Introduction

In the early twenty first century, humanity discovered the dark matter field. Jay Skinner accidentally made the discovery when he was experimenting with an electronic field around a shuttle that would capture the elusive dark matter particles and hold them in the field’s pattern. Scientists knew that the universe’s total mass was composed of eighty six percent dark matter but the particles were next to impossible to create or capture. Some of the particles were created in large cyclotrons but large concentrations of them were as elusive as capturing a thought. Dr. Skinner believed he had found a way to collect them in large numbers. If he created an electronic field and just moved through space, he deducted that he could collect enough of them on the field to examine the Higgs particle and really decipher how the universe functioned.

Dr. Skinner was alone on the shuttle designed to make the attempt because most of his colleagues determined that he was crazy to even attempt the effort. The general consensus was that he would die rather quickly but he refused to give up on his experiment. His reputation in the scientific community allowed him to make the effort.

All of Earth’s telescopes and tracking devices had his ship locked in when he said, “I’m activating the field and will start accelerating once it’s in place. I’ll know the result in a few moments.” The blue field appeared around the shuttle and the ship started moving forward and disappeared. The scientific community was shocked and confused. There wasn’t even a blast or any evidence that the ship was ever there. The shock of the scientific community was instant and questions flew quickly as reporters began broadcasting that the eminent scientist had disappeared. The questions stopped and the shock deepened ten minutes later when the ship reappeared. They were stunned when Jay said that he had just taken a trip to Neptune and back. No one believed him until he showed them close up pictures of the planet. Humanity now had a way to reach for the stars and nothing was ever going to be the same.

Within another hundred years, more than a thousand planets were discovered that would support human life in the spiral arm of the Milky Way where Earth was located. The exodus from the overcrowded planet began and mankind moved out into the galaxy. All birth control restrictions ended and the number of planets increased to a hundred thousand within the next three hundred years. The constant migration damaged Earth’s ability to compete with the new planets. The brightest and best of the home world left for the new frontier. Those that chose to stay finally decided to stop the exodus, ending the loss of scientists and engineers. The brutal government that imposed the restrictions took power and the populations were subjugated to total control. Those forced to stay decided to do something about it. Fifty years later, the planet was laid to waste in a nuclear war that killed all life on the planet.

The hundred thousand worlds watched the destruction of Earth in horror and saw their future. They knew that eventually worlds would start having issues that would lead to wars. Humanity possessed an evil side that was hard, if not impossible, to control. One planet populated by the largest number of scientists sent word to all the others that they had to come to an agreement on how they would co-exist. A hundred thousand representatives came to Euclid and discussed how to establish a union that could ensure peace among them.

These delegates knew democracy would never work in the new reality; mankind had become too large to be controlled by votes and was still growing at an incredible rate. The only vote taken among all the citizens was to approve or disapprove of the assembly’s suggestion. The resolution passed.

They decided to set up a Monarchy that would enforce peace among the members of the new agreement. Those chosen to lead would be taught and developed for the role of protecting mankind from itself. The individual planets would rule themselves, but the Monarchy would force fair standards on their dealings with each other and would take action if a member acted irresponsibly. The Union could act to remove any Monarch that failed to rule according to the founding principles. A gathering could be called and the planets could vote to replace the ruler. Two hundred years later, all agreed that the chosen rulers were doing an outstanding job of leading the Galactic Union.

Soon after the Monarchy was established, the scientists on Euclid began working to improve the genetics of the Royal Family to enhance their ability to guide the Union. The changes were small but over the centuries, the cumulative changes created beings that were superior to any human that ever existed. The numbers of genetically altered beings on Euclid expanded and the galaxy knew that any invasion of Euclid would run into a threshing machine. Their population possessed deadly talents. One planet attempted an invasion and the invading fleet was destroyed before it came close to Euclid’s orbit. The offending planet was removed from existence.

Once the Obelisk was developed and deployed to all the member’s planets, no one would dare attack any planet. The main Obelisk on Euclid was connected to all the others and the Royal Family were the only ones that could operate it. The Obelisks were indestructible and tied to planetary defenses that were impregnable. Peace became the norm for the hundreds of thousands of worlds in the Galactic Union for three hundred years.

But there were pockets of planets that resented the imposed peace and railed at the enforced restrictions. Five hundred years after the Union was formed they decided to act and remove the Union’s limitations. After a hundred years of secret preparation, they were ready to act.

Chapter One

The leader of the ground forces looked at the burning building and said, “Report.”

“We lost most of the brigade taking the upper floors.”

“How many were you able to capture?”

“None.”

“WHAT!”

“The Royal Family refused to surrender. They used blasters that took out most of our soldiers going in. The Princess led the resistance and unfortunately, she hit one of our officers carrying a blast bomb and it went off, taking out the entire floor. Everyone was killed. There are no survivors on the top four floors.”

“Are you saying the entire Monarchy was killed?”

“I’m afraid one of them escaped.”

“Who?”

“The Prince was not among those killed. We don’t know where he is.”

“Our reports said he was here on the planet.”

“There is no DNA trace of him here and scanners don’t show his mind on the planet. He was not with the Royal Family.”

The man looked around the building and saw the crowds start to gather; their time had run out, “Get the rest of the troops loaded and off planet. Do it now!”

The six transports lifted, leaving the burning building behind. The intruders rose as quickly as possible above the planet but not before two of the six transports were blasted into gas by the planetary lasers, which were just coming back on line. The survivors landed in their transport’s bays and moved out as a huge fleet of warships moved in above the planet. The ships stopped outside the range of the planet’s defenses and waited.

For the first time in five hundred years, Euclid was without the Royal Family’s leadership. The rest of the galaxy learned of the attack and knew that rebellion was now starting in the Galactic Union and the bond that unified the hundreds of thousands of inhabited planets was dead on Euclid. The war began in earnest and spread throughout the Union. The thousand planets of the Orion Nebula had prepared in secret for a hundred years and their fleets went out to take control of the Union. With the advent of the Obelisk, no one built warships and the Nebula moved to take control before their advantage was removed.

The Ground Leader sent a message to the Prime Dictator that the Prince had escaped. The Prime’s anger was instant, “Find him and kill him. We can’t allow him to take the throne.”

“He’s not on Euclid. The fleet has scanned the entire surface and his mind was not on the planet.”

“You will keep the fleet there and kill any ship that approaches. He must be prevented from landing and taking control of the Obelisk. Find him; I’ll hold you responsible if he’s not eliminated quickly.”

The Leader lowered his head and the conversation was terminated.

• • •

The Leader stared at the empty display and knew going in that if any member of the Royal Family survived the sneak attack, all bets were off on a successful rebellion. The suppression field put around the Obelisk when they landed was eliminated within an hour and once it was removed the planetary defenses came back on line. The suppression field would only work once. Once the Obelisk broke through the field, it would not be affected again. The fleet above Euclid knew that getting within range of the planet’s defenses was tantamount to a death sentence. The fleet couldn’t even get close enough to hit the planet with beams or missiles; any launched would be countered by the Obelisk’s defenses. The obelisk would need one of the Royal Family to make it connect to the other defensive devices throughout the Union. If that happened, the rebellion would be over before it began. The Nebula forces knew the Prince had to be found and eliminated.

“Sir, the planet has determined that the Prince wasn’t killed in the attack. They’re broadcasting the information to the Union.”

“If we could make that determination, they can as well.” The Leader looked at the planet in his display and knew that it would not be killed. If all else failed, it could be isolated. But if that Prince managed to get on the surface…he shook his head. The indestructible obelisks spread out in the galaxy would be useless until that happened. He had to be found and killed. “Start the search. I want every planet scanned and notify me when you find him.”

“Sir, you know the talents that make him different. He’ll be difficult to capture.”

“Kill him on sight and I don’t care how many die with him. Kill the planet if you find him. Is that clear!?!”

The Commander nodded and sent out the orders.

The Ground Leader looked at the planet and saw activity on the southern continent. He moved the view closer and saw that machines were starting to clear land. He wondered what they were doing and then he knew. Euclid was going to start building warships. If those superior beings weren’t stopped. He decided to use the only one that had a chance of finding the Prince. He pushed his communicator and saw the Officer appear, “Do you know what’s happened?”

“I do.”

“I’m assigning you the task of finding and killing the missing Royal.”

The Officer’s expression showed no emotion. “You should have made sure he was there before you landed.”

“Stating the obvious won’t find him.”

“I’ll find him.”

The Ground Leader had little doubt the Dark Officer would find the Prince. He just wondered how many were going to die before he did.

• • •

He moved down the street and looked up in the sky and saw the contrails of ships entering high atmosphere. They would be on the surface quickly. He walked at a sedate pace to avoid standing out and sensed the small ship landing three blocks behind him. Six Nebula Agents emerged and started moving up the street. He casually moved into a restaurant and saw there were numerous picnic tables scattered outside the main building as he sensed the agents getting closer. He looked around and decided not to go into the main building. There was a large crowd outside listening to the band play dance music. He glanced to his right and moved toward a picnic table with a group of women watching the band play. He sat down behind one of them, leaned over, and quietly whispered to her, “I’ll pay you a hundred drocs if you’ll allow me to kiss you.”

The woman was startled and she turned around with a raised hand to slap him for his impertinence. She saw the handsome young man and lowered her hand. He was gorgeous. “I’m not that kind of woman; but I’ll let you kiss me for free.”

He leaned forward and placed his hand on the woman’s cheek and lightly placed his lips on hers. Two Nebula agents entered the restaurant and one looked left as the other looked right. He lightly pushed her cheek to the right and continued the tender kiss. He saw the agent’s scan move toward him and he emptied all thought from his mind. The scan passed them and he kept his head in the shadow created by the woman’s head. The Agent moved the scan back across the crowd and looked at the agent to his left. He shook his head and they exited the building. He broke the kiss and saw eight more agents sprint past the restaurant.

The woman opened her eyes, “That was nice. Perhaps I should pay you for another.”

He leaned forward again and kissed her as the Nebula vehicle passed the front of the restaurant. He managed to remain in the shadow created by the woman’s head and the vehicle’s scan came up empty and it continued up the street. “Thank you.”

He stood and the pretty woman looked up at him, “Where are you going?”

“I need to find a transfer to take me to the river.”

“I’ll take you.”

“No, you really don’t have to do that.”

“I don’t mind. My trans is right over there.”

He looked to the right of the building and saw a new sports trans. He smiled and said, “If it’s not a problem.”

She leaned over and said something to the woman sitting next to her who nodded as she stood. He followed her out to her vehicle. They entered, lifted the small trans, and turned up the side street. He glanced behind him and saw more ships arriving.

They arrived at the river and he stepped out, “I appreciate you bringing me. Thank you.”

“No problem.” She watched him walk over to a huge transhauler and enter the cab. The huge vehicle drove away and she sighed; he was a great kisser. She wished he had asked to stay with her for a while. But she wasn’t the kind of woman that would ask him.

• • •

“I told you this was stupid.”

“I know, I know. They came in faster than I thought.”

“You were lucky.”

“What do we do?”

“Well, your mind is shielded now from everything in orbit but a scanship. I don’t know how they got a reading but it’s clear they did. We need to move far away from here before we attempt an exit. There are two Nebula Warships in orbit and they’re staying stationary above this city.”

He thought for a moment and said, “Then they’re not certain I’m here.”

“I wouldn’t bet the farm on that.”

“They haven’t brought in a scanship.”

“I’m keeping my scanner out for that. If one shows up, we’ll have to make a run for it.”

The transhauler left the city and accelerated on the freeway. It matched the six hundred miles per hour traffic and headed away from the huge city.

• • •

The Nebula Officer walked along the street and let his mind go free. He was tall and his black uniform made him look imposing. It fit him perfectly and it was easy to see he took pride in his appearance. He felt the people in the buildings that lined the street and didn’t sense what he was looking for. He arrived at the front of the restaurant and stopped. Something…wasn’t…quite right. He went inside and felt the residue of a High Genetic. He went to the area where it was the strongest and stared at the now empty table. He recalled the agents that had scanned the building and looked at what they had seen. He saw the group of women and the couple that was kissing. He couldn’t see the couple’s faces because they were turned away from the scan. He looked again and saw the face of the woman sitting next to the couple and she was looking directly at the agent. “Find this woman.”

The agent moved out of the restaurant. He returned in thirty minutes and said, “She lives six miles from here.”

“Take me there.” The Officer boarded the carrier with three agents and arrived at the address and found the woman sitting outside with a small male child. The four exited the carrier and the tall officer smiled, “I’m sorry to interrupt you but I need some information.”

The woman saw the Nebula soldiers approaching with three of them holding blasters. She immediately felt fear for herself and her child. The stories of their brutality had been told by all the planets in the Union. She stared at the Officer and agents and tried to maintain her composure but her voice was shaky, “I’ll assist you any way I can, Sir.”

“Who was the woman sitting to your left today at the restaurant?”

“That was Natalie Weston.”

The Officer looked at an agent and he pressed the gold colored circle on his collar. He spoke quietly and said, “I have it.”

The officer leaned down and patted the young boy on the head and said, “You have a beautiful child.” He looked at the woman for a long moment and she knew she was going to die, but he stood and walked toward the carrier. One of the agents looked at him and didn’t see him look back. They boarded and arrived at another residence ten miles away. The four entered the building and went up three floors. An agent kicked the door in and the three carrying blasters rushed in ahead of the Officer with their blasters raised.

Natalie was watching the monitor when the door crashed in and she pushed herself away to the end of the couch. The Officer entered and looked around. He smiled and said, “I need you to remember the man that was kissing you earlier.”

The man’s face flashed into her mind and the Officer saw it. He was able to see surface thoughts of anyone who was not a High Genetic. “Do you know where he went?”

The Officer saw the transhauler in her mind and said, “He’s here on the planet.”

Natalie said, “Have I done something wrong?”

The Officer smiled and said, “I’m afraid you aided an enemy of ours.” He turned to leave and the agent saw him nod. The agent turned and fired his blaster into the pretty woman’s face, burning it off her shoulders. The beam set fire to the furniture beyond the dead woman. The four walked out and boarded their carrier. The officer never looked back at the building that was going up in flames as residents were forced to jump out of windows to save themselves.

The Officer pressed the gold circle on his collar and said, “Bring a scanship now.”

• • •

The transhauler finally moved over the horizon from the city, turned off the freeway, and moved up a road into a field. It began changing shape and morphed into a small ship. It rose quickly just above the field, took a steep angle away from the distant city, and exited the atmosphere with the planet between it and the ships in orbit over the large city. A blue field appeared around the ship and it instantly disappeared. The scanships arrived a moment later and scanned the planet.

The Officer sat in the restaurant still feeling the residue, waiting for word from the scanships. He heard from the gold circle, “He is no longer on this planet.”

For the first time since arriving, the Officer’s expression turned angry and he slammed his arm into the table, shattering the hard top. He collected himself and called for the two agents that had scanned the restaurant. They rushed in and went to attention. He looked at them and removed their minds. The agent’s bodies collapsed to the floor and he said in a flat voice, “Don’t make this mistake again.”

The agent’s commanding officer remained at attention standing behind the Officer and said, “We won’t, Sir.”

The Officer stood, stepped over the dead agents, and walked over to the counter. He ordered a drink from the bar, paid for it, and walked slowly out the door. The Commander released a breath. Euclid was not the only planet with genetically improved leaders. The ones created by the Nebula were deadly. This one was the deadliest of all.

Chapter Two

“Ian, I told you it was stupid to stop at that planet.”

“E, we had to gather stores and any planet would have been a risk. At least I was able to acquire what we need.”

“That’s when we should have left. That woman wouldn’t have had to die if you had listened.”

“WHAT!”

“I intercepted a transmission. One of their genetic leaders tracked her down and killed her for assisting you.”

Ian sat in his chair and felt shock, “How did he find her?”

“One of the ones sending the communication said he tracked the residue of your mind to a restaurant. Evidently they are further along than we thought.”

Ian slowly shook his head. After an hour he said, “I won’t make that mistake again.”

“That’s just it; you must not be found and more are going to die if you manage to survive. Her life was worthless if you didn’t escape. If they discovered you were on the planet, they would have bombed it into radioactive rubble. She would be dead along with everyone else.”

“She didn’t deserve it, E.”

“No one does.”

Ian leaned back in the chair, “I guess I was wrong to leave Euclid.”

“That’s hindsight. No one knew how long the Obelisk was going to be down. We also didn’t know they were sending a war fleet. You made the best decision possible with the information available.”

“If I had stayed, this would be over.”

“If a frog had pockets he could carry a blaster and not be afraid of snakes.” There was a moment of silence and the ship said, “I’m sorry about Ariene.”

Ian sighed, “We weren’t close. She was the one chosen to be my mate. I really didn’t get an opportunity to know her.”

“The scientists said your children would have been a giant leap forward.”

“Marrying her was my duty. Her defense of my parents told me more about her than anything I’ve seen so far. Her bravery was more than I thought she was capable of. I believe I would have eventually found happiness with her.” Ian paused, “How did they find us?”

“I’ve not gone to full speed and I see what caused it.”

Ian sat up, “What do you see?”

“The Nebula has spread out their ships and is sending a pattern through the dark matter in the galaxy. If I go to high speed, I can’t see it. At this speed I can see how they’ve covered the major pathways between the worlds of the union. I think I flew through one of the patterns and they got a line on the direction we were moving. The planets on that line included the planet we landed on.”

“So they really didn’t know if we were there?”

“It was the optimum choice of the fifty on that line. I believe that’s why that Genetic Officer went there first. There are more patterns appearing at this moment.”

“Do you think they’ll be able to cover them all?”

“They don’t have enough ships to do that. I see that most of the patterns are forming around the main allies of the Union. I expect they think you’ll go to them to start a counter to their rebellion.”

“I was considering doing just that.”

“They won’t hesitate to nuke any planet they know you’re on. The Union hasn’t built warships in centuries and the Nebula has the upper hand at this moment. They’ll exploit that strength and attack any planet that represents a danger.”

“I guess I was lucky to have escaped.”

“The Lead Scientists needed a member of the Royal Family to link with my systems to make sure they operated properly. You were the obvious choice. You were fortunate to be at the lab and not at the Royal Quarters.”

“Are there any more ships like you?”

“No, I was the prototype. My processor is really nothing more than your intellect in mechanical form. That’s why you were needed to link.”

“I don’t think like you do, E.”

“You do, but just not as fast.”

“Were you armed?”

“I was, however, I need the release code to activate my weapons and I don’t know what it is.”

“Do you know anything about the code?”

“It’s one word spoken five times.”

“Well, work on it.”

“I can’t; that is a restriction my software can’t get around. I’m sure you’ll have to find it. I am not allowed to look.”

“Well, I have no idea on what it could possibly be.” Ian paused, “Do you have a suggestion on where to go next?”

“The Nebula’s rebellion is being slowed by the search for you. Now that they have confirmation that you are alive, they’ll direct all their efforts toward finding you. There’s good news and bad news associated with that.”

“Give me the bad news first.”

“The more ships they use to form a pattern in the Union, the better their chance of finding you.”

“What’s the good news?”

“The ships producing that pattern have to be in space to do it. The more ships they use, the less chance of them attacking large numbers of planets. They will also be forced to keep that fleet at Euclid to prevent your return.”

“Then in the interest of the Union, we need to stay hidden.” Ian thought a moment, “What did they mean by a residue?”

“Ian, your mind’s electrical activity is off the scale compared to most humans. That electrical activity excites the area around you. If you remain in one place very long, it can be detected.”

“So where do we go?”

“What do your senses tell you?”

“I thought you were faster than I am?”

“I am but I don’t have your mental ability, only your intellect. The Royal Family’s ability to chart a path is unmatched. Tell me what you sense and I’ll analyze the possible consequences of it.”

Ian closed his eyes and let his mind go free. Millions of choices were made and discarded. After a minute he opened them and said, “It’s got to be a place outside the Union.”

“That can only mean we have to go to the Wilderness.”

“Without weapons, that can be dangerous.”

“You have your personal weapons. I’ll just have to make sure I’m not seen arriving.”

“I also saw one possibility that we might want to explore.”

“What is that?”

“E, there’s no way they can know you’re not armed. I suspect they’re concerned about the ship I’m in and we can use that.”

“What do you suggest?”

“Before we go to the Wilderness, fly a high speed line toward the Nebula’s governing planet and then turn away.”

The computer started laughing; “Now that is a great idea.”

Ian looked at the star that map appear on the computer display and saw the line to the Orion Nebula located at the edge of the Milky Way. The small ship oriented on the line and went to full speed, passing through fifty of the Nebula patterns. An alert went out and as the small ship turned from its path and slowed, E said, “Half of the patterns have been removed. It appears the ships making them have been recalled to their planets.”

“Now would be a good time to make a run to the Wilderness.”

“I’m ahead of you. We’re already headed that way.”

• • •

The Dictator stared at the Officer and was close to yelling. The only thing that prevented him from doing so was a respect for the Officer’s talents. The Officer looked at the display with a calm expression and said, “It is to be expected that the Prince would attack you after you killed his family.”

“Well, he didn’t appear here.”

“I suspect you had enough ships to arrive to persuade him to back off his plan.”

“I can’t defend all of my planets.”

“Then some might be destroyed if you don’t.”

The Dictator looked at the Officer and said, “What would you do?”

“You’ll have plenty of planets to rule once this little issue is resolved. I would just send ships to the five major worlds and increase the patterns around the others. If he attacks, he will probably destroy a planet or two, but we’ll have him trapped inside our patterns and he won’t escape. We’ll vector in ships from all over the galaxy on his course.”

“Some of the planets will scream at not being defended.”

“Then destroy one of two of them and the screaming will stop. You have total control; use it.”

The Dictator smiled and the display went dark. The Officer stared at the dark screen and knew that one day he was going to get close enough to the Dictator to remove his mind. Then the Nebula would be ruled the proper way. He just wasn’t hard enough to rule effectively.

“E, where are you headed?”

“I’m going to one of the newest colonized worlds. It’s at the outer edge of the Wilderness.”

“What’s it named?”

“Hellhole.”

Ian activated his computer and pulled up the planet. “That planet is pretty wide open and lawless.”

“Thus, the planet’s name; I’m hoping that if they aren’t able to find you and they start looking in the Wilderness, they’ll decide that you wouldn’t go there.”

“Is this a good idea?”

“We need to buy time. We’ll know if they start moving into the Wilderness and start scanning the planets there.”

“Is there any way for me to hide from their scanships?”

“Sensory deprivation is the only thing I’ve been able to come up with.”

“What is that?”

“You’ll have to close your eyes, turn off your hearing, sense of smell, and the nerves leading to your skin. Your mind is like a nova with the electrical activity it generates. Most of that activity is tied to your senses. If you shut down your senses and focus on a sine wave, you might escape a scan.”

“You know I can see with my eyes closed.”

“I do, but you have to just not do it.”

“Can I allow my subconscious to track what’s happening around me?”

“I don’t know. See if you can enter the state and I’ll measure your electrical activity.”

Ian sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. In four minutes he heard, “You’re still slightly above normal but I don’t know if it will make them curious enough to take a look. I’ve measured thousands of normal humans with the same level.”

“Let’s hope I don’t have to do this.”

“You need to practice getting into that state quickly.”

Ian spent the rest of the run going in and out of the sensory deprived state. They arrived at the border of the Wilderness in an hour and E slowed down. “I want to take a look at the worlds in the wilderness as we pass.”

“How come?”

“We might have to go to another and it would be good to have an inventory to select from.”

“While you’re doing that, I’m going to start saying words to activate your weapons. Who set the code, E?”

“The Lead Scientist sets all codes.”

“Send me everything you have on him. I might find something that will work.”

“His file is on your display. I really hope you find it.”

“You’re worried.”

“This is a dangerous place.”

Ian looked up from the file, “Why have these planets not joined the Union?”

“Some of humanity just doesn’t function well within rules and structures. They just feel stifled by civilization. Those humans live in the Wilderness where anything and everything goes. You need to keep your eyes and senses wide open when we arrive. Without my weapons, you’ll have to defend yourself.”

Ian shrugged and went back to the file. He started with the Lead Scientist’s mother and repeated all of her names five times each with no result. Then he went to the father, two brothers, sister, aunts, uncles, and cousins. They arrived at Hellhole with E’s weapons still inactive. “I would have thought he would have used a family member’s name. That’s what I would have done.”

“I suspect the Lead Scientist is far too smart to fall into that trap.”

Ian shook his head and said, “You’re right. I really believe it’s a name, but it must be someone that would not be associated with him. I’ll keep trying after we land and settle in.”

The small ship arrived above Hellhole and started scanning the surface. “Ian, this might work out. A huge number of the locals live in a kind of mobile factory.”

“Say what?”

“This is a mining planet and they all live in vehicles that can dig samples and mine the upper layer of soil for valuable minerals. The vehicles are armed and move around the planet searching for rare metals.”

“No one farms? Where do they acquire their food?”

“Yes, there are armed communities that farm and live somewhat normally. They take their produce and goods to trade centers called outposts. These outposts have a no fire zone and personal weapons are forbidden. Anyone that attacks those going to trade with an outpost will be banned and killed if they attempt to enter. The miners go there to purchase their stores. It appears that no one is willing to violate the no fire zone. They would be restricted from any contact with all out posts if they used weapons in those zones.”

“So how do you want to handle this?”

“I’m going to morph into one of those vehicles and land in an area away from any other miners.”

“E, we don’t have that much in the way of stores.”

“I know. I’m able to scan the surface and we should be able to mine enough gold to purchase what we need. I see a rather large deposit out on the sand along with others that have not been mined.”

“Do what you need to do. I’m going to keep looking for the activate code.”

The small ship spiraled in at high speed and landed on the vast plain on the northern continent. It morphed into a mining machine and started digging into the loose soil.

• • •

“Hey Jefie, did you see that?”

“What?”

“Something went down in the western plain.”

“You know your scanner is better than mine. Mine is only good enough to see ten yards in front of me.”

“Well, something spiraled in at a high rate of speed.”

“Did you detect an explosion?”

“No, it went down over the horizon and I wouldn’t have seen it.”

“Hmm…if it was a ship, there might be some advanced metals lying around.”

“It’s a hundred miles away. Do you think it’s worth the effort to investigate?”

Ribbons thought for a moment and said, “I don’t know. It wasn’t very big and if it crashed, there won’t be much to salvage.”

“There is a possibility it landed and was disabled.”

Ribbons thought about that possible bonanza. “If it was a ship, it might be armed.”

“There is that to consider. Have you found any minerals?”

“No, I’ve been striking out lately.”

“Then what have we got to lose? If the situation calls for running away, we’ll run.”

Ribbons thought about it. “Is your blaster still functional?”

“It’s the only thing on this bucket of bolts that works properly.”

“Call Porky and see if she’ll join us; I’d feel better if there were three of us.”

Ribbons waited and continued to run his blade through the soil, turning up nothing of value. “She said she’ll go with us.”

“How long will it take her to get here?”

“She’s twenty miles into the plain. She’ll meet us on the way in. Well lead the way, Ribbs. I hope you plotted the site.”

“I have it.” The two huge mining vehicles pulled up their blades and turned west.

• • •

“E, we have company moving our way.”

“What’s going on?”

“Three mining vehicles are meeting and moving toward our landing location. All three have heavy blasters mounted on them.”

“Can your field protect us?”

“Yes, but I don’t want to use it unless I have no other option.”

Ian thought about it. “Are we going to avoid all contact with the locals?”

“I’m not sure if that would be wise. We’d be out in the open and easy to spot by a warship.”

“Then I’m going to attempt to communicate with them. Do what you have to do to defend us.”

“All I can do is block any of their weapons.”

“I have a heavy blaster in storage. I’ll go get it and have it handy.”

“We have more than two hundred pounds of gold in the reservoir. We should be able to resupply if we have to run.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Chapter Three

The two mining vehicles ran up and Porky joined them. They accelerated to seventy miles per hour and fifty minutes later crested a hill and saw the mining vehicle working its way over the surface of a depression. They stopped six miles away and Jefie said, “I don’t detect a crash and this is where my scanner says the ship went down.”

“Well that miner didn’t fly in here.”

“Ask him if he witnessed a crash, Ribbs.”

“What’s wrong with you asking?”

“You know you talk better than me.”

Ribbons shook his head and pressed his radio, “Ahoy, did you happen to see a ship crash around here?”

Ian pressed his board, “You probably saw our ride come in. I paid a commercial lifter to drop me here and he didn’t waste any time doing it. I don’t think I’ll make that mistake again. He rattled everything I own.”

“Ribbs, he found a gold deposit.”

“What?”

“My scanner says he’s mining a large gold deposit.”

Ian heard their communication and said, “Your friend is right. On our way back to the planet I was able to map ten sites that have high deposits of metals.”

Ribbons shook his head, “Are you dumb? Why would you ever tell anyone what you’ve found? You’re asking to be attacked.”

“I’m telling you because I recognize the danger of what I’m sitting on. I just thought that the three of you might join me in mining the sites. I suspect that four of us would not be something that others would take on.”

“What’s to stop us from just removing you and taking the gold you’re on?”

“The other nine sites.” Ribbons chuckled. Now that was an answer he didn’t expect. The stranger continued, “I believe that you would rather eat the whole cake instead of just a slice.”

Ribbons looked over at Jefie who raised his hands and shrugged. “How good are the other sites?”

“This site is at thirty five percent. Five of the others are higher than forty percent.”

Ribbons was starting to feel greedy. “Porky, what do you think?”

“This is a no brainer. The four of us would have two whole sites if we agree to work together. We’ll only get one third of this site if we don’t. That’s assuming we could take out that miner.”

“So what do we do?”

“We make a miner’s truce until we arrive at an outpost and then we can see if we want to continue it.”

Ian smiled, “I think you have a wise friend.”

Ribbons looked at the new mining vehicle and took a deep breath, “The truce will be void if you are lying about the other sites.”

“Actually I’ve plotted thirty other sites but the first ten are the most valuable.”

Ribbons said, “Activate the recorders.” Ian looked quickly at the miner’s mind and saw what he was saying to do. “We the following do agree to a miner’s truce from this moment until we make outpost. I do agree to the truce.”

Jefie said, “I agree as well.”

Porky said, “I also agree.”

Ian said, “I agree.” Ian continued, “You can see my tracks. If the three of you will move to the side of the track and start where my vehicle started digging, you’ll start finding the deposit. Once you reach where I stop and turn around, follow me back to the start. That’s where the deposit will play out.”

Ribbons said, “You heard the man. Let’s move.”

The three huge vehicles moved to where Ian’s mining started and lined up next to each other. They moved forward and immediately found gold moving into their reservoirs. Three hours later the deposit was cleared.

“Ribbs, I’ve got seven hundred pounds of gold.”

Ribbons said, “Where do we go now?”

“Follow me.”

Ian drove three miles and stopped. Ribbons said, “Jefie, do you scan anything here?”

“No, I’m not picking up anything.”

“How about you, Porky?”

“Nothing on my scanner, either.”

Ian said, “Line up beside me and set your blades eight inches deeper than normal. We’ll move slower because of the depth.”

Ribbons shrugged and looked over at Jefie and nodded. They turned and lined up beside the stranger’s vehicle. The four miners started moving slowly forward and Jeffie yelled, “He’s found a platinum deposit.”

Porky said, “Oh my god, how has this been missed?”

Ribbons shook his head, “You know platinum doesn’t give off a reading like the other metals. No one sets their scanners for platinum. It’s so rare that it’s senseless to go looking just for it. You’ll miss any of the other metals.”

“Ribbs, at the rate we’re filling our holding tanks, I won’t have room for any more after this site. These two will remove all my debts.”

“I see that, Porky.”

The four vehicles made three passes over the platinum deposit and Ribbons said, “We’re not able to hold anything more. We have to go unload at an outpost before we can continue.”

“I need to go as well. Perhaps we should all go unload and come back to finish this site.”

Jefie said, “You mean there’s more?”

“We’ve only covered a third of it.”

Ribbons started laughing and said, “I vote we extend the truce indefinitely; if that’s ok with you stranger?”

“Just call me Nosey.”

“Nosey?”

“I seem to be able to smell metals. And the extension is agreeable with me.”

The four turned after plotting the site and putting a marker on it. They turned west and headed toward Heaven’s Portal. The outpost was eight hours away.

• • •

The Officer looked at the Fleet’s reports and wondered where the Prince had gone. He had disappeared and he knew there was no way to scan every planet in the Union to find him. He sat and waited as the major planets were scanned. If he wasn’t on one of them… He paused and thought, “If I was being pursued, what would I do?” He knew the Prince was brilliant but he was young and inexperienced. He would probably go to one of the Majors. If nothing turned up on them, he would consider this further. He had to be on one of the Majors. He ordered three scanships to each of the major planets and had them overlap their scans. If he was there, they would see it. He smiled and shot the waiter that had taken too long to bring his order. The waiter fell to the floor, spilling his order on the floor. The Officer smiled and looked at the manager, “I trust I won’t be kept waiting again.” The Manager sprinted away and the Officer smiled. See, all it took was a little motivation.

• • •

“How long before the first plant is completed?”

“Three weeks for the engines. The hull assembly plant will come on line two weeks later.”

The Lead Scientist looked up at the sky, “Get the weapons moving.”

• • •

The Nebula Fleet watched the buildings going up and knew trouble was not far ahead. The Prince had to be captured and not killed, but to be used as a hostage against the ships being built on Euclid.

• • •

The four mining vehicles arrived at Heaven’s Portal outpost and E followed the other three to one of the empty bays. The outpost computer connected and said, “First load, enter name.”

E thought a moment and said, “Nosey.”

“Name accepted, your designation is being sent. Report to the teller for totals.”

E said, “Ian, you need to go to the teller in the main office and receive a receipt.”

Suddenly the outpost computer said, “Funds have been deposited in your account. Do you require any servicing?”

Ian thought a moment and said, “Do you have any weapons available for installation?”

“What level do you require?”

“What’s your highest level?”

“Main blaster and sonic missiles.”

E whistled, “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”

Ian said, “What do our funds allow us to purchase?”

“Every blaster in our inventory as well as every missile.”

Ian said, “Please install two blasters and two missile launchers.”

“How many missiles do you require?”

E said, “Fifty should be enough.”

“Fifty.”

“The funds have been deducted. Please report to the teller for receipt.”

Ian watched several engineers move forward and start placing mounts on his vehicle. “E, are they going to harm your hull?”

“Not at all. I’ll just absorb them into our storage if we have to leave quickly. Those blasters are as good as a warship’s. We can use them.”

“What about the charges?”

“Oh I can handle that. Go and take five.” E paused and said, “Leave your blasters. They’re off limits here.”

Ian smiled and opened the canopy.

• • •

Porky arrived at the teller and heard her say, “Porky, all your debts have been paid.”

“What do I have left?” The teller handed her a receipt and Porky looked at it. She looked up at the teller and saw her smile. “Really?”

The teller nodded and said, “It couldn’t happen to a nicer miner.”

Porky stepped out of the office and felt the world off her shoulders. She saw a young man walking toward the office and saw he was coming from her group’s four vehicles. He came closer and she said, “Nosey?”

Ian stopped and looked at the woman in front of him. She was about five feet eight and weighed about a hundred and twenty pounds. She had long blonde hair and the bluest eyes he had ever seen. He stared at her and said, “Are you Porky?”

“I am.” Ian started laughing. “What’s so funny?”

“That’s like calling a diamond stony. You are not close to being a Porky.”

Porky smiled, “It keeps most men away.”

Ian tilted his head and said, “Don’t let them get close or your disguise will be blown.”

She smiled and said, “I’ll meet you in the restaurant with the others.”

Ian nodded and went in to the teller. He retrieved his receipt and glanced at the card he was given for purchases and the slip of paper with the teller’s contact number. He began to understand Porky’s reasons for her name. He went to the restaurant and found three very subdued miners. He knew it was his group because Porky was sitting with the other two. He came over and they didn’t look very happy.

The tall miner with red hair said, “Make sure you don’t smile.”

Ian looked at them, frowned, and said, “Why not?”

The other miner sitting at the table said, “You don’t want anyone to know we had a big load. We’ll be followed if any one suspects we’ve found a large deposit.”

Ian grimaced and said, “Mum’s the word.” Ian looked at the short miner and tried not be obvious looking at him.

The miner was about five foot five inches tall but weighted at least four hundred pounds. Ian could see that he was as solid as a brick bathroom. The miner said, “I’m Jefie. I was born on Juniper.”

Ian said, “That’s the planet with heavy gravity.”

“It is and that’s what accounts for my rugged good looks.”

Ian tried not to smile but couldn’t pull it off. He burst out laughing and the others joined in. The tall miner said, “I’m Ribbons and we’re expected to laugh occasionally. All miners tell good jokes.”

Porky looked at Ribbons and said, “Where does the name Ribbons come from?”

“Well, six miners jumped me at a bar and I had to show them the error of their ways. The bartender said I decorated the place with them and the only thing missing was the ribbons. The name stuck.”

• • •

Ian shook his head and Porky said, “How are we going to get out of here?”

Ian looked at her and wondered what she was getting at.

Ribbons looked at Ian and said, “The other miners here see that we are having service done on our vehicles and suspect we’ve found a deposit. But they’re not sure. However, those weapons being put on your vehicle are expensive. Our vehicles appear to just be getting routine maintenance but you are a dead giveaway to finding a deposit.”

“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t think it through.”

“It might not be all bad. The weapons you’re having installed will prevent most of them from taking you on. However, there are teams that may decide to take the risk.”

Ian said, “So what do I do?”

Porky said, “Stand up and tell us how good it was to meet us and go get a room. We’ll point at you after you leave and laugh. We’ll all leave one at a time tomorrow and meet you a hundred and thirty miles out of the outpost at the depression we went through coming here. Do you remember how to get there?”

“I do.”

“Leave tomorrow afternoon and head that way. If any team follows you, they will have to be eliminated for their inappropriate behavior.”

Ian nodded and stood. He reached forward and offered his hand and only Jefie took it. Ribbons and Porky just waved a hand at him. He managed to look disappointed and left the restaurant. The three put their heads together and Ribbons nodded at the door he exited. They laughed and went back to their serious expressions.

A miner approached their table and said, “Who’s the newbie?”

“Some lucky son of a rock toad that had beginner’s luck.” Ribbons looked at the miner and said, “How’s your luck been?” The miner shrugged and shook his head. Ribbons sighed, “Maybe everything has played out here. We’re thinking about heading over toward Aladdin’s Castle. Have you heard anything from there?”

“I’ve heard rumblings that some are getting lucky.”

Jefie said, “We should do it, Ribbs.”

“Do you have enough credit to purchase the fuel to get there?” Jefie stared at Ribbs and slowly shook his head. “Me either.”

The miner patted Jefie on the shoulder, “Hang in there. One of us is bound to get lucky eventually.”

Jefie took a swallow of water and said, “We can only pray.”

The miner walked away and Porky said, “He’s talking with the other four at his table. They’re trying to look depressed but they’re planning something.”

Ribbons said, “We could just stay out of this and go back to the platinum.”

Porky leaned back in her chair and said, “Thirty deposits, he said. We’ve only cleared one and a half.”

Ribbons looked at Jefie and then turned to Porky, “Porky, has Nosey turned your head?”

“Of course he has. Did you take a look at him?”

