument with me.”

Drey looked at her, “I do.”

“You did win our first argument.”

“What was that?”

“You convinced me to fly with you on your ship. I was totally against it.”

Drey thought a moment and slowly nodded, “I’m really glad I won that one.”

Dee smiled and said, “I am as well.” Dee stood and walked over to Drey and sat in his lap. Drey forgot fleet maneuvers and reveled in the feeling of having his wife resting on his chest. Dee closed her eyes and felt peace for the first time in a very long time. She sensed that, for the moment, the Union was safe. Tomorrow’s problems would just have to be faced later. She knew that she did have a place to run; Drey’s arms were the safest place in the universe.

The End

Excerpt From

Star Chase Book Three

Nowhere to Hide

The ship that emerged into space above the planet was larger than the capital city on the surface. It extended a force field more than six thousand miles wide above it as thousands of large troop carriers began leaving it and dropped toward the planet below. Twenty thousand warships jumped in and began firing on the giant intruder but all of their most powerful beams were shrugged off. The defenders were not so fortunate. The massive beams began hitting them and most of those hit were vaporized. Thousands of additional warships started jumping in and the thousands of beams being fired at the intruder started targeting small areas on the intruder’s force field. The intruder was forced to reduce the size of its huge force field to prevent its hull from being hit. But it didn’t have to maintain the force field much longer. The troop transports should be in atmosphere shortly.

The Nephew looked up and said, “Father, two small green ships have arrived and our beams are not getting through their force fields.”

“Target them with multiple beams.”

“We’re firing eighty at them now.”

The Father changed his display from the transports to the small green ship and saw it flickering four hundred miles out. It began moving in and he began to feel apprehension. “Target all beams at those ships.”

One of the small green ships was hit with a hundred beams and after twenty seconds exploded. The second continued forward.

Five hundred beams began turning to fire on the small ship but never had the opportunity to lock on the small target. The Green Ship fired a fifty mile wide beam and the giant invader blew up in a massive blast. The defending warships fell on the transports after the giant force field disappeared before they could make it into the planet’s atmosphere. The defender’s beams blew all of them into debris, which became brilliant meteorite shows on the planet below.

The Commander of the defenders looked for the Green Ship to offer thanks but it had disappeared. The planet was lucky to have survived. Three other planets that were targeted by the Families initial scouting mission weren’t. Millions of inhabitants were stunned and lifted off their planets to the giant ships hanging in orbit. They withdrew before they could be stopped. The survivors knew the invaders were coming back.

Books by Saxon Andrew

The Annihilation Series:

Love Conquers All

The Power of a Queen

A Rose Grows in Weeds

Tommy’s Tale

Searcher

Demon’s Sacrifice

Finding Keepers

Ashes of the Realm:

Juliette’s Dream

Greyson’s Revenge

Death of an Empire

The Return of the Realm

Lens of Time:

The Pyramid Builders

Planet Predators

Pray for the Prey

The End of Time

The Fight for Creation

Life Warrior

Scout Warrior

Ultimate Warrior

Star Chase

Lost Prince

No Where to Run

Coming Soon

Lens of Time Book Five

Star Rover-the Worst of Time

Star Chase-Book Three

Nowhere to Hide

About Saxon Andrew

Saxon Andrew is the number one Bestselling author of the Annihilation Series. He is a former school teacher, coach, social worker, and business owner. He has written five science fiction series and all twenty books have been a top ten bestseller on Amazon. His stories are done in the style used by writers during the Golden Age of Science Fiction and can be read by any member of the family. Like most space operas, his stories take place on a stage as big as the universe and his characters are larger than life. Amazon has ranked him in the top ten science fiction authors in America. He lives in Tampa, Florida and spends his days dreaming of stories to satisfy his avid readers. He is currently writing the fifth book in the Lens of Time Series–The Worst of Time which will be out by May, 2013.

Copyright © 2013 by Saxon Andrew. All rights reserved. Screen Writers Guild no. VQEA3E380432.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.

First Electronic Edition: March 2013