Ribbons smiled, “Just checking.” Ribbons knew that just turning Porky’s head wouldn’t be enough to make her risk her vehicle. Thirty deposits would.

The five miners stared at Porky and would have introduced themselves properly, but none of them were willing to attack her as long as Jefie was around. They knew the danger he represented and without weapons, they weren’t stupid enough to try it. They were dangerous but no one would take on the giant from Juniper. Four of them left at noon the next day and waited six miles from the outpost. The fifth waited for the newbie to leave and followed him out.

• • •

Ian left the restaurant and checked in. He ordered a meal and ate it in the room. He linked with E and said, “We may have a problem tomorrow.”

“I heard what your group said. The five miners are planning to ambush you when you start mining.”

“Did you check out their weapons?”

“I did. They could pose a problem if we didn’t have my force field. However, we do have it, so I’m not really worried.”

Ian heard a knock on his door and he went and opened it to find Porky standing there. “I can’t afford a room and thought I’d bunk with you.”

Ian saw the small smile and opened the door wider. She walked in and Ian closed the door. “I’ll talk with you in the morning E.”

“Good night.” And it was.

• • •

The next afternoon Ian backed the vehicle up and turned toward the entrance. He went through and put on speed. He roared away at sixty miles per hour and forty miles out began running at seventy. Porky had given him the coordinates of where to go and an hour later he started looking for the tracks she had left four days earlier. He spotted the tracks and slowed down. He moved forward and lowered his blade to the ground. Five mining vehicles came roaring over the small rise and began firing blasters at him. Ian turned the vehicle broadside to the oncoming miners and saw the three mining vehicles of his partners appear behind the five attackers. The two vehicles on the end of the line exploded along with the center vehicle. Ian turned the two heavy blasters toward the surviving two vehicles and fired a beam that blew through them and blew the huge vehicles apart.

“Hey, hey, I didn’t know those beams had that much power.”

Ian smiled; E had supplemented their power with his reactors. “Me either. It looks like I made a good purchase.” The four partners gathered around the five burning vehicles and Ribbons got out and went to the center one and hammered a sign in the ground. Ian pulled the view in closer and saw “Claim Jumper” written on it in red writing.

Porky said, “We can go now.”

Ian led the way and the four returned to the platinum deposit. They completed it and after a three hour run they arrived at a diamond deposit. “E, how do these deposits exist so close to the surface?”

“This planet has a huge number of continental plates. The surface is constantly rolled and the deposits work their way to the surface. I think this planet is unique.”

“The carbon deposits must have been under tremendous pressure before they came to the surface.”

“They were. However, I think we’re going to be full again before we finish this one.”

Night fell and the four vehicles stopped. The four exited their vehicles and Porky brought out a portable stove. Jefie started a fire and the four ate and settled back on reclining chairs surrounding the fire.

Ribbons said, “Nosey, I don’t know how you do it but this load will probably cause a huge amount of suspicion.”

“I can see that. However, you can probably remove some of it.”

Ribbons looked at Ian and said, “Do tell.”

“Pull two wires off your engine’s turbine and limp back to the outpost. No one can see you empty your reservoir while you’re having it serviced. When you go in to see the teller, no one will know if you’re paying for the service or getting a receipt. Tell everyone in the restaurant that Porky and Jefie are coming in behind you. Just say the three of you ran into some fine dust that clogged your intakes and adhered to the channels.”

Ribbons stared at Ian and shook his head. “Sneaky, yes sneaky you are. However, how will you go back without causing a disturbance?”

“I’ll arrive two days later with five drive wheels missing.”

“That would do it. You can’t come in with the same problem. That would make it look suspicious and allow everyone to see we’re working together.”

Porky looked around the circle and said, “You know we’re rich. We could retire with what we make on this load alone.”

Jefie looked at them and shrugged, “What else would I do? This is what I know.”

Porky sighed, “I guess if we stay here, the safest place is out on the plains. I just hate that we have to keep fighting to be left alone.”

Ian said, “Is there anyone else you know that could use what we have. There’s more than enough for us and others.”

Ribbons looked at Ian and turned to Porky, “What about Derek and Violet? Their vehicles are heavily armed.”

Porky just stared at Ribbons. Jefie looked at Porky and said, “You have to forgive him eventually.”

Porky took a deep breath and sighed. “I’ll contact him and ask him to meet us at the outpost. That’s all I’m promising.” She looked at Ribbons, “Where’s Violet?”

“She gave me a contact number. I’ll see if she’ll come as well.”

Ian said, “Who’s Violet?”

Jefie said, “She’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met but she prefers to remain alone.”

Porky said, “Give me the number Ribbs; I’ll call her.”

Ribbons nodded, “That’s probably a good idea. I’m not sure she’d take my call.”

Ian knew that there was some history with the two suggested but the group didn’t appear to be open to discussing it. He settled back and was disappointed when Porky went to spend the night in her vehicle. He suspected that Porky was not going to be coming to see him in the future. He thought about it and decided it was probably a good thing. He looked up at the stars and wondered what was happening in the Union.

• • •

The Officer arrived on the planet and rushed into the building that was adjacent to a major hospital. The scanship had detected the mind of a genetically altered human and he knew he had finally found his quarry. The ten agents rushed into the building, burning the hospital staff with their blasters and arrived outside the room the reading was originating. The door was blown in and the six soldiers rushed in followed by the Officer. He walked through their ranks and saw the young adult male sitting in a chair staring at the wall. The nurse in his room said, “There’s nothing there. He’s been like this since birth.”

The officer saw the slack expression and drooping eyelids. He looked in the mind of the young man and saw the power of a mind that was empty. The young man simply sat and stared into empty space. The Officer realized that not all genetic experiments turned out well. This young man was a prime example of what a failure looked like. He stared at the young man and saw what his future could have been. He had been fortunate. The soldiers stared at the Officer waiting for him to tell them to kill the man and nurse. Instead, the Officer walked forward and put his hand on the young man’s cheek. He looked at the nurse and said, “I humbly apologize for disturbing his rest.” He turned to the nurse, “You will continue to care for him.”

The nurse stared at the Officer and said, “He is my son; I’ll never leave him.”

The Officer looked at her and then nodded. He turned and left the room. The soldiers looked at each other and followed him out. As they boarded the shuttle the Officer said, “Continue the search.” He couldn’t get the young man out of his mind and wondered where his own mother was. He had never known her. He thought about finding her but knew that it would weaken him. He arrived on his ship and went to his quarters.

Chapter Four

Ian limped in to the outpost and had E allow the track to fall off before it made it to the service shed. A large tracked vehicle came out and pushed E into the shed and started making repairs. He exited, turned and looked at his vehicle, and shook his head. Many of the miners sitting in front of the supply store watched him and shook their heads. This miner just didn’t know how to treat a mining vehicle. Ian went to the teller’s office and the miners wondered how much repairing his vehicle was going to set him back.

The teller looked at Ian and said, “Here’s your receipt. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

“By the way, that breakdown was brilliant. I’ve seen almost everything miners have done to hide their loads and that one takes first prize.”

Ian smiled, “How do you keep this to yourself?”

“I used to be a miner.”

Ian smiled, “That explains a lot.”

He left the teller’s office shaking his head and headed toward the restaurant. He went through the front door and saw every miner in the room had pulled up their chairs around his three partners. He saw Ribbons look at him and yell, “Hey newbie, you might as well join us. Pull up a chair.” Ian pulled up a chair and Ribbons said, “Who taught you how to drive?”

The room burst into laughter. Everyone had seen or heard about the vehicle that came in with five missing wheels and a broken track. Ian turned red and said, “I was heading east when I ran over the blade of a mining vehicle. I never saw it just below the surface.”

One of the miners whistled and said, “That would do it.”

A miner sitting at the outer edge of the group said, “Hey, Newbie, have you seen a group of five vehicles traveling together?”

Ian looked at the miner, scratched his head, and said, “Was one of them painted blue with a red undercarriage?”

“Yes it was.”

“Nope, haven’t seen them.”

The room erupted into laughter and after it quieted down a miner sitting to the right said, “I’ve seen them.”

The miner that asked the question said, “Where?”

“All five of them were blow into small pieces.” The room became quiet. The miner continued, “There was a Claim Jumper sign posted. I checked the tracks and it appears they had come over a rise and attacked a single miner that was moving soil.”

The questioner said, “How do you know that?”

“The tracks had been erased by the wind but the ground that was dug up was still there. There were blaster burns around the mined soil. They bit off more than they could chew. It was clear they attacked a single miner and lost the confrontation.”

Ian stared at the questioner as he said, “Well, they haven’t been around and I wondered what happened to them.”

The miner said, “There is no lower life than a claim jumper. They got what they deserved.”

There was a chorus of Amen. Ian looked at the center table and saw two things immediately. Porky was leaning against a young man and it was clear they were an item. Sitting to Porky’s right staring intently at him was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. It had to be Violet and he knew where she got her name as soon as he looked in her eyes. He broke eye contact and stood. Ribbons said, “Hey where ya going?”

“To buy a bowl of cereal; I can’t afford anything else after my little accident.”

The room howled their laughter and Violet said, “Come on, I’ll buy you a meal.”

Ian turned back and saw her stand up and walk through the crowd. She took his arm and said, “There’s a table over here.”

The crowd watched her go and Porky chuckled. Derek said, “What’s funny?”

“She just broke a hundred hearts when she left here.”

Derek looked and saw many of the miners were moving away from the gathering. Derek shook his head, “She does attract a crowd.”

Ian looked at Violet, “Why are you doing this?”

“It’s the only way to get away from all the stalkers. Most of them are afraid of you now. Everyone in that room knew those five vehicles were going after you. Now they’re afraid of crossing you. You’re the only one in the room that I could leave with and not be followed by the mob.”

Ian looked back and saw the gathering breaking up, “You must get this a lot.”

“I do. It gets old after a while. I understand that you are going to make me wealthy.”

Ian tilted his head to the left and smiled. She looked at him, “That’s good. I like the ones that don’t need to try and impress me.”

“I would expect most men to not even try.”

“Why?”

“It would take an exaggerated ego to think they’re in your league.”

“Maybe; are you in my league?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why not?”

““Your beauty is off the scale but I don’t know who you are. The question I have to have answered is whether or not you think you’re beautiful.”

Violet stopped and looked at Ian. He stopped with her and she said, “How could I not know I’m beautiful?”

“That wasn’t the question. The question was whether or not you think you’re beautiful?”

Violet stared at him and said, “I’m not sure I’m following you.”

Ian looked Violet in her beautiful eyes and said, “I’ve known many beautiful women who knew they were beautiful and used it to take advantage of those around them. Those women knew they were not really beautiful. Their beauty faded once someone got to know them and they knew it. The beautiful woman that becomes even more beautiful after you get to know them is a rare thing indeed.”

Violet stared at Ian and saw he was not intimidated by her. She took his arm again and said, “Then the answer to your question must be answered by others. Let me know what you see.”

Ian laughed and said, “Can you afford a steak?”

“No, but you can.”

Ian smiled and pulled out Violet’s chair for her.

Ribbons watched the two leave and sit at a table. He felt sorry for Nosey. He was setting himself up to be Violet’s next victim. He looked away and saw Glenda coming through the front door. He smiled and wondered if she would quit her job and come mining with him. Perhaps tonight would be a good time to ask her. Glenda came forward and sat down in his lap. Ribbons said, “I’m glad you could come.”

Glenda smiled, “I wouldn’t miss it.”

• • •

Two days later, the six mining vehicles were moving over the next deposit. The deposit was a really valuable metal. Iron was next to impossible to find and the prices for good iron ore was higher than gold. The six were fully loaded and Ribbons said, “If we go back in to Heavenly, the gig will be up.”

“What’s wrong with Harmony?”

“Why do you say that, Violet?”

“That outpost is still active but very few miners still use it. It’s primarily for locals to restock.”

“It’ll add three hours one way.”

Jefie said, “But it would prevent our being followed and attacked.”

Porky chimed in, “It’s not like we’re going to miss the additional time. We’re in good enough shape to not let it bother us.”

Ribbons said, “Nosey, what do you think?”

“I think we move in and convert the vehicles to larger reservoirs. That way our trips will not be so frequent. It will also mask just how much we’re actually moving.”

“That might give us a lot more downtime than we need.”

“No, there won’t be any downtime.”

“Why is that?”

“Because the five of you are going to Switzer and transfer ninety percent of your funds to an unlisted account.”

Violet said, “Why would we do that?”

“I think Jefie said it well. The only safe place on this planet is out on the plains. You are going to want to enjoy what you’ve made someday and every planet here and in the Union recognize a Switzer Card.”

“How are we going to get there?”

“Hire a shuttle at the outpost. You can make the trip while your vehicles are being upgraded and once the account is active, all you have to do is have the teller make the transfer directly to your account.”

Ribbons thought about it and said, “Why do all five of us have to go?”

“Switzer will only open an account for someone who is present. You have to make the first trip.”

Violet said, “I haven’t made anything yet.”

“This load will give you more than you want to spend. Go and open the account and add to it.”

Porky said, “Derek and I are going to combine our accounts.”

Ian said, “That wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“Aside from the fact that you have had past disagreements, it’s better to have two stashes instead of one. If you want to share, give each other the account number and code. I just believe in having more than one basket to keep your eggs.”

Derek said, “I think he’s right, Porky. At least it feels like a good suggestion.” Porky stared at Derek and he said, “I not going anywhere, love. I’ve learned my lesson.”

Porky smiled, “Alright, let’s do this.”

The six mining vehicles turned east and headed toward the Harmony Outpost. They arrived a day later and found they were the only miners there. The Shuttle was chartered and three days later it returned with the five and found Ian waiting on them. Violet exited the ship and walked up to Ian, “The bankers explained to us how safe our money is on Switzer. I want to thank you for taking care of our future.” She put her arms around Ian’s neck and kissed him. She broke the kiss and went to her vehicle. Ribbons, Porky, Jefie, and Derek stared at Ian as she walked away. He looked at them and said, “What?”

Porky said, “I’ve never seen her kiss anybody. This is a first.”

Ian looked at Ribbons and he nodded.

Ian watched Violet enter her Vehicle and smiled, “Well, that is flattering.”

Ribbons shook his head, “You have no idea.”

The six left Harmony and returned six more times over the next thirty days. There were no miners present at Harmony and they made their offloads in peace. Thirty days after that, the five started talking about whether or not they wanted to continue the operation. In the middle of the discussion, E linked with Ian and said, “Nebula Warships are entering the Wilderness.”

Ian looked at the group and said, “I think it’s time for you to leave for Switzer.”

The group was talking among themselves and they suddenly became silent. Porky said, “Why?”

“The Nebula is sending warships into the Wilderness and it’s just a matter of time before they show up here. The Wilderness is about to become much more dangerous.”

Ribbons looked at Ian and said, “How do you know this?”

“I know. I don’t want to say how.”

Porky said, “I’m not afraid of the Nebula.”

Ian shook his head, “You should be.”

Violet said, “They’re looking for you.”

Ian looked at her and found her staring him in the eyes. He sighed and said, “They are and the last person that helped me had their head burned off. You can’t stay here.”

Ribbons stared at Ian and said, “How do you suggest we get there without them seeing us?”

“I’ll provide transportation.”

“YOU WILL NOT!”

Ian said where the group could hear, “You know I’ve left a residue here. We’ve got to move them and do it now. You’ll be safe to do it if I’m not on board.”

“I will not leave you.”

The five heard Ian say, “E this is not an option. I told you I would not allow that to happen again. You will do this.”

Ribbons said, “You’re serious.”

Ian looked at him, “You will all die if you stay here.”

The five looked at each other and Porky shrugged and said, “Well, when do we leave?”

Jefie said, “How do you know we’ll be safe on Switzer?”

Ian smiled, “No one will ever attack Switzer. Not even the Nebula.”

“Why not?”

“Because Switzer has its own defense system. They’re a member of the Union, but they do not depend on the Union for defense. It’s the safest place in the Galaxy at this moment. If the Nebula was to attack Switzer, all of their operating funds would disappear and they know it.”

Porky said, “When do we leave?”

Ian said, “Now.”

The five watched as Ian’s mining vehicle suddenly started changing shape and in less than ten seconds a small sleek ship was in front of them. Ian said, “Now get on board and get out of here.”

The five looked at Ian and Violet said, “Our lives mean nothing compared to yours. You should be leaving.”

They heard the ship say, “At least one of you has a brain.”

Derek started laughing and said, “Hey, the sooner we go, the sooner you can get back.”

The three men shook Ian’s hand and Porky hugged his neck. Violet came up and said, “I knew you were special.” She kissed him again and this time she put some effort into it. She turned and boarded the ship while Ian collected his senses. E shot up into the atmosphere and disappeared. Ian took Ribbon’s vehicle out into the desert and managed to run up an embankment and turn it upside down. He went into the cab and removed one of the seats and put it on the vehicle’s ceiling. He closed his eyes and entered sensory deprivation. He set a small part of his mind to only respond to E’s presence. Ten hours later a scan ship appeared overhead and entered orbit. It began its orbit and scanned the planet all the way down to ten feet below the surface. It completed the orbit and waited above the planet. E was ten thousand miles away and knew Ian had made another mistake. Nebula Military Forces had to be on their way. “Wait!”

“It’s got to know he’s there.”

“Wait!”

E held his position and an hour later the ship broke orbit and accelerated away. E hit maximum speed and was at the planet in seconds. He did a quick scan of the surface and couldn’t find him. “Look for the vehicles. One of them must have been moved away from the others.”

E expanded his scan and saw Ribbon’s vehicle upside down three hours away from the others. He screamed down to the surface and Ian sensed him and began activating his senses. He came to consciousness to find Violet pulling him out of his chair and dragging him toward E’s port. He struggled out of the vehicle and stumbled in the landing bay with her. E accelerated across the planet away from the scanships former position. The small ship cleared atmosphere and accelerated out into open space as ten nebula warships arrived.

The Warships detected the Skinner Field and accelerated around the planet toward the field’s location and accelerated on the line of departure. They went to maximum speed but found nothing. E had made a turn and there were no patterns out in space beyond the Wilderness that could track their course.

Ian shook his head and said, “What are you doing here?”

E said, “She refused to leave when the others left. She insisted I would need her to pick you up. I couldn’t wait to argue with her.”

“Violet, this is too dangerous for you to be here.”

Violet said, “Ask E what would have happened if I wasn’t here.”

Ian remained silent and E said, “She made me wait. If I were here alone, I would have come in and attempted to move you.”

Violet said, “And you would have been too slow recovering to have made it to the entry port in time. You needed me here.”

Ian shook his head, “Why?”

“Because I know a place where you can hide.”

Ian looked at her and E said, “They will have patterns placed all over this section of the galaxy. There’s no way for us to move back in without being seen.”

Violet said, “I know a planet that will support us that is not on any chart in the Union or Nebula databases.”

Ian looked at her, “Where is it?”

Violet pulled a hand blaster out of the holster at her side and said, “It’s where I found this.”

Ian took the blaster from her and immediately felt something wasn’t right. He moved it around in his hand and said, “This wasn’t made to fit a human’s hand.”

Violet slowly nodded her head, “No, it wasn’t.”

Ian looked at her face with a shocked expression. E said over the loud speaker, “Where did you find it?”

“Close to Sagittarius A.”

Ian forgot about escaping. No other intelligent life had ever been discovered in the Milky Way. Now he was holding proof that there was another intelligent species in the galaxy and it made blasters. He knew he had to find out what she had discovered. “E, take us to where she wants to go.”

Violet said the coordinates of the star and E went to full speed. The giant core of the Milky Way began getting larger.

Ian looked at Violet and shook his head. She saw him and said, “What’s wrong?”

“Violet, I’ll never forgive myself if anything happens to you.”

“Well, if you think about it, whatever happens to me will probably happen to you as well.”

Ian looked at her and smiled, “You make an excellent point.”

Violet looked at him and said, “Who are you, really?”

E said, “He is Prince Britain Ian Montgomery. He is the current successor to the Royal Family and will take his crown upon returning to Euclid.”

Violet looked at Ian, “Tell me he’s making that up.”

Ian looked at her and said, “I really wish I could.”

Violet said, “That means you’re a High Genetic.”

Ian nodded.

Violet smiled and said, “I knew there was something I liked about you,” and released the barrier she had held in place for many years. E and Ian saw the huge electrical activity in her brain. Ian said, “You’re a Genetic too?”

Violet nodded, “I guess it takes one to know one.”

“How have you been hiding it?”

“I’ve learned a way to impose a barrier. That barrier prevented me from seeing your mind. We’ll work on teaching you how to form the barrier on the way out right after we work on something else.”

“What is that?”

Violet proceeded to show him.

Chapter Five

Violet entered the bridge the next morning and found Ian sitting in the command chair staring at a computer display repeating words over and over. “What are you doing?”

Ian looked up, smiled, and said, “I’m trying to activate E’s weapons.”

Violet looked startled, “Do you mean to say this ship isn’t armed?”

“No, it has a weapon’s system but it’s not activated. We had to make a fast escape from Euclid and didn’t have the opportunity to turn them on. There’s a one word code that must be repeated five times in order to bring them on line.”

“That’s an impossible task. You won’t live long enough to go through all the possible words.”

Ian shrugged, “We do have information about the one that supplied the code word and that at least gives me a place to start.”

Violet shook her head, “Just let the ship’s computer do it. It should have it figured out in no time.”

E said, “I am programmed to not look for it. My builders didn’t want a ship to have that much autonomy.”

Violet thought a moment, “What are you trying?”

Ian shook his head, “I know the Lead Scientist on Euclid provided the code. I think the code is a name, at least that’s what I’d use.”

Violet nodded, “So would I.”

“I’ve looked up the Lead Scientist’s information and I’ve gone through his parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and any other relative and came up empty. I’ve now started going through the Royal Family’s names thinking he might have gone there.”

Violet looked at Ian, “Would you have gone there?”

Ian thought a moment and shook his head, “No, that would be too obvious. I’d choose a name that most people wouldn’t know about.”

“So would he. I notice you didn’t mention a wife or children.”

“He never married. I find that surprising because he was one of the warmest, kindest people I’ve ever met although he did get cranky when on task.”

“So you have to ask why he didn’t. What would cause a person that by all accounts should have married, choose not to?”

Ian stared at Violet, “I’m not sure what you’re saying.”

“If he was a loving person, he had to love someone. You find that person and you’ll find the name.”

Ian sat back in his chair, “You sound pretty certain about that.”

“Have you ever been in love?”

“Not really.”

Violet did a double take, “And you wonder about me. How could that happen?”

“I’m not allowed to choose who I marry. My wife is selected by the Genetic Council.”

“Oh?”

“The intent is to produce superior children to lead the Union.”

“Has your wife been…selected?”

“Yes, but she was killed defending my parents when the Nebula attacked.”

“I’m sorry.”

“She fought with a bravery that was remarkable, Violet. She really surprised me but I didn’t know her. I think we would have found happiness but love is not used to select who I marry.”

“Then it makes sense why you would have never loved anyone.”

“Why is that?”

“You fall in love only to have to leave them for another. That kind of pain would be unbearable for you and the other.”

Ian sighed, “I know.”

Violet’s expression was subtle but Ian couldn’t tell what she was thinking. “So let’s assume the Lead Scientist loved someone along the way. How do we find out who it was?”

Ian thought a moment and said, “E, send me all the class photos of the Lead Scientist starting from age fourteen.”

“Why fourteen?”

“Violet, I know up until I turned fourteen, I was more interested in playing than girls. It was at that age that I started noticing them.”

Violet shrugged and Ian said, “What?”

“Nothing, you just got a late start.”

Ian shook his head and Violet came around and looked over his shoulder at the display. Violet said, “Is the Lead Scientist a Genetic?”

“He is.”

“Then look at the females in his classes that were also a Genetic.”

“They all were.”

“Get out of here.”

“He was in the most accelerated classes on Euclid. Only the High Genetics could compete in them.”

“Well, it was just an idea.”

“And a good one; I suspect that only the brightest would have attracted him.”

Violet tilted her head and pursed her lips, “That’s not always true. A woman is often attracted to a man by his heart more than his head.”

“Well the Lead Scientist had a big heart, Violet.” Ian thought a moment, “E, I want you to provide a list of the females in each class listed by their ranking.”

The picture on the display suddenly had a list appear beside it. They looked at the list and compared it to the photo. “I don’t see anything that stands out.”

Violet said, “E, if any female in any of these classes would not be allowed to marry the Lead Scientist, move her name to the top of the list.”

They watched and the list didn’t change. Ian went to the next class. They examined each picture closely and no one appeared on the list that couldn’t marry him. After four photos Ian shook his head and said, “I haven’t seen anything.”

Violet nodded, “Me either.” Ian pulled up the last photo of the Lead Scientist’s graduating class and a name appeared at the top of the list. Ian saw it and Violet saw his expression, “What?”

“Look at the picture.”

Violet looked at the Lead Scientist and saw that he had his hand on the woman’s shoulder standing in front of him. The woman had her hand on his. “Who is that, I’ve not seen her in any other photos?”

Ian said, “Ariene, Ariene, Ariene, Ariene, Ariene.”

E said, “Weapons are now activated.”

Violet looked at Ian, “Who is that?”

“That was the woman selected to marry me. She was brought in to the university from another school on Euclid. She was chosen the next year.”

Violet shook her head, “You would have never found happiness with her.”

“Why not?”

“She loved someone else.”

Ian stared at the old photo and saw their smiles. He imagined the pain they suffered when Ariene was chosen the next year. He wondered why the Lead Scientist was not at the ship’s location during the attack to activate E’s weapons. He knew that he must have left to try and save the Royal Family and the Princess he loved. “No one should have to endure that.”

Violet stared at him, “Then don’t make the same mistake.”

She turned and left the bridge. He sensed her demeanor turn cold.

“Ian, I’ve just run an inventory of my armaments and we won’t have to run from a scanship in the future.”

Ian tore his attention from the door Violet exited and said, “Why not?”

“I’ll take them out. It will take at least a squadron of the Nebula’s ships to cause us problems.”

“Good.”

“What’s wrong?”

Ian sighed, “Nothing, how long until we arrive?”

“Two more hours.”

Ian pressed the intercom, “Violet, we’ll arrive shortly. Is there anything we need to know before our arrival?”

Violet came back to the bridge and said, “We need to cut our power down to minimum and go slower than light speed from the outer planets.”

“That could increase the arrival time by hours.”

“You are going to have to do it that way or risk being killed.”

“Violet, what are you not telling me?”

Violet’s melancholy expression was clear, “There were two of us that came here. The first ship went in and had me wait. It was blasted into rubble as soon as it came close to the planet.”

“Then why for God’s sake would you have gone in?”

Violet looked at Ian, “You do that when you love someone.”

Ian felt her sorrow and things started to make sense. That was why Violet was always alone. Except she had come to save him; he looked at her and saw her staring at the display that showed the star cluster they were approaching. Ian put his hand on her face and turned it to him, “Will you tell me what happened?”

She looked at him and sat down in the second command chair. She slowly shook her head and started speaking.

• • •

“Tad, are you sure this is a good idea?”

“I’ve examined the data and it really does indicate that we’ll find what we’re looking for this close to the black hole.”

Violet looked in her display and saw the monster off in the distance. The clouds surrounding the event horizon were moving at an extreme rate around the giant singularity. “Do you honestly think that thing will have an affect here?”

“Violet, the heavier metals will be pulled toward the surface of any planet this close. We should find enough of the rare elements to make us rich.”

“We could have just purchased mining vehicles and found it on Hellhole.”

“I’m not willing to place you in that kind of danger, my love. This is the safest way. I’ll go in first and you can follow me in once I scan the planet. If it’s there, and I really think it is, you can join me.”

“Why don’t we both go?”

“I want to make sure no one’s there. Two ships would be seen.”

“Tad, no human has ever ventured this far out.”

“Are you certain about that?”

“Well…I guess I really don’t know for certain but this worries me.”

“Just keep the communicator active. I’ll let you know if my suspicions are accurate.”

Tad’s ship accelerated toward the distant fourth planet at twenty times light speed. As it passed the planet’s outer moon, a bright beam shot out and struck the small vessel. Violet’s heart went into her throat and she accelerated toward the explosion. She forced herself to gather her wits and as she passed the fifth planet she slowed to ninety percent of light speed and turned off her engines. She coasted toward the rubble of Tad’s ship and wiped her tears as she prayed he was still alive. She arrived at the site of the explosions and used her thrusters to slow. There was no hope. Tad’s small ship was little more than small pieces flying away from the location of the blaster hit. She sat in space and cried. All of their hopes and dreams ended above the planet below her.

She remembered when they had fled Euclid in their small ships to avoid the possibility of being separated by the Genetic Council. They had decided that their love was more important than any other consideration. Now that love was killed by a blaster that could hit objects moving faster than light. She sat in orbit for four days, wailing with misery.

• • •

Ian said, “What happened after that?”

Violet looked at him, “I decided that I was not going to leave without confirming Tad’s suspicions. I owed him that much. I used my ship’s optical telescope and found the blaster on the moon that had hit his ship and it was in a building that appeared to be ancient. It was marked by small meteor hits. I realized that the blaster must have been operating on automatic and was programmed to hit anything moving faster than light speed.”

“I flew into the planet’s atmosphere and began scanning the planet’s surface. There had been a war. There were buildings falling into decay but the blaster burns were still visible. I confirmed that Tad’s suspicions were accurate. The planet’s surface was covered with a layer of heavy metals just below the surface. I took my ship to the surface and landed on top of a platinum deposit and filled my ship’s reservoir. I was about to leave when I saw a small craft a half mile from my location sticking up out of the soil. I went over and looked at it. There was a huge hole shot through the center of the ship. I went in and found eight beings that had been killed by the crash.”

“Violet, were they human?”

Violet looked at Ian and shook her head.

“Go ahead.”

“I found two hand blasters on the dead bodies and brought them back to my ship. You’ve seen one of them.”

“Where’s the other?”

Violet looked at him and held out her hand. Suddenly, the blaster appeared. “I don’t know how the technology works but I pressed the orange button on the handle and the blaster must have matched itself to my body. I don’t have any idea where it goes but if I think about a weapon and hold out my hand, it appears.”

E said, “I’m sorry for your loss, Violet. Have you ever fired the blaster?”

“Yes, I fired it at another ship that was crashed not far from the one I entered.”

“And?”

“From a distance of two miles it blew a hole completely through it.”

“It must be pretty powerful then.”

Violet stared at Ian, “Before I left I fired my ship’s heavy blaster at the same ship and didn’t penetrate its surface.”

“They’ve more advanced than we are.”

“No, they’re not.” Ian narrowed his eyebrows and Violet said, “The ones that killed them are more advanced. That world is dead.”

E said, “Were the two ships similar in construction?”

“No, the second one was different.” Violet stared at Ian, “What’s bothering you?”

“Violet, the Nebula is not the real enemy of the Union. The ones that killed that planet are the ones we must focus on. Whoever they are, they have demonstrated the capacity to destroy all life on a world. This is the first evidence of intelligent life we’ve ever encountered. It’s not good that they appear to have aggressive tendencies.”

“What do you mean appear? They killed that planet.”

“But we don’t know if that destroyed planet attacked first and the other was defending itself.” Violet shrugged. “E, don’t take any chances. Take us in the same way she described.”

“I’ll come in from the side of the planet away from the moon.”

Violet said, “It won’t matter. All four moons have a blaster building on them, although the closest moon to the planet appears to have the one on it heavily damaged. I don’t know if it’s still operational.”

“Coast in to the planet, E.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Now don’t go all formal on me now.”

“Then allow me the freedom to operate without limitations.”

Ian looked at Violet and then said, “Do what you need to do; but get us there.” The display changed and they saw the planetary system growing in size. Ian said, “I’m sorry for your loss. I really am.”

Violet looked at the display as memories flooded in and whispered, “Me, too.”

• • •

The Officer looked at the plot of the Prince’s escape and shook his head. The Admiral watched him and worried what he might do if he became angry. The Officer turned and said, “This will make it easier. Admiral, I want all ships being used to deploy the scanner patterns in the Union moved to the borders. I want them overlapped in such a way, that any ship crossing the border will be spotted.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“If a ship is detected, I want every available ship vectored in and patterns made around that sector. He won’t be able to escape.”

The Admiral turned and activated his communicator and started issuing orders. The Officer stared at the plot and wondered how long the Prince could hold out before his food and water ran out. It would take years for him to find a habitable planet outside the Union and his supplies would long be exhausted before that happened. He was going to be forced to return. He sat in his chair and remembered the young man with the nurse. He felt something alien, sorrow.

Chapter Six

Ian watched the surface move closer and looked for the tracks that Violet had made. They moved over an ancient city that was being overgrown by vegetation and ten miles outside the city he saw the tracks. He expanded the view and located the two ships Violet described. “Take us down to the first one, E.”

The ship landed and Ian stood up. Violet looked at him and said, “I’m going with you.” Ian started to tell her no but saw her expression and nodded. “Wait just a moment.” Violet left the bridge and came back holding a small bouquet of flowers. They exited the portal and Violet walked forward and put the flowers under a small square piece of metal. Ian waited and Violet said, “This is the largest surviving piece of Tad’s ship. I put it here as a memorial.”

Ian stared at the metal and saw the dark burns around the edges. He lowered his head and waited. After fifteen minutes Violet said, “We can go.”

Ian followed her toward the first ship and wondered if anyone was ever going to love him to the depth Violet loved her dead companion. He watched her and saw her strength. She climbed into the hole blown into the ship and Ian followed. She moved forward and after moving through two rooms he saw the dead aliens. They were dried out, but he could see they were nothing like a human. There had a body with two arms but their face was located in their chest. They didn’t appear to have a skeletal structure. It looked like they were extremely flexible and able to twist more than ninety degrees. Four of them were in awkward positions. He examined the bodies and found three more blasters that he took and placed in a bag. He looked around the ship, “E, do you see anything?”

“The ship is really severely damaged. The impact has destroyed most of the interior.”

Ian looked at Violet, “Let’s go look at the other one.”

“I didn’t go to that one. I don’t know what’s in it.”

Ian shrugged, “Well, we need to see.” He went back to the hole in the side and assisted Violet down to the surface. He put his hands on her waist and lowered her to the ground. She felt wonderful. He said, “You’ve answered my question.”

Violet turned and looked at him with a furrowed brow, “What question is that?”

Ian said, “You are beautiful.” He turned toward the other ship and Violet was left standing in surprise and she rushed to catch up. “How did you arrive at that?”

“I can see how much you loved him. You’ve kept your distance to spare anyone else that heartbreak. You also have a good heart, Violet.” She stared at him as they walked to the next ship and finally looked ahead. “I wonder which ship won this confrontation.”

“The one ahead of us.”

“How do you know that?”

“The hole through it is smaller.” Violet stated laughing. “What’s so funny?”

“Just when I think you’re really not very bright, you surprise me.” She continued to chuckle and Ian didn’t know whether to be insulted or complimented. He knew one thing for certain, Violet was nobody’s dummy.

“I’ll go in first.”

“The hell you say. I’ve made that mistake once and this time I go in first.”

Ian sighed, “You’ve earned the right.”

Violet went to the hole blown into the ship and Ian lifted her to the opening. She crawled in and Ian pulled himself up and followed her. They crawled through the hull and fell out into a large room that had burn marks on the far walls. Ian looked around and said, “This looks like it was a communication room.” Violet looked at the wall at the front of the room and saw multiple devices with numerous dials. Ian walked over to one of the consoles and saw the body of another alien. It was the same alien as the other ship’s crew. Ian sighed. “What?”

“This is actually good news. If this was a war between two different species, the Union would be facing two potential threats. This makes me think this was a civil war between different factions of the same species.”

“How certain are you that these ships weren’t fighting together?”

Ian reached down and pulled a blaster from the dead, dried out body of the alien. He held it up and Violet saw it was nothing like the one she had found. “You’re right.” Ian shrugged and turned toward the bulkhead door and went through it. They walked forward and saw dead aliens in every room. They arrived at the bridge and saw dead bodies scattered around the room. Violet said, “The impact with the planet caused this.” Ian nodded and looked at the controls. He linked with E and said, “Can you make sense of any of this?”

“I’m scanning it now. I’m going to track the lines of energy through the ship and it’s going to take a while to determine how it operated.”

“Do you think you can decipher how it functions?”

“I won’t know until I take a look.”

“We’re going to move into the rear of the ship. Let me know if you find out anything.”

Ian raised the hand beam and retraced their steps. They arrived back at the room they entered the ship and Ian saw the twisted bulkhead door leading to the rear of the ship. He turned sideways and barely managed to squeeze through. Violet made it through easily. He shined the beam around the dark room and stopped it on the wall to their right. Violet looked and saw what had his attention. “That looks like a shoulder blaster.”

“It’s certainly some kind of weapon.” Ian went forward and pulled two out of their holders and handed one to Violet.

She checked it and saw a blue button that was slightly illuminated, “These are still active.” Violet showed him the glowing button and Ian turned the one he was holding over and saw the button on it glowing as well. He turned the beam toward the back of the room and went forward. He finally arrived at the rear of the ship and found a small black device fastened to the floor. He put his hand on it and felt it vibrating. He looked at Violet and she shrugged. Ian turned and led the way back to the hole and they left the ship. Ian reached the ground and took one of the hand blasters he collected out of the bag. He showed it to Violet and she said, “It has an orange button just like the one I found. The firing is done by the trigger.”

“What’s the blue button for?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

Ian put his finger on the blue button and said, “Step back.”

“Is this a good idea?”

Ian shrugged and after she had moved ten feet away he pushed the blue button. Nothing happened. Violet came forward and was abruptly stopped six feet away. She looked like she had hit a wall. “Drat!”

“What?”

Violet put her hands out in front of her and felt them touch the surface of something. She kept her hands in front of her and moved around Ian, “You’re surrounded by a force field.”

“E, do you have a moment?”

“I’m busy.”

“I need you to check the power of the force field around me.”

Ian waited and wondered if E was scanning. “Ian, its level forty.”

“Are you sure?”

“My scans don’t penetrate and the gamma rays I used on the outer edge don’t penetrate until they’re at level forty one.”

“That’s stronger than the field around the Obelisk.”

“Yes, it is. I’m going back to work.”

Violet looked at the shoulder blaster and said, “This one has a blue button as well.” Violet pressed the button and Ian could see a slight difference in the air around her.

“E.”

“I told you I’m busy.”

“I need you to scan the force field around Violet.”

After a moment they heard, “I am not able to measure the level of that blaster.”

“Why not?”

“It’s stronger than my ability to measure it. It is at least a level eighty.” There was a pause and E said, “What control activated it?”

“There’s a blue button on the blasters that activate the force field.”

“Thanks, that helps.”

Violet pressed the blue button and the blaster’s force field went off. She looked at Ian and pressed the orange button. The shoulder blaster disappeared. “What the…”

Violet held her arms up and the blaster appeared. Ian pressed the orange button on the other shoulder weapon and it disappeared. “I wonder where it goes.”

Violet shook her head, “I don’t have any idea. However, that process is a good way to transport them.”

Ian pressed the orange button on two of the hand blasters he collected. He held out a hand and a hand blaster appeared. He put it on the ground and raised his hand again and another blaster appeared. He put it down and raised his hand and nothing happened. “Violet, we need to go back in and collect as many blasters as possible.”

“Lead the way.”

• • •

A week later Ian and Violet were sitting next to a pond, leaning against the trunks of two trees staring up at a sky that was filled with stars. The massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way could be seen just the western horizon. Violet took a bite of a fruit from one of the trees that E had declared safe for consumption. “I’ve never seen so many stars in the sky.”

“Things are crowded here, close to the core of the galaxy.” Ian paused and said, “I had E pull your history from Euclid’s records.” Violet whipped around and glared at him. “I know it’s an invasion of your privacy, but we’re going to have to go back and I needed to make sure there wouldn’t be any problems if you stay with us when we go to Euclid.”

Violet’s glare softened slightly, “What did you find out?”

“It clarified a lot of issues for me.”

Her glare disappeared, “What do you mean?”

“You were wise to run.” Violet stared at him and Ian said, “You were selected to marry me.” Violet was stunned speechless. “I wondered why Ariene didn’t show up at the accelerated university until her last year. When you disappeared, she was the next one on the list. She took your place. She wasn’t told until after she graduated.”

Violet turned away from Ian and looked at the pond. After a moment she said, “Then I was lucky. I would have been killed in the attack instead of her.”

“I’m not completely certain about that, but you would have been absolutely miserable without Tad. You did the right thing to flee.”

They were both silent for thirty minutes and then Violet looked at Ian, “Why are you uncertain about my being killed?”

Ian stared at her and then looked up at the sky, “I think that if I had spent even a short time around you, I wouldn’t have left without you.”

Violet looked at his profile and heard him say, “Even though your heart belonged to another, I know I could not have allowed you to die.” Violet watched him turn and look at her, “After all, you are beautiful.”

She left the tree she was leaning on and threw herself on top of him. She said just before she kissed him, “Sometimes you discover that destiny never gives up.” Violet was no longer alone and Ian finally discovered what love was. Both of them entered a new world where everything had been turned upside down.

• • •

Violet entered the bridge and said, “E, where are the storage bags? I want to collect some of the fruit for our stores.”

“You’ll find the bags in the compartment under the processer in the dining room, Your Highness.”

Violet froze, “What do you mean?”

“They’re next to the left hand wall under the processor.”

“No, I meant by calling me that.”

“What?”

“Your Highness.”

“You were the number one Section. Whether or not you were married, your selection to that position carries the title that comes with it.”

“I am not a member of the Royalty.”

“If you say so.”

“E, I’m not.”

There was a pause and E said, “A poodle could declare that it is not a dog but that declaration wouldn’t change reality.” Violet stood and fumed. “If it helps at all, all of the top twenty selected for the position are given titles; their superior skills are what define them as being Royal.”

Violet thought about it and said, “So I have the title because of my mind?”

“Among other things.”

“What other things?”

“Your extremely fast reflexes, your physical speed, your ability to…”

“Alright, that’s enough.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Violet sighed, “E, please don’t use that honorific.”

“You’re just like Ian. He doesn’t like it either.”

“He doesn’t?”

“No, he’s always preferred to be addressed as a normal citizen.”

“Why is that?” Violet waited for an answer and said, “E, why is that?”

“I have to speak for what I sense in myself, but I think he views the Monarchy as a prison sentence.” Violet was surprised at the comment. Then E said, “I’ve never seen him happier than he is here.”

Ian entered the bridge and said, “What are you two up to.”

Violet said, “Oh nothing. I’m going to gather some fruit for our stores.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll help you. There’s no telling when we can go back to the Union.”

E said, “I have discovered something that might help us do that?”

Ian looked at Violet and then said, “What is that?”

“The second ship did not have a faster-than-light drive.”

“What!?!”

“It used another process that went around light speed.”

Ian sat down and Violet remained standing. “What did it do?”

“It used a system that exited space and took the ship to another location instantly.”

“Something like those ancient warp drives they used to use in old science fiction stories?”

“Something like that. I’m not clear on the principles that make it work but I do know how to operate the system.” Violet sat down.

“How does that help us?”

“There is a small box on that ship that controls the system. I suspect it’s located toward the rear of that ship.”

“I’ve seen it. It had a small vibration when I touched it.”

“That box can be relocated here and I think I can use it to bypass the Nebula’s patterns.”

“How could we connect it? There’s no way we could move the controls off the ship.”

“You won’t need to move the controls. I’ve traced the circuits and know how to send the right signals to it. We just need to bring it here, power it up, and connect a fifty wire cable to it. I’ll make the connections to the cable once you put it in one of my outlets.”

Ian looked at Violet and saw she was bothered by what she was hearing. Ian said, “Do you know the voltage requirements?”

“Oh please. That’s easy.”

“How can we move that box here? It’s got to be heavy.”

“Use the sled. You can winch it on and bring it here.”

“Let me go back and take a look at it.”

“Take the sled with you.”

• • •

Ian and Violet pulled the sled out of the landing bay and moved toward the alien ship. “What’s wrong Violet?”

“I don’t want to leave here. This is the first time I’ve been happy in years.”

Ian stopped walking and turned to her. “Violet, if we don’t warn the Union about these aliens, it could lead to future disaster.”

“Let someone else do it.”

Ian stared at her and took her in his arms. “It’s not this place that brings us happiness. It’s being together.”

“If you go back, I’ll lose you.”

Ian leaned back and looked in her eyes. “Now Violet, you know how to stop that.”

“What do you mean!?!”

“You’ve escaped once. You can show me how it’s done.”

She looked in his eyes. “Ian, you have no choice but to do your duty.”

“I’ll not do it without you.” She stared into his face and he said, “I mean it.”

Violet sighed and said, “Well, let’s get on with it.”

Ian pulled her close and said, “In a minute.”

• • •

E listened to their conversation and knew that the most closely monitored people in the Union were the Royal Family. Escaping from that particular cage was next to impossible. E knew that Ian knew it as well.

• • •

Six days later the box was bolted to the floor just outside the reactor room. Ian touched it and felt the vibration. “It appears to be powered, E.”

“Take the cable you severed and push the end into the outlet.”

Ian grabbed the cable and was glad he had cut it with enough length to reach the wall. “Are you certain this is a good idea?”

Violet rolled her eyes and Ian shoved the cable into the outlet. They waited and a minute later they heard, “Alrighty then. Are you ready to trial this?”

Ian looked at Violet and then looked up at the ceiling, “I guess.”

“Good; if you and Violet will exit the ship I’ll start.”

“What do you mean exit the ship!?!”

“Look, I think this will work but if it doesn’t, there is no reason to place the two of you in danger. You both know you can survive here and I see that you are perfectly happy to spend your lives here. Don’t be dumb again and go all noble on me. Just get out.”

Ian stared at the ceiling and looked at Violet, “You heard the machine, let’s move.”

“Are you seriously leaving?”

“Violet, he’s right. I’m frightened at the prospect of losing my best friend, but if I were in his place I’d do the same thing.”

“Actually, you are in the same place.”

Ian snickered, “Oh yeah, I forgot.” Ian took Violet’s arm and pulled her out of the landing bay’s door.

Two days later they sat by the pond and Violet said, “I hope he didn’t get hurt.”

Ian shrugged.

“You’re being rather callous about this.”

“I know E. If the darn thing works, he won’t come back until he can operate it perfectly. He is persnickety.”

“If I am, you are as well.”

Ian smiled, “Yeah but you do it faster.”

Violet smiled and watched the ship moving toward them out of the night sky. “Welcome back, I was worried about you.”

“Well thank you.”

“Have you got it ironed out?”

“I have. I had to calibrate the fields to the Union’s maps. Determining how far each jump made using different field strengths wasn’t easy but I’ve got it dialed in.”

“I need you to do something.”

“What is that?”

“I need you to deliver a message to Euclid. Can you do that and get back here quickly?”

“Faster than you know. What message do you need delivered?”

Ian went on board and started talking. Violet wondered what he was doing. Finally he finished and E said, “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“No, it’s probably not, but it’s what I want done.”

“You’re the boss.”

Ian and Violet exited the ship again and it rose into the night sky. They watched it until it disappeared and Violet said, “Why would you want that?”

Ian continued to stare at the sky and said, “Freedom.”

Chapter Seven

“Sir, I have a small ship a hundred thousand miles out sending an encrypted message to the planet.”

“Destroy it!”

“Sir, it’s gone.”

“Follow its track.”

“It didn’t leave one.”

The Nebula Fleet Admiral stared at his scanner officer, “How is that possible?”

“It’s not, Sir. But there is no track.”

The Fleet Admiral took a deep breath and sent a message to the Dark Officer.

• • •

The Lead Scientist listened to the message and started shaking his head. The Prince ended the message by saying, “I’ve sent my ship because I’m close to being found. You must do what I ask for the safety of the Union.” The Prince paused and said, “I’m truly sorry about Ariene. The two of you should have been together.” The message went dark and the scientist knew that the message was actually from the Prince. He fought his sorrow and then pressed a button.

“Yes Sire.”

“I want this message sent to the eighty Major Allies.”

The man on the display nodded and the screen went dark. He sat and wondered how the Prince had discovered his relationship with Ariene. He blew out a breath and shook his head. The Prince had to find the code to arm his ship. That’s how he found out. The Prince really was far beyond anyone else mentally. He pressed another button and a face appeared, “Bring me the list.”

“Why?”

The Prince’s message was sent and the face watched it on another screen. “You’ll have it in an hour. The most recent tests are being downloaded now.”

“Thank you.”

• • •

E arrived back at the planet and linked with Ian. “You’re back rather quickly.”

“I told you it wouldn’t take long.”

“Why are you still in orbit?”

“I want to trial something and I need your help to make it happen.”

“What is it you need me to do?”

“I need you to pull one of those blasters and activate the force field.”

“I hope this doesn’t involve firing at it.”

“It doesn’t.”

Ian looked at Violet and stepped away. She watched him activate the force field and suddenly he disappeared. She started screaming and he instantly reappeared. “Boy, you’re noisy.” He deactivated the force field and she ran forward and slapped him a good one. “What was that for?”

“You scared ten years off my life. Don’t you ever leave me like that again! Where did you go!?!”

“E jumped me to the bridge.”

“He did what!”

“It appears that the new star drive can jump a force field directly to the ship.”

“Really?”

“Really; he can also jump the field to a different location.”

“That’s incredible.”

“I know.” Ian looked up and said, “E, we’re going to stay here for a few days. Come down and let’s see if there’s anything else we want to take with us.”

“On my way.”

• • •

Ian looked at Violet and said, “Hand me that torque wrench.” She handed it to him and said, “Why are you replacing E’s blasters with a shoulder blaster?”

“E scanned that ship and found that the ship’s blasters are nothing more than a permanently mounted shoulder blaster.”

“That doesn’t make sense. I would think the ship blasters would be huge.”

“I agree but E tracked the wiring and discovered that the blaster’s power is determined by how much energy is sent to it. The shoulder blaster can handle a huge amount of energy. Making it larger wouldn’t really make a more powerful weapon.”

Violet shook her head, “This species is light years ahead of us technologically.”

E said, “Not really.”

They both stopped working and Ian said, “Why do you say that?”

“I’ve tracked the wiring of that ship and it is a powerful ship. However, the reactors that power it aren’t as strong as the ones I use.” Ian looked at Violet and raised his eyebrows. “They also manually enter the locations they want to jump their ship. That process is quite time consuming.”

“Why do think they do it manually?”

“Ian, their computers are far behind what we’ve developed. They’re really hundreds of years behind ours. They’re far ahead of us in other technologies but they can’t come close to our computers.”

“E, are you saying that our blasters will be more powerful?”

“Energy in; energy out. Whoever has the most, wins.”

Violet smiled, “Are you saying you have the biggest…”

“Stop that.” She looked at Ian and laughed.

E said, “I guess I do.”

Even Ian started laughing.

• • •

Violet sat in Ian’s lap in the command chair and said, “Why have you delayed going back?”

“I needed to make sure the Union had time to do what I asked.”

“What did you ask them to do?”

“I’ll tell you later.” Violet tilted her head and Ian said, “I’ll tell you if you’re willing to be Queen.”

“That’s ok, tell me later.”

“I thought you’d see it my way.”

“So what do we do now?”

Ian discussed his plan and both E and Violet yelled at him. E said, “You aren’t that crazy.”

Violet said, “It appears he is!”

“It’s got to be done.”

Violet stared at him and said, “Then I go with you.”

“Oh no you aren’t.”

“Then you can drop me off. I will never leave the one…”

Ian looked at her, “The one?”

Violet took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. After a moment she said, “The one I love to go in alone ever again. If you go, I go with you or we are over.”

Ian looked at her and softly said, “There is no reason for both of us to face this risk.”

“Yes there is.” Ian raised his eyebrows. “I will not go on without you. If something happens to you I must be there. I will not make that mistake again.”

E said, “I think she means it.”

“You’re darn right I do.”

Ian looked at her and shook his head. After a long moment he said, “E, can you handle two?”

“I can.”

Ian looked at Violet and slowly nodded, “I can’t go on without you either. We’ll do this together.”

E said, “I don’t like this.”

Ian shrugged, “Can you get us in?”

“That’s not the problem; getting you out is the issue.”

“That’s good enough. You do need to find him.”

E said, “You can’t see it but I’m rolling my eyes.”

Violet laughed and Ian joined her.

• • •

Ian and Violet appeared in the women’s restroom. They looked around and opened the door. A woman was walking up and stared at them. Violet giggled and the woman shook her head. She stepped aside as the couple walked around her. They walked through the front door and moved toward a table under the outdoor canopy. A lone man was sitting at the table wearing a solid black Nebula uniform. Ian walked up behind him and said, “Do you mind if we join you?”

The Officer’s expression showed a moment’s exasperation and then he said, “If you value your life, you’ll leave now.”

“What would be the fun in that?”

The Officer suddenly realized he couldn’t detect the minds of the ones behind him. He whipped around to take the speaker’s mind and was shocked speechless. The Prince stood there and had a blaster pointed at his forehead. It took a moment for him to gather his wits and then he smiled, “I’ve never been surprised like that. I rather enjoyed it.”

“The world is full of surprises. Most of them have a way of jumping out at you.”

The Officer stared at the blaster and saw the rather attractive female with the Prince also had a blaster trained on him. He could possibly take the Prince’s mind but he wouldn’t be able to take them both before one of them fired. The Prince smiled, “You actually couldn’t take either of our minds. I want you to know that before you make the effort.”

The Officer smiled, “You sound rather certain about that.”

“Are you willing to die to find out?” Ian smiled and said, “A High Genetic is immune to that little mind trick.”

The Officer stared at the Prince and wondered if he was being honest. The Prince said, “I’ve just stopped by for a moment to discuss an issue that concerns both of us. I won’t take much of your time before we leave.”

“You mean if you leave.”

“Let’s worry about that when the time arrives, shall we. Will you talk with me?”

The Officer nodded toward the two empty chairs. He was surprised when they sat down with their backs to the front of the restaurant. The Officer saw his personal bodyguards out front and wondered how the two had gotten by them. He also wondered how he had not sensed the Prince. “You two are really are the dumbest people in this universe or I’m missing something here.”

The female said, “Oh relax. You’re really not all that.”

The Prince looked at the female and said, “Now I told you to be nice. Don’t insult our host.”

The female rolled her eyes and said, “Yes Dear.”

The Officer was absolutely astounded by their behavior. “You two are surrounded by more than a thousand of my soldiers and armored vehicles.”

The female shivered and said, “Yes, it’s exciting isn’t it?”

The Prince said, “Enough small talk.” He pulled a hand out from under the table and held out a blaster to the Officer. The Officer looked at it and the Prince said, “Take it.”

“Why?”

“I want you to tell me what you think.”

The officer took the blaster and stared at it. He manipulated it and tried to find a comfortable grip. The Prince said, “Be careful, it’s active.”

The Officer stared at the Prince and said, “You can’t be serious.”

The female said, “Oh it’s powered.”

The Prince said, “Tell me what you sense.” The Officer was still moving it around in his palm and after a moment he stopped and stared at the Prince. The Prince looked at his companion and said, “I told you he’d get it quickly.”

“Just a lucky guess.”

The Officer listened to the back and forth and said, “This was not designed to fit a human hand.”

The female said, “Ding, ding, ding, give the sadist a kewpie doll.”

The Officer’s eyes narrowed and he stared at the female for a moment and then turned back to the Prince, “Where did you get this?”

“On a planet where every living being was killed by a massive attack from space.”

“How powerful is it?”

“It will blow through a force twenty force field.”

The Officer stared at the Prince, “You’ve tested it?”

“I have.”

Suddenly they heard shouts and the Officer’s bodyguards were drawing their weapons and rushing toward the table. The Prince looked at the Officer and said, “I really don’t want to have our conversation interrupted, but I don’t like having to kill all your soldiers to continue it.”

The officer stood and yelled, “Did I summon you! You will leave here and take every soldier for three blocks around this building with you.” The officer leading the charge looked stunned and the Officer took the blaster and fired a bolt through the officer’s head vaporizing it. The beam went through the officer, shot through the armored vehicle outside the door, and went across a large lake into the water at the far shoreline, causing a huge geyser of super-heated steam. The Officer watched his troops sprint away and stared at the distant shore line. He turned around and put the blaster on the table and said, “I notice it didn’t explode the armor.”

“It punched a hole through it. To explode it, you should just hold the trigger and cut it in half.”

The Officer stared at the Prince and said, “What are you really doing here?”

“Before we get to that, do you see the orange button on the handle?” The Officer nodded. “Pick up the blaster and press that button.” The officer stared at the Prince with no emotion showing on his face. The female said, “If we wanted to kill you we could have shot you in the head earlier. I’m sorry we didn’t; it would have improved your appearance.”

The Officer picked up the blaster, looked at the Prince, and pressed the button. The blaster disappeared. He showed his surprise and heard the Prince say, “Hold out your hand and think weapon.” The Officer raised his arm and thought weapon and the blaster instantly appeared in his hand. He almost dropped it. He opened his hand and it disappeared. “Where does it go?”

The Prince shrugged, “I have no idea. However, you can keep it.”

The Officer stared at the Prince and said, “Why are you doing this?”

“To let you know the rebellion is over.”

The Officer leaned back and said, “Until you manage to get back to Euclid, our rebellion is far from over.”

“I’m afraid you’re wrong. A gathering was called and they authorized Euclid to elect a new Monarch. He should be crowned shortly and, once that happens, the Obelisk will activate all the others in the Union.” The Prince paused and said, “That includes the ones on the Nebula Planets.”

“There has been no gathering.”

“I authorized them to do it via teleconferencing. The vote was taken and approved the election of a new Monarch on Euclid.” The Prince smiled, “You don’t believe me?” The Officer didn’t say anything. “Contact your fleet above the planet and ask them to contact the Lead Scientist. Tell them to ask when the new King will be crowned.”

The Officer reached up and pressed the gold circle and spoke briefly. The three stared at each other and ten minutes later they heard, “Sir, the Coronation is in three days.”

The Officer stared at the two in front of him and considered trying to kill them. All of the Nebula’s efforts were wasted. Then he looked at the blasters they were holding and saw they were different from the one they had given him. The woman saw him staring and said, “These are much more powerful that the one you have.”

The Officer looked at the Prince and said, “You didn’t have to come here to tell me the rebellion is over. I would have found out in three days when the Obelisks activated on the Nebula planets that we were done. You have another reason for coming here.”

The Prince looked at the Officer and slowly shook his head, “I originally planned to come here and kill you.” The Officer’s expression didn’t change. “You killed a young woman that helped me.”

“That was necessary.”

“WHY!?!”

“To ensure no one else would. If I had taken no action, the population would not see any reason not to help you.”

The Prince stared at the Officer and said, “You were going to die but my companion here found some information that forced me to reconsider.” The Officer’s expression still remained neutral.

The young woman said, “I did a search of Euclid’s records.” The Officer turned and looked at her. “I wanted to know how many high level Genetics have disappeared.” The Officer’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “There were only two; I was one and an eighteen month old baby boy was the other. The Baby’s father had taken him to visit friends on York and they were never seen again.”

“What are you suggesting? I’ve been developed by the Nebula Geneticists.”

The Prince slowly shook his head, “You’re not really thinking this through.” The Officer turned his head to the Prince. “Euclid has been genetically altering humans for more than five hundred years to arrive at the current Genetics. Are you suggesting the Nebula could duplicate that in just a hundred years without any of the high level scientists you find on Euclid? Is there any other Genetic in the Nebula that comes remotely close to your level?”

The Officer’s facial expression didn’t change, but his mind was running through various possibilities at an incredible rate. The direction of that study was going in a direction that was threatening to overwhelm him. The Prince stood and he stopped his mind. He looked at the Prince who said, “The aliens that destroyed that planet are still out there. You need to think about that and all of the ramifications of what that means.”

The woman had stood with the Prince, “There’s one more thing you should know.” The Officer looked at her. “When you didn’t return to Euclid, your mother confronted the King and held him responsible for not protecting the second in the Monarchy Succession. She swore she would never forgive him and she left to live on York, which was the destination of her husband. She was eight months pregnant and her anguish, sorrow, and stress damaged the mind of her baby. The young man you found on York is your brother and the nurse taking care of him is your mother.”

The Officer stood up and screamed, “YOU’RE LIEING!”

The Prince looked at him and the Officer saw his expression; he snarled, “I don’t need your pity!”

“You can prove if what I’m saying is a lie. A simple DNA test will show who’s right.”

The young woman looked at him and slowly shook her head, “The Nebula took the best of us and twisted it into what you are today. You were in line to be the King. Look at what they’ve made you into.”

The two walked out of the restaurant and his mind screamed at him to order the troops back to kill them. The scream in his head grew louder but he couldn’t move. Suddenly the millions of possibilities running in the back of his mind concluded and the scream vanished. He sat down and focused his mind on the nurse in the hospital room. He had the same color eyes. Her nose and chin was very much like his. He remembered the young man sitting in the chair staring out into space and… saw his own face. He put his head in his hands felt the shock of the sudden revelation rush through his consciousness and for the first time in his life, he cried. He felt his mind working on what he just learned but all he could do was weep for what had been done to him. After an hour his weeping stopped and he raised his head. His normal expressionless face showed an emotion. Rage was close to taking him but he gathered himself and pressed his communicator. The Dictator appeared and said, “Have you killed him?”

The Officer’s face was expressionless, “I will in a very short time but I fear I’ve uncovered a plot to kill you.”

“WHAT?”

“I don’t know who it is but someone in the court is plotting to take your life. I’ve intercepted a message that was sent to Euclid.”

“Who!”

“I wasn’t able to get a name. I need to come and look at all of those that have access to you. I’ll be able to find them, but I need to do it quickly. You should avoid any appearances until I can find out who it is.”

“Come here now.”

“Do not allow any weapons in the main hall. That includes the guards. I’ll stand at the rear of the court and mentally scan everyone that enters.”

“Will you have a weapon?”

“Absolutely not! Once I determine who the assassin is, I’ll leave and send in your personal bodyguard to remove them.”

The Dictator knew the mental power of the Officer but also knew that from the rear of the court, his mind power wouldn’t represent a danger. If he moved forward, he’d just exit the court through the door behind the throne. “Get here quickly.”

“I’ll be leaving momentarily.” The contact ended and the Officer held out his arm and the blaster appeared. He looked across the pond and fired at a small tree more than a mile away and watched it explode into flame. He opened his hand, watched the blaster disappear, and called for his ship.

• • •

E said, “What happens now?”

“We’ll wait for a couple of days.”

Violet looked at Ian, “You’re expecting something.”

Ian sighed and said, “Put yourself in that man’s place. What if you just learned what we told him? What would you do?”

E said, “He doesn’t have much of a chance of surviving the effort.”

“Don’t sell him short, E. He’s one of the highest rated Genetics Euclid ever produced.”

Violet shook her head, “The larger the intellect, the greater the monster.”

“There is a difference in his case.”

“What?”

“He will go and see his mother if he survives. He has never known love; she can heal him.”

“I’m not so sure about that, Ian.”

Ian smiled, “You need look no further than us.”

Violet looked at him and smiled.

Chapter Eight

The Dictator sat on his throne with a blaster next to him. He watched the people entering the court and watched the tall dark Officer look at each person as they entered. Finally the room was full and the tall Officer nodded to the Dictator, went to the door, and looked outside. He stepped back in and bolted the door. Suddenly he turned and the Dictator saw a blaster appear in his hand. He reached for his blaster just as a small, intense, white beam blew through his forehead and out the back of the throne. The entire hall was stunned and the screams instantly stopped as the Officer walked forward through the silence of the room and ignored the people sitting on each side of the aisle. He arrived at the throne, grabbed the Dictator, lifted him with one hand off the floor, and stared into his dead eyes. He threw the body to the side and sat down on the throne, put his hand with the blaster on the arm of the throne, and looked out at the assembly.

“Would anyone here like to leave?” A General Officer stood in the back of the room and was shot in the head and fell into the crowd that screamed around him. The room grew silent and the Officer said, “Is there anyone else that would like to leave?” No one moved. The Officer pressed the gold circle and heard, “We have them under control.”

“Go to Headquarters and round up the General Staff and bring them here.” The Officer stared at the assembled Nebula Nobility and no one made a sound. The General Officers were marched in at blaster point and assembled at the front of the court. They all knew they were about to be executed. The Officer looked at the Fleet Admiral. “It appears there is a vacancy on the throne. Is there anyone you would like to recommend to fill it?”

The Fleet Admiral stared at the tall imposing man and said, “I believe you would be the best choice.”

The Officer looked out at the gathered Nobles and said, “Does anyone wish to nominate another?” No one made a move or made a sound. “How many of you support the Admiral’s choice?” Everyone in the room raised their hands. The Officer looked at the General Officers and said, “It appears the vote is unanimous. Will you swear to support the new chosen leader?”

They all nodded so hard they nearly pulled muscles in their necks. The officer looked at the gathering and then said to the Admiral, “The following will be done immediately. All of our military and naval forces will be recalled. The Fleet at Euclid will leave immediately.” The Dark Officer looked at the Admiral and raised the blaster to scratch his chin. The Admiral punched his communicator and issued the orders.

The Officer stared at the Nobility and said, “I will be bowing to the new King on Euclid shortly. We will rejoin the Union and abide by their conventions. Are there any objections?” The gathered Nobles were stunned at the statement. Most of them were against the rebellion but didn’t dare challenge the Dictator. The Military was also surprised. Most of them felt the rebellion was doomed to failure, but there was no stopping the Dictator. No one voiced an objection.

The Dark Officer looked out at the room and announced, “One year from today the Empire will vote on who the new ruler will be. Every citizen will be allowed to vote and everyone here will support the one chosen by the citizens. The election will have inspectors from Euclid to insure it is conducted fairly. If any of you choose to run for the position, you have a year to convince the rest of the Empire to vote for you. Until that election, I will make sure order is maintained and that all of our planets are treated equally. Are there any questions?”

No one made a move and the Officer said, “Killing is over. You may speak your minds without fear of reprisal.”

A high Noble raised his hand slowly and the Officer said, “What is your question?”

“Why are you doing this? You have total power.”

The Officer stood up from the throne and walked over to the Dictator’s dead body. His facial expression was neutral, but he fired another blaster bolt into it. He looked at the gathering and said, “I tried to think of what I could do to this pig that would be enough punishment for his actions. Just killing him is not enough. He will look up from hell and see the people of the Empire empowered to choose their leader and he’ll scream at his lost legacy.”

The ranking Noble said, “But why are we going to support the Union?”

The Officer looked at the Noble, walked back to the throne, sat down, then said, “An alien species has been discovered beyond the borders of the Union.” The intake of breath was instant. “A planet was discovered that was completely destroyed with no survivors. They haven’t found us yet, but it’s just a matter of time until they do. We know from the evidence that the aliens are not a peaceful civilization. Our best chance of survival is to join the other planets in the Union and prepare for their arrival.”

The Nobles looked at each other and one said, “This could be a Union ploy. Do you have proof they exist?”

The Officer stood and pointed the blaster out in front of him. The huge gathering pushed back in their seats hoping they weren’t going to be shot. The Officer opened his hand and the blaster disappeared. The entire room was struck silent. The officer looked out at the crowd, held his hand out, and the blaster reappeared. “This is one of the Alien’s weapons that were discovered.” The Officer looked at the high Noble, “Do you need more evidence?”

The Noble shook his head.

“Our efforts will be to support Euclid in developing the defenses we’ll need to survive. We will offer our ships to defend the Union. Do any of you see another way to do this?”

The Highest Noble said, “It is my belief that you are the only one strong enough to lead us.”

“Then you should tell your citizens that piece of information. However, they will make the final decision who will lead. You may leave in peace and the Nebula forces will ensure that all of our citizens are treated with respect.”

The huge crowd stood and the highest ranking Noble stared at the tall officer and began clapping. The crowd started joining him and soon the entire room was cheering. The Officer looked out at them and knew the hardest tasks were ahead. But first, he had to make a trip. “Admiral.”

“Yes, Sire.”

“Will you make sure there is a smooth transition? I’m leaving you in charge until I return.”

The Admiral smiled, “I will.”

The Officer smiled, “Thank you.”

The Admiral began to feel something that had been missing for many years, hope.

• • •

The nurse sat in the room with her son and felt the never ending sorrow that always threatened to take her. She looked at him and adjusted his feeding tube. The door slowly opened and she saw the tall Nebula Officer that had charged in several months earlier. He walked over to her son and sent his mind into the young man’s brain. He watched the pattern swirl and said, “His mind is unwilling to organize.”

“How do you know that?”

The Officer looked at the woman and said, “I think your sorrow is what keeps him in this state. The baby refuses to enter a world with so much horror.”

“Who are you to say such a thing? I love my son.”

“But do you love yourself?”

She stared at the Nebula Officer and saw he was sincere. She lowered her head and said, “He asked me to go with him and I refused. I had too much to do around the house and I really didn’t like his friends on York. I should have been with him. I might have made a difference. He might not have died with my son.”

The Officer saw her tears, “What was your son’s name.”

“Britain Andrey Montgomery.”

“That’s a Royal name isn’t it?”

“It is. He would have been the next King. The Royal Family let him down. They should have had Defenders with my husband.”

“How many times did you leave Euclid before they disappeared?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Just answer the question. Please.”

“I don’t know maybe twenty or thirty times.”

“Did you ever need a Defender for those trips?”

“What are you suggesting? Are you saying the Royal Family had no responsibility in protecting them? If you are, you’re wrong.”

“The Union was at peace. There were no attacks on the members. There was no need to send out defenders with Royals that visited.”

The woman ran her fingers through her son’s hair and stared at his blank expression. She heard the Officer say, “I’ve often wondered what my name is.”

She looked at him and said, “Why wouldn’t you know your name?”

“When the Nebula warships stopped my father’s ship and killed him. I was too young to know what my name was.”

“How old were you?”

“Eighteen months.”

The nurse stared at him and suddenly grabbed her neck. She stared at his face, looked at her son’s face and said, “Drey!?”

The Officer shook his head, “I didn’t know who I was, Mother. I’ve just recently learned.”

She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around the tall officer and cried. He held her and said, “The Nebula attacked our ship and took me to use against the Union. There was nothing the Union could have done to prevent it.”

She cried tears of sorrow and then she cried tears of joy. Her baby had come back. She held on to him with a grip that surprised the tall man. He felt her love and he held her and whispered, “I’m here, Mother. I’ll never disappear again.” She held him as he slowly swayed with her in his arms. He looked at his brother and saw him looking at them. He pushed his mother back slightly and she saw her youngest staring at them. She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him all over his face. The young man smiled and looked at Drey. Drey went into his mind and saw it begin to get organized around the pattern he had inserted. “Mother, you need to get him to Euclid where he can get the help he needs.”

She stared at him and nodded, “Are you coming with us?”

“There are some loose ends to take care of first but I will join you in a few days.”

The young man stared at his older brother and smiled.

The man named Drey went back to the Nebula and felt his mind also reorganizing. His mother was now in it…and she strengthened it. However, he knew he was a killer. That part of him would never completely disappear; only the targets would change.

• • •

The Coronation of the new King drew representatives from all the Union’s members. The ships parked in orbit over Euclid were larger than most naval fleets. The Coronation was scheduled to begin in an hour and the facility to hold the massive gathering was enormous. The Lead Scientist was looking at the guest list making sure everyone had a seat when his assistant came running up, “We have an issue.”

“What is that?”

“Apparently there has been a coup in the Nebula and the new ruler has arrived with a request he be allowed to attend.”

“You’re kidding me?”

“No, I’m not. The news has spread all over the sector near the Nebula, but we’re just learning about it.”

The Scientist rubbed his cheek and said, “I wondered why they withdrew their fleet. This ceremony would have been small if the Union’s representatives were prevented from coming.” He looked at the list and said, “What kind of ship did he come in?”

“A commercial transport; we’ve scanned it and it has no weapons.”

“Give him the ok and we’ll seat him at the rear of the assembly. I don’t want him close to the King.” The assistant nodded and sprinted away. I wonder what’s going on in the Nebula, he thought to himself. They must have learned that the assembly had taken place and a new Monarch authorized. He pushed a button and said, “Defense, delay any of the Nebula’s Obelisks from activating.”

“Why is that?”

“I believe the war is over. I want a delay until it can be confirmed.” He thought a moment and wondered if the war is over, why are we crowning a new Monarch? Well, it was too late to stop it now.

• • •

The Coronation went off without a hitch. The three hour long ceremony was resplendent with all the trappings of Royalty’s highest ceremony. Drey sat in the rear of the giant building and watched the new King closely. He was young but his eyes were remarkably clear. He saw his brain activity and in a room full of Genetics, his was the brightest. Well, except for his. When he sat down the representatives he was seated close to stared at him like he had three eyes. He could see their thoughts on their faces, “What was he doing here?”

He settled in and wondered when the Prince was going to make an appearance. So far, he had not shown.

• • •

The elaborate ceremony finally ended and King Britain Albert Montgomery was announced to a thunderous ovation. The New King smiled and said, “Thank you, please be seated.” Everyone sat and the King said, “I understand there is a representative from the Nebula here.” Silence crashed down on the room. The Scientist wondered what the King was doing. This was highly irregular. The King looked out at the gathering and said, “Where is the representative?”

Drey’s expression didn’t change but he thought, “And so it begins.” He stood and said, “That would be me, Your Majesty.”

Everyone in the building turned to see who it was. Many of them knew of the Dark Officer’s reputation. The King said, “Please come forward.”

Drey left his seat and walked down the aisle and saw the hostile looks from the representatives. He arrived at the front and bowed, “Congratulations, Your Majesty.”

The Lead Scientist stood next to the new King and had the Nebula Officer locked in on the Obelisk’s defenses. The King said, “I’m curious why you chose to attend today?”

“The Nebula is a member of the Union and we are expected to send a representative to honor you on this occasion.” The design of the building allowed every one present to hear the conversation near the throne.

“That’s a good answer but not the real one. What’s the real reason you came today?”

Drey smiled slightly, which was unusual for him. This young King was sharp. Drey said, “I want to make sure all of the Union knew that the Dictator that started the rebellion had a very unfortunate accident and no longer rules the Nebula.”

“What kind of accident?”

“He was unable to step out of the way of a blaster beam.” The King stared at Drey and had a small smile. Drey tilted his head and said, “You know how we lose our reflexes as we get older.”

The King’s smile grew and he said, “So where does that leave the rebellion?”

“It’s over. The Nebula Members have been notified that in one year there will be a general election on all the planets to determine who is going to lead. I humbly ask that if the Monarchy will help us, we would like inspectors from Euclid to be present to insure the election is done properly.”

The room was stunned. The Nebula had always had a single controlling Dictator. Was this true?

The King leaned back on his throne and put his hand on his chin with his index finger over his lips. He stared at Drey and after a long moment he said, “Who is ruling the Nebula in the interim?”

“I am, Your Majesty.”

The King’s smile disappeared. He looked at Drey and said, “I’ve seen the reports on what you’ve done during the rebellion. Why should I believe what you’re saying?”

“There is really no evidence to present that would persuade you to believe me.”

“What makes you qualified to rule the Nebula?”

Drey smiled, “I mean absolutely no disrespect, Your Majesty, but what qualifies you to rule the Union?”

The Lead Scientist said, “The King is a product of Genetic development and is the best of our people.”

Drey did smile at that. He looked at the scientist and said, “I just discovered my name a week ago.”

The scientist said, “So?”

“The name I was given at birth was Britain Andrey Montgomery.”

The attendees from Euclid screamed at the sacrilege. Drey saw the Scientist was stunned. The King shouted, “You will be silent!” The room was silent as the Obelisk started getting brighter. The King looked at Drey and said, “If what you say is true, you would have been King?”

“I was told that.”

“By who?”

“The Prince.” The room started murmurings until the King looked at the assembly. “When did he tell you this?”

“A week ago.”

The King quickly leaned forward and said, “We were told he was about to be killed two weeks ago!”

Drey shrugged and said, “Well, when he had a blaster pointed at me, he and his companion appeared to be in perfect health.”

“What companion?”

Drey looked at the Lead Scientist and said, “They never mentioned her name but the Prince told me that only two high Genetics had ever disappeared from Euclid. I was one and she was the other.”

The King watched the exchange and saw the Scientist’s shocked expression. “What’s wrong?”

The Scientist said, “Your Majesty, please give me a moment.” The King nodded and the Scientist said, “Describe the companion.”

Drey said, “She was extraordinarily beautiful. She had the most violet colored eyes I’ve ever seen. Her hair was black but when the sunlight hit, it had auburn highlights. I’m not sure how that happens. She was about five feet seven and well proportioned.” The Scientist manipulated a device and a picture appeared on the huge display behind the King. Drey turned and said, “That’s the companion.” Drey saw the Scientist’s expression and said, “Am I missing something here?”

“Are you absolutely sure it was her?”

Drey tilted his head, “I’m also a Genetic. It was her.”

The King said, “Tell me what this means.”

“Your Majesty, that woman was the most highly measured Genetic we’ve ever produced. She was slotted to marry the Prince but disappeared before the announcement. We’ve never been able to find her.”

The King turned to Drey, “Why did the Prince meet with you?”

“At the time he said he was going to kill me, but changed his mind after he discovered who I am.” The King nodded for him to continue. “After the fact, I think they knew that if I learned who I am and what had been done to my family I would do something about the one that did it.”

“What are you saying?”

Drey shrugged, “They knew I would take my vengeance on the Dictator. It was their way of ending the rebellion.”

“What happened at the end of your meeting?”

“They walked away. I was in such a state of disarray; I didn’t order my troops to kill them.”

The King stared at the Nebula Ruler and said, “This really doesn’t make sense. The Prince called for the assembly. He knew the Nebula would be neutralized once the Obelisks were activated.”

Drey shrugged, “I’ve come to the same conclusion. I now think he was giving me the opportunity to find myself and allow me the possibility to redeem myself for my prior actions.” Drey paused, “I think he also wanted me to start the Nebula working on building defenses against the Aliens.”

The entire room erupted. Drey saw the King and Scientist were stunned at his comment. The King restored silence and Drey said, “He hasn’t told you?”

The Scientist said, “We’ve not communicated with the Prince since he escaped your attack. He sent a recording but he has not been heard from.”

Drey shook his head, “I don’t understand why you wouldn’t have been given the first warning.”

The King said, “Warning about what?”

Drey shook his head and knew the Prince was beyond him. This didn’t make sense. He said, “I suspect the reason you never found his companion is that she left the Union and went outside its borders. Evidently she found a planet where every being on it was killed in an attack from orbit. The beings they found were not human.”

The Silence was thick enough to cut with a knife. The Scientist said, “And you believed them?” Drey looked at the Scientist and smiled. The Scientist knew what he was thinking and said, “What proof did they offer?”

Drey shrugged, “I’ll show you, but you’ll have to deactivate the Obelisk’s defenses.”

“Why would I do that?”

“I’ll be killed if I show you the evidence. Just have one of your guards point a blaster at my head while we’re doing this.”

The King said, “Do it!” The Scientist stared at the King and finally nodded to one of the guards that came forward and pulled his hand blaster and held it against Drey’s head. The Scientist pressed controls on a unit and the Obelisk’s light dimmed.

Drey said, “I’m going to do this slowly so don’t get excited.” They entire room watched the display showing a close up of the ones standing at the throne, Drey raised his arm and held it out away from the King. Suddenly a blaster appeared and everyone was shocked. Just as suddenly it disappeared.

The Scientist said, “You were scanned for weapons when you entered. We scanned you down to the molecular level.”

Drey lowered his arm and said, “I don’t know where it goes.”

“May I see it?”

Drey looked at the guard with the blaster pointed at his head and said, “Just take it easy.” The guard tried not to smile but Drey saw it. He raised his arm and the blaster appeared. He took it by the barrel with his other hand and handed it to the scientist. The Scientist took it and manipulated it in his hand and tried to take a good grip. “You’re wasting your time.”

The Scientist looked at Drey and he saw the wonder on the Scientist’s expression. The King said, “What?”

The Scientist looked at the King and said, “This blaster was not designed to fit a human hand.”

The Scientist looked at Drey and said, “How were you able to hand it to me without it disappearing?”

“I don’t know how it functions, but it seems to know my intentions. I believe that if I make a motion of releasing it, it will disappear again.” The Scientist nodded. Drey raised his arm and quickly opened his grip. The blaster disappeared from the Scientist’s hands. The King and Scientist stared at Drey and he said, “They were holding blasters that were very different from this one and they told me that theirs were much more powerful that the one they gave me.”

The Scientist said, “Have you determined the power of your blaster?”

“It can penetrate the strongest force field in the Empire.”

The King stared at Drey and said, “Why would they give their sworn enemy such a destructive weapon?”

Drey looked at them and said, “You haven’t figured it out?” The King and Scientist looked at each other and shook their heads. Drey smiled, “I thought the Prince was not real bright when he showed up to speak to me. Now I know better. He gave me that blaster to improve the chances I could remove the Dictator. He also gave it to me to show you. He knew he wasn’t going to come here.”

The King looked at the Scientist, “If the Prince is still alive, am I King?”

The Scientist slowly shook his head, “You will be King until he sets foot on Euclid. It appears he is not going to do that.”

“Why not?”

“He no longer desires to possess the Crown.”

Drey said, “I know what he wants to do.” They turned to him and he said, “He wants to do the same thing I do…he wants to find those aliens.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Because the love of the Union has been genetically bred into him.”

“Why would you want to do that? You don’t love the Union.”

Drey gave his biggest smile, “That’s true, but I do love a good fight.”

Chapter Nine

Ian and Violet sat at the picnic table outside a restaurant on Carrolwood. They had jumped in an hour earlier and Ian had walked slowly to the table and sat down. Violet looked at him and felt his sadness. “I met her here. I used her to escape the Agent’s scanners.” Violet took his hand in hers and was silent. “She was so full of life and her smile was remarkable. She had good values and was a good person. She didn’t deserve to have her life taken away so young.”

Violet squeezed his hand and said, “What would have happened if you didn’t do it?”

“I’m not sure what you mean?”

“If the Agents had detected you in here, what would they have done?”

Ian thought a moment and said, “Everyone near me would have been blasted. I suppose the entire building would have been destroyed and they would have searched the rubble for my DNA to confirm my death.”

“She and all her friends would have died anyway, Ian.”

“I guess.”

They remained at the table for another hour until Ian finally came to terms with what happened. Later when the story became known how the Lost Prince and Princess had come back to mourn the death of the one that saved his life, a monument was built in Natalie’s honor and the planet was renamed Natalia. The newly elected leader of the Nebula was the first one to place flowers on her grave. The millions that came to dine at Ricardo’s on the River would stand beside the table and gently touch it. Most meals were eaten in silence. Ricardo’s was the second Historical Site designated by the Union as a place to never be changed. The first was Natalie’s grave.

• • •

A year later, Drey participated in the change of power as the elected Prime Minister took power. He wore the immaculate Black Uniform of the Nebula and saluted the new leader. The transfer had taken place peacefully and the election was the first of many to follow. The Prime Minster took his place on the throne and said, “This would not have happened but for your actions.”

“I hope you make sure my actions are worth it, Your Excellency.”

“Of that you can be certain. What are you going to do now?”

“I think it’s time I meet some old friends.”

“Do you think you can find them?”

“No.” The Prime Minister was surprised at the response until Drey said, “They will find me.”

“Go and defend us. The New Commonwealth will pray for your success.”

Drey turned and walked out of the room to the cheers of everyone in attendance. He briefly thought, “What a difference a year makes.” He boarded his small ship and flew above the planet and tried to decide where to go.

“I guess you’re ready now.”

Drey smiled and said, “I wondered what you were waiting on.”

“The Nebula had to be tamed. You were the only one that could make it happen.”

“How did you know I wouldn’t have run in the election?”

“It’s too tame for someone like you.”

Drey shook his head, “I guess you know me better than I know myself.”

“I need you to do something for us.”

“What is that?”

“I want you to go pick up two passengers and bring them with you to the coordinates I’ve sent. Will you do that?”

“What two passengers are you talking about?”

He listened to the response and didn’t like it. “I’m not for this.”

“That’s the only way we’ll bring you in on this.”

“I work better alone.”

“Have you ever tried any other way?”

Drey started laughing. “You always have the right answer.”

“Good, will you accept our terms?”

“I will. I wouldn’t miss this for the entire Union.”

“Neither would we.”

Drey set his drive and thought, “You’ve certainly made that clear.”

• • •

The Lead Scientist yelled at the engineer, “You have got to find a way to strengthen the force field around the Obelisk.”

“We’ve done all we can.”

“This is a minimal increase. You’ve got to do better.” He felt his communicator vibrate and he punched it and said, “WHAT!?!”

“Have I caught you at a bad moment?”

The Scientist looked at his unit and saw Drey’s name. “I’m sorry; I’m somewhat frustrated at the moment.”

“I need to speak with you.”

“Where are you?”

“Just above Euclid.”

“Send me your transponder code. I’ll clear you for entry and you can meet me at the red building across the mall from the government building.”

The Scientist set the code in the defense system and wondered what the Nebula Officer wanted. Thirty minutes later Drey walked in and said, “I have been asked to take you to meet the Lost Prince.”

The Scientist’s expression showed his shock. Then he said, “By all means, I’ll take the Royal Yacht.”

“No, he says you and one other should come in my ship.” The Scientist stared at Drey and he said, “The Prince is not yet willing to come back.”

“That young whippersnapper doesn’t understand the meaning of responsibility.”

Drey shrugged, “I suspect he understands it better than anyone on this planet.”

The Scientist stared at Drey and said, “Who else does he want to come?”

“I don’t know.”

“What?”

Drey said, “You should understand that I am completely against this, but he says the highest ranking Genetic should come with us and they will remain with me until the mission is completed.”

“What mission is that?”

“Finding the location of the aliens and determining the threat they represent.”

“Why do they want the highest ranking Genetic to go with you?”

“I suspect they believe that I might cause unnecessary problems if I’m left to my own devices.”

The Scientist smiled, “I suspect they’re right.” Drey just shrugged. “Why should I do this?”

Drey slowly shook his head, “Come on; even a normal human could figure this out.”

“They’re going to take us to the planet.”

“That’s how I see it.”

“I’ll need the King’s approval.”

“No you don’t. You run things around here and you can pretty much do whatever you want.”

The Scientist stared at Drey with a scowl and after a moment tilted his head and said, “You’re smarter than I thought.” He punched a button and his computer activated. He stared at the screen and pushed a button. “Take a seat.” Drey sat down and watched the Scientist work on his computer for thirty minutes. The Scientist finally sat back and lifted his communicator, “Yes, I want you here packed for an extended trip.” There was a pause and he said, “No, you have no choice in this. Now get moving.” The Scientist slammed his communicator on the table.

“It sounds like we have another reluctant participant.”

The Scientist shook his head, “These younger Genetics are just not like we used to make them.”

Drey laughed. The Scientist glared at him and he said, “Is anyone around like you used to make them?”

“Hell no. Just look at that Prince.”

“That’s what I’m hoping to do.”

“Well, I have something to tell him.”

“I suspect he has more to say than you do.”

The Scientist thought a moment and said, “I think you’re probably right.”

The door opened behind Drey and the Scientist said, “It took you long enough.”

Drey heard a female voice say, “Patience is a virtue that is seldom perfected.” He whipped around in his chair and saw a woman that was as beautiful as the violet eyed beauty with the Prince. Only she was the direct opposite in coloration. Her hair was so blonde as to appear almost white and her eyes were a green that were deeper than he had ever seen.

Drey said, “Oh hell no!”

The Scientist looked at Drey and said, “Did he say the highest ranking Genetic?” Drey nodded, “Well she’s it and I suspect he has the same list I do. Do you want me to select someone else and show up with them instead?” Drey looked up at the ceiling and rolled his eyes, which was the most animated expression he had ever made.

“What does he mean?”

The Scientist snapped, “He doesn’t want you to go with him.”

“Go where?”

“Looking for aliens.”

The woman looked at Drey and said, “You’re the one that killed the Nebula Dictator?” Drey scowled and nodded. The woman smiled, “Then the Prince thinks you need a babysitter.”

Drey narrowed his eyes and said, “What?”

“You are rather quick on the trigger. Even one as stupid as me can see you need someone to balance that aggressiveness.”

Drey did a double take, “I thought you’re the highest ranking Genetic here.”

“When you really learn a lot, you begin to realize how much you really don’t know.”

The Scientist said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, let’s go do this.” He looked at the woman and said, “Do you still not want to go, Andi?”

She shook her head, “On no, this is shaping up to be a great learning opportunity. You should have told me.”

The Scientist looked at Drey and said, “I’ve been led to believe that this is a secret mission.” Drey nodded.

“Well I love secrets. Lead the way.”

Drey walked out of the building toward his ship with two in tow and knew his life was going to be full of trouble. This was just not acceptable. He decided to confront the Prince about this decision, but knew he wouldn’t change it. At least she remained silent as the Scientist kept a running commentary all the way to the coordinates he was given. He longed for silence. He looked at the woman and saw her roll her eyes. It appeared she did as well.

• • •

They arrived at the coordinates and Drey leaned back in his command chair. “Is this the place?”

“It is.”

“Why aren’t they here?”

“I suspect they want to confirm we weren’t followed.”

The Scientist said, “Oh yeah.” He remained silent for ten minutes.

Drey looked at him, “I was wondering if you ever stop talking.” The woman snickered.

The Scientist looked at Drey, started to respond, and looked out the forward view screen. After a minute he said, “I start talking when I’m nervous or uncertain.”

“Then I suspect you’ll be talking a lot.”

The Scientist continued to look out and said, “I suppose.” Suddenly the Scientist fell back from Drey’s control board, “Holy brains in a pan!”

Drey looked out the front view screen and saw a ship ten feet from the nose of his vessel. Andi walked up and said, “E’s been modified.”

The Scientist came back and said, “It appears he has.”

Drey looked at them and said, “How?”

Andi said, “The blaster ports are open, which tells us that the weapon’s system has been activated. The blasters that were originally installed are no longer there. I think I see a much smaller unit in the port. There is also a unit under each wing that wasn’t there when he launched.”

Drey looked at the Scientist, “Do you recognize the units under the wings?”

“I do not.”

They heard, “It took you long enough to get here.”

“We’re waiting on you.”

“Then you’re backing up. Set your ship on standby and bring a shuttle over.”

Drey was reluctant to leave his transportation but sighed and stood up, “Come on. Let’s not keep him waiting.”

Drey landed in the bay and waited until his board told him it was pressurized. He opened the side port and stepped out. He offered his hand to Andi and she was surprised at the offer. She took his hand and stepped out of the port. The Scientist followed Andi and saw the Lost Prince and his companion enter the landing bay. Before he could say anything, Violet rushed up and jumped into Cole’s arms hugging his neck, “Cole, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you.”

Ian raised his eyebrows and the Scientist said, “She’s my younger sister.” Even Drey was surprised at that revelation.

Violet kissed Cole on the cheek and said, “Hi Andi, how’s it going?”

“It’s been a real party. Be glad you left.” Drey was once again surprised.

“How’s Ross?”

Andi shrugged, “That ended more than a year ago. I lost interest.” Violet raised her eyebrows and Andi said, “I allowed him to get involved with someone else and caught them together.”

“You mean you set a trap and sprung it.”

Andi smiled, “I did introduce them. Everything else just happened naturally.” She paused and said, “My righteous indignation was really quite good. He hasn’t contacted me since.”

Drey listened and didn’t like what he was hearing. This woman thought six pages ahead of everyone else. Cole looked at Ian and said, “You went to a lot of trouble to get a new Monarch chosen.”

Ian shrugged, “You gotta do what ya gotta do.”

Cole shook his head, “Your language has really atrophied.”

Ian smiled, “It helps not being noticed.”

Cole turned to Violet, “Valerie, I can’t understand why you ran away. You’ve ended up exactly where you’d be if you had stayed.”

“My name is Violet now. If I had stayed, Tad would have always been a barrier between Ian and me.”

“Where is Tad?”

Violet’s expression changed and she told them what had happened. Cole listened and said, “I’m really sorry he died but I’m thankful you weren’t with him.”

“I’m just starting to feel that way as well.”

Drey said, “So why have you brought us here?”

Violet looked at Drey and said, “It’s good to see you, too.”

Drey waved his hand and said, “That goes without saying. What’s going on?”

“We’re taking you to the planet where we found the aliens.”

Cole said, “Why?”

Ian tilted his head and said, “So you can come and take some of the technology back to the Union.”

“Do you think we’ll be able to use it?”

Ian and Valerie smiled as Ian said, “Come with me.”

They went to the small bridge and Ian said, “E, everyone’s on board.”

Drey said, “How long is it going to take us to get there?” Suddenly the view port dimmed briefly and Drey saw a planet directly below them. He looked at Ian and heard, “Not very long.”

Drey said, “I thought you said the planet is close to the core?”

“It is.” Ian pointed and Drey looked off to the right and saw the massive black hole spinning in the distance. He looked at Ian and said, “I have got to have a ship like this.”

“That’s why you’re here. Cole is going to build you one.”

“I’m what?”

“You’re going to build Drey a ship. We need more than one ship.”

“Why?”

“In the event one of them is destroyed, the other can go back and warn the Union.”

Drey glanced at Andi and saw she didn’t like that statement any more than he did.

• • •

A week later Cole exited one of the fifty crashed ships Ian had found on the planet and said, “I believe we have enough parts to take back and begin construction. I’m not sure we have enough rare metals to do it.”

Violet said, “You can solve that issue easily.”

“How?”

“Bring three heavy commercial haulers and pick up thirty or forty mining vehicles off Hellhole and bring them here. While you’re collecting the technology, the miners can be collecting the rare metals. They can unload their reservoirs into the two other haulers. This planet’s surface is covered with them.”

Ian said, “You need to pay them market price for what they mine.”

Cole waved his hand and said, “Money is not an issue. Are you sure about the metals?”

“I am.”

Cole was silent for a moment and said, “I need to take several of the drive boxes back with me now. And I need the software E has developed to control it.”

E said, “I’ve put it on a chip and you can take it with you.”

Cole looked at Ian and said, “Why are you determined not to return?”

Drey turned around to hear Ian’s answer. “I’ve been spoiled by my freedom. I’ve seen court life and I now find it stifling. I would die of boredom if I went back.”

“But you would be the most powerful man in the Union.”

Ian shrugged, “Power is not all it’s cracked up to be.”

Drey said, “That is not an easy lesson to learn.”

Violet said, “I see you have.” Drey shrugged.

Andi sat at a computer console and watched the four. She watched Drey and knew he was a very dangerous man. He could shoot her in the head and not give it a second thought. But there was something about him that was eluding her. Drey suddenly turned and looked at her, “Do you have me figured out yet?”

Andi leaned back in her chair, “Not quite, but I’m working on it.”

Drey turned back around and thought, “I imagine you are.” He didn’t want to but he was starting to like the straightforward talking Genetic. He had confirmed that he wouldn’t have to worry about her working an agenda. If she was, she’d tell him and dare him to stop her. He could deal with someone that was honest. It was the deceptions that most used that drove him crazy. He suddenly had a thought and said, “Cole, how long is it going to take to build my ship?”

Cole was talking to Ian and said, “If we start from scratch, a year.” Cole saw Drey’s expression and said, “We’re not starting from scratch. Another ship like E was started as soon as Ian escaped. I suspect it’s going to take five months to get it ready.”

Drey looked at Ian, “What am I going to be doing during that time?”

Ian smiled, “You and Andi will be directing the construction crew’s efforts to make sure it’s done right.” Drey fell back in his chair and looked at the ceiling.

Violet said where Drey could hear, “I liked him better when he never changed expressions.”

Ian smiled, “He was easier to talk to back then.”

Drey said “I never said anything.”

Violet said, “My point exactly.” Andi laughed out loud and Drey knew the next five months were going to last forever. He was wrong.

Chapter Ten

The time on Euclid seemed to fly for Drey. He spent the first month arguing with Cole about the reactors for the Ship. “Why are you building in a dark matter field? That system is a power hog. It takes huge amounts of power just to keep it operative.”

“It’s a failsafe in the event the alien jump drive fails.”

“You are going to have to either commit to the technology or not. The blasters need every available bit of power we can feed them. Can you tell me they’ll be just as strong with the Dark Matter Field?”

Cole looked at Drey and was getting angry. “You just don’t get it!”

“Cole, have you ever fought in a real space battle?” Cole stared at Drey saying nothing. “Well I have. Ditch the Dark Matter system.”

The attachment of the units under the wing also caused trouble. Drey fought with Cole for two weeks over placing the alien missiles inside the hull of the ship.

Cole was exasperated and he said, “Give me one valid reason for putting them inside the hull.”

Cole stared at Drey with satisfaction until he said, “They provide a target for lasers out in the open.”

Cole said, “Give me another reason.”

“You can have a belt feed to the launchers and fire more than if you just had one loaded in each canister under the wings.”

Cole said, “Well, well, oh yeah!”

Drey laughed, “Yeah.”

Cole sighed, “I’ll have them put inside the hull. The feeder was reason enough to do it.”

Drey said “Well at long last, thanks. By the way, you can reroute the reactors to the force field if you exclude the Dark Matter system.”

Cole said absently, “It’s already been done.” Drey forced himself to keep a straight face. Cole had ditched the Dark Matter system. He walked out of the ship and silently mouthed Hallaluuuuia just as Andi came out.

Andi looked at Drey, “You’re working him pretty good.”

Drey whispered, “He’s impossible.”

“I heard that.”

“I was talking about Andi’s computer engineer.”

“Oh.”

Andi pushed her lips together, “Now you’ve gotten me in trouble.”

Drey shook his head, “Better you than me.”

• • •

Three months into the construction process E, showed up. Drey saw the ship land and waited for Ian and Violet to step out. Andi said, “It’s not going to happen.”

“Why not?”

“If they set foot on Euclid, Ian will be declared King and he won’t be allowed to leave.”

“Who flew the ship here?”

“E can do it alone.”

“Will our ship be able to run errands?”

Andi smiled, “Oh yes.”

“Why did E show up?”

“Cole has developed a way to increase the power going to the blasters. E needs to have the modifications done and the wing units moved inside his hull.”

“I wonder where Ian and Violet are?”

Andi looked up at the sky and sighed, “They’re free.”

Drey looked at her and said, “Yeah, I guess they are.” Drey saw at that moment that originally he didn’t want Andi to go. Now he knew getting her to come back was not going to be easy; even if she didn’t stay with him. She had tasted being free and Euclid would never hold her again.

The final day was getting closer and Cole called Drey and Andi into the energy lab. They arrived and Cole said, “Pull the blasters you took from the planet.”

Andi said, “Why?”

“I’m not going to take them.”

Drey looked at Andi and saw that Cole had called it right. Drey said, “I must be rubbing off on you.” Andi stuck out her tongue at him and handed her blaster to Cole.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m adjusting the force field so there will be a very slight leakage.”

“Why, won’t that damage it?”

“No it won’t. The energy field will be so minute it won’t really exist as a force field for all intents and purposes.”

“Then why are you doing it?”

Cole looked up from what he was doing, “You have always been the most inquisitive person I’ve ever known.”

“Thank you; why are you doing it?”

Drey tried not to laugh but couldn’t stop himself. Andi stuck out her tongue again when Cole wasn’t watching.

“You know the ships can jump you to locations as long and the blaster’s field is active.”

Andi said, “That makes sense. Thanks for telling me.”

Drey said, “Hey, hey, not so fast. Why are you doing it?”

“An occasion may arise where the two of you may need to be removed from a dangerous situation. With the small leakage, your ship can pull you out.”

Drey looked at Andi when Cole went back to work and stuck out his tongue at her. She smiled and then laughed. Drey decided he liked her laughter.

• • •

Cole finally declared the ships ready and Drey shook his hand, “You’ve done a remarkable job, Cole.”

“Thanks, some of your suggestions made good sense.”

“Then why did you argue?”

“Sometimes the disagreement uncovers things that would be missed without it.”

Drey stared at Cole and then started nodding, “You’re right. Rerouting the reactors to the blasters came from that disagreement.”

“Yes it did and it also allowed me to bypass the Dark Matter System.”

“WHAT?”

“Don’t worry, it doesn’t draw any power, but it can be activated with the push of a button. It never hurts to have more than one door out.”

Drey smiled and knew his respect for the Lead Scientist had grown immeasurably during the construction and he suspected the Prince wanted the two of them to get to know each other. Drey now trusted Cole and Cole felt the same about Drey. Cole said, “Get out of here. I know you’re itching to leave.”

“Where’s Andi?”

“She’s already on board.”

Drey stared at Cole and then turned to enter his ship. Cole watched him disappear and nodded, “Let’s hope this subterfuge is not discovered.”

He went to the bridge and Andi said, “You need to link with the ship’s main computer.”

“Why?”

“Your mind will be imprinted in the system just like Ian’s was with E.”

“Why don’t you do it? You’re smarter than I am.”

“I’m not so certain that’s true, but the reality is we need the ship to have a military frame of reference and I’m totally lacking in that expertise.”

Drey nodded, “You’re right, as usual. What do I need to do?”

“There is a skull cap on your console. Put it on and plug the cable in the receptacle under the computer screen. Lay back and close your eyes and relax. Just let the connections happen and don’t fight it.”

Drey put on the cap and plugged in the cable. He leaned back and felt his mind rush out of control. He started to resist but caught himself and quit thinking. After a moment he felt normal. He opened his eyes as Andi removed the skull cap. “Did it work?”

“If you’re asking whether or not I’m now operational, I am.”

Drey looked at Andi and saw her nod, “What do you want to name the system?”

“How did E get his name?”

“That’s the first sound in Ian’s name.”

Drey smiled and said, “Your name is Doc.”

Andi furrowed her brow and then said, “Ahhh, the first two letters of your name.”

“With your permission, I’ll join E in orbit.”

Andi said, “Take us where we need to go, Doc.”

Drey looked at the view port and saw the planet falling away faster than he had ever seen. He was free. He looked at Andi in the second chair and saw a smile that lit up her whole face. He suddenly realized he really didn’t know freedom as much as his copilot.

• • •

They arrived in orbit and E said, “Are you ready to go?”

Andi said, “Give us a moment and let’s see if Drey and I can guess correctly.” She looked at Drey, “Do you know?”

“I haven’t even thought about it. Do you?”

“I think so.”

“Give me a moment.” Drey let his mind go free to work on it and let all the variations glow through at blinding speed. The restaurant was discarded. The first coordinates were also eliminated; Ian didn’t have a ship to wait there in space. The information continued to rush through his mind and he said, “We’re going to Hellhole.”

Andi clapped her hands. “E, where are we going?”

E said, “I’m glad the two of you weren’t searching for us.”

Drey said, “I was.”

Andi said, “Yeah, but you didn’t really know him.”

“E, I’m Doc.”

“Good to meet you, partner. Hellhole it is.”

• • •

They arrived and E said, “Doc, send them to the restrooms in the supply building. You will find them in the restaurant. Turn left out of the supply store and it’s the second building.”

Andi and Drey emerged from the restrooms and walked to the restaurant where they found Ian and Violet surrounded by fifty miners laughing and singing. Ian saw them enter and said, “Hey Newbies, come join us.”

Drey and Andi walked over and Drey saw every miner immediately stare at Andi; for some reason that bothered him. Violet pulled up two chairs next to her and hugged Andi as she sat down.

Ribbons said, “Who is this?”

Violet said, “This is my cousin Andreia and her partner Drey.”

Everyone yelled, “Welcome to Hellhole!” Andi smiled that beautiful smile and Violet ordered them drinks.

Ribbons said, “We were just thanking Nosey and Violet for getting us the work.” He looked around and said, “You’re looking at some seriously wealthy miners.”

Andi said, “That’s great.”

Glenda came over and sat in Gibbon’s lap to let Andi know he was taken. Andi got up and sat in Drey’s lap. He was shocked and she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek and whispered, “We don’t need any of them thinking I’m available.”

Drey forced himself to relax and Andi stayed in his lap for the rest of the evening. They learned that these miners had gone and mined the alien planet. Finally Ian stood and said, “I’m sorry guys, but we have to leave.” There were loud complaints and numerous goodbyes, but they finally made it out the door. Andi was holding Drey’s elbow until they left the building but then she moved her hand away. Drey felt disappointed. Ribbons and three other miners had exited with them and Ribbons stuck his hand out to Ian, “Nosey, that suggestion to get Switzer to invest our funds in the ship building industry in the Union was a great idea. Our accounts have tripled in value.”

“Good. How much longer are the four of you going to stay here?”

“We’re leaving tomorrow. Wealth is worthless if you don’t take the time to use it.”

Ian shook the three men’s hands and Porky hugged his neck. Violet said, “Hey, hey, he’s mine.”

Porky smiled and said, “I could have had him.” Derek looked at her and she said, “But I have the one for me.”

They turned and walked away and the four watched them go. “I’m going to miss them.”

Jefie said, “They are not who we think they are.” The three turned and looked at him. “The tall one that showed up tonight is the former ruler of the Nebula.”

Ribbons said, “Get out of here.”

“I saw him on the newscasts. It’s him.” Jefie paused and said, “I also find it interesting that Nosey showed up when the entire Union was looking for the Prince.”

They turned and looked at the four walking away and Ribbons yelled, “Keep the track’s down, Your Majesty.” Ian raised his hand and waved as he walked away.

Porky said, “I could have been a princess.”

Jefie said, “Have you taken a good look at Violet?”

Porky hit him on the arm and hurt her hand, “You can spoil anything.”

Derek just laughed. He knew Porky was a dreamer. This was one dream he would not take from her. From that moment on the group called her Princess and she answered to it.

• • •

Andi said, “It looks like they broke the code, Ian. They’re pretty smart.”

“I owe them. They are my best friends.”

Drey looked at Ian and saw how close the group of miners was to him. He thought about who his best friends were and came up empty. He didn’t know what to think about that. Andi punched his arm and said, “Hey, I’ll fill in until you make some.” Drey looked at her with shock on his face. Andi smiled, “I’m not a mind reader. That was easy to see.”

Drey looked at her and then smiled, “I know you’re not a mind reader.”

Andi pulled her head back slightly, “Just how do you know that?”

“You didn’t say anything when you were sitting on my lap.”

Ian and violet burst out laughing and Andi’s face turned bright red. Drey thought a moment and said, “Hey, I just told my first joke.” Ian and Violet laughed harder and finally Drey joined in. It was a little later when Andi joined them.

• • •

The four went to their ships and Drey said, “I think before we set sail, we need to familiarize ourselves with the weapon systems.”

Ian said, “Do you really think that’s necessary? The ships know their limits.”

Drey sighed, “Who decides when to shoot?”

“I guess I do.”

“And are you going to ask the ship to explain your options every time you get in a tight situation?” Drey paused, “I’ve also been meaning to ask you what those things are that were in the units under the wings.”

“They’re hardened missiles that have a dark matter field around them.”

“Are you serious?”

“We determined that it was those missiles that brought down the advanced ships.”

“I imagine they hit with a rather large impact. Do you know how large and do you know their range.” He was greeted by silence. “E, do you know their absolute range?” Again he was met by silence. “Well then does anyone know how much room they need to get up to speed?”

“Alright, alright, you’ve made your point. How do we do this?”

“We move out and take a shot at those installations on the moon.”

“They were part of this planet’s defenses.”

“No they weren’t Ian.”

“They weren’t?”

“Think about it. The advanced ships didn’t use faster than light drives. They used jump drives. The civilization on the planet did use faster than light drives.”

“They were put there to ambush any ships that showed up.”

“That has to be what happened. We need to take them out anyway so the planet can be approached with a FTL drive.” There was silence and Drey said, “The miners might come back.”

“Ok; where do you want to start?”

“The first thing we need to do is settle a few issues.”

“Such as?”

“We need to know how long it takes us to use our weapons when we come out of a jump.”

Drey heard Ian say, “I told you he’d be important.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll pay up tonight.”

Drey said, “What was that about.”

“Violet wasn’t convinced you would really be an asset on this mission.”

Drey sat a moment and said, “What did you bet her?”

Violet said, “That’s none of your business; however, I do pay my debts.”

Drey shook his head and said, “Doc, jump to the planet and hold orbit. Ian, you jump in, in two minutes and fire on the planet as quickly as possible. We’ll take a reading on the time required.”

Andi smiled, “We’re on our way.”

“You look excited.”

“There’s nothing more I’d want to do than go chasing across the stars.”

Drey tilted his head, “That depends on if you’re chasing across the stars or the stars are chasing you.”

Andi smiled, “Either way, this star chase is something I’ve prayed for.” She looked out the front view port and said, “This is release from the prison I was locked up in.”

“What do you mean?”

“Drey, I’m the highest ranking Genetic female. What is the ultimate destiny of the highest ranked?”

Drey thought a moment, “I guess you would be in line for the throne.”

“You guess right. I’m slated to marry the current King in two years but that isn’t going to happen.”

“Why not?”

Andi looked at Drey, “If Violet could escape that imprisonment, so can I.”

“I’m surprised they allowed you to go.”

Andi smiled, “They didn’t.”

“Oh!”

“I talked about Ariene with Cole and told him that I would rather die than accept the crown. Cole has been telling the Crown that I was just assisting in the ship’s construction. I’ll just turn up missing later. No one saw me on board before you lifted.”

Drey shook his head, “Well it’s a good thing we’re not going to be flying around Union space. You’d be easily recognized.”

“I don’t look all that different.”

“Are you out of your mind? The geneticists must be working for extreme beauty in the Genetics. You and Violet are the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. Trust me on this, you would be recognized.”

Andi bowed and said, “Thank you.” She took her chair and said, “Well, it’s off on a chase.”

Drey turned to his board and said, “We’re jumping in three, two, one, and now.”

The view out the front of the ship dimmed slightly and then the planet appeared below them. They moved out and Drey said, “Doc, get a scan on what happens when E appears.”

“I’m ahead of you. It’s already running.”

“Drey.”

“Yeah.”

“Why were you so brutal when you were chasing Ian?”

Drey took a deep breath and slowly shook his head. There was a minute and fifty seconds before E was due to appear. “Andi, I did what I was trained to do. My instructors conditioned every emotional response out of me. I did the logical thing required in every situation.”

“But that woman you killed?”

Drey continued to look at the front port and said, “Did you know I went to the woman that was sitting beside her before I went to her residence?”

“No, I don’t think anyone knows that.”

“That’s how I was able to get Natalie’s name which ultimately gave me her address. I found her friend outside her house playing with her little boy.”

“What did you do!?!”

“I asked her who was sitting beside her at the restaurant, told her she had a beautiful son, and left.”

“Why didn’t you kill them?”

“They had done nothing to deserve it. Natalie had assisted Ian in escaping. A lesson had to be given to everyone that any assistance would be treated harshly. It was the logical thing to do.”

There was a long moment and with thirty seconds left before E was due Andi asked the question she wanted to avoid, “How do you feel about it now?”

Drey took a deep breath and released it. He continued to stare out the port and said, “It was the logical thing to do.” Andi’s expression turned sad until Drey said, “It wasn’t the right thing to do.”

Andi looked out the port with a small smile and saw E appear.

Chapter Eleven

E appeared above the planet and looked like he was in flames. The explosions on the planet were massive. Drey said, “Doc, show me what you recorded.”

Andi came over and looked over Drey’s shoulder. “I’m playing it at a hundredth speed.” They watched as E slowly emerged into view and before the ship was fully visible they saw the three port side blaster firing at the planet and a white streak that left the small ship at an incredible velocity. “Doc, what was that white streak?”

“That was one of the missiles in E’s hull.”

“Show me the surface where it hit.” A view of the planet moved closer and they saw a huge five mile wide crater in the planet’s surface. “How deep is that crater?”

“A little more than a mile deep.”

Drey looked at Andi and said, “It looks like the aliens that weren’t as advanced possessed a rather powerful weapon.”

“It was powerful but it was extremely difficult to control.”

“Why do you say that, Doc?”

“It was fired from the units under the ship’s wings and they didn’t have a real guidance system to fire them. I suspect they just volleyed a barrage at their target.”

Andi said, “The advance ships that crashed on the planet only have one point of penetration.”

“That means the other’s missed.”

Drey shrugged, “It’s like Earth’s ancient naval wars where submersible ships would fire a spread of torpedoes to hit a single target.”

“Something just like that, Drey. They wouldn’t be effective from long range. The ship firing them had to come within killing range of the advanced ship’s blasters.”

“Doc, send a copy of this to Ian.”

“I did that when they finished firing.”

“Boy, you’re good.”

“Just doing what logic demands.”

Drey sighed and said, “You also need to do what’s right, Doc.”

“I know. I’ve seen what you learned from our family.”

Drey looked down at his control board, stood up, looked at Andi, and said, “Call me when their analysis is complete.” He walked off the bridge and Andi saw his sadness. She had studied all the recordings ever made of Drey when he was a Nebula Officer. He never showed much emotion and sadness was never seen. She smiled.

• • •

“Drey, E is ready to go over what we’ve learned.”

“I’ll be right up.”

Ian was on the main display when Drey arrived and he said, “It appears our weapons are available immediately.” Drey nodded. “E has also made an interesting discovery.”

“What is that?”

E said, “I don’t know where I go when I jump, but the ship must follow a path through something and it’s not instantaneous.”

Drey looked at Andi and saw her brow was furrowed. “Tell me what you mean.”

“It appears to be instant but remember the dimming of the display when we jump. If was instant there would not be any time to see it dim.”

Drey shrugged, “That makes sense.”

“My circuits work at light speed so I can see it happen.”

“Go on.”

“My emergence into space at the place I arrive appears to be happening quickly, but I actually see the jump field as it moves down the ship and disappears. The first part of the ship to emerge into space is where the field first starts to move down.”

Drey said, “Can you control the field when you emerge?”

“I’ve discovered I can.”

Drey leaned back in his chair, “Now that is interesting.”

Ian said, “What do you see, Drey?”

“E, you could just allow a small piece of your hull to emerge and keep the rest of it in the place you traveled to arrive.”

“I really think I can.”

Violet said, “Drey, how would that be an advantage?”

Drey said, “If our ships can pull that off, they could be a cork.”

“What?”

“The main body of the cork would be below the surface and the scanner would be the only thing floating on the surface of normal space. We could scan what’s around us and if there’s trouble, a new coordinate could be entered and we’d jump away.”

Ian tilted his head to the left and looked at Violet. He said, “E, are you capable of doing that?”

“Why don’t we see?”

Drey said, “E, jump at a further distance from us and we’ll see if we detect your return.”

Ian said, “You don’t want to take Doc and give it a go?”

Doc said, “I’m new to my systems and E has been using his for a long time. He has more control than I do. He should be the one to do it. He’s more experienced.”

E said, “Thanks for that vote of confidence, Doc. I’ll download everything to you and you’ll have everything I’ve got.”

“That would be greatly appreciated, E.”

Ian said, “Ok, we’ll go and see if you can detect our return.” The small ship disappeared and Drey said, “Doc, I want you at full power to the scanners.”

“I’m there.”

Fifteen minutes later Drey said, “Doc?”

“I haven’t seen anything.”

Drey pushed the communicator, “Have you come back yet.”

“We’re actually two miles from you. We arrived fifty miles away and began moving toward you to see if you’d detect us.”

“Well, keep coming.”

“I’ve got them!”

E emerged into space less than a mile from Doc’s position.

Drey said, “E, I want you to come up and go back down, exposing different places on your hull.”

Ian said, “Why do you want to do that?”

Drey smiled, “We might want to fire a blaster or a missile.”

Ian laughed and looked at Violet. She shook her head and said, “I know, I know, I’ll pay off.”

They watched E go up and down exposing parts of his hull. “E, how fast can you do that?”

I think I’ve got it calibrated. Give me a moment.” They waited and E said, “I’m going to emerge, fire a blaster at the planet and go back under cover.”

“Doc, see if you can detect him. E, move away from us about five miles.”

“Alright, I’m ready.”

“Take a shot.”

Suddenly a blaster bolt shot out at the planet. “Doc?”

“I did not detect him. I should have been able to see him if he emerged high enough to expose a blaster.”

E laughed, “I actually rolled the scanner under and brought the blaster port to the surface. There was less above surface with the blaster than the scanner.”

Drey said, “We need to get this information back to Cole before we go anywhere.”

E said, “There’s something else I need to tell you.”

Ian said, “What’s that?”

“I felt something pass close by me a few moments ago.”

The silence was deafening. Andi said, “Tell me what you sensed, E.”

“I’m having difficulty describing it.” There was a pause and then E said, “Ian, do you remember when you went to the beach on Euclid and stood in the surf about eighty yards off shore.”

“I do. Something swam by me. It had to be a huge fish or something.”

“The water rushed by you under the surface.”

“That’s exactly what I felt. It had to be huge to cause that amount of water pressure as it went by.”

“You made it to the beach rather quickly as I remember. However, that’s exactly what I sensed a few moments ago. Whatever it was, it was big.”

Drey said, “Do you think it was larger than the advanced ships we found on the planet?”

“Whatever it was, it dwarfed those ships.”

Drey was silent for a moment and said, “We’re going to have to leave the blasters on the moon.”

Ian said, “Why?”

“If E felt a ship pass close by here, this planet must be on a route that’s regularly used. If we destroy the blasters, someone might see it and start looking for who did it. It’s probably not good that we hit the planet with our blasters and missile.”

Ian said, “We need to calibrate our targeting systems.”

“We’ve done that, Ian.”

“What?”

“I did it when I fired on the planet. I’ve sent the calibrations to Doc. His systems were already locked in. Cole did an excellent job of aligning them.”

Drey looked at Ian on his display and said, “Cole needs this information.”

“You’ll have to deliver it.”

Andi said, “I’m taking the shuttle over to E while he’s gone.”

“Why?”

“Euclid doesn’t know I’m here.”

Violet looked at Andi, “Was that a good idea?”

“Was running away a good idea, Violet?”

“Touché, come over and we’ll wait for Drey to come back.”

“Doc, do you have the download from E?”

“I do and I’ve incorporated it into my systems.”

“Package it into an encrypted message. We’ll be back.” Drey looked around the bridge and it felt somehow isolated. He watched Andi’s small shuttle enter E’s landing bay and he said, “Take us to Euclid.”

Andi arrived on the bridge and saw Doc disappear. She saw Violet staring at her, “I will not go back.” Violet raised her eyebrows. “Not without him.”

“Does he know?”

Andi looked out the view port, “Not yet.”

Violet stared at her older sister and wondered what heartbreak awaited her. She was shocked their brother had allowed her to escape.

• • •

Drey arrived at Euclid and sent a call to Cole. “What are you doing back?”

“We’ve discovered some technological advances that you need to incorporate into any new ships you might build.”

Cole stared at him and said, “Send them to me.” Drey sent the encrypted package and Cole looked up from his computer. He looked at Drey and said, “Have you seen the Princess?”

Drey stared at Cole and knew the conversation was being monitored by the Obelisk. “Which one?”

“Victoria Andgel Montgomery.”

“I saw her a lot during the construction of my ship. Why do you ask?”

Doc said, “We’re being scanned.”

“She’s gone missing. The Crown is concerned about her safety.”

Drey leaned back in his chair and said, “One would think that the Crown could take better care at keeping track of their Royalty.”

Suddenly another face appeared on Drey’s display and said, “I’m Duke Montgomery. We think that the Lost Princess was able to contact her sister and tell her how to escape.”

Drey’s surprise was obvious to both of the ones watching him on their display. “Sister?”

The Duke started nodding, “I know, I know, there appears to be a desire to avoid their Royal duties. However, we need her back.”

“And you thought she would be with me?” The Duke shrugged as Cole watched the conversation. “Your Highness, you’ve seen my history have you not?”

“I have.”

“Do you think any sane person would want to be anywhere close to me?”

The Duke stared at Drey and said, “You make a good point. Please inform us if you see her.”

“You know I’ll be outside the Union.”

The Duke nodded and disappeared from the display. Cole stared at Drey and said, “I’m worried about her welfare.”

Drey stared at him and said, “I got to know her during my ship’s construction. I don’t believe you have to worry about that.”

“You don’t?”

“No, she has a way of making all those around her a better person. I’m better to have met her. Good luck in finding her.”

Cole smiled and said, “Thank you for your concern.”

The display went dark and Drey said, “Doc, get us out or here.”

Cole replayed the recording of Drey’s conversation and saw that at no point had he told a lie. He was given an opportunity to remove Andi from his ship and hadn’t taken it. The Dark Officer was not quite as dark anymore. He leaned back in his chair and thought about Andi using Ariene to persuade him to allow her to leave. He was going to refuse, but then realized that he wished he had run with Ariene. Her sorrow at having to leave him broke his heart. He couldn’t let his sister die a slow death on Euclid. He pressed a button and the Duke appeared, “I seem to remember Andgell had friends on Italia.”

“Thanks for that information. Don’t worry, we’ll find her.”

“I know how good your agents are, Your Highness. If she can be found, they are the best at making it happen.”

• • •

Doc arrived back at the planet in the middle of night ship’s time. He decided not to call E and awaken the crew. He looked at the other ship and saw the landing bay open and a shuttle exit. It flew over to Doc and entered the landing bay. He turned around and Andi walked in wearing silk pajamas. Drey’s mouth fell open. Andi smiled, “I told E to wake me as soon as you arrived without waking Ian and Violet. How did it go?”

Drey shook his head and said, “You’ve caused quite an uproar. Euclid is searching the Union to find you.”

Andi breathed a sigh of relief, “I was afraid they might suspect I was with you.”

“They did.”

“What?”

“The Head of Security, a Duke Montgomery, interrupted my conversation with Cole to see if I had seen you. They also scanned us.”

“What did you tell them?”

Drey leaned back and tried not to look at her. She was too beautiful to bear. “I asked him if he had seen my history and he said he did. I then asked him if any sane person would come anywhere close to me. He decided that you aren’t that crazy.”

Andi stared at Drey, “I know you don’t want me here. Why didn’t you take the opportunity to have me removed?”

Drey shook his head, “The idea crossed my mind but I just couldn’t do it.”

Andi continued to stare at him. She looked up and said, “Doc, I need to get some sleep. Wake me in the morning at eight ship’s time.”

“I will and welcome back on board.”

“Thanks, Doc.” Andi turned and started toward the exit. Just before she stepped out she stopped and said, “Drey.”

“Yeah.”

“The only one that would take the risk of being close to you would have to be someone that loves you.” She turned and walked out.

Drey sighed and muttered, “Where’s a miner when you need one.”

“I heard that!” Andi stuck her head back in the door.

“Does your family have super hearing!?!” Drey shook his head and turned his chair around and looked out the view port. He still saw Andi in her pajamas when his chair was suddenly spun around and Andi sat down on his lap.

“Is this what you meant by needing a miner?”

Drey stared into her eyes and didn’t know what to say. Andi put her arms around his neck and kissed him. After a long moment she stood up and smiled. She started toward the door and heard Drey say, “You just never know when a miner might show up.” Andi stopped and slowly shook her head laughing. Suddenly Drey was behind her with his arms around her. Andi said, “Doc, make that two wakeup calls.” Andi took Drey’s hand and pulled him through the door.

• • •

The next morning, Andi was walking toward the bridge and heard Drey speaking. She stopped and listened. “Ian, you know what we’re getting into with this search?”

“I do.”

“Why are you allowing Violet to go with you?”

“Because I like sleeping indoors.” Drey stared at Ian. “Something has happened?”

Drey gave a heavy sigh, “It has.”

And?”

“I don’t want to see Andi harmed.”

“You’re looking at it from your point of view.”

“What do you mean?”

“What do you think Violet would say about sending me into harm’s way without her? Or, what would you say about Andi going into danger and not allowing you to be with her.”

“That’s different.”

“How?” Drey struggled for a response and Ian said, “If I had to face anything I couldn’t choose anyone better than Violet to protect my back. I’d never have to worry about her leaving.”

“But living with the fear of seeing her harmed is frightening.” Drey stared at his display and said, “Ian, this is uncharted space for me. I’ve never had anything to prepare me for what I’m feeling. I’m lost.”

“What’s really bothering you, Drey?”

Drey slowly shook his head, “Ian, she deserves better. You know who I am.”

Ian smiled, “I believe I do. That’s why I wanted you here with us. Other than Violet, you are the only one I’d trust at my back. I know I won’t have to worry about you holding up your end.” Ian paused, “Besides, I know who you are but the real question is, do you?”

Drey stared at Ian and said, “Thanks for talking with me.”

“Anytime.”

Andi felt her tears and turned and went back to her quarters until she could get them under control. She finally went to the bridge and said, “Drey, I want you to know something.” Drey turned and looked at her. “There are people on Euclid that spend their whole lives there and never live a real minute. I’ve had more joy during the last few months than most people have in their whole life. Even if were to end tomorrow, it would be worth it.” She paused, “Do you understand?” Drey looked at her and rolled his eyes. “What?”

“That damn hearing of yours; you heard me.”

Andi started laughing and completely lost it. She held her ribs and tried to catch her breath but was having difficulty breathing. Drey smiled and said, “I don’t know where this is going but there’s one thing I’m certain of.”

Andi stopped laughing, “What is that?”

“This ship and my life would be empty without you in it.”

Andi stood up from her chair and went to his lap. She put her head on his chest and said, “This is where I feel safest.”

Drey stoked her hair and put his head on hers, “You’re right. For however long we have, it’s worth it.”

• • •

Suddenly Doc yelled, “E, something is coming this way! Drop out of space!” The two ships immediately dropped from view with only their scanners in normal space. A moment later three giant ships emerged into normal space.

Drey looked at the three ships and whistled. Andi said, “Doc, don’t scan them.”

“I’m not. I’ll only use optical systems.”

“Doc, once you get a recording, drop further down so that only the tip of the antenna is in space.”

“Moving now.”

• • •

“I know my sensors detected the presence of a ship here.”

“Well it’s not here now. Did you get an idea of its size?”

“It wasn’t big.”

“Are you sure? You know we sometimes have an anomaly ping our scanner.”

“I’m not certain.”

Well, they aren’t here now.”

“Sorry I wasted you time.”

“You did the right thing. Call us if you need us.”

Two of the ships disappeared and the Commander said, “Show me that sensor return again.” He stared at it and said, “This looks like a ship entering normal space.”

The crewman said, “I think they’re right, it’s an anomaly.”

“What makes you think that?”

“It’s taking too long to enter normal space.”

The commander stared at it again and watched the timer. “You’re right. I should have seen that. Besides who would want to come to this graveyard? Take us out of here.” The giant ship disappeared.

Drey watched his display and after an hour smiled. Andi said, “What are you thinking?”

“I expected Ian to emerge into normal space before now but he’s waiting on us. He’s smarter than I thought. He figured it out.”

“He’s using your experience.”

“No one has any experience in this. I just happen to possess patience. Doc, did you sense anything?”

“I felt the pressure of them leaving.”

“How were you able to sense them coming?”

“I was worried about E feeling the passing pressure wave so I kept the lower decks below normal space. I felt the pressure wave approaching.”

Andi smiled, “You think like Drey.”

“How could I do otherwise? I believe they have left.”

“Take us up.” E appeared as soon as Doc entered normal space.

“That was close.”

“That it was. Thank Doc for keeping part of his hull in the other space. He felt them coming.”

E said, “I should have thought of that.”

Doc said, “Each of us have different talents.”

Drey said, “Were you able to determine anything about those ships, Ian?”

“I was able to take an inferred reading on their hulls and get a location of their major components.”

Doc said, “I should have thought of that.”

Ian said, “Like you said, different talents. That ship is not an evolutionary step from the two ships we saw on the planet. It comes from a different place.”

“That means there is more than just two intelligent species in our galaxy.”

“The evidence points that way, but unless we’re able to see who’s in those ships we won’t know for certain.”

Andi said, “Their force fields are not that much stronger than ours.”

Drey looked at her and said, “How were you able to make that determination?”

“I read the energy of the cosmic rays that hit it. They were destroyed at the same power level as our field emits.”

Ian, Violet, and Drey stared at Andi. “What?”

“Did you find out anything else?”

“Yes, the reactors that power the ship are located a hundred yards in front of the thrusters at the rear. There is also a weapons bay a hundred yards in front of them.” The three stared at her and she said, “The scan on the cosmic rays showed a high level of gamma rays hitting the inside of the force field just above that location.”

Drey looked at Violet on his display and said, “Your sister is brilliant.”

“She’s older. She’s had longer to learn.”

“Not that much older!” Drey laughed and shook his head. Andi said, “I’m not.” Then she stopped, “How did you know we’re sisters?”

Drey saw Ian turn to Violet and knew he wasn’t aware of that either. “Cole told me.”

“Why would he do that?”

“He wanted to make sure I tried to take care of both of you.” Drey paused and said, “I would have never figured it out; the two of you don’t look anything like each other.”

Violet said, “That’s how genetics work. You just never know what will pop out of the oven.”

Drey raised his eyebrows and Andi said, “In our species, it’s the females that are colorful. The males are just drab.”

Both Ian and Drey looked at Andi and she said, “I’m joking!”

Drey said, “No you’re not.”

Andi looked up and said, “You’ll never know.”

Ian looked at Violet, but she had found something on her computer that she was staring at. Ian couldn’t see her smile but Drey did.

“We were really lucky.”

Ian looked at Drey, “Why do you say that?”

“The place on the planet we hit with our weapons has rotated away from our position. Those ships didn’t see it.” Ian slowly shook his head and then nodded.

Chapter Twelve

“Escape tactics.”

Ian looked up at his display and said, “What?”

“We need to discuss how to escape.”

“It’s pretty simple, you just jump your big behind away.”

Drey shook his head, “I don’t think it’s going to be that simple. How did those ships come back to where we were?”

Ian thought a moment, “I’m not sure.”

“They must have been able to detect our presence when they passed earlier. I suspect the ship that detected us called the other two and they came back. If they can detect the use of a jump drive it may not be so easy to escape a pursuit.”

“Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I thought I would strangle Cole for his insistence at installing a Dark Matter System but now I could kiss him. If we’re being pursued, flip the switch to the Dark Matter field generator when you emerge in normal space and leave at your highest speed. You’ll be a hundred light years away in less than a second. If you can do it before your pursuer arrives in normal space, they’ll have no way of knowing which way you left.”

“What if they’re able to see another jump even that far away?”

“Don’t jump right away. I would probably find a good moon or planet, land, and shut down all systems except for essential environmental. If you could find a moon or a planet with a high metallic deposit, that would be where you’d want to lay low.”

“What has you bothered, Drey?”

“The blaster burns on the items we brought back to Euclid were more than three hundred years old. I’ve got to believe that whoever is out there has a way of pursuing another ship. We’re operating blind and trying to survive. I’ve always shot first and asked questions later, but I think this situation calls for a different tactic. Run is the operational word.”

“That still doesn’t answer how we were detected.”

Drey looked at Andi, “What do you think?”

“If you remember, E had half of him in that other place and half in normal space.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Well, I think that is what they detected. They didn’t detect us when most of our ships were in the other place with only a scanner in normal space. I suspect the half and half gives off some form of energy that can be detected.”

Ian said, “I think you’re right. They didn’t see us when they showed up or they wouldn’t have left.”

Drey said, “Then the first operational order is that E or Doc will be either all in except for a scanner or all out.”

E said, “So noted.”

“What if we have to separate?”

“We can’t come back to this planet.”

“Why not?”

“They know they sensed a ship here. We don’t need to risk them remembering it. We need to find a place where we can run to rendezvous and it can’t be anywhere near the Union.”

Ian shrugged, “That’s true. E, have you seen anything that would be a good candidate?”

“I’ve charted most of the stars in this area and there is one that is closer to the black hole that has planets.”

“Are any of them habitable?”

“No, but I suspect it would offer good places to hide.”

“Why.”

“Tad was right. The heavy metals are pulled to the surface by the singularity’s gravity working on them. Every one of those planets should have a very high metal content on their surface.”

Drey looked at Andi, “Have I missed anything?”

“I’ve been working with Doc and I’ve been able to determine a frequency that happens just before a ship enters normal space. I would suggest that even the environmental systems should be shut down and we wear our space suits if we detect that frequency.”

“Give that information to E.”

“He already has it.”

Ian said, “Ok, if we’re forced to separate, we’ll meet at that system as quickly as possible.”

Drey said, “We need a time frame to decide to give up.”

“If the other hasn’t shown up in a week, assume the worst has happened and take what we know back to the Union.”

“I would highly recommend that we come in at light speed and not jump.”

“Why is that, Andi?”

“If what Drey suspects is true, we’ll want to avoid jumping until the chasers have given up.”

Ian looked at Violet and she nodded. “Let’s go and find a hiding place.” The two ships disappeared.

• • •

They arrived and decided to use the closest moon to the eighth giant planet. The gravity of the planet would mask most energy sources and the moon was ninety percent high grade iron. Ian looked at the moon and said, “The small crater just above the equator is where we’ll go.”

Andi looked at the crater and said, “That’s a great choice. There’s an overhang over the southern edge.”

Drey said, “Now we need to determine how to conduct our search. I don’t have to tell you how difficult it is to find a habitable planet even when you’re looking for it. We need to decide how to improve our chances of finding one with an intelligent species.”

“Do you think we need to separate and improve our chances?”

“Not really.”

Ian looked surprised, “Why not?”

“We might need each other to fight off an attacker. I think we should stay together initially.” Drey thought a moment and said, “Did either of you determine what direction that pressure wave was going and coming from?”

Doc said, “It felt like it was coming from the black hole’s direction.”

“I also sensed it was moving in that direction.”

Andi said, “Listen, all of us have minds that can correlate huge amounts of data. Let’s take thirty minutes and let our minds play around with everything we’ve seen and see what pops up.”

Violet nodded and Ian said, “See you in thirty minutes.”

Drey closed his eyes and let his mind go to work.

• • •

The Ship Commander docked his warship at the space dock and connected to the central hub. He announced that all hands were free to leave as soon as they completed their docking duties. He turned off his control board and heard, “I’m confused about the anomaly you encountered.”

The Commander stopped and said, “It had to be an anomaly. The energy lasted too long to be an emergence.”

“I’ve examined your reports and it was not obscure.”

The Commander sat down in his command chair and said, “I’m not clear on what you mean by obscure.”

“If it was an anomaly, the energy should have differed from the energy of an emergence. It didn’t deviate.”

“What are you saying?”

“It is my opinion that a ship was there.”

“Well there wasn’t a ship there when we went back.”

“Well, I’ve checked my logs and we don’t have a ship anywhere near that location. I want you to go back and make a thorough scan of that system.”

The Commander hit his intercom, “Attention, all crewmembers, prepare the ship to launch. Hub time is canceled.”

The crew stopped their exodus and groaned. The few that made it off ship were forced to turn back. The huge ship backed out from the giant facility and jumped away. Ten hours later it was back and connected.

“You were right.”

“What did you find?”

“The planet had been hit by powerful blaster beams and something that blasted a huge crater.”

“Did you determine how powerful the blasters were?”

“They’re stronger than the ones on my ship.”

“That’s troubling.”

“There’s more.”

“What is that?”

“The frequency of the burn matched those done by the Werds.”

“Are you certain?”

“There is no doubt.”

“They were exterminated long ago.”

“It appears that not all of them were killed.” The Commander thought a moment, “If there are survivors, where do you think they’re hiding?”

The Hub Computer paused and said, “They must be located close to the singularity. A ship building civilization would have to have metals to build warships. The singularity is the place where that happens. They must be located somewhere just outside the event horizon of the black hole.”

“That is a huge space.”

“That’s why they were so successful in escaping originally. Even though the slaves went out and killed the escapees, it later required killing the slaves. They just wouldn’t domesticate. They constantly tried to escape.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Inform the Council and they’ll probably order a search. If you’re going to give your crew some Hub Time, you better do it now.”

The Commander knew the computer was right.

Chapter Thirteen

Drey opened his eyes and saw Andi open hers. He looked at his display and Ian said, “Did you arrive at any conclusions?”

“The aliens are on the other side of the black hole.”

Ian nodded at Andi, “I also see it that way. “There’s no room for a large civilization this close to it.”

“The ones living on the planet were escaping from those beyond the black hole.” The other three all stared at Drey. “I initially questioned that idea but I’ve found the facts support that idea.”

Ian said, “Tell me what you see.”

“They’re as far away from the other side as one can go and still have a planet with a rich supply of metals. I think if they went any further away the singularity would not produce the abundance of metals. The blasters on the moon were put there to kill ships like those on the planet. Whoever put them there knew that is where escapees would go. Habitable planets are not easy to find. They were attacked by members of their own species in ships that were more advanced. That leads me to believe they were there for a long time before they were found. The difference in technologies is due to the attackers being part of a larger civilization.”

Violet said, “That means they fled for a reason.”

Drey nodded, “Suppression or imprisonment would be my guess.”

Ian said, “E, start directly across the black hole from that planet and make an educated guess as to how long it would take to search around the black holes edge and arrive at that planet.”

“I’ll assume that the search would take place in the range of the heavy metal gravity of the black hole.”

“That would be good.”

Drey said, “Doc, did Cole do an age study on any of the material we took back?”

“He did. The civilization on that planet was about two hundred and fifty years old.”

E said, “Using jump technology, it would take two hundred and forty years to thoroughly search that band. Give or take thirty years.”

Andi said, “You’re right.”

Drey shook his head, “That’s not good news.”

Ian nodded, “Whoever they are, they subjugate others.”

Ian put his hand on his chin and index finger on his lips. Violet recognized that Ian always did that when he was thinking. She looked at him and said, “What are you thinking?”

Ian looked at Drey, “You’re the chase expert. What would you do if one of your ships called in two other ships to investigate a possible sighting and then left empty handed?”

“I would examine what made them go.” Drey paused and said, “They’ll go back and see the planet was hit by our weapons.”

Violet said, “I’m not there yet. Why do you think that’s going to happen?”

“Leaders are by nature paranoid. Those three ships weren’t there long enough to do a real scan of the system or planet. I’d insist one be done.”

Violet looked at Ian, “What’s the probability of that happening?”

“Seventy eight percent.”

Andi said, “If they do that, you know what’s going to happen.”

Ian looked at Drey, “They’ll be looking for us as hard as we’re looking for them.” Drey nodded.

Ian said, “Move into the other place. Just keep your scanner and communication antenna in normal space. Do it now.”

The two ships disappeared and Andi said, “What has you concerned?”

“Where do you think they’ll start their search?”

Drey was impressed with Ian’s understanding. He looked at Violet and said, “And we’re on a direct line from that planet to the edge of the black hole. We should be seeing them, or possibly feeling them, rather quickly.”

Violet said, “There’s a twenty two percent chance they didn’t go back.”

“Would you bet your life on that?” Violet shook her head.

Doc said, “They went back.”

Andi said, “How do you know?”

“I’ve set the jump field to sense pressure and the waves have been increasing for an hour. Ships are moving in large numbers somewhere.”

“Can you tell how far away they are?”

“I’ll get better at making that determination the more I detect, but I’m not there yet.”

Suddenly E said, “One just went by here.”

Drey yelled, “No communicating.”

Suddenly they saw a ship emerge into normal space that made the three original ships look small. The only word to describe it was Dreadnaught. It moved into the system and began scanning the planets. Andi looked at Drey, “This system doesn’t have a habitable planet. What are they doing?”

“We mine other planets for metals. That ship knows this system has an abundance of metals and it’s looking to see if any of them have been mined. If it has, they’ll know they’re close to the civilization they’re looking for.”

“Civilization?”

“We used the blasters from the ships at the dead planet. I’m somewhat certain they believe we’re a member of the species of that planet.”

Andi looked at the giant warship and shook her head, “Any civilization that could build a ship that big will dwarf the Union.”

Drey nodded and stared at it as it moved further in toward the star. Three hours later it jumped away. Three hours passed and Drey said, “Doc, send a light beam toward E’s scanner and raise the communication antenna.”

Ian and Violet appeared on the display and Ian said, “It appears we’ve learned some interesting tid bits about the aliens.” Drey nodded. “I’ve also been thinking about Doc’s ability to sense them approaching.”

Andi said, “Jumps aren’t instantaneous.”

“That’s how I see it.”

Drey’s brow furrowed, “How did you come up with that?”

Andi looked at Drey, “If they were instantaneous, there wouldn’t be any warning of their approach.” Drey nodded. “The other place where the ship goes does not have time as a dimension.”

Ian nodded, “The trip inside that place could take a hundred years but the ship would disappear and instantly appear in normal space with no sense of time having passed. Since time doesn’t exist there; the occupants would not sense a difference.”

Ian looked at Drey, “What do we do now?”

“You should know the answer to that.”

Ian thought a moment and then smiled, “If someone is searching for you in one location, you go to another where they aren’t.”

Drey tipped an imaginary hat, “And where would that be?”

“Where they live.”

Drey turned to Andi, “No wonder I couldn’t catch him.” He turned back to his display and said, “Fortunately, the Milky Way is primarily a flat plain. We’ll jump above the opposite side of the black hole above the plane of the galaxy and look down at what’s below us. I suspect we’ll be able to find where they live.”

Andi said, “Oh?”

Drey shrugged, “We know that civilization has been there for centuries. We’ll just set our scanners to track any electromagnetic waves. Above the galaxy there won’t be any interference from stars, nebulae, or black holes.”

Andi pursed her lips, tilted her head, and nodded, “Very good.”

“E, do you have the coordinates?”

“I’ve got some around the area you want to go. I’ll send them to Doc and we’ll jump.” Drey nodded and the display briefly dimmed.

• • •

The two ships arrived on the opposite side of the black hole and they looked down on the beautiful spiral galaxy below them. Ian said, “We’re about a hundred light years above the core.”

“Doc, do you detect any electromagnetic waves?”

“I do.”

“Can you put a map of the area you’re seeing them and designate the strongest sources by giving the stars a brighter glow?” Suddenly the view changed on the display and the bright lights appeared. They numbered close to a million. All four were stunned at what they saw. Drey sighed, “How long will it take the two of you to chart those stars?”

There was a moment of silence and E said, “We should have it done in four hours.”

“Put the coordinates of the brightest sources at the top of the list.”

Ian stared at the display and said, “This is not good.”

“Maybe.”

“What do you mean? They have more than ten times our numbers.”

“Andi, did you get a reading on that giant ship’s force field?”

“Yes, it was actually weaker than the first three ships.”

Ian looked at Drey on the display, “How did you know that?”

“Remember that Cole said that more power in, more power out. The power needed to power a field that big would be monumental. Cole also told me that our reactors are much more powerful than the ones that were in the ships on the planet.”

“But those ships were old.”

“Reactor technology is based on what you use to power them. If the power source doesn’t change, the output doesn’t either. I noticed that most of the radioactive material on the planets close to the black hole are nowhere close to what we find elsewhere. I suspect that giant gravity well causes those radioactive ores to degrade faster.”

“I hope you’re not thinking what I suspect you are.”

“Do you see another way?”

Violet said, “What are you two talking about?”

Andi said, “We’re going to have to take on one of those ships before we leave.”

Violet stared at Andi and then looked at Ian, “Tell me she’s kidding.”

Ian said, “Ask Drey.”

Violet looked at Drey and crossed her arms. Drey said, “It’s the logical thing to do and we must learn how we stack up to their defenses.”

“But there’s only two of us.”

“And just one of them.”

“Yeah, but you saw the one of them! It has more blasters on the bow than we do on the entire ship.” Drey shrugged.

Ian said, “You’re planning to do it alone.”

Drey looked at Andi quickly and she saw him do it, “Oh no you’re not! If you think for one minute you’re going to take on one of those ships without me you’re crazy.”

Drey sighed, “One ship has to record what happens and make it back.”

“And just which one of the three of us can go back to Euclid without being trapped for the rest of their lives?”

Drey looked at Andi and they saw he hadn’t considered that in his decision. “Well, I’m not going to allow the three of you to do it. You are all royalty.” Ian laughed. “What’s so funny?”

“Drey, you were going to be King when you were kidnapped. What does that make you?”

Drey stared at Ian, looked at Andi, saw Violet glaring at him, and said, “The Union would say good riddance if it were me.”

“The Nebula wouldn’t. They worship what you did for them.”

Drey looked at Andi and said, “Hey, don’t confuse the issue with facts. I’m the one that should do it.”

Andi put her hands on her hips and said, “Give me one good reason why.”

Drey thought a moment and said, “Have any of you fought a ship in combat?” The three looked at each other and Drey said, “I have. I possess the experience.”

Andi was fuming. “You won’t do it without me. You got that, mister.”

Drey shook his head and blew out a breath as Ian said, “You wouldn’t let her do it without you.”

Drey rolled his eyes. “Alright, alright, we’ll discuss this at the appropriate time. First we need to go take a look at the brightest star and see what’s on the planet there.”

Ian nodded and Drey heard Andi whisper, “Don’t think I’ll forget this.”

Drey sighed and muttered, “I’m sure you won’t.”

“I heard that!”

Drey rolled his eyes again and said, “Doc, get us out of here.”

Drey swore he heard the computer chuckle before announcing, “We’re jumping in close to that planet and remain below normal space.” The two ships arrived and the four humans were shocked beyond their wildest expectations.

• • •

Drey shook his head and said, “This reminds me of ancient Egypt.”

Andi couldn’t take her eyes off the display, “It does look like building a pyramid.”

“Without the pyramid.” Suddenly Drey saw Ian and Violet on his secondary display and said, “Doc, no communications. We could be detected.”

“I don’t think so. E and I have overlapped our jump fields and are sending audio and video by light pulses aimed at our optical scanners that are below the surface of normal space. The light we’re using is at a level that won’t scatter.”

Drey thought about it and said, “Ian, what are your thoughts?”

“There is no way that planet can feed itself. It’s just one monstrous sized city.”

“I suspect that’s what those hundreds of thousands of ships are doing. They must be delivering food.”

E said, “And metals for ship construction. It appears that is the main function of the planet.”

Drey leaned forward, “Doc, can you get a closer view of one of the places where those ships are landing.” The view of the planet moved in quickly and they saw a huge space port. “See if you can lock on a ship that’s just landing and record the activity around it as it is unloaded.”

“I’m on it.”

“E, find a different port and do the same thing.”

“I’ve locked on a ship that just landed.”

“E, did Cole put the language program in your software?”

“He did.”

“Start listening in on their communications and see if you can start learning their language.”

“I started that process out in deep space. I’ll continue it.”

Violet looked at Ian and said, “Who died and made him king?”

Ian looked at Violet and said, “Do you have a suggestion on what we should be doing?”

Violet stared at him and said, “You’re the Prince here.”

“You don’t like him.”

“I don’t. What he did when he was with the Nebula is unforgiveable.”

“He did what he was made to do. He discovered the treachery and is struggling to overcome what they made him. The ones you should hate are the ones that kidnapped him and twisted him. I’m thankful for him.”

“For God’s sake, why?”

“Tell me what you have to offer for us at this moment? What suggestion would you make for us to do?”

Violet stared at Ian and struggled with what to say. “I don’t know enough to do that. I’ve spent my life mining and running from the Union.”

“And this current situation we find ourselves in has nothing to do with those experiences.” Ian pointed at the display, “What happened to him in the Nebula has given him the experience we need to survive. You should be thankful he’s here. What would we be doing at this moment without him?” Violet listened to Drey giving instructions to the computers and saw Ian was right. “You need to cut him some slack, Violet.”

Violet stared at Drey, “I just feel so useless.”

“We all have our talents.”

Violet looked at Ian and smiled, “You’re right.”

• • •

“Doc, while E is working on the language, I need you to try to get a look at the rear thrusters on one of those giant ships.”

“Is there anything in particular you’re looking for?”

“I need to get a diameter of the thrust tubes compared to the width of the ship.”

Ian said, “Why do you need that?”

Drey looked up and said, “That will tell me if the ships are built around jump technology alone. Larger thruster diameter ratio to the width of the ship will let us know if they can accelerate at high speeds. If the ratio is high, they use the Dark Matter Fields.”

“Drey, the ratio is one to fifty.”

“Good, they’re built around jump technology only.”

Violet said, “That means they jump ahead of a fleeing ship and fire those hundreds of blasters into the fleeing ship’s path to kill it.”

Drey moved his head back slightly, “Very good, Violet.”

Ian looked at her and Violet said, “Remember those blasters at the planet.” Ian smiled. “That’s their main defense against a FTL ship.”

“How would you avoid that trap, Violet?”

Violet looked at Drey on her display, “I would go high speed for two seconds only; then I would drop to ninety percent light speed and keep an eye on my scanner. I’d have enough warning to avoid that ship.”

Drey said, “That’s operational order number two.”

“Actually, if I were running in open space I would change my heading to sixty degrees after two seconds and continue two more seconds at high speed.”

Andi said, “Why only sixty degrees?”

“Ninety degrees would allow them to cut the corner. Sixty would force them to find another track. By the time they did that you could slow and go any direction you choose. If what Drey says is accurate, they couldn’t chase you and they’d have to know your line to jump ahead of you.”

Drey said, “You’re absolutely right; however, what if they’re chasing you with ten thousand ships?”

“When one gets close, you jump and start the whole process over again. It will take them some time to follow. Time is something they can’t afford with a FTL ship.”

Drey said, “Doc, add that last part to operational order number two.”

Violet looked at Ian. “You’re right, we need him.”

Drey said, “How long have you recorded those two sites?”

“An hour.”

“Record two different ones.”

“We’re on it.”

Drey looked up and said, “Violet.”

“Yes, Drey.”

“Did you by chance take a close look at those blasters on the moons?”

“I did.”

“Do you have a good memory of them where you would recognize similar ones?”

“I think so.”

“E, try to get a close up of that giant ship’s blasters that run the length of its hull and show Violet a close up of one of them.”

Drey went back to looking at his display and after a few minutes heard Violet say, “They look just like the blaster on those moons.”

“Good.”

Violet waited and finally said, “Why is that good?”

“Violet, I want you to stop everything and focus on what you saw when Tad was hit. See if there’s anything that stands out.” Violet looked at Ian and he nodded. She closed her eyes and pulled the memories out that she had tried to bury for so many years.

“Ian, see if you can get a warship count on the planet’s surface.”

“I’m on it.”

“What about me?”

“Andi, there is a huge turnover of ships at that space facility. See if you can get a reading on the relative strength of the force fields as they turn them on. It would also help if you could get a time on how long it takes them to activate a jump screen.”

“I’ll need Doc’s help on the last one.”

“I’ll feed the video to your board.”

“Thanks, Doc.”

Drey continued to issue instructions for the rest of the day. Finally he said, “It’s time to move out and see what we have. We need to jump in as close to the event horizon as possible and then jump directly above the galaxy two hundred light years out. From there we’ll go to max FTL speed just as Violet suggested and make a four minute run. Doc, you should follow E.”

“We’re jumping in three, two, one, and now.”

Chapter Fourteen

They arrived more than a thousand light years above the Milky Way and waited. After an hour, Drey sent a transmission, “I want us to go over all the information we’ve recorded and try to make a determination of how we want to handle our first contact with this civilization.”

Ian said, “What do you mean?”

“We either attempt to communicate or we go in firing. By the way; E, how are you doing with the language?”

“I’ve recorded enough of their transmissions to have it deciphered in another day. I’ll start giving you anything that’s interesting at that point.”

Andi sat down at her board, “How do you want to start this?”

“I want each of us to take one of the space ports that were recorded and see what we can determine. Doc, send one of the recordings to each of our control boards.” Drey looked down and saw the video start.

• • •

An hour later Violet said, “We go in firing.”

The other three stared at her and Drey said, “Tell the others why you say that.”

Violet looked at Drey on her display and said, “You already knew this didn’t you?”

“I suspected it and hoped I was wrong.”

Andi listened to the back and forth, “What did you see, Violet?”

“The port I examined is used to bring in new slaves.”

“What!”

“Ian, I watched hundreds being led out of the ship toward large transports.”

“Were they in shackles or restraints?”

“No, but it was clear they had lost all hope in the way they walked off that ship. I saw one of the locals holding a unit and watching the slaves as they exited. One of the slaves bolted and the local pressed a control on the box and the slave fell to the ground in obvious agony. The local let him lie there, enduring severe tremors for a minute and then released him. The slave stood and staggered toward the transport.”

Andi shook her head, “That’s awful.”

“There’s more. Once the slave regained his balance, he turned and rushed the one holding the unit and was burned to ashes in an instant. The only thing left was a small bracelet.”

Drey said, “Were the slaves different species?”

“No, they were all the same but they were not the species we saw at the dead planet.”

Ian said, “I notice that the locals look a lot like us.”

Andi said, “I also noticed that and it leads me to some conclusions.” She saw the others turn their attention to her and she said, “I suspect that if we take some of the local’s DNA we would see a very similar pattern to our own. It leads me to believe that this area of the galaxy had organic life in the meteors and comets just like the section the Union is located in. Their evolutionary development would be similar to our own and probably happened at a very close time in the galaxy’s history.”

Violet said, “Are you saying they’re human?”

“No, they’re radically different in some ways, but their basic shape is very much like ours and their brains are not that different. However, make no mistake; they are a different species from us.” Andi looked at Drey, “Is that the way you see this?”

“You should ask Ian that question.”

Ian smiled, “I suspected when Violet and I went to that planet that the two ships we found there were not that much more advanced than our own. I believe they’re not that much older than humanity.”

Andi looked at Drey, “Why did you say ask Ian?”

“That is not my area of expertise. However, their technology is ahead of us in some areas and behind us in others. The jump drive is one example.” Drey looked at the others and said, “I don’t know how many intelligent species are on this side of the black hole but the local species here is conquering all they encounter.” Ian nodded for him to continue. “The star chart shows at least a hundred stars that glowed just about as bright as the one we investigated. That tells me that they must also be covered by one large city taking up all the land space available. There is no way those planets could survive without massive shipments of food. I’m reasonably certain that those slaves you saw are used to transport those shipments out to the planet.”

Ian said, “It also means that entire planets are needed to produce the necessary foods to feed them.” Drey tilted his head and nodded. Andi said, “And they will not tolerate competition.”

“Drey.”

“Yes, E.”

“I’m far enough along in the language to be able to read the lips of the one that killed that slave.”

“What did it say?”

“After the slave was burned, it looked at the long line of slaves walking by and said, “You will domesticate or die.”

“E, did you or Doc record any other alien species on the planet?”

“No, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there.”

Violet said, “Why is that?”

“The entire planet’s surface is covered with that city and everything is under a building. We would have to get much closer to scan what’s under them. The only open space on the surface is the space ports.”

Andi said, “There are several others.”

E said, “How did you see that when we missed it?”

“I used the energy receivers to examine the ships flying above the planet. The infrared and spectrometer measured different frequencies emanating from the glass on those vehicles. I saw four different readings.”

Drey shook his head and Andi said, “What?”

“You are without doubt the best I have ever seen with energy analysis. You are unbelievable.”

Andi’s face turned red, “Like E said, we all have different talents.”

“And that means you are not going to like what happens next.”

Andi lowered her eyebrows and Ian said, “I don’t want to agree but you’re probably right.”

Violet looked at the three and said, “Ok, you two have lost me. What is she not going to like?”

“Drey is going to take on one of those giant ships and Andi won’t be on board.”

“The hell I won’t.”

Drey looked at her and said, “You won’t, because you’re not stupid enough to pass the opportunity to learn.” Andi glared at him and Drey said, “Ian you need to explain it to her. She’ll take it better coming from you.”

“I took a close look at the giant space facility and Drey is right. That ship’s weapons are not as powerful as they appear. It’s the ships that came to the dead planet that pose the real problem. We need to take on one of the giants to determine everything we can about their technological level. We must have you making the scans of what happens during that confrontation. Violet and I would not do as good a job.”

“I could do it from Doc.”

Drey shook his head, “No, you couldn’t and get a good scan. I’ll be jumping and flying such that all you’ll be able to do is strap in and hope you don’t lose your lunch.”

“He’s right, Andi. And if you see something really dangerous, we can warn him and allow him to escape. We couldn’t do that if you’re on the ship with him.”

Andi was furious and Drey saw her glare and shrugged which made her angrier, “You know that ship has more danger than we’ve seen. We haven’t even done an active scan yet.”

Violet sighed and Andi looked at her display and saw Violet shaking her head, “What!?

“Andi, you know spaceships are designed with a purpose in mine.”

“Yeah, so what?”

“You need to calm down, Sis and use your head and not your emotions. You’re not going to help us if you’re not thinking clearly.”

Andi glared at Violet, closed her eyes, and Drey was amazed at the sudden change. “Alright, go ahead.”

“A commercial ship is designed differently from a warship. They’re built to handle different purposes. Warships are also designed to accomplish different tasks as well. Drey asked me to focus on the blaster that killed Tad and I hated him asking me to dredge up those memories, but now I see why he did. The building on the moon that fired the beam that killed Tad did not fire a narrow beam and hit his ship. It simply fired an extremely wide beam and allowed Tad’s ship to run into it. I saw the small explosion, but if I had concentrated I would have seen that the beam was huge. However, it didn’t have a lot of power. It wasn’t that intense.”

Andi thought a moment and said, “So you think that ship is designed to kill FTL ships.”

Violet smiled, “Very good. Now you’re thinking. Those giant blasters that line the giant ship’s hull are similar to the ones put on the moons around that planet. They will fire all those beams and put a huge barrier in front of a FTL ship. The speed of the FTL is what will kill it when it hits those beams. At those speeds, the fleeting ship wouldn’t be much more than an energy wave and that weak beam will be enough to kill it. It will strip the Skinner field from the ship and without it the ship will convert to energy and explode.”

Andi’s expression changed and she said, “That would have to mean they can see the line a FTL takes.” Violet nodded. “It would also have to mean they would be able to immediately jump on that track so the system would have to be automatic.”

Ian said, “You lost me. Why would it have to be automatic?”

“They invested a huge amount in building a ship that big. They wouldn’t do that unless it performed its function. Time is always on the side of a FTL ship. If you delay any time at all, it will change course and you’ll lose it. It has to be done by computers.”

“And that will be their undoing.”

Andi looked at Drey with raised eyebrows, “We have the better computers.”

“That is true and false.”

Drey jerked his head toward the intercom, “Why do you say that, E.”

“The computer that directs that space facility is close to me. However, it is gigantic in size compared to us.”

Drey tilted his head, “Well, it’s a good thing we found them now.”

Violet said, “Why?”

Andi shook her head, “First they are made large and over time the size is decreased. I suspect in a hundred years or less they will have that computer on the facility directing their ships.” She paused and said, “This still won’t work.” Drey looked at her and she said, “How will we be able to follow you or that ship to view what happens? I can see why I need to be with Ian and Violet, but I don’t see any way to be where the confrontation takes place.”

Drey said, “Andi, I bet you could do it if you put your mind to it.”

“How?”

“Well, you know they’ll have my escape velocity.”

“Yeah.”

“They will also have the line I’m moving.”

“Go on.”

“You know how fast computer circuits operate. Though they’re close to the speed of light, they do take time to make a computation and energize a jump drive. If we know they’ve got to do it before the ship they’re chasing can change course and that should dictate where they would appear.”

Andi thought for a moment and then said, “You’ll be in real danger of getting killed, Drey.”

“Not really.”

“How can you say that? They’ll be on you quicker than white on rice.”

“Yes, but I have a computer that will stop my ship before the location you determine they’ll arrive. I’ll be there first and that’s where I’ll introduce them to Doc and myself.”

Andi shook her head, “If they can do it, there has to be away to track a ship that’s jumping.”

“That is where you come in again. I suspect that if E can observe one of their ships approaching in that other space, we’ll learn enough to determine what process they use. You need to be there to make sure we gather enough information to give us a chance to make that determination.”

“That means this will have to be done under very tightly controlled conditions. You will have to appear a specified distance from that ship and the route you take will also have to be predetermined. That’s the only way to make this happen.”

“How long will it take you to make your guess about where the ship will arrive?” Andi thought a moment, “If Doc will work with me I can set up the program to function within a half second.”

“Then that’s how long I have to appear and remain until I run away. That will allow you to be at the site ready to record.”

“That ship also has the high powered blasters as well.”

“Yes, but I suspect they will not be able to detect me and make a decision to fire them. The pursuit will be done automatically. I’ll have the force field at maximum until I go FTL.”

Andi shook her head, “I’m holding off my emotions and I still see there are many variables that could throw this whole idea off.” Andi looked at Drey, “You know as soon as I allow my emotions to return, I’m going to have a discussion with you.”

Drey turned his head and sighed, “I would think you would know this is the right thing to do.”

“That has nothing to do with emotions.”

Drey glanced at his display and saw Violet nodding.

Drey rubbed his forehead with his right hand and said, “I think I feel an aneurism coming on.”

Ian laughed and Violet immediately glared at him. Ian stopped laughing and said, “Welcome to the real world.”

Drey looked up and said, “I hope I remember how to turn my emotions off.”

Ian laughed out loud and Violet had to smile as well. Andi just shook her head.

• • •

Drey stared at Andi as she yelled at him and did not show any emotion. She stopped and said, “You had better come out from behind that wall and talk to me!”

Drey continued to stare at her and said in an emotionless tone, “I am not equipped to handle this. Arguments like this are not something I’ve ever had to deal with.”

“No, you just shot the one who disagreed. It’s time to start growing up and this is part of it. You settle the differences between yourself and those that love you.” Drey’s expression underwent a myriad of changes and Andi said, “What!?”

“Did I hear you say you love me?”

“You big dummy of a genius; of course I love you. You haven’t been able to see that?”

“I just find it impossible to believe. How can you love someone like me?”

“I decided when you were having your arguments with my brother about the ship that you were the one I’d want in my life.”

“For God’s sake, why?”

“Because no one ever wins an argument with Cole and you did; that told me more about you than anything else.” Drey shook his head. Andi sighed and sat down in his lap. “Drey, you did it with patience. Maintaining patience with my brother is next to impossible but you did. That told me you weren’t the same Dark Nebula Officer everyone feared. I could see your brilliance and knew you were the one for me. You’ve only confirmed it since.”

“Andi, I’m not close to being worthy of someone like you.” Drey looked in her eyes and said, “I’m just not.”

“That is what convinced me, Drey. If you didn’t feel bad about all you’ve done, I’d have a different opinion.” She sighed and said, “I saw you go and put flowers on Natalie’s’ grave.”

Drey’s head shot up, “No one saw that. I did it when no one could see.”

“I know. But you should have known that you would be monitored once you came to Euclid and worked on that ship. You had a device placed in your uniform to track you. I watched with my brother on his display when you left the week before liftoff.” She stared into Drey’s eyes and said, “I heard what you said.”

Drey lowered his head and slowly shook it.

Andi softly said, “That is the reason Cole finally relented and allowed me to escape with you.”

“She didn’t deserve what I did to her.”

“It wasn’t you that did it. It was the ones that drove out all of your emotions and created a monster. That monster died when you found your family.” Andi looked at Drey and for the second time she saw his tears. The first time was at Natalie’s grave.

• • •

The next morning Drey was up early sitting in his command chair staring out at the giant spiral galaxy below. His display illuminated and he saw Ian, “Hey, what’s up?”

Drey looked at the display and said, “I’ve never thanked you for not killing me at the restaurant.”

“It was a close call, Drey.”

“I’m just glad it wasn’t me making it.”

“What if you had to make it now?”

Drey thought a moment and said, “I’m not sure, Ian, and that bothers me.”

“Tell me what you’re thinking.”

Drey sighed, “I’m complicated in some areas but in others I’m somewhat inflexible. The Nebula was my home and I was determined to defend it against all enemies whether they were perceived or real. I’m still like that.”

“Oh?”

“It’s different now. The Nebula will always be something I’ll protect to the absolute best of my ability, but Euclid is now a place that I’ll defend to the death.” Ian stared at Drey and he said, “My mother and brother are there.” Drey paused and looked at Ian, “By extension that includes the Union. If it falls, Euclid goes with it. I’ll not allow that to happen if I can do something about it. However, I know I might be brutal in that defense. Holding back is not something I’ll easily do.”

“That’s what made me decide to not kill you.”

Drey stared at Ian and shook his head, “I’m not sure what you’re saying.”

“Once I learned that you were a Genetic from Euclid, I knew you had been twisted by the Dictator’s government. I had no doubt that once you learned what had been done to you and the way your family suffered, you would do something about it. I confess I used you as a weapon against the Nebula. You actually did things I never expected. I need you on this mission.”

“Why?”

“Because I’ll try to think things through and find a way to avoid unnecessary bloodshed; somewhere between the two of us is the right way to act. We balance each other out, but I’m coming closer to your point of view.”

Drey smiled, “Do tell.”

“This civilization that is enslaving other species is not one that will easily change their ways. To stop slavery, their worlds will have to die. That’s the only way they can survive.”

“I agree. There’s no civilization that would send all the products of their labor to feed them. They’ll die if the slaves are freed.”

“Their structure makes it impossible to deal with them and I know they realize it. I have no doubt they’ll shoot first. The only reason they wouldn’t is to uncover where we came from.”

“There’s something else we’ve got to factor into our decisions, Ian.”

“What is that?”

“The core of the galaxy is forty thousand light years from the Union.”

“Yeah?”

“Well if they move out toward our spiral arm, they will encounter the electromagnetic transmissions that started on Earth during the Industrial Revolution and the early nineteenth century. They’ll know where we live.”

“You’re right! I didn’t see that.”

“Andi saw it and mentioned it to me last night. That means we can’t attack one of their ships on the Union’s side of the black hole. We need to do it on this side so they move all their search operations here.”

“There is still a huge risk.”

“Not as much as you might think. We need to see if their ships have the small missiles.”

“Why?”

“You know the power of the Obelisk system. I don’t believe these aliens could break through our current defenses with their current beam technology.”

Ian thought a moment and said, “You might be right. We really won’t know until we take on one of their ship killers.”

“They are smaller but are really much more powerful than the giant ships.”

Ian shook his head, “You’re right. I’m not sure the Obelisk could withstand a FTL hardened missile hitting it.”

“I’m not sure they have it, Ian.”

“Well, they lost ships at the dead planet to them.”

“Actually, they didn’t.” Ian looked confused. “They sent members of the planet’s species to remove them; I suspect as a kind of lesson to reinforce their slave status. They sent them in ships that were more advanced than the ones at the planet, but not more advanced than their own ships. I’m sure the ships they sent had tracking devices and did not have any means to leave the ship short of landing on the planet. The tracking devices would have plotted wherever they went so there was no way to escape. They were ordered to kill that planet or be killed themselves.”

Ian nodded, “Since the planet’s location was uncovered, the ones sent to kill it would know that if they refused, it would be killed anyway. They really had no choice.”

“I wondered why so many of the advanced ships had been hit. I think they did have one choice. They chose to die there with their species on the planet. I also do not believe they would have taken an advanced weapon back to their masters. I noticed that none of the ships on the planet with the missiles mounted under the wings had any of them removed.”

“They could have done it in space.”

“Not without shuttles or the means to possibly escape the ship. No, they didn’t take them in space. If they were taken it had to be on the planet and I reviewed your records on the ships you found. Those that had surviving wing pods still had the missiles on them.”

“We have to go back and destroy them.”

“We do, but it’s not going to be easy.”

“Why?”

“Now they know we were there. That planet will be staked out by one or more of their ships.”

“If we start a disturbance here, the ships might be brought back.”

“I believe all those out near the core will be recalled, but those at the planet won’t.”

“Why are you so sure about that?”

“We brought in the miners and they’ll know we had a large presence there. The miner’s tracks will confirm that suspicion. They’ll keep a ship there.”

“And if we kill that ship they will start a search in earnest on that side of the black hole.”

Drey nodded.

“What are we going to do about it?”

“I’m still thinking about that.”

Chapter Fifteen

The giant grey ship appeared next to the outer planet of a ten planet system. It scanned the outer planet and began moving toward the next planet.

“Great job, Doc.”

“I just used the star chart Andi produced to come here.”

“Yes, but you’re getting good at sensing the pressure waves.”

“That ship makes a huge one.”

“Have you got their path plotted?”

“Yes, they are maintaining a strict distance from the planets they’re scanning. After they complete the next planet, they’ll jump to sixty thousand miles out and move in on the left side of the next planet.”

“Move us there and stay under cover.” The small ship jumped and Drey looked at the passive scanner. “Does Andi have our location?”

“She does and I know she has that ship’s trajectory plotted.”

“How do you know?”

“She’s just used a passive light beam to send me the location of our arrival.”

“I’m surprised the light isn’t detected.”

“It’s just a small wattage beam. The light from the star will blind sensors to its presence. It’s also shining perpendicular to that ship’s course.”

“You do know where to emerge.”

“I do. Andi sent that as well.”

“She is, if nothing else, thorough.”

“That she is.”

• • •

Andi watched her display and waited. She prayed her calculations were accurate but just didn’t know. Ian watched her and saw her fear.

• • •

Drey turned the bow of the ship to their intended escape path and heard Doc say, “Emergence in five, four, three, two, one, now!” Drey saw normal space and then it disappeared a moment later.

• • •

The Commander of the major battleship was leaning back in his chair when suddenly normal space disappeared. “We have a small ship running at FTL from our former location. The ship has the trajectory locked in.”

“Fire all blasters on emergence and start scanners running.”

The giant ship emerged into normal space and the five hundred giant blasters on each side opened fire with their thousand mile wide beams. Most of them overlapped at the ship, but expanded to cover a space around the ship that was more than twenty thousand miles wide. He looked at his display and then turned to his sensor leader, “It’s not here.”

Suddenly the giant ship was rocked as the ship’s defense blasters on top of it were hit and blown apart. “Commander, the force field is out, the hull has been breached at the top blaster’s location, and the ship defense blasters on top of the ship are unresponsive.”

“Roll the ship to bring the lower blasters to bear. Launch missiles.”

The giant ship suddenly rolled and brought the high intensity blasters over to fire at the single small ship. Twenty large missiles ejected and rushed around the hull, seeking the ship that had damaged the giant vessel.

• • •

“The ship is rolling.”

“I see it. I’m hitting the blasters on this side before I pass.”

“They’ve launched Missiles.”

Drey felt his heart go into his throat and expected to be killed until Doc said, “the missiles are coming over the top and have us sited in.”

Drey turned his ship and flew the length of the vessel as the missiles came roaring in and gave chase. Drey fired his blaster at the giant ship and the long line of giant blasters on the side of the wounded ship began exploding. Drey saw the huge ship continuing the roll and the still functioning blasters on the bottom moved over the top and started moving down at them. “Doc, I need a target to end this. I’m going under the ships to avoid the blasters on the bottom that have rolled our way.”

• • •

Ian watched Drey fly his ship and was amazed at how fast he maneuvered to avoid the giant ship’s weapons. When the missiles were launched he stood up and held his breath. He let it out when he saw they weren’t FTL.

• • •

“I’ve put a designator on the area above their reactors.”

Drey looked through the eyepiece on his combat control helmet and saw the bright red circle on the rear of the ship. He arrived just before the ship’s defense blasters on the bottom of the ship rolled over the top. A bright light flashed as Drey fired both beams at the red circle. He watched them hit and blow through the hull. He twisted the ship and flew under the bottom of the ship which was the blasted top of the giant vessel. A blue field appeared around the ship and Drey saw the giant ship fifteen miles behind him as Doc submerged out of normal space. Thirty of the giant ships emerged into normal space around the stricken ship just in time to have it blow up in their face. Six of the giant rescuers had massive pieces of the exploding ship blow through their force fields and hit their hulls. Four of them started burning as hundreds of the smaller warships began appearing.

• • •

Drey watched his display as alien ships began pouring into the scene. Suddenly Ian, Violet, and Andi appeared on his secondary panel. “I do trust the two of you don’t have anything in normal space that could be detected.”

Doc said, “The two centimeter ball on the end of the antenna is all that’s there.”

“Be ready to get out of here is one of them starts moving this way.”

“I don’t think they’ll come this way. We’re above the site of the battle and out of the planet’s orbits.”

“Just be ready; E, see if you can listen in on their communications.”

“They’re really ticked off at what you did to their ship.”

“Can you feed their discussions to us?”

“I’ll interpret as I send.”

“That would be good, E.”

• • •

There was total disorganization until a Fleet Admiral arrived. “Someone tell me what happened here!”

Silence descended on the alien’s frequency and a ship’s commander said, “I received a call for help and responded to this location.”

“How long did it take you to arrive?”

“The message arrived at the Ship Facility and the Hub Computer dispatched me; it took five minutes to back out and make the jump.”

Drey noticed Andi write something down.

“What about the rest of you?”

“We were notified by the Hub fifteen minutes after it received the message.”

“Did any of you receive the ship’s distress call?”

“No Admiral, the message was sent to the Hub’s frequency.”

“You can’t tell me that none of you heard the distress frequency.”

“Sir, it wasn’t sent on the general distress frequency. It was sent on the Hub’s channel.”

“Sir, I saw the top of the ship before it exploded and it was heavily damaged. I suspect the automatic distress beacon was damaged before it could send a message. All of us are connected to the Hub and I would guess if the beacon was out, they sent it on the open channel they were using.”

“Who did this?” Silence greeted the question. “Who damaged the six ships?”

“Admiral, we jumped in to assist and arrived just as the ship exploded. The damage done to the six ships was caused by pieces of the battleship blowing through their force fields.”

The Admiral looked at his display and knew that the explosion had to be massive to penetrate the other ship’s force fields. “In the future, you will not jump in so close to the ship you’re coming to assist. Did any of you receive any of the ship’s data before it went up?”

“Admiral, I received some information.”

“Hub, what happened here?”

“A single small ship attacked and destroyed the ship.”

“How big was the ship?”

“It was one tenth the length of a Ship Destroyer.”

The Admiral and all the other ship commanders were shocked. “How big?”

“I’m still examining the data. However, it was smaller than any ship in our fleet and had beams three times stronger than those used on our strongest ships.”

“Did you manage to get a reading on its force field?”

“It wasn’t hit by any of the ship’s weapons where a reading could be taken.”

“Did you get a line on which direction it went?”

“No, the directional scanner was destroyed with the beacon. I did get an image of it as the ship rolled and the bottom scanner saw it briefly.”

“Send that to me now.”

The Admiral looked at the ship flying along the hull firing a blaster at the blasters it was approaching and was stunned. “Hub, that ship is smaller than most of our shuttles.”

“It is clearly from an advanced civilization we have not previously encountered.”

“What are your instructions?”

“I will communicate what happened to the High Council. Please investigate and see if there is anything you can determine about what happened. I would highly recommend that all search craft be brought here and start a search for whoever did this. We have not done a real through scan of this area and there may be an enemy here. I would also highly recommend that no ship should go out alone.”

The Admiral looked at his control board, “I want to know what caused the destruction of our ship. Investigate the debris and find me some answers.”

The warships scattered as support ships jumped in to put out the fires on the six damaged ships.

• • •

Ian looked at Drey and said, “I’m glad you suggested doing the attack there.”

“It made sense. That area is around the curve from the Union.”

• • •

“That was some flying,”

“Thanks, Violet.”

“Why were you and Ian worried so much about missiles?”

“Uhh, no reason.” Andi looked at Violet and furrowed her brow. Drey looked at Ian on the display and knew he saw what was coming. Drey turned down his volume as Andi looked at him and yelled, “Are you that dumb?” Violet looked at her sister wondering what was going on. “And you knew about it and didn’t tell me!?”

Violet said, “What?”

“They could have been using the FTL missiles we loaded on our ships. If they had, he could not have escaped.”

“That’s where your inexperience as a pilot confuses you.”

Andi jerked her attention at Drey and he said, “If they were FTL, how would they have been able to hit me?”

Andi sat down and put her head on her hands. Ian and Drey waited and she finally said, “They would have to have had a homing device.”

“And?”

“They would have had to stay at a low speed to come around the ship to get at you.”

“That’s exactly right.”

“But they did get behind you and give chase.”

“Yes, but Doc determined they did not have a blue field around them. He was set to jump if they did.”

“Doc, is that true?”

“Just a moment, I’m working on something.”

“Don’t try to put me off, Doc!”

“The Hub is communicating and I want to hear, be quiet.”

The four looked at each other and waited. Then they heard, “That is correct. Leave that planet and join the search.”

“Do you want all three of us to leave?”

“Yes, you can return in two days.”

“We’ll power up and go.”

Ian said, “That’s great, we can go and destroy those old ships with the missiles.”

“Be quiet. This is not easy.”

Ian looked at Drey and he held up his hand telling him to wait. A moment later they heard, “…thought you just told us to leave.”

“No, stay there two days and, if nothing happens, you can leave.”

“Powering down.”

• • •

Ian said, “What did you just do, Doc?”

“That Hub Computer is a very suspicious creation.”

“What do you mean?”

“She broadcast that first message on the frequency used to communicate with the ships here. The second communication was on a completely different frequency and encrypted with a tricky algorithm. It took me some time to work it out.”

Ian said, “You expected it to do that?”

Drey chuckled, “He does think like me.”

“Then we can go and destroy those ships.”

“No we can’t; especially not now.”

“Why?”

“If we wait two days and go, that computer will begin to suspect we can hear it.”

“Those missiles have to be destroyed.”

“Not really. We just need to prevent them from falling into their possession.”

Violet said, “How do you do that without destroying them?”

“Violet, how many of the old ships were found with intact missile units?”

“Forty.”

“Doc, do you have any blast bombs in the armory.”

“How many do you want?”

“Forty.”

“Sure.”

Ian said, “Booby traps.”

“Yes, and if one goes off, they all go off.”

“How do we set them and not have them discovered by a scan?”

“We pull the activate plug and push then in with the handle held down by pressure. We’ll set them all on the same frequency and if one is disturbed, it will broadcast the frequency. The others will then rebroadcast the frequency before they explode. That way those around the planet will hear at least one frequency, no matter where they’re located from the first blast.”

“What if there’s a small earthquake and one is released?”

“As long as we are nowhere around there, the earthquake will be blamed for the ancient weapons exploding.”

Ian started nodding. “We need to let the ships take us down and use the gravity sleds to stay off the surface. We don’t want to leave any new tracks. The ships can hover and drop us off with the locations of the ships we need to handle. We’ll have to do ten each and get out of there.”

“What happens then?”

“We go back to the Union and I deliver all the recordings of what we’ve learned. Then I tell the King that you three will be issued pardons and relief from your Royal Duties.”

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Does the Union have a ship capable of catching me? And if they did, do you not think I could still give them the slip if it came to that.”

“They won’t do it.”

“They will.”

Andi looked at Drey, ‘Why do you say that?”

“I’ll make them an offer they can’t refuse.”

Andi smiled, “Now that would be interesting.”

“I’ll record it for you.”

• • •

Three days later, the four were woken by an alarm and the intercom said, “Do you still want us to leave?”

“Have you detected anything?”

“No, nothing.”

“Power up and join the search. We’ve doubled the number in each unit and we need every available ship to take part.”

“Powering up.”

• • •

The two ships were beside the closest moon and saw the three ships lift from the planet and move into the upper atmosphere. They formed up on each other and disappeared.

“Get down there now. Get it done quickly.”

“Why, Drey?”

“If it were me, I’d wait about twelve hours and send a ship back just to make sure. I might even do it sooner, but I know I wouldn’t return for four hours at the earliest. I would suspect that if I were heard, any that did would wait at least that long to come.”

The two ships screamed down to the surface and dropped off the four sleds and assisted them when a large distance had to be traveled. Two hours and thirty minutes later the four sleds were picked up and the ships submerged out of normal space. Andi was back with Drey and Ian looked at them on the display and said, “I was more nervous than a sinner in church.”

Drey said, “I was probably just being paranoid.”

E interrupted saying, “I have a ship emerging into normal space above the planet. They immediately heard, “I’m here. Why did you send the message through another ship?”

“I want you to scan the surface of that planet and compare it to the one you made before you left. If anything on the surface is different, and I do mean anything, notify me instantly.” The ship entered orbit and began its scan.

Drey said, “I’m starting to like that computer. It’s refreshingly sneaky.”

“That was close, Drey.”

“But not close enough. Let’s wait until that ship leaves before we jump. You two whiz kids need to keep your sensors out to see if you feel any pressure waves moving this way.”

Three hours later the ship jumped away and Doc said, “I feel small pressure waves starting to build.”

“Stay where you are and wait.”

An hour later six alien ship destroyers emerged and rescanned the planet. After another hour they jumped away. Drey said, “Wait for it.”

Thirty minutes later a FTL ship arrived at the planet. The beams on the moon did not fire at it. “Nothing here.”

There was a long pause and they heard, “Return to the Hub.”

“Why did you send me here?”

“It was the logical thing to do if two variables were true. It appears they aren’t. Return to base.”

Violet said, “What two variables?

Andi said, “One we could hear its communications and two we were here for a reason and now that we’ve exposed our existence, we would come back.”

“Why would we come back?”

“Because it is next to impossible to unite with other ships without a common meeting coordinate. This is a logical place.”

Drey smiled, “I’m impressed.”

“You saw it too.”

“Even so.”

“How did you know there would be another ship?”

Drey smiled, “The devious use three attempts. The really devious use four.”

Doc said, “I would use five.” Just as another FTL ship arrived.

Even Drey had to laugh.

Chapter Sixteen

The two ships arrived on Hellhole and Drey dropped off Andi and left for Euclid. The three had made it clear they were not going back under any circumstances. Before he went to Euclid, he went to San Rosa and spoke at length with the President. He revealed what they had uncovered and finally managed to get him to listen. After a day, the President called him in and told him what he had been able to do. Drey thanked him and left for Euclid.

He arrived in orbit and asked for clearance to visit the Lead Scientist. The Duke that was head of security came on the display and said, “We currently have the one you’re here to see in confinement.”

“You do.”

“Yes and you will land your ship immediately.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Suddenly three ships appeared around him and the Duke said, “Don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”

Drey smiled at the Duke, “I’ll tell you what I’m going to do.” The Duke saw the ship disappear and continued to hear Drey speaking, “I’m going to send you some information and I’ll give you two days to take a look at it. At the end of that time, I’ll discuss my next possible actions.”

The Duke hit his board, “Where is that ship?”

“We have no idea, Your Highness. It’s not here.”

“Then how is he still communicating?”

“We have no idea.”

The Duke looked at Drey and said, “What possible actions are you referring to?”

“I’m considering destroying the Obelisk. Don’t look at me like that. You know I have a missile that can do it. However, I’ll hold my judgment until you have the opportunity to view the material.”

The Duke looked at his board and saw a massive file arrive. He looked at the blank display and took the file to the Scientific Building. Four hours later, he took it to the King. Four hours after that, the members in the Senior Royalty arrived and the King gave them the file. At the end of the next day, the Duke pushed his communicator, “Are you still there?”

“Of course.”

“I notice that you didn’t include in the file how you’re able to escape detection.”

“You know who I am.”

The King interrupted the conversation, “Why did you lie about having the Princess on your ship?”

Drey looked at the Duke, “You have a recording of our previous conversation.” The Duke nodded. “Send it to the King or this conversation is done.”

The King said, “Send it to me.” The Duke paused and the King said, “If you value your position you won’t keep me waiting!” Drey watched the King look away from the display for a few minutes and then turn back and say, “The truth.”

Drey said, “But not the whole truth.”

“You’re pretty slick, Andrea.”

“Not really. I’m like a bolder crashing into everything in its path. There’s not much subtlety with me.”

“Do you honestly thing you could fire on the Obelisk and not be destroyed?”

“Do you see the satellite above the planet sending weather images to the surface?”

The King reached out of the display and moved his arm, “I do.”

“Stop me from destroying it.” Suddenly the satellite exploded.

The Duke yelled, “Where is that ship!?!”

“It’s not here!”

The King listened and said, “You want something. What is it?”

“First thing is for Cole to be released from confinement and put back to work.”

“He conspired for the Princess to escape.”

“That’s the other thing. I want you fanatics to get a real life and join the human race. You’ve becoming more of a liability than an asset.”

The Duke screamed at him, but Drey watched the King’s expression. He was actually curious. The Duke disappeared from the display and the King said, “He’s really too emotional to hold that position. Tell me what you mean.”

“Why did the highest ranking Royals on the planet leave and refuse to return?”

“I’ve wondered about that.”

“Rule this planet for about ten years and you’ll make a break for it as well. You have allowed yourselves to be trapped in a system that’s broken. All of Euclid’s Genetics are kept here, instead of being allowed to go out and improve the other worlds in the Union. You decree that the highest ranking Genetics must marry and do not allow any emotions to enter the process. That is insanity. What you’ll eventually end up with are genetics like I was in the Nebula.”

“It’s necessary to marry the highest ranking Genetics.”

“What’s the difference in the scores of the top fifty?”

The King looked at a screen and said, “Two points.” Drey lowered his head and looked at the King through his eyebrows. The King saw him and said, “I thought there was a larger difference.”

“I suspect there was a few hundred years ago. The smart thing to do would be to put the highest ranking Royals in the same school and whoever the top one matched up with, that would be the Royal Couple. That way they would have chosen each other and not only be bound by duty, but by real feelings for each other. The way you do it is asinine.”

“They might not choose each other.”

“Trust me on this one; they can only bond with someone they know. It’s impossible to care about another you’ve never met. They’ll find someone in their classes that will win their heart and they will match up.”

“You took the one that was slated to marry me.”

“How do you feel about her?”

“She’s very pretty.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“I’m sure we’d get along.”

“What about the one you really care about.”

The King stared at Drey and his eyes narrowed, “Leave her out of this.”

“Now ask yourself this one question. If you had to have someone at your back with a blaster, who would you want there?”

“We do our duty.”

“And create humans that will eventually be devoid of all emotion and feelings for anyone else. You’re brilliant idiots. Look at what the Nebula made me to be and you’ll see where you’re headed. How do you like that picture?”

“You appear to be doing ok.”

“You should have seen me two years ago.”

“What happened?”

“I took the medicine I’m asking you to take.”

“I can’t change this with a wave of my hand.”

“Why not? Are you the King or not? If you are, who can tell you no?” Drey paused and said, “This is an issue you will have to decide how to handle, but there are other issues at the moment we must handle and by the end of this conversation you will probably not like me very much.”

“I don’t like you now.”

“I get that a lot. However, there are some things you’ll need to get moving on and there are a couple of issues you will be forced to move on.”

“If I’m King, as you say, how could you force me to do anything?”

“By doing the things you can’t control to control you. The first item is that you will issue a Royal Decree that the Lost Prince and Princess, as well as the most recent Princess to disappear will be released from their Royal duties and accepted back on Euclid as full citizens.”

The King smiled, “I’m not inclined to do that. It would cause others to disappear.”

“You won’t have a choice.”

“Why is that?”

“The President of San Rosa has contacted the other planets in the Union and gotten them to agree to remove you as King if forced marriages continue.” The King’s expression turned ugly and he scowled. “Contact him if you like. Your legacy will be the first Monarch of Euclid to ever be removed from power.”

“You’re lying.”

“You should have paid attention to that recording. I don’t lie. You should be thanking me.”

“Why would I do that!?!”

“If you agree with their petition, you can marry the woman you really love and no one on Euclid can do anything to stop you.”

The King’s expression underwent a strange metamorphosis. It went from rage, to shock, and then to a smile. Drey watched him and said, “Be honest. You thought about running away with her to be happy.”

“I actually did.”

“Now you have the perfect excuse to make this happen and end this madness.”

“Why do you want the others pardoned?”

“You’ve seen the information we’ve collected and what we did to collect it. They need to be at the pointed end of the Union’s spear against those slavers we will ultimately have to face head on. They have to have access to the scientists here to build what we need to face them and have any chance to survive.”

“There’s another reason.”

“I love the most recent runaway.”

The King shook his head and smiled, “That is what will tip me toward your argument. If I do as you ask, will you share how you’re able to avoid detection?”

“Yes, and I’ll bring the two ships back to download their information into your computers. That’s where the really good stuff is. Cole is the best one to make all this work.”

“I’ve seen the records. Do you think we have a chance against them?”

“Not at this moment, but I intend to redirect their efforts elsewhere.”

“Oh?”

Drey told him and the King laughed. The King pushed a button and another older face appeared on the display, “Arthur, all conventions of forced marriages, acceptance of titles, and Royals being restricted to Euclid are ended immediately.”

“Sire?”

“I also want you to send a Royal Decree to Mr. Drey Montgomery that any Genetic on the planet may leave any time, they choose regardless of rank.”

“That is unwise!”

The King looked at the Old Royal, “You don’t need to worry. They’ll come back looking for someone like them. I’ll explain why I’m doing this later, but it will be done. Do you understand?!” The old man stared at the King and saw he was serious. He nodded and said, “I’ll make the announcements.”

“That would be good, Arthur and while you’re at it send a proclamation from me welcoming the Lost Prince, Princess, and her sister to come to Euclid with no encumbrances. Get a copy of that to Mr. Montgomery as well.”

Drey stared at the King and saw him look back, “You didn’t think I’d do this?”

“I thought it would require a show of force.”

“I visited Cole in his cell and he told me about Ariene and the heartbreak they felt every day of their life. That was why he allowed his sister to leave. I look at Julie when she comes to court and I see it in her eyes. The only spark I’ve seen in them since the Coronation was when Andgell went missing. I’m going to put the fire back in her eyes and those aliens are going to have to go through me to do her harm.”

Drey stared at the young King.

“Will you accept me as your ruler?”

“I will.”

“Then go out there and buy us time.”

“I’ll do just that, Your Majesty. But first I have to bring them back.”

“I look forward to seeing them.”

“Will Ian’s return force you from the throne?”

“No, forced titles will also be eliminated. Do you think he wants it?”

Drey smiled, “I think you’re safe.”

“I thought so. Now where are you hiding?”

Doc emerged into normal space and the King said, “Now that is a really good trick.”

“You’ll be able to do it shortly, but first I need to convince three very hardheaded Genetics to come home.”

“You don’t think the proclamations will do it?”

“Would they work with you?”

The king shrugged, “Good luck.”

“I’m going to need it.”

• • •

Drey landed Doc at the outpost and Ian, Violet, and Andi came running out of the restaurant. Ian said, “What took you so long? Was there a problem?”

“Cole has been incarcerated.”

“What!”

“That’s right, Violet. The Duke of Security discovered that he allowed Andi to escape and he also is charging him with your disappearance.”

“He had nothing to do with me leaving!”

“Tell it to the Duke. The Crown has requested you and Andi return to Euclid to clear this matter up.”

Ian said, “What about me?”

“You aren’t the issue.”

Andi was upset, “What happens if we don’t go?” Drey looked at her and slowly shook his head. Andi said, “I can’t let him rot in prison.”

Violet sighed, “Me either.” She turned to Ian and said, “You don’t have to go.”

“I won’t let you go without me.”

Andi looked at Drey, “What are you going to do?”

“The ship won’t be the same without you. I’m going as well. E should come with us and remain undercover until this is resolved. We should go now.”

The three nodded and boarded Doc. Their sadness was clear and the jump to Euclid was completed with them accepting their fate. Drey received clearance and landed Doc near the science building. The King was waiting and the four exited the ship and bowed to the new King. As soon as he said rise, Violet was in his face, “What are you doing putting our brother behind bars? You know the Union needs him desperately.”

Andi went up beside her and also let him have it, “This is unimaginable that you would hold him hostage against our return. It’s barbaric.”

The King looked at Drey and said, “You can join in anytime.”

Drey said, “I’m sorta enjoying this moment. I suspect my time is next.”

The three turned and looked at Drey as he handed each of them two Royal Documents. The three started reading and Andi said, “What is this!?” just as Cole came out of the science building and yelled, “I never expected you three to show.”

The three turned to Drey and saw him shrug. Andi went up and slapped him hard on the cheek, “What was that for?”

“You lied to us.”

Drey looked at Cole, “Were you incarcerated?”

“I was.”

“Because of assisting your sisters to escape.”

“Yes.”

Andi looked at Drey, “Did you know he was going to be released?”

“I was not asked that question until just this moment. If you had asked me that before we arrived…”

“You would have redirected the issue to something else.”

Drey smiled, “I fear you are getting to know me.”

“I don’t know about trusting you.”

“Andi, would you have come to Euclid, even if I gave you the documents and promised you’d not be forced to stay?”

Andi stared at Drey and Violet said, “I wouldn’t.”

Ian nodded and Andi said, “I don’t know.”

“Yes you do; this was the only way to get you to come and you know it.”

“Why is it so important for us to come here?”

“What if something happened to me? How would you update the Union on what we’ve learned if none of you would come here? What we’re doing now is senseless. “

The King said, “The documents are real. You will not be forced to stay.” He looked at Ian, “Do you want to take the throne?”

“NO!”

“Just checking; by the way, welcome home.”

Ian turned to Drey, “I can see you had to do this to get us back, but why is it so important? We could have just sent E with the information.”

Drey shook his head, “And how would you get any updates done to him? I’m guessing Cole has come up with some things in our absence and it’s not a huge leap to assume you will be needed to download any changes to keep the system intact.”

Ian looked at Cole and he nodded. “Cole, would we really have to be here in person for any changes?”

“Actually, we’ve built three new ships that we need to transfer your ships’ computers to. Whoever linked with the ships would have to be here to make the exchange.”

Ian looked at Cole and then turned to Drey, “You did the right thing.”

Andi looked at Drey and sighed, “I’m sorry.”

Drey rubbed his cheek and said, “I’m surprised you ran the risk of hitting me, knowing my history.”

“I actually did it to see how far along you are.” Drey raised his eyebrows and Andi smiled. “Andi, now I don’t know if you’re being honest or not.”

“And I’m not going to tell you.” Drey shook his head and said, “Why three ships?”

“They’re the first three completed; we’re building more. You’ll take two of the ones that are ready and we’ll continue to build them.”

Ian said, “It might be a good idea to take all three of them.”

“Drey said, “If you have three, we need them. What are you going to do with the ships we have?”

“They’ll be the shuttles for your new ships.”

Drey did a double take, “Just how big are these ships?”

“They’re in the compound across the field from here. Let’s go take a look.” Cole looked at the King and said, “With your permission, Your Majesty.”

“By all means do what needs doing; just plan to meet me tonight for a small get together.”

Cole bowed, “I’ll contact Arthur and get the details. The King turned to go and Cole said to the four, “Come on, I think you’ll like what you see.”

As they walked to the hangar Ian said, “Cole, I like the ability of our ships to hide in that other space. I think being small helps that happen.”

“That might be true, but what I’ve discovered from what Drey left before he went to gather you runaways, the ability to move into that space is done faster if there is adequate power to the jump field. Your blasters will also be more effective with additional power. Your small ships limit how much power they can hold. Reactors, after all, do require a significant space to package them safely in a mobile platform.”

Andi said, “Are you saying you’re placing more reactors in the new ships?”

“No, we’re placing a different type of reactor in the ship and the shielding requires more space.”

“What type are you going to use?”

“We developed fusion technology some years ago and use it on a limited basis to power the Obelisks. They are hotter than any fission reactor and getting them so they can withstand the increased gravity loads and stresses of a spaceship has not been very high on our priority list. The Nebula rebellion changed all that and we’ve developed a harness that allows a mobile application.”

Drey said, “How much stronger is the fusion reactor?”

“We really don’t know. We’ve not been able to get a measure because we’ve not been able to do anything that would stress the system to the point where all of its power is needed.”

“Have you powered a force field and fired the Obelisk at it?”

Cole stopped walking and turned to Drey. He shook his head and said, “Now that is something I didn’t think to do.” He shook his head and started toward the huge hangar door. He entered a code and the giant hangar doors began moving upward and the four were stunned by what they saw. Cole was right, E and Doc would easily fit in the giant landing bay. The ships were lined up in the giant building and were shaped like a boomerang. They were thin on the leading and rear edges and thicker toward the middle of where the bridge was located. They were easily five hundred yards from wingtip to wingtip. The thrusters were inside the body of the giant craft where the bend in the wings came together behind the bridge.

Violet smiled, “They’re beautiful Cole.”

“They’re also functional. Their flat shape allows most of the ship to be just below the surface of normal space and all the electronic scanners and communication antennas are at the level of the bridge. They can be raised and lowered while the ship is just out of normal space.”

Drey said, “Where will Doc be stored?”

“Directly under the bridge; the door will slide into the hull and allow a ship or shuttle to enter or leave without breaking the lines. This ship will be extremely difficult to see or detect from head on or from the rear.” Cole looked at Drey, “Actually, we’re moving your computer to the new ship and will be leaving a copy of it on the old.”

Ian said, “Have you made any changes to the computers?”

“We’ve increased their storage and processing capacity by three hundred percent. We’ve also increased their speed by more than ninety percent.”

“What about speed?”

“These ships will be the fastest FTL vessels we’ve ever built. The force fields around the wings are sharp edges at the wings and will funnel any atoms or dust around them. We’ve taken them on a trial run from here to Andromeda in less than two days.”

Andi shook her head, “That’s impossible.”

“There’s not as much material between galaxies. It was very possible and I believe it can be done faster, if needed. We didn’t take them above more than sixty percent power.”

Drey stared at the wings, “What are those covers on the wings?”

“Those are missile launchers; now you can launch a missile from any angle. We decided that having the missiles in the nose of the ship required turning the ship toward its target. This way, missiles can be fired from the outer edge of the wings as you pass your target or at any angle of approach a pilot chooses to take.”

“What about to the rear?”

“There are ten launchers on the back edges of the wings. You should also be aware that each of those launchers also has a blaster inside.”

Drey was surprised, “How were you able to do that?”

“The blaster slides over on a set of rails when a missile is moved forward. That’s another reason why we needed more room.”

Drey looked at Andi, “Now do you see why you had to come back?”

“Ok! You win. I shouldn’t have popped you.”

“I’m just saying.”

“I said you win.”

“I’m not trying to win anything; I’m just saying…”

“Think before I do it again.”

Drey smiled, “Something like that.”

Ian said, “You said we need to take all three ships out. Who’s going to fly the third?”

Drey said, “Cole, I need the records on every High Genetic that has flying experience.”

“Are you talking about flying spaceships?”

“No; any flying experience.”

“I’ll get you the list of the highest ranked flyers.”

“I want a list of all of them and I want the lowest ranked flyers at the top.”

“Why would you want that?”

“That’s where we’re going to find our next pilot.”

Cole shook his head, “I’m not following you.”

“Your highest rated flyers will be those that follow orders and won’t disobey any regulations.”

“So?”

“That is the last thing we’re going to need. I also want the highest ranked female Genetic that stays in the most trouble.”

Ian looked at Drey, “Are you sure about this?”

“Ian, you are the steady hand in our little group. I’m the one that is aggressive and unpredictable. I want someone even more unpredictable than I am.”

Violet said, “Now this should prove interesting.”

Andi muttered, “I don’t think anyone like that exists.”

Drey said, “I heard that!”

Andi shook her head, “It’s true.”

Drey smiled, “We’ll see.”

Chapter Seventeen

“Admiral, what have you learned about that ship?”

“It was incredibly small but had powerful beams for one that size.”

“What else?”

“It has away to defeat out Major Battleship’s array. The ship had stopped and was waiting on the battleship to appear. Once our ship extended the array, it attacked.”

“How does it compare to our ships?”

“The Standard Ship Destroyers are just as powerful. Two of our ships should destroy it.”

“I thought the Hub said their beams were three times more powerful than ours?”

“It did, Sire. It deliberately sent misleading information in the event the ship was able to listen to our communications.”

“How are you going to handle this ship next time if it can kill our FTL ship killers?”

“We’ve programmed that ship’s pattern into the Major Ship’s computer. If it recognizes it, it will not pursue the ship but send the coordinates for our standard ships to jump out on.”

“Will they be jumping automatically?”

The Admiral looked at the third Council Member who asked the question and said, “That is not part of the plan.”

“Then you will have the Major Ship follow that ship until others can arrive. Any delay and we’ll lose the track. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Sire. However, we may lose another ship.”

The Councilor waved his appendage, “Just get me that ship. We need to find where it’s coming from and remove the threat.”

“Yes, Sire, it will be done as you instruct.”

The Hub Computer said, “I believe they can track our ships.”

The High Councilor said, “When I want the opinion of a machine, I’ll ask for it.”

The Hub Computer said, “Yes, Your Worship.”

The Admiral saw the anger on the High One and knew he did not like machines that thought they were superior to him. He hoped the High One’s anger would not be directed toward him. He waited with lowered eyes and the Second Councilor said, “Go and find us this ship.”

The Admiral backed slowly out of the chamber with his head bowed. Once past the guards he turned and rushed out of the building. He walked rapidly toward his ship hoping none of the High Council decided they could replace him with someone better qualified. He turned the corner of the last building and saw his ship a hundred yards away. He started running and was fifteen yards from the door when a blaster beam from one of the defense satellites hit him and vaporized him into a fine mist that blew away in the breeze. His replacement was chosen, contacted, and sent to take command of the previous Admiral’s ship.

• • •

Drey sat at Cole’s computer examining the flight records of every pilot on Euclid. After an hour he shook his head, “None of these are what I’m looking for, Cole.”

“What exactly are you trying to find?”

“I want someone that has violated flight protocols.”

“Are you looking for a lawbreaker!?”

Drey sat back and said, “I just might be. Are your lawbreakers on this list?”

“Of course not. Why would we put an outlaw in command of one of our most powerful ships?”

Drey shook his head, “One man’s outlaw could be another man’s model citizen.” Cole snorted and Drey said, “Give me the entire list.” Eight more names appeared and Drey said, “I didn’t know that High Genetics could be that mentally sick.”

“Genetics don’t always produce perfection. Some of them are mentally ill.”

Drey shook his head as he glanced at the charges against the new ones on the list and started to erase them from the search, when he noticed the third one on the list didn’t have any behaviors listed next to their name. “What’s going on with number three? Why is he under house arrest?”

Cole said, “To protect him and everyone else around him. I can’t tell you how many aerial accidents that Genetic has caused. He’s confined to his living quarters to prevent him flying any vehicle on the planet.”

“Do you have any video of his aberrant behavior?” Drey’s display changed and he saw a small ship rushing through dense traffic patterns. It was obviously the end of day and millions of vehicles had lifted from the surface and were moving out of the giant city.

Cole said, “He worked at the science building until this last violation. Just look at him.”

Drey saw the pilot move the ship between vehicles that didn’t have any room between them. The pilot had somehow turned the ship sideways to their path and moved through an opening smaller than the width of the ship he was flying. In no time, security vehicles were in pursuit but only fell further and further behind. Even jumping security teams ahead made no difference. The pilot avoided them easily. “How did you catch him?”

“We sent a ship to await his arrival at his living quarters. We had no doubt who it was.”

“Bring him in, Cole.”

“You can’t be serious. This man has no self-discipline and is a danger to himself and others.”

“Bring him in!”

Cole took a deep breath and placed the call. An hour later a tall young man walked into Cole’s office and Drey said, “Take a seat.”

The young man stared at Drey and sat down in a chair and slouched into a comfortable position. He looked at Cole and said, “Am I being released?”

Cole sneered, “What do you think?”

The man shrugged and said, “Then why am I here?”

Drey said, “I asked you to be brought here so I could ask you why you flew your ship in a reckless fashion.”

“It wasn’t reckless.”

Cole said, “You caused six accidents.”

“They were mainly caused by the Security Ships in pursuit. There were no accidents until they showed up.”

Drey said, “You knew that if you flew that way again you would be punished. Why did you do it?”

“To eliminated the waste of time going back and forth to my place of employment. I lost two hours of productivity every day flying from my quarters.”

“And now?”

“I work at my quarters and I get more done.”

Drey looked at Cole, “Is that true?”

Cole shook his head and said, “Gary is a weapons genius. The layout of the weapons on the wings of the new ships is one of his designs. The rail system to change the ports from beams to missiles was one of his ideas.”

Gary nodded, “And they would have taken twenty percent longer to develop if I had to continue that stupid flight back and forth.”

Cole sighed, “Gary, you had to know you were endangering others with your reckless behavior.” Gary just scowled and shook his head.

Drey said, “Why do you disagree?”

Gary said, “We all leave at the same time every day. The ones that fly in the pattern toward my residence knew me and have learned I wouldn’t hit them. Most of them waved as I passed. Check out the recordings; no one ever jerked their vehicles to avoid me. They knew I wouldn’t hit them. It was those incompetent security vehicles that were the real danger. At any rate, I finally couldn’t take it anymore and I needed to get to my computer to make some notes before I forgot them.”

“What is it you were worried about forgetting?”

Gary turned to Drey and said, “The missiles have a blue field around them. They’re FTL, but the force field would have to be dropped in order to fire them. I had been working on how to get around that issue when I saw an algorithm in my mind that would allow them to eject with a force field and then switch to a blue field in less than a thousandth of a second. I didn’t want to lose that in traffic.”

“What happened?”

“I lost it when the security team arrested me at home. I found it again three weeks later when I went through the analysis again.”

Drey leaned back in his chair, “Do you like what you’re doing?”

“Not really.”

Cole said, “Why not? You’re contributing to our ship development.”

Gary slouched a little more and said, “I’m bored.”

Drey smiled, “How good are you at following orders?”

“Not really good. If I was good at that I wouldn’t have been confined to quarters.” The young man paused and said, “Why do you ask?”

“Don’t do it Drey!”

The young man jerked up straight in his chair and said, “You’re the Dark Officer!”

Drey looked at him and nodded.

The young man’s smile was instant, “You’re incredible. I’ve just viewed that attack on that giant alien ship and you did it almost perfectly.”

Drey said, “Almost?”

“I would have allowed one of the blasters on the bottom of the ship to line up and when it started glowing, I would have ducked under the ship instead of getting close enough to be hit.”

Drey nodded, “We didn’t get a reading on how powerful those blasters were.”

“Exactly, that would have been nice to know in developing a strong enough force field.”

“I’ll ask you again, are you capable of following orders?”

Cole shook his head, “Drey, you don’t want to do this!”

Gary looked at Drey, “Do what?”

Drey smiled, “I’m looking for someone to fly the third ship.”

Gary’s excitement was instant, “You need look no further than this chair, Sir.”

“You realize you won’t be in command of the ship if I do this?”

Gary sighed, “I guess I can see why. Patience is not one of my finer attributes. You’ll have someone there to keep me in check.”

Drey looked at Cole, “Sign him up and send him to the third ship to imprint the computer.”

Cole looked at Drey and said, “Are you absolutely sure about this?”

“Even if I’m not, he is.”

Cole looked at Gary and saw him vigorously nodding. Gary said, “These new ships can do things that will amaze you, Sir.”

“I will have the commanding officer chosen in a few days. However, you are the junior officer on this mission and you will follow the orders given you. Is that clear?”

“What if those orders will kill the one giving them as well as my ship?”

Drey thought a moment, “Do you honestly think that will be an issue?”

“I’ve seen those alien ships.”

“Then you have my permission to do anything to save the other two ships.”

“Thank you, Sir. I’m surprised you’re allowing this much freedom.”

“I’m not; you’re going to have to convince the commander of your ship you’re right before you take any action. They’ll have to release your board before you can act.”

Gary’s smile vanished, “I forgot about that. I’ve always worked alone.”

“It’s an acquired taste, Lieutenant; report to your ship.”

Gary didn’t look convinced he’d like it but he stood, saluted, and left the room at a run.

Cole shook his head, “Does he ever do anything at normal speed?”

Drey smiled, “I hope not. Before I move to the next issue, I need you to make a modification on my ship.”

“What is that?”

“I need the most modern holographic projector currently being used in the entertainment industry installed on Doc.”

“Those things are expensive.”

“We can’t afford one?”

“No, we’ll ask for it and they’ll fall all over themselves delivering it to the King. Why do you need it?”

“I don’t want to appear as myself.”

“Well that will certainly make you look different. What are you going to be?”

Drey told him and Cole stared at him for a long moment before saying, “Are you serious?” Drey nodded. “Facial expressions will be an issue.”

“That’s why I need it done now. I need to practice.”

Cole shook his head and pushed a button. An hour later, an IMEX holographic projector was on its way. Drey said, “We need to take care of another issue. Drey pressed his communicator, “Andi.”

“Yes Drey.”

“I need you to find a High Genetic with certain attributes.”

“Let me get Violet in on this.” Violet appeared on the display with Andi and Drey said, “I need a High Genetic with outstanding analysis skills. They should be someone that doesn’t tolerate anyone below their mental level and a good measure would be the more people they’ve ticked off the better.”

Violet and Andi both said simultaneously, “Abigail Montgomery.”

Drey did a double take and Cole just shook his head. Drey said, “I think both of you appear to know her.”

Andi said, “She’s absolutely brilliant but she possesses all the personal skills of a rock and she’s about as hard headed as anyone I’ve ever met.”

Violet nodded, “She thinks so fast that she puts her mouth in motion without thinking about what she’s saying. She’s told me that my ideas were pretty stupid.”

Andi said, “She told me I should go back to class to catch up on the latest information. What I offered her was first grade level material.”

“Why do you want someone like that?”

“She’s going to command the third ship.”

Andi and Violet stared at Drey and after a long minute Andi said, “Cole, you should tell him what he’s getting.”

“I’ve tried and he won’t listen.”

Violet said, “I know we’ve had our differences, but she will cause nothing but disharmony.”

“Perhaps.”

Andi said, “There is no perhaps; she’s a pain in the backside like you wouldn’t believe.”

“That’s what I’m looking to find.”

“Have you run this by Ian?”

“Not yet.”

“Perhaps you should.”

“Why is that?”

“She told him he had the intelligence of an amoeba but after further consideration, she said she was insulting an amoeba.”

“Then I suspect he’ll like this.”

“Why on Euclid would he ever like this?”

“Because the four of us outrank her and once she’s sworn into the military any one of you can order her to shut up and she’ll have to do it.”

Cole started laughing and Drey saw Violet look at Andi and he knew they were thinking about payback. Violet said, “I’ll discuss this with Ian. However, she might not last a week.”

Drey shrugged and they disappeared from the display. Drey turned to Cole, “Will you call Abigail to come meet me here.”

Cole smiled, “I will. What if she doesn’t choose to go?”

“Doesn’t the King have the power to draft people into the Military?”

“He does still retain that power.”

“Will you have him sign the documents so we can have them here when she arrives?”

Cole pressed a button and Drey heard, “Your Majesty, Andrey Montgomery has requested you draft a High Genetic into the military.” Cole listened and said, “Abigail Montgomery.” Cole paused and then said, “Yes, Your Majesty, I’ve told him what he’s getting.” After another pause Cole said, “He’s insistent.” Cole looked up and rolled his eyes, “Thank You, Your Majesty.”

Drey stared at Cole, “What did he say?”

Cole shook his head, “He said Abigail would get all of you to run back to Euclid. He’s says he should of thought of that himself.”

Drey said, “Bring her in, Cole.” Cole nodded and shook his head.

• • •

Abigail Montgomery was furious. She was being forced into the military and there was nothing she could do to prevent it. If she refused to serve, she would be confined until her enlistment was over and she would be required to perform manual labor. She had screamed until the one named Drey said that a trip to the brig might teach her the proper respect for her superior officers. She stopped walking and screamed at the sky. She didn’t want to do this. She gathered her wits and entered the huge ship’s landing bay. She said, “Is anyone on board?”

“I’m on the bridge. Follow the corridor at the front end of the landing bay forward.”

Abigail went through the door and walked two hundred yards forward. She entered the bridge and a young man stood at attention and saluted, “Welcome aboard, Sir.”

“I believe I’m not a Sir.”

“All officers regardless of gender are called Sir, Sir.”

She saw the young man continue to salute and she said, “You can stop that.”

“Sir, I am required to hold my salute until you return it.”

Abigail put her hand next to her forehead and dropped it. The young man took his place in the command chair. Abigail looked at him and said, “Is that the command chair?”

“It is.”

“Am I not in command?”

“You are.”

“Then get out of my chair.”

Gary stood and moved to the second chair. Abigail looked at the huge banks of controls and said, “We’re supposed to go out and familiarize ourselves with this ship.”

“Then take us out, Sir.”

Abigail snapped her head around at Gary and said, “Don’t be sarcastic with your commanding officer.”

“I’m not. You’re in the chair that flies the ship. So by all means take us out.”

• • •

Abigail stared at Gary and said, “I looked at your records and asked that you be replaced.”

“I didn’t need to look at yours and requested that you also be sent back, Sir.”

“Why!”

“Because you’re too egotistical to admit that you don’t know everything about everything and that can get me killed in a fight with alien ships. You also refuse to accept anyone else’s opinion but your own. I was told my request was denied so I’ll just wait until you put us in a situation that destroys this ship and I’ll jump in an escape pod if given the opportunity. Perhaps the next time I’ll draw someone that’s not so self-centered. So take us out, Captain.”

Abigail was furious but looked at the controls and knew she knew nothing about flying a space ship. Gary watched her and after a moment she said, “I don’t know why you and I were forced to go on this mission, but we need to establish our working relationship.”

“I wasn’t forced to go, Captain. I wanted this mission.”

“For God’s sake why!?!”

Gary looked her in the eyes and said, “Ships like these are going to be on the very cutting edge of all scientific breakthroughs for the near future. This is where the excitement of new discoveries and bumping up against new alien civilizations are going to happen. I wouldn’t miss this for anything.” Abigail just stared at him like he had three eyes.

Gary stood and looked at her and after a moment she stood and Gary took the command chair and began pushing buttons and switches on the console. Abigail sat in the second chair and heard a deep hum start and move into a higher pitch until it moved above her hearing range. The ship lifted off the hanger floor and slowly moved forward. Gary said, “G, take us out to the main blast shield.”

“Arrival in two minutes.”

Gary said, “Fleet Control, request permission to lift off planet.”

“Send your transponder frequency to the Obelisk.”

“Frequency has been sent, Fleet.”

“You may exit in four minutes.”

“Thank you Control.”

Abigail watched the huge ship move forward until it was directly over a dark grey section of concrete.

“What are you doing?”

“We’ve been ordered to take the ship out and put him through his paces. We are going to have to learn to deal with the rapid changes of direction that this ship is capable of doing. I would highly recommend that you buckle in your harness.”

Abigail watched Gary buckle his harness and she began struggling with getting hers on. Gary unbuckled and came over and said, “May I assist you, Sir.”

Abigail looked at him and said, “Yes.”

Gary pulled her harness out from under her and pulled her arms through the straps. He pulled it over her head and buckled it. He showed her a strap and said, “Pull this and make it as tight as possible.” Abigail pulled it snug and Gary sighed, “Sir, you want that harness as tight as you can stand. You’ll not be able to walk tomorrow if you don’t really pull it tight.”

Abigail looked at him and said, “Pull it as tight as you think it should be.”

Gary pulled the strap and Abigail thought the harness went through her into her back bone. She couldn’t take a deep breath. Gary went back to his chair, buckled in, and said into the communicator, “Lift off in fifteen seconds.”

“The pattern has been cleared, ship three.”

Abigail looked at the display in front of her and saw it showing the area around the ship and a countdown in the upper right corner. The counter hit zero and the display showed the planet grow smaller below them at an incredible pace. Her stomach passed her heart on the way up to her throat. Her heart had arrived, first because it was closer than the stomach and she knew it had bounced off her throat and rebounded toward the place her stomach would have normally been. It was impossible to say anything. Then she heard, Gary say, “I’m going to FTL; hang on.”

She wanted to scream, “Hang on I fell off when we left Euclid,” but her voice wouldn’t work and the planet below them disappeared completely. She closed her eyes and was thankful she had not had anything to eat.

• • •

Drey and Ian sat on Doc and watched the ship leave Euclid at an incredible velocity. “I think he’s picking on her.”

Drey laughed, “You think!”

“Drey, we’ve never lifted that fast and gone to FTL that close to a planet.”

“It takes a certain personality type to really get the most out of a warship.”

“Well, it appears he has it.”

“And we’ll need her there to keep it under control.”

Ian looked at Drey, “Do you really think this will work?”

“It will or they’ll die.”

“What are you planning to use them to do?”

“They will be the point of our spear.”

Ian shook his head, “I don’t know if I’d wish that on anyone; including Abigail.”

Drey shrugged, “We’ll see.”

Chapter Eighteen

After ten minutes Abigail opened her eyes and saw small objects passing the ship. “What are those?”

“Stars, Sir.”

“How fast are we going!?”

“About ten thousand LYM.”

“LYM?”

“Light years a minute.”

“I thought the upper limit was a thousand.”

“It was before the fusion reactor. I need to determine our upper limit.”

Abigail shook her head, “Do I have to be here to do that?”

Gary took a deep breath, “We are going to be sharing this ship and if we’re forced to run to survive, I need to know what this ship can do. You must develop a tolerance to the forces used in escape maneuvers. We can do this the easy way and slowly work our way up to the limits, but we’re leaving for the alien’s domain in a few days and I need you ready in the event I have to pull out all the stops.”

Abigail moaned and said, “Cole tells me that one of our ships was attacked.”

“It was.”

“Do what you have to do. I’ll let you know if I get to where I can’t bear it.”

Gary nodded and quickly changed direction. Abigail moaned with the gravity suppressors but didn’t call for a halt. Gary felt the stress on his body and, though he didn’t want to, admired the woman’s resolve. After another thirty minutes of heavy maneuvers he saw her staring at her display taking deep breaths. “Are you ok?”

“Perhaps I should learn to fly this ship.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I think this would be easier if I knew in advance what you were going to do.”

“You’re right and you should link with G and have him give you the tutorial on the ship’s controls.”

“I’ll do that when my brain catches up to the rest of my body. I think you left it on that pad on Euclid. I’m having trouble thinking.”

“You need to get over that quickly.”

“Why is that?”

“I don’t like you, Captain, and I’m aware you have no respect for me, but no one argues that you have one of the best analytical minds in the Union. I need you at your best to see the things we need to survive. I’m going to be too busy flying this thing to be able to do anything other than react to what I see.”

Abigail closed her eyes and started thinking. After another hour she began anticipating the ship’s movements. She kept her eyes closed and said, “Call me Abby. When we’re in full flight maneuvers, you will command our ship. I will contribute anything I sense but you will make the command decisions. If we’re not in the middle of an attack, I will be in command of all other situations. Do you understand?”

Gary shrugged, “I do.”

“When communicating with the other two ships we will follow the structure of command. However, when it’s just us we will use our first names.”

“Abby it is.”

“Tell me why you’ve been twisting the ship as violently as you’ve been doing.”

“You know the basic shape of this ship?”

“I do.”

“What offers the enemy the largest target?”

“A shot at the top or bottom of the ship; the front and rear edges of the ship are the narrowest views.”

“So if I can turn the ship head on or sideways to an attacker, the beams they fire at us will have the smallest target to hit. It will also give us the maximum weapon coverage of any other position. This ship is vulnerable from above or below. I’ve got to learn how fast to twist him to prevent a top or bottom target to an enemy vessel.”

Abby thought a moment and said, “You could turn the ship ninety degrees and fire the missiles on the wing tips and only offer a side view to a ship above or below us. You wouldn’t need to twist the ship to a head on attitude.” Gary was surprised by the observation. “And since the missiles are FTL, you could spin the ship like a propeller to keep that attitude with any ships you haven’t fired on.”

“G, did you hear that?”

“I did.”

“How fast can you spin and can you fire while doing it?”

“I can rotate at eleven hundred rpms and firing would be easy.”

“Let’s give it a go and see how well you can do that and change course.”

Abby shook her head, “Me and my big mouth.” The ship turned and Abby closed her eyes. Gary decided that he would listen to the Captain and any suggestion she made. This process made the ship even more difficult to hit and didn’t stress the frame nearly as much as trying to turn head on into an attacker.

An hour later Gary said, “Sir, we have completed our trials and we’ll be headed back to get the ship armed. You are now in command.”

“Lieutenant, how far are we from Euclid?”

“The ship is fifty thousand light years above the galactic plane, Sir.”

“See how long it takes us to return at maximum speed. I think I can handle it now.”

“G, take us home.” The giant ship accelerated at an unbelievable velocity and Abby felt her stomach rebel but after a moment it settled. Once they were on Euclid, Abby returned Gary’s salute and said, “Good job, Lieutenant. If you’ll handle arming the ship, I need to look at the ship’s diagrams.”

“Yes, Sir, and thank you for your suggestions.” Abby nodded and went straight to her quarters and discovered Gary was right. She was barely able to move for two days.

• • •

Four days later Abby took the ship out and flew it through escape maneuvers. She knew that she wasn’t close to Gary’s skills, but she could fly the ship if the situation arose. The next day the three ships lifted and gathered above Euclid. Ian said, “I made a change in the original plan. The three ships we have in our landing bays will not have the main ships personality. The one on each ship that hasn’t linked with the main ship will link with the vessel in the landing bay.”

Andi said, “Why are you doing that? We’ll lose the ability our ships developed during our first voyage.”

Doc said, “No you won’t; the ships have all the protocols and software downloaded. They’ll perform perfectly.”

“What do we call the ships?”

Ian said, “Violet, yours will be V. Andi’s will be A.”

Drey said, “What about Captain Abigail?”

Abby didn’t like that Andi had taken A. Gary said, “I think B would be appropriate for Captain Montgomery. After all, she has two of them in her name.”

Andi said, “Abigail only has one B.”

Gary said, “Yes, Sir, but Abby has two.”

Abby said, “That is a good recommendation, Lieutenant. That’s what I’ll use.”

Violet and Andi looked at each other on their display. Drey could read their expressions, “ABBY? A good recommendation?” Drey said, “The three of you need to go and link with the small ships and we’ll start moving out of the Union. Let us know when the links are done.”

The three females left the bridge of their ships and Drey looked at Gary, “How’s the learning curve so far?”

“Captain Montgomery suggested that if we’re caught in a battle with numerous enemy vessels to spin the ship and use the wing tips to fire while spinning. I tried the maneuver and it really is more effective than trying to turn the ship head on or sideways to enemy vessels.”

“Doc, you need to work on that maneuver.”

Gary said, “Sir, I would highly recommend having your crew buckled in before doing that.”

“Belay that, Doc.”

Ian looked at Drey and lowered his eyebrows. What was happening on G? Drey shrugged.

Abby looked at her display and said, “What are they doing?”

Gary looked at her and said, “I told them about rolling the ship to avoid being targeted. It appears they’re trialing the maneuver.” Abby stared at the display and after a moment Gary said, “What are you thinking?”

“I don’t think they’ve done any aggressive maneuvering before; at least, the records they downloaded didn’t have any except Drey when he attacked the giant ship.”

“So?”

“I suspect Violet and Andi are suffering at this moment.”

Gary smiled, “I suspect they are.”

• • •

“Alright, I’m just about over this!”

Ian shook his head, “Grin and bear it. We’ve got to get up to speed on what E can do.” Andi closed her eyes and hoped she wouldn’t lose her lunch. After an hour Abby saw Drey on her display, “We think it might be a good idea to have a training maneuver to see where we stand.”

Abby saw Gary’s instant grin. She said, “How would you like to do it, Sir?”

Drey said, “Ian and I will attack you while you’re moving forward at normal speed. We’ll see how it goes. Once that’s done, we’ll go after one of our ships. Make sure all weapons are offline and we’ll score a kill if you’re able to get a lock on the aiming program.”

Ian appeared and said, “Going FTL or jumping away is not to be used during this exercise.”

Abby looked at Gary and saw him nod as he pulled his harness on. Abby pulled hers over her shoulder and said, “We look forward to the competition.”

Andi looked at Drey, “I so want you to take them out.” Drey smiled and nodded.

Gary watched the two huge ships disappear and said, “G, as soon as you detect anything moving toward us, go to full thrusters and go vertical to the line of approach. I’ll take it from there.”

“You know they’re planning to bracket you.”

“I do, G. How fast can you go out of normal space?”

“A hundredth of a second.”

“And how fast coming back in?”

“Same time.”

“Set your system to do that on the drive button. Go out and immediately back in.”

“I’ve set the protocol.”

Abby looked at Gary, “Is this going to be like what we did during our first trial?”

Gary tilted his head and shook it slightly, “I’m hoping it’ll be over before it really gets started. If it goes longer than three minutes, it could get rough.”

Abby looked at him and said, “Forget about me. You do what you have to do to take them down. They’re the reason I’ve been forced to be here.”

“Hang on, they should be here momentarily.” Abby grabbed the arms of her chair just as the ship whipped vertical and spun. She gritted her teeth and thought, “That wasn’t so bad.”

• • •

Drey and Ian came into normal space roaring in on G. They were on a plane even with the ship and activated their aiming systems. Ian said, “We’ve got him,” just as the ship whipped up and turned sideways to them. E and Doc turned with the ship as it went vertical. Doc said, “I don’t have a good enough target to get lock.” Drey pulled the ship up and moved slightly ahead of E as Gary whipped the rear of his ship around and turned edge on again as he roared past them in the opposite direction. “I still can’t get lock.”

“Keep trying, Doc.”

Ian and Drey turned behind the fleeing ship and began catching up. They spread out and brought their aiming programs on Gary, but the small edge of the ship was difficult to lock on. “Get close enough to get a lock, E.”

The two pursuers moved closer and suddenly the giant ship disappeared and just as suddenly reappeared behind them. Both of their boards buzzed telling them Gary had acquired a lock on them. Drey shook his head as Ian yelled, “You were not allowed to use your jump drive in this exercise.”

Gary smiled and pressed a button and Ian saw his face on the display, “Going FTL or jumping away is not to be used during this exercise.” Gary said, “I never completely left normal space; my scanner antenna remained there.”

Ian glared at Gary and then heard Drey clapping. He looked at Drey on the display and said, “Getting in and out of normal space that fast was a great tactic. However, it won’t work at high speed.”

“No, but it will foil a pursuit.”

Drey nodded, “There is that.” Drey looked at Andi, who was almost green. “Want to try it again in a few minutes. I think we can take you next time.”

Gary remained silent and Abby realized he was deferring to her. “I think that’s a good idea. You might want to allow Violet and Andi to board one of the small ships and avoid the punishment.”

Andi glared at the display, “What are you going to do?”

“I’ll stay here and observe what happens. My pilot has adequately prepared me for the stresses of combat.”

Andi glared at Abby and said, “I’ll stay right where I am.”

Abby said, “What about you, Violet?”

Ian said, “She’ll be back in a moment.” Everyone stared at him and he said, “She had to put on a clean uniform.”

Abby shut the display off and laughed so hard she thought she would cry. After a long pause she reactivated the board and said, “I really think it would benefit all of us to take some time to go through these maneuvers to prepare us for the real thing.”

Violet appeared on the display and Gary saw she was not feeling well. Ian said, “I believe we should take some time to attempt maneuvers for the next twenty four hours, until all of us acclimate to the forces involved. Tomorrow we’ll do this again. We’ll meet back at this location.” Everyone nodded and the three ships jumped away.

“Do you have anything you haven’t tried?”

Gary nodded and described it to G. “Do you think you can do it?”

“I’m not sure. It will take a major change in the gravity suppressors’ safeguards to pull it off.”

“How long would you have to override the system?”

“Only a second, but you would have to endure about six gravities to do it.”

Gary looked at Abby, “That’s a pretty tough load, Sir.”

“Can you do it?”

“We’ll have to recline our seats completely just before we do, but we should be able to handle the load that long. When I tell you to really strap in, you will need to make sure there is no slack anywhere in your harness and you’ll have to be wearing a uniform with absolutely no wrinkles in it.”

“Why?”

“A wrinkle will be pushed into your skin and deform the uniform pressures. You’ll hurt for weeks.”

“I have a uniform that meets those requirements. I’ll just have to overcome my modesty at wearing it.” Gary looked at Abby and shook his head. Abby said, “What?”

“I’ve never really looked at you without the negative emotions about you. Trust me on this, Sir; you have nothing to worry about as far as being modest.”

Abby turned red and said, “Do we need to practice this?”

“We should.”

“Then let’s go change and get on it.” Abby left the bridge and went to her quarters. She undressed and looked at herself in the mirror. She saw a woman six feet tall with light brown hair and blue eyes. She never really thought of her appearance but she saw that she was shapely and in good shape. She unpinned her hair and it fell to the middle of her back. She sighed and got dressed. When she went back to the bridge she saw Gary do a double take, “I’ve left my hair down. What do I need to do about it?”

Gary stared at Abby and forced himself to start thinking. “We’ll both wear skull caps with cushions built in. You should spread you hair out evenly inside it so there are no bulges, especially in the back. The bun you normally have would really cause a problem.”

“I thought it would. Will you help me put the cap on?”

Gary went over and took her hair and spread it out in the cap. He pulled the cap on and said, “How is it?”

Abby felt Gary’s closeness and felt her temperature go up. She turned and reclined her chair and put her head down. “I feel a space behind my neck.”

G said, “Hold on a moment.” Suddenly the chair felt like it absorbed her.

“Hey, that’s nice.”

Gary said, “As soon as I push the activate button, you chair will recline and form around you. Make sure you push all the air out of your lungs. The punishment won’t last long.”

Abby shrugged, “I can see why my lungs should not have air. They could be damaged by a rib.”

“Exactly; are you ready to try this?” Abby nodded and sat in her chair. She tried not to think about Gary’s body as he sat down but he was something to see. She closed her eyes and pushed the thoughts out of her mind.

The next two hours were brutal beyond description, but she knew afterwards, and Gary confirmed it, she would never have any more problems with high speed maneuvers. She also knew that she would start wearing the skin tight uniforms whenever they were in the alien’s domain. “Gary, I think we should keep these uniforms on whenever we’re in enemy space.”

“I have to agree. We couldn’t do this maneuver in our normal uniforms.”

“I hope I don’t embarrass you around Andi and Violet.”

Gary smiled, “I think it will be them that are embarrassed.”

“I’m being serious.”

“So am I. You have nothing to worry about.” Gary paused, “I’m curious.”

“About what?”

“You haven’t been your normal vindictive self since you came on board…well, soon after you came on board. I’ve never seen you go this long without insulting someone.”

Abby thought a moment and said, “I think it’s like you said earlier.” Gary furrowed his brow and Abby said, “I’m totally out of my league here. I know nothing about space ships, the military, normal space, other space, or any of the other things I’ve seen. I’m doing all I can to play catch up and it’s impossible to find senseless errors when you don’t know anything about what’s happening around you.”

Gary nodded slowly, “You lack patience.”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“When you’re dealing with things you know, your mind is moving so quickly that anyone that says something that is obviously wrong, you reject it and continue with your thoughts. The vindictive remarks are to get them out of their erroneous thought processes. You have no patience to slow down and point out how they’re wrong.”

Abby was silent and two hours later as they jumped to the coordinates to start the exercise she said, “You’re right.”

Gary smiled and slowly shook his head. The amount of thought put in to what he had told Abby had to be staggering for her to have taken that much time to think about it. As the other two ships appeared, Abby said, “Thanks for being patient with me.”

Gary nodded and smiled, “I have to.”

“Why?”

“You outrank me. It comes with the territory.”

Abby smiled and knew he was not being totally honest. He could have really punished her during their trial if he chose. He didn’t hurt her and she knew she might not have been so forgiving if he was learning from her. She looked at the two ships and said, “Have they got a surprise waiting for them.”

“Chose a direction?”

“I think taking a dive is called for.”

G said, “You are learning.”

“Just help me behave, G. A little learning with me is dangerous.”

“I’ve seen that.”

“You didn’t have to agree.”

“Just letting you see what happens.”

Abby nodded, “I deserve that.”

Their displays came on and they turned to the other four members of their teams. As soon as Drey saw them he said, “This doesn’t look good. You have acceleration suits on.”

Violet and Andi saw Abby in her skintight uniform and were shocked. The shapeless dresses and clothes she normally wore did not reveal her shape. Even the skull cap didn’t hide how beautiful she was.

Gary nodded, “I think we’re going to need them to get away from the two of you.”

Drey stared at Gary and said, “Is what you’re planning dangerous to your ship?”

G said, “Noo, it exercises my little used muscles.”

Drey laughed and E said, “They’re up to something.”

Doc said, “Let em try.”

Drey said, “Ok, here’s how we’ll do this. You start flying forward and Ian and I will jump in behind you and attempt to fire on you. That’s what we’ll have to face with the aliens and now is a good time to see how we respond to that form of attack.”

Gary nodded and said, “I’ll start at nine tenths light speed.”

Ian smiled, “See you shortly.”

The two ships disappeared and Gary accelerated. Abby looked at him and said, “Will that speed change what we’ve done?”

“It might cause an extra gravity. Just make sure you empty your lungs.”

Abby shook her head and Gary said, “What?”

“I just hope my boobs are still on my chest when this it over. They’ll look ridiculous on my back.”

Gary and G laughed.

Chapter Nineteen

“G as soon as they appear, I’m going to activate the maneuver. I expect them to really be coming at high speed.”

“What if this doesn’t work?”

“Well then, I’ll just see what I can dial up as we pass them, G.”

• • •

“Are you ready?”

“I am. How do you want to handle this?”

“We’ll jump in less than a thousand yards behind him and attempt to get lock. I need E and Doc to determine his escape route. I think he’ll either go vertical again or dive out of our approach path.”

“We’re on it, Drey.”

Violet said, “Do you think he can do anything about this tactic?”

Drey laughed, “I don’t know that we could, but I’ve seen him pilot a vehicle through traffic that was impossible. That’s why he’s here. If there’s a way to escape, I suspect he can do it.”

“Do you see a way?”

“I’ve got to say I don’t.”

Andi said, “Well, let’s go teach them a lesson.”

Ian said, “I hope we are the teachers here.”

Drey smiled, “Amen to that.”

Drey and Ian emerged into normal space right behind Gary’s ship and suddenly dove. Their buzzers went off immediately ending the exercise. E said, “What the…”

They watched as G flew past them in the opposite direction too quickly to be targeted even if they weren’t already hit. “Drey, what just happened?”

“Give me a moment Ian.” Drey replayed the recording and saw G dive and suddenly the rear of the ship whipped around as its inertia kept the giant ship moving away from them with the front pointed at them. The front end of the ship had all its weapons pointed at them as they gave chase and had a huge target to hit because they couldn’t dive edge on to pursue Gary. Drey shook his head, “I didn’t know that kind of maneuver is possible.”

Doc said, “It isn’t. He had to override the gravity suppressors.”

Ian stared at the recording and shook his head. “I’m beginning to wonder if we could take him with six ships.”

Violet said, “I’m surprised Abigail is still alive after that kind of maneuver.”

Gary said, “Well, would you like to try again?”

Drey smiled, “No, I think we’ve seen enough. You need to download that maneuver to our ships and give us some time to practice. That was remarkable.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

Abby said, “This can only be done with the right uniform. I suggest that while in alien space we keep them on or we won’t be able to do this.”

Violet said, “Are you alright, Abigail?”

“I’ve suffered a lot while Lt. Lungen practiced, but this maneuver has pretty much completed getting my body used to the stresses. It is going to be brutal, but the price is worth it.” Abigail thought a moment and said, “By the way, thanks for asking.”

Violet smiled, “I honestly didn’t think you’d last a week, but now I’m glad the two of you are here. I feel a lot safer with you two around.”

“Thanks, Violet.”

“Doc, do you have that maneuver downloaded?”

“I do.”

Drey looked at Andi, “Let’s go change and see if we can pull it off.”

Andi looked at Abby on her display and left the bridge. Abby knew that Andi was still not over her past remarks. Even Ian didn’t appear to like her. She shrugged and said, “Is there anything else you want to try?”

Gary smiled, “There is an additional move coming out of the reverse twist where we accelerate back along the path we’re moving. G, we were somewhat slow going past them.”

“We were in normal force field and thruster systems. I suspect that we could activate the Dark Matter Drive and blow by them, but we would be moving too fast to fire any weapons.”

“What if we used the blue field to stop and reverse and then immediately went back to the standard systems?”

“I don’t know if I have that degree of control. You’re talking about changes happening in ten thousandth of a second.”

“Actually, the time would be a little longer due to the change of direction. Some time would be required to stop our forward momentum before we began moving on the new course.”

There was a pause and G said, “I’m not sure. We’ll need to give it a try before I know.”

Gary looked at Abby and she threw up her hands, “You know you’re going to do it. Will the loads change?”

“G?”

“I’ll work the suppressors to make sure they don’t go over six gravities but I compute that eight g’s will happen if I don’t.”

“G, the early astronauts endured 10 g’s on liftoff and survived. How long will the load be happening?”

“About two seconds.”

“Will we lose consciousness?”

“I suspect you’ll come close. If it lasted longer than four seconds, you would.”

Gary was silent as he considered the information. Abby looked at him and said, “Let’s say we’re being pursued by eight or ten alien ships and they’re moving in on us. The maneuver will allow us to probably kill the ones that are right on us, but other ships will be following them. We need to kill as many as possible to even the odds. If there’s a chance this will allow us to take out more ships, we need to see.” She paused and said, “G, will reducing the load to keep it at six G’s slow the maneuver?”

“Slightly.”

“Then try it at eight and let’s see if either of us are capable of manning the weapons.”

Gary nodded and said, “G, let’s do it.” An hour later, both of them were able to fire after the reversal. “G, send this maneuver to the other two ships.”

Drey looked at the incoming information and shook his head. Andi said, “What?”

“Those two are crazy.”

“What have they done now?”

“You don’t want to know. This is something we won’t do.”

“If they can do it…”

“E, do you have that maneuver in your databanks?”

“I do.”

“We’ll give it a go if we’re forced to it.”

“I think that would be wise.”

Andi showed her frustration and Drey said, “We all have our talents. Me trying to match your ability at analyzing energy would be like us trying to match Gary’s flying skills. We can only go so far before we fail. This is that place.”

Andi took a deep breath and then nodded. She looked at the display and smiled, “Well, at least I get to wear this uniform for the remainder of the trip.”

“I thought you’d like that.”

• • •

Ian looked at the others on his display and said, “Alright, I think we’re ready to go. Are there any last details before we go?”

E said, “We’re able to communicate now through that other space. There is no longer a need for an escape destination to get back together.”

Drey shook his head, “E, that other computer may intercept our communications.”

“Let it. We’ll be encrypting them as we communicate. By the time it gets one done we’ll no longer be using it.”

Drey shook his head, “I wouldn’t sell that computer short.”

“It’s good but not that good. We have had the series of encryptions downloaded into our databanks and we’ll be going through them rather rapidly. I don’t see it breaking through.”

Andi said, “We should be in good shape on our weapons. It said that our beams are three times stronger than the ones used on their best ships.”

Ian shook his head, “It wasn’t telling the truth.”

Andi looked at Ian, “Oh?”

“Andi, it sent five ships to that dead planet to catch us. It wouldn’t have done that unless it believed we were monitoring its transmissions. If it suspected that, it would not have told the truth about the strength of their weapons on an open frequency.”

Andi thought a moment and said, “You’re right.”

Abby said, “Have we got a reading on their force fields? That should give us an idea of their relative beam strength.”

Drey said, “Andi got a reading on the decay of gamma rays on the inside of their force fields.”

Abby started thinking and said, “Yes but any idio…” She paused and after a moment said, “That was a good idea with the system you were using.”

Andi stared at Abby and said, “What were you going to say?”

Abby looked at her and said, “I really don’t know. Lt Lungen has pointed out that when I’m really concentrating on something I have no patience and say things that are very offensive. I’m trying to stop that behavior.” Abby looked at Andi, “What did I say?”

“You said any idiot.”

Gary said, “No, she said any idio.”

“I know what she meant.”

“It appears you don’t.”

Abby said, “Lieutenant, stay out of this.” She looked at Andi and said, “I’m sorry if I offended you, but you actually made a good decision to run that type of scan given the system you were forced to use.”

Drey saw Andi’s anger but it changed to curiosity, “What do you mean by the system?”

“The systems on your former ships don’t have the same software as the new ship. You didn’t have a way to scan for neutrino impacts or Higgs forces operating on the outer force field. You did the logical thing in looking at gamma ray degradation.”

“You mean we can now scan neutrinos?”

“You’re actually able to passively scan every energy emission.”

Andi looked at Drey, “We’ve got to go back to their main planet and run another scan.”

Abby said, “Why don’t you scan the energy band and I’ll take a reading on the Higgs.”

Andi’s excitement was clear, “How are you going to do that?”

“I’ve developed the process, but it involves numerous minor adjustments as the readings come in. I’ll be glad to show you how to use the process.”

Drey looked at Ian, “What do you think?”

Ian tilted his head and shrugged, “I think we should listen to our experts and do what they say.”

Andi looked at Abby, “What about photons?” Abby nodded and saw Andi’s excitement.

Ian said, “We’ll be jumping in and will remain out of normal space for the duration of the stay. Plan to jump in thirty minutes.”

The displays went dark and Abby said, “Thank you for coming to my defense but she was right.”

“Not entirely. You stopped yourself.”

Abby nodded and said, “I need to make sure I do not talk while I’m deep in thought.”

Gary smiled, “I think that would be wise, Sir.”

Abby punched him on the arm, “Hey, we’re informal here.”

“Yes…ma’am.”

Abby laughed and pulled up the Higgs software.

• • •

The three ships were directly above the alien planet and Abby and Gary were stunned at what they saw. Gary shook his head and said, “I don’t feel so confident anymore.” Abby nodded and smiled. Gary looked at her, “Why are you smiling?”

“I’m so thankful I was forced to come. I’m going to learn so much.”

Gary shook his head.

Andi appeared on the secondary display, “How do you want to do this, Abigail?”

“Call me Abby, Andi. I think we should scan a ship that is arriving at that space facility as it shuts down its force field and try to scan one that’s leaving as it powers up its fields.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll send you what I get.”

Abby nodded and watched the display for a ship that met the requirements.

Drey appeared on Gary’s display, “What do you think?”

“This is scary.”

“That it is. We’re here to buy the Union time to build a fleet.”

“They’ll need a hundred years to even start matching what I see in this system.”

Drey shrugged, “I’m planning a little soiree with one of those smaller vessels when the ladies complete their work. I want you and Ian there to hold off any party crashers.”

Gary tilted his head and said, “We’ll do what we can. We need to know their capabilities.”

Drey nodded at Andi sitting behind him, “I suspect we’ll know a lot shortly.” Gary nodded absently and continued to stare at the massive city covering the planet below.

An attack ship began backing out of the huge facility and Andi said, “Abby?”

“I’m on it.”

Violet looked at Ian, “I’m feeling useless again.”

Ian said, “Get with E and see what information you can get on the ship types and which direction they’re heading out of this system.”

Violet nodded and started speaking.

Ian looked back at his scanner that was set to view inferred on the planet’s surface. He found numerous bright spots and plotted them on the map of the planet. He switched the view to positron emissions and overlaid them on the map.

Fifty minutes later a ship moved in system and Gary saw Abby sit up straight in her chair and start making adjustments on her panel. He glanced at the display with Doc’s bridge and saw Andi start doing the same. I guess we’ll soon know.

An hour later Abby said, “Send me what you have, Andi, and I’ll send you my readings as well.” Abby looked at her panel and smiled, “I have them, thanks.”

“No problem. We might what to move away and not run the risk of too many communications.”

Ian nodded and said, “Gary, I’ve sent the coordinates of where we go above the galaxy. We’ll see you there. Stay below normal space.”

Gary saw the coordinates and entered them in the drive. G arrived and Gary was amazed at the beauty of the Milky Way below him.

Drey said, “I suspect it’s going to take a few minutes for them to analyze this, so we might as well take a break and get something to eat.”

Abby didn’t even look up, “Are you planning any combat operations in the very near future?”

Drey looked at her and said, “Why do you ask?”

“You might want to delay eating until after they’re over.”

Drey thought a moment and said, “No, we’ll take some time to discuss what you’ve discovered. We’ll start the party later.”

Abby nodded and continued to stare at her display. Gary shook his head at her ability to focus so intently on her display and still be aware of what was happening around her. He got up and went to the small kitchen and prepared a meal for himself and Abby. He brought it back to the bridge and placed it beside her. Over the next hour he watched her flashing screens on her panel and absently eating the sandwich he had put next to her. He finished his meal and took her plate with him to the kitchen. He came back and reclined on his chair. He fell asleep as Abby continued to punch keys.

• • •

“You can wake up now.”

Gary started and jumped up. He looked at Abby and saw a gleam in her eyes. “Are you done?”

“Yes, we are. Andi just wrapped up as well.”

Gary stood up and stretched, “What time is it?”

“Ten p.m. ship’s time.”

“You’ve been at this twelve hours!?”

“What time did I start?”

“Ten a.m.”

“I guess I have.”

“Abby, that Higgs scan is amazing.”

“It is isn’t it? I’m very proud of it.”

“You should be. Do you want to start the discussion now?”

“No, I think we should get some rest. We’ll probably be crashing shortly and I want to be alert.” Andi looked at her and Abby said, “Gary tells me we’ve been at it for twelve hours.”

“Really?”

Gary said, “Really.”

Andi stood and stretched and looked at Drey, “Come on; you can rub my shoulders.”

Gary saw the display go dark and he leaned back in his chair. Abby said, “I’d sell my soul for a good shoulder rub.”

Gary smiled and came around to the back of her chair and said, “Lean forward; you won’t have to pay that much.”

Abby leaned forward and Gary started massaging her shoulders. Abby sighed and closed her eyes, “That’s heavenly.” After a few minutes Abby said, “Can you reach my lower back?”

“No.”

“Then follow me to my room and continue this, please.”

Gary followed her out and stopped rubbing her back and shoulders when she fell asleep. He went to the bridge and reclined in the command chair remembering how good she felt under his hands. Eventually, he fell asleep smiling.

Chapter Twenty

Abby arrive on the bridge with her hair still damp from the shower. It hung down her back and she shook it as she sat down. She saw a hot breakfast beside her panel and looked at Gary. “Good morning. I asked G to let me know when you woke.”

“Thank you. I’m famished.”

“You should be. Did you learn anything?”

“Oh yes. Let’s see if the others are up.”

“Eat first.”

Abby smiled and dug in. She thought a moment and said, “I didn’t hear you leave.”

“I waited until you were asleep.”

“Well thank you.” Abby paused and said, “You could have just slept there.”

“No I couldn’t.”

Abby stopped the fork an inch from her mouth and looked at Gary, “Why not?”

“You know, we’re not allowed to fraternize with our commanders.”

Abby ate the fork full of eggs and said, “Is that so?”

“It is.”

Abby continued eating and said, “What rank is Violet?”

Gary thought a moment and said, “I really don’t know.”

“Does Ian outrank her?”

Gary thought again and said, “Ian is the mission commander.”

“Ok.” Gary sat there staring at Abby and she said, “What is Andi’s rank?”

“Alright, alright, you’ve made your point.”

“Just wanted to make sure that you left because you decided to do so and not for any other reason.” Gary sighed and Abby said, “I’m not being mean.”

“You’re not.”

“Nope, I didn’t call you a moron.”

Gary started laughing and said, “You’re right.”

“They’re my two favorite words.” Abby continued eating and when she finished, she picked up her plates and stood to go to the kitchen. Just before she exited the bridge she said, “Do you still hate me?”

Gary stared at her and shook his head. Abby smiled, “Just checking.” She turned and left.

Gary stared at the port and sighed.

• • •

The six were on their displays when Ian said, “Who wants to start?”

Andi said, “Abby should go first.”

Abby shrugged and said, “Pease stop me if you see something I miss and I ask forgiveness in advance if I react harshly.”

Andi nodded and said, “I wish I had developed that ability.”

Abby looked at her with lowered brows and said, “Why?”

“I think I finally understand what you’re doing.”

“We’ll please tell me, because I don’t.”

“When I’m really focused on something and someone interrupts my thought process with an idea that I know is wrong, I have to stop and explain why they’re wrong which really throws me off my original thoughts.” Abby pursed her lips and nodded. “I suspect that you process what they’ve said and know they’re wrong but don’t want to lose your train of thought so your subconscious just tells them they’re wrong and you keep on processing. Am I right?”

“Yes, but I’ve said some things that are pretty hateful.”

“What would happen if you told them in a nice way that they were wrong?”

Abby thought a moment and said, “I suspect they would defend their point of view.”

“The result would be you’d be thrown off track. Now what if you really insulted them?”

Abby’s expression changed to understanding, “They would storm off and not speak to me again unless forced to do so.”

“I don’t think it took your subconscious long to learn that behavior works. In the future, if you insult me I know I need to take another look at my position to see what I’ve missed.”

Abby thought a moment and said, “It’s still not good behavior. I could take the time to listen and work my way back to where I was.”

Gary said, “If you possessed patience, you could do that; under stress you would revert to your survival behaviors.”

Abby looked at Gary and said, “I didn’t call you a moron.”

“I know, forget that.”

Abby stared at him and turned back to the display, “I have great respect for everyone on this mission and the last thing I want to do is cause you to not want to work with me.”

Drey said, “Have you ever been wrong about a suggestion you rejected?”

Abby thought a moment and shook her head.

“Then I agree with Andy. I hope you do call me an idiot.”

Abby smiled and said, “Well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Drey said, “What have the two of you learned?”

Abby said, “Their ships are just as strong as ours. Our force fields are slightly stronger and will hold up for a few more moments than theirs and that’s good if you’re only fighting one ship. If two are firing at us, it’s a very iffy situation.”

“That’s how I see the data as well.”

“Andi, did you factor in the time of their beam?”

“I don’t have a clue as to how long their blasters can fire. I’ll have to make that determination after we see one of their ships in action.”

Gary said, “That ship Drey killed fired one of the heavy blasters at him.”

Andi and Abby looked at Gary and he nodded. Drey said, “Gary told me that one of the blasters on the bottom of the FTL ship destroyer fired at me as it rolled.”

“E, do you have a recording of that?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t.”

Gary said, “Doc should have it.”

Doc said, “Hold on.” After a moment he said, “I have it.”

Andi said, “Please show us what you have.”

They watched their display as the image of the giant ship appeared with Drey’s ship running around the hull. The recording started and the bright beam flashed just above Drey’s ship.

“Abby, do you think that’s the maximum duration?”

“I think if they could have held that beam any longer it would have hit Doc. It went out just as the ship turned far enough to hit it. I believe that’s the limit.”

“Did you get a time?”

“Two seconds.”

Ian looked at the two women staring at each other and started to ask what that meant, but Violet put her hand on his arm and shook her head. He settled back in his chair. Gary saw Abby’s eyes focused on something very far away and waited.

Andi said, “There’s good news and bad news.”

Ian said, “What?”

“We can take two hits simultaneously as long as they don’t hit the same place on the force field. The bad news is that if another beam hits, the force field will be penetrated.”

Abby came back and said, “I see the same thing, but I believe there is a way to prevent that happening.”

The five looked at her and she said, “Remember when Gary dropped out of normal space to allow you to fly past him?” Ian and Drey nodded, “If we set our ship’s systems to drop out of normal space as soon as a second beam hits, they should be able to come right back and continue the fight. That drop will allow the force field to regenerate to its maximum strength.”

Drey said, “Gary, the only way I saw that you had left normal space was to slow the recording down to super slow motion. It appeared to me that you just suddenly stopped.”

G said, “The entire process took less than two hundredths of a second. Your sight doesn’t function that fast.”

Drey looked at Ian and Gary, “We need to follow this doctrine in any ship battle we have.”

Gary said, “G, can you program this into your sensors and do it automatically.”

“I’ve already put it in.”

“We have as well.”

Abby said, “I think I may have a way to kill them with one shot.”

Andi said, “I was wondering about that.”

“There are some changes that would have to be done, but I think they would work.”

“How would you feed the accumulators?”

“They would pull it in from the leading edge of the force field.”

“They would empty rather rapidly.”

“That is the one drawback I’ve seen.”

Gary said, “What are you two talking about. There are others here.”

Andi said, “Their force fields do not slow the Higgs particles.” Gary looked at Abby and she nodded.

Drey said, “How do we use that to our advantage?”

Abby said, “We convert two of our blasters to fire the Higgs. I think one on each wing tip would be the best place to make the conversion.”

Abby looked at Andi and she said, “I was thinking of the front edge, but I’m not as knowledgeable about flying tactics.”

Gary said, “Our main efforts are to keep the enemy outside our wings and only present a flat surface for them to attack.”

Andi nodded, “Then the wing tips would be best.”

“Do we have to take the ships back to the Union to make this change?”

E said, “No, Ian, I think we could do it here. Andi are you saying you need the FTL Field to be routed so that the particles it collects are fed into the blaster’s accumulator?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know at what pressure they can be stored?”

“No but don’t you have a gage that tells you when it’s overloading?”

“I do, but will they power a blaster at the same pressure as pressure from the reactor?”

Andi looked at Abby and she said, “I have no idea.”

Gary said, “The only way to find out is to make the change and give it shot.”

Abby said, “We have to find a habitable planet to do it.”

“Why?”

“Because we need to put a red coating on the blaster’s lens to change the color of the beam.”

Everyone looked at each other and Gary said, “Ok, I’ll bite; why do we have to change the color?”

“What happens if this thing works and the aliens see a blue beam hit their ships? They’ll know it has the distinctive color of a FTL field and start developing a similar beam. Our ships are also vulnerable to the Higgs; we have to throw them off.”

Ian said, “First things first. We’ll jump to Hellhole and make the changes. We’ll trial the beams on an asteroid and come back for Drey to have his meeting.”

Gary looked at Drey, “I hope you’ve practiced.”

“Oh, I have. But first, the beams.”

• • •

Five days later the ships were back at the main alien planet. Drey said, “Doc, are you sure about following one of their ships?”

“We’ve learned a lot about the other space. Those vibrations we felt when we first came here can be tracked and as long as we enter behind the ship we want to follow, we should be able to track it to its destination.”

“I’m looking for a single ship.”

“Well, if it jumps to a place where they have more than one ship, we’ll just have to come back and try again.”

“Are you able to listen in on their communications?”

“I can, but I’m assuming they’re not being completely honest.”

“For the purposes of this exercise, assume the ship’s destination is the only thing not true.”

“Why?”

“There wouldn’t be any need to lie about the number of ships if they assume we can’t follow them.”

“If you say so.”

“Trust me; I’m a scientist.”

“No you’re not; you’re a warrior.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot.”

• • •

“I have one.”

Drey straightened up in his chair and said, “Everyone light up the drives. What do you have Doc.”

“I have one of their Ship Destroyer Battleships backing out. The computer assigned it a system to search for us. The Commander asked who his partner was going to be and was told he was going to have to go alone. The second ship would join him as soon as a faulty relay was replaced.”

“I want the two of you to stay close but don’t break cover.”

Doc said, “Here we go.”

The battleship disappeared and the three Union ships dropped into the wake it left behind in the other space. Drey went to the desk off screen from the bridge and put on the holographic controller’s helmet. Andi said, “Why did you pick that?”

“They’ve always fascinated me. They’re also somewhat fearsome.”

“Now that’s an understatement.”

The three ships arrived in a star system and Drey said, “Doc, you have the controls. Take us out two miles from the alien.”

The Battleship commander looked at his main display and saw the furthest planet from the star ahead. It didn’t look like much. Suddenly all the alarms started blaring and he saw a giant white ship two miles off his port side. “Man your weapons.”

Suddenly the Commander saw a creature appear on his display and heard, “You really don’t need to do that. I’m just here to talk.”

The Commander saw the reptile with rows of sharp teeth reach up and scratch its head. He yelled, “Hold your fire until I give the order.”

The strange creature said, “Now that’s good.”

The Commander knew that the huge white ship could have already fired but had not done so. He looked at the large carnivore and could sense it was deadly. “What do you want?”

“I just need some information and I’ll send you on your way.”

“I’m here looking for you.”

“Well isn’t that great. We both found what we’re looking for.” The creature paused and leaned back in its chair, “Why did you kill that planet with all the crashed ships?”

The Commander pushed a button and the Hub Computer was brought in on the conversation. “I don’t know?”

The creature sat up straight and said, “Now it’s not good to start a relationship with falsehoods. Then tell me why you’re going around attacking everyone you meet. You attacked us and we didn’t do anything to deserve it but run away.”

Andi looked at the Raptor sitting in the chair and swore it was alive. Drey raised his hand and scratched his ear and the Raptor did it perfectly.

“We don’t allow any advanced civilizations in our domain.”

“Really? Why not?”

The Hub Computer said, “I’ll take it from here. Who are you to ask?”

The Raptor smiled, “Ah, the real personality emerges. It appears to me that you’re just an aggressive life form that attacks everything it encounters.”

“And just what are you? Your shape gives away that you’re a carnivore.”

“Yes, we have our faults, but we try to only eat the bad ones. It appears that you might end up on our menu.”

Doc said, “They’re sending in ships.”

The Raptor said, “I really hate that you’ve called in others. I was enjoying this conversation.”

The Hub Computer said, “There is nowhere in this galaxy you can hide from us.”

The creature smiled and said, “Now who said I was from this galaxy?”

The white ship rotated and disappeared at an incredible FTL speed straight up from the ship. “Did you get a track?”

“It left at an angle to the galaxy. If it holds that track, it will arrive in Andromeda.”

“Why didn’t you fire on it?”

“My sensors show that I would not have penetrated its force field. I was hoping you would send more ships.”

“Next time, take a shot.”

“I will.”

Sixty Battleships emerged into normal space and surrounded the lone battleship. The computer started to order the ships back to their former locations when three of the huge white ships emerged and opened fire on the alien fleet. Ships started exploding as the battleships returned fire and began pursuing the three ships.

• • •

Ian said, “They’ve brought in sixty more ships. We might as well determine where we stand in comparison; prepare to attack.”

Gary looked at Abby, “If you see anything…”

“I’ll let you know.”

“Gary, you come in at the center; I’ll go left and Drey you go right. Hit them hard and stay on your edges. Ready…go.”

Drey came in at full speed between two of the battleships and blasted a huge hole in both of them as eight ships started firing at the white ship as it passed. Suddenly the white ship reversed course in an instant and flew back through the middle of them and took out two more ships before the others could target it. Drey said, “Thank Gary for that move.” Andi held her breath and watched her display, “We have five coming in from the port side.” Drey whipped the ship hard left and turned the ship’s wings parallel to the incoming ships as he passed below them.

Abby watched Gary fly the ship between two of the battleships and spin the wings. Two blaster beams shot out of the wing tips and the two ships were left burning and drifting in space. Gary yelled, “Thirty more ships have just jumped in; keep them in sight.”

Ian flew between a four ship groups, spinning the wings as he fired at all four. Two of them were left burning but the other two withstood the hits and turned to pursue. He left normal space for an instant and emerged directly behind the two, giving chase and fired a missile at their thrusters. The missiles hit and the ships blew up in giant explosions that Ian flew over just as eight ships emerged into normal space directly below his path. All eight immediately fired, but only three on the port side hit the fast flying warship. E attempted to drop out of normal space, but failed as two large holes were blown through his port wing.

Abby yelled, “Ian’s been hit!”

Gary whipped the ship around and went to a brief FTL run and was on the attackers under Ian in a heartbeat. The giant white ship spun and fired a red beam at the eight ships taking aim at E. All eight ships had holes burned completely through their hulls. Five were left burning and three exploded in massive blasts. “IAN, GET OUT OF HERE!”

Ian looked at his board and saw the jump drive was not drawing power. He hit the FTL drive and disappeared from the battle.

Drey pulled in behind three battleships and fired a FTL missile at them and then jumped away as a volley of beams blew through the space he just left. All three missiles hit and three more alien battleships were left burning.

As quickly as it started, the battle was over. The Hub Computer looked through the battleship’s scanners and saw fifteen ships burning. The damage had been done in less than a minute. “Did any of you get a track?”

“They all left vertical to the galactic plane.”

• • •

Drey and Gary arrived at E’s location and Drey said, “How bad is it!”

“Drey, E’s been hit on the port wing and we’ve had to seal it off.”

“Is he able to fly?”

“I’ve lost most of the electronics on the port side of the ship, but E has managed to reroute power to the jump drive. I should be able to make it back to Euclid.”

“Don’t jump directly to the Union. With the damage you’ve sustained, we don’t know if you’ll leave a trail to follow. What happened?”

“I rolled over on a battleship and three jumped in during the roll and all of them hit the port wing.”

“How did you get away?”

“Gary came in and took out the three ships firing at us. I had to leave FTL because I couldn’t generate a jump field.”

Gary said, “I arrived and started a roll and took all three out with the red beam on the starboard wing. I have confirmation that the beams are deadly; however, the accumulators were empty after six shots from each of them. I had to leave FTL until I could generate a jump field.”

Drey said, “You need to get out of here and get back as quickly as possible. Use the small ship if you run into trouble and get help out to tow him back if E’s systems start failing. I’m serious about not jumping directly to the Union.”

“Our weapons are offline and environmental has suffered a bit. We’re in our space suits and we should be fine. I’ll get back as quick as possible. I’ll go FTL toward Andromeda and change course multiple times before I make a jump.”

“I think the two of you should enter the small ship and allow E to fly back without environmental or other systems that support your presence. I suspect the reduced weight will also help.”

“That’s a good idea. We’ll go now.” An instant later, the wounded ship disappeared.

• • •

Gary looked at Drey, “What now?”

“We go back out of normal space and see what our friends are doing.”

“I’m right behind you.”

“Gary, thanks for saving Ian. I had more than I could handle.”

“It was Abby that saw him hit. She’s the one that made it possible.”

The two ships disappeared and Abby lifted her nose in the air. Gary saw her and said, “What’s wrong?”

“Oh nothing.”

“No, really, what’s wrong?”

“I thought we would conduct ourselves as professionals.”

Gary furrowed his brow and moved his head back. “What are you talking about?”

“You just said that Abby saw him hit. It should have been Captain Montgomery.” Gary let his head fall back and look at the ceiling as he shook it. Abby said, “Hey, you’re the one with all the regulations and rules that you have to follow. I just want to make sure I help you do it.”

Gary lowered his head, “I guess I asked for that.”

“You did.”

“I apologize, Captain.”

“Apology accepted. Just don’t let it happen again.”

They arrived at the battle site and Gary said, “I really don’t have a prayer, do I?”

Abby smiled, “I am somewhat more equipped to know the rules.”

Gary reached up and rubbed his left shoulder. Abby saw him wince and said, “What’s wrong.”

“I think I pulled something when I flipped the ship and reached for the Higgs control. I should have kept my arm down until the maneuver was completed. I just knew I wouldn’t have much time to help Ian and didn’t think.”

Abby knew the strength required to lift an arm during that turn and was surprised he didn’t break the arm. “I’ll check it out later. You might need some liniment and a sling. I hope something wasn’t damaged.”

Gary shook his head, “I’ll be ok.”

“Don’t be stupid! My welfare depends on you being able to use both arms. I have a medical license. I’ll check it out when we’re out of enemy territory.”

“Alright.”

Abby watched Gary and saw he was hurting.

• • •

Drey looked at the display and said, “Doc, what can you determine?”

“They will no longer like reptiles.” Andi laughed. “They had ninety one ships here and twenty of them have been heavily damaged and eight destroyed outright.”

“What about the missiles?”

“Their force fields didn’t slow them down at all. We better hope they don’t discover how to make them or we’ll be in trouble.”

“You know they’re recorded them being used.”

“Yes, but they aren’t a FTL civilization. The field around those missiles is a minor miracle. I don’t think we could have built them without the ones we took back and duplicated. They may eventually develop the miniature field but it won’t be soon. For the moment, we hold an advantage.”

Andi said, “Gary said he used the Higgs Beam. Can you see the ships he hit?”

“I can and the burn reading is lower than what a normal blaster’s would be. However, unlike a normal blaster, that beam is not slowed by a force field so it hits with enough power to burn completely through those ship’s hulls. Gary’s aim was incredible; he hit all three ships in their reactor rooms. It was the reactors’ explosions that destroyed the ships.” Doc paused and said, “Hold on, we have fighting in the ranks.”

“What?”

“I’ll put it on the speaker.”

Drey looked up at the wall speaker and heard…

Chapter Twenty-One

“Admiral, I think it would be very unwise for one of the High Council to come here, especially in their personal ship.”

“I told him that as politely as I could but they don’t appear to have ears most of the time. Perhaps you would like to deliver that information. At least you won’t be blasted for it.”

“No, they’ll just tell me to stay out of it unless I’m asked a question. This is dumb.”

“Didn’t you say you thought those aliens could hear our transmissions?”

“ARE YOU LISTENING, ALIENS? WE’RE BEING LED BY DUMMYS.”

“You better quit that. They’ll erase your databanks.”

“They can’t hear me. You better be thinking of what to tell him or I’ll have to break in another Admiral.”

“Will you help me by doing an analysis of what you see?”

“I’ll send it to you momentarily. However, he will not like the idea that they came from another galaxy.”

“I won’t tell him they did. I’ll just allow him to come to that conclusion after he views the recording.”

“And if he asks you what you think?”

“I’ll look up at the ceiling and watch his expression. If he frowns, I’ll say I find it difficult to believe they do. If he looks up with me, I’ll say it makes sense they do because of their advanced weapons and not matching any species we’re ever seen here.”

“You are smarter than I give you credit for. The report will be there in a moment.”

• • •

“Abby, did you hear that?”

“I did. We need to take a good look at that new ship.”

“I’m on it; we’ll do it the same way. I’ll take the normal spectrum.”

Abby said, “I’ll take the Higgs.”

The Giant ship appeared and all four of the Union Warriors were shocked. It dwarfed the FTL ship destroyer and was covered in high intensity blasters. It also had two force fields that overlapped the ship. Abby stared at the ship as she started her readings and said, “This is not good.”

Gary stared at the giant and looked at the inferred reading. It had four separate reactor rooms instead of the normal one. It has blasters placed on its hull where it could fire in any direction with thirty different blasters. There was no safe way to approach that ship without being hit multiple times. Gary said, “I hope they don’t have many of those ships in their inventory.”

Abby nodded absently and stared at her display. Gary watched until the pain in his shoulder and neck became unbearable. He left the bridge and went to his room and took a pain medication. An hour later, he took another. The pain was growing.

• • •

Ten hours later the ship disappeared and Abby completed her analysis. Andi said, “This ship creates entirely new problems.” Andi looked at her display and said, “Where’s Gary?”

Abby looked at the empty command chair and pressed the intercom, “Lieutenant Lungen.” She was greeted by silence. Andi saw Abby’s expression and said, “What’s wrong?”

“He was injured during the fight. I forgot during this scan. I’ve got to find him! G, where’s Gary!?”

“He’s in his quarters. I’ve wanted to tell you, but he ordered me not to interrupt you.”

Abby jumped out of her chair and ran off the bridge and found Gary on the floor next to his bed. She turned him over and he screamed in pain. He rolled his head left and right and said, “I couldn’t reach…the…intercom.”

“WHY DIDN’T YOU CALL ME!?”

“I knew you were busy.”

“You big dummy.” Abby pressed the button on her collar and said, “I’ve got to get Gary back to a hospital!”

“What’s wrong!?”

“He’s injured his shoulder and I think it’s serious.”

“We’ll stay here monitoring what happens. Get him out of here.”

Abby saw the pain medication next to the bed and counted three missing. She ran to the medical locker and pulled out a hypodermic needle and ran back and injected it into Gary’s arm. She ran to the landing bay and brought a small gravity sled back and pulled Gary, who was now unconscious, on the sled and lifted him to his bed. She left him on the sled and belted it down. She ran back to the bridge and said, “G, I need you to take a deceptive track back to the Union. Make sure we can’t be followed, but I need you to get us there ASAP.”

“I’m jumping out to the edge of the Andromeda Galaxy, back to the core, and go FTL for ten minutes. Then I’ll jump us in.”

“Just do it!” Abby sat by Gary and rubbed his hair. She felt the first jump and said, “Why didn’t you tell me he was suffering, G?”

“He ordered me not to do it. He said what you were doing was too important to interrupt.”

“G, I am the ranking officer and I order you to notify me immediately if he is ever injured again. Is that clear?”

“Abby, I couldn’t override my orders or I would have done it this time. It won’t be a problem now.”

Abby stared at Gary and felt the second jump. She silently prayed, “Please just let it be his arm.” She knew what high gravity maneuvers could do to a human body if they weren’t done properly.

• • •

Abby ran to the bridge as G emerged into space above Euclid, “I have a medical emergency. I have an injured crewmember that needs immediate medical attention.”

A strange voice said, “You have been cleared for landing at the main port. Please deactivate all weapons.”

G said, “That was the obelisk. I’ve never heard of it communicating with anyone but the Monarch.”

“Just get us down.”

“There’s a medical vehicle waiting.”

G rushed down to the planet’s surface and opened his landing bay. Abby had unbuckled the sled and pulled it to the door as the medical vehicle roared up. She heard Gary moan and knew the shot was wearing off. Two doctors rushed up and pulled the sled into the vehicle. Abby started to go with them but Cole rushed up and grabbed her arm, “What happened?”

Abby watched the vehicle lift and accelerate away. “Cole, I need to go make sure he’s ok.”

“In a moment, tell me what happened.”

Abby forced herself to focus and told him what had transpired. Cole listened and pressed his communicator, “G, download the readings you took on that new ship.”

“Commencing download.”

Cole pressed his communicator again and said, “What have you got?”

“He’s got severed tendons in his left shoulder and two displaced discs in his upper back that are pressing on nerves.”

“Anything else?”

“Our initial scan shows no internal damage to his major organs.”

Abby blew out a breath and said, “Thank God.” She put her head in her hands and cried. Cole put his arms around her shoulders and said, “You didn’t know, Abby?”

Abby sobbed and said, “But I did. He told me he was hurting and we put off treating it. I should have known better, especially an injury associated with high G maneuvers.” She continued to cry and Cole knew she was right. She allowed herself to get caught up in the moment with the discovery of the new ship. He looked at her and saw there was nothing he could say to relieve Abby’s tears. “I’ve got to go to him!”

Cole raised an arm and a major ran over, “Take Captain Montgomery to Lt. Lungen.” The Major nodded and Abby straightened her shoulders and followed the Major. Her tears still ran down her face.

• • •

“Ian, Gary is at the hospital!”

“What happened?”

“According to Cole, he injured himself coming to save us during the battle.”

“Where is he?”

“He’s at the port hospital.”

Ian grabbed Violet’s hand and pulled her out the door.

• • •

Abby stood next to the immersion tank Gary was floating in. He was connected to multiple electrical leads and she sighed as the surgeon told Ian, “I’m really surprised he was able to do anything. That shoulder was barely connected to his frame and the discs’ displacement should have been unbearable.”

Abby stared at Gary and said, “It was unbearable, Doctor. He refused to stop doing his duty.”

The surgeon looked at Abby and shook his head. Ian said, “So where is he?”

“We have the nano probes connecting all the tendons and ligaments in his back as well as repairing the damage done to his neck. His internal organs took a hit, but they should be fine. He’ll just experience some discomfort for a few weeks.”

Abby turned and said, “How much discomfort?”

“Nothing close to what he endured with the injuries. He’ll be fine, but I don’t want him taking pain medication. I need his body to heal without them interfering.”

Violet stared at Gary and said, “How long will it be before he can pilot a ship?”

“He’ll be out of the tank in eight days. As long as there is no heavy gravity loads, he should be ready to go twelve days later. I do ask you try to avoid combat for at least two weeks.”

Ian nodded and said, “He’ll be restricted to surveillance missions during that time.” Ian looked at Abby, “I need you to make sure he follows those orders.” Abby nodded and Violet came over and hugged her, “I hate we have to take him back but he’s the best we have.”

Abby shook her head, “Do you think you could stop him from going?”

Violet shook her head and said, “I’m so sorry, Abby. I know he means a lot to you.”

Abby sighed and nodded, “Thanks, Violet.”

“He saved us, Abby. We wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t come to our aid.”

Abby nodded and continued to stare at the young man floating in the tank. She absently said, “How’s E?”

“He’s being repaired and updated. G is also undergoing some changes.”

Abby absently nodded and Violet knew she was not herself. The normal Abby would have demanded to know what updates were being done. Violet looked at Ian and they walked away quietly leaving Abby staring at the tank.

The surgeon turned to leave and Abby said, “You should do a molecular scan on the ventricle artery.”

“Why?”

“The normal scan would miss it and it was under the arm that was injured.”

The surgeon saw the woman was not aware she had spoken. He thought a moment and called in a scan team. They ran the scan and the Surgeon yelled, “Get the heart nano probes injected. Do it now!” He looked at the young woman lost in another place as the cart rushed in and injected the probes. The tear was barely visible but the Surgeon saw that it had grown from the original tear. He had missed it and it was a very good thing that the woman had thought of it. The tear would be repaired in twenty four hours. Abby stood and continued to stare at the tank.

• • •

The High Councilman looked at the recording of the conversation with the alien and was nervous. That creature was an obvious carnivore and it was not worried in the least about the ship it was confronting. When it questioned why they attacked everyone they encountered, he knew the alien had been watching them. That was the only way it would know and the question about the dead planet had to be about using another species to attack. When the creature asked who said it was from this galaxy, his fear began emerging. He didn’t allow it to show; a High Councilor must maintain an air of superiority. He saw the disdain in the creature’s expression and could tell it didn’t care if they did know its origins. The following attack was to size up their defenses.

He looked at the Admiral and said, “What do you think about this?”

The Admiral looked at the ceiling briefly and the Councilor looked up as well, “I don’t want to believe it, but there is evidence to support them not being from here.”

“What evidence?”

“We know they mine heavy metals. We’ve seen their activities on the dead planet. They had a large presence there. That would indicate that if they were here they would have a presence near the core.”

The Councilor nodded, “Go on.”

“We have been searching the metal band around the black hole and have not turned up anything. I believe it would take a large civilization to produce ships like those we confronted. A large civilization near the core within the gravity that produces heavy metal deposits could not avoid being found.” The Admiral paused, “We have also not encountered any species of reptile that comes close to being intelligent. That leads me to believe that the conditions are not good for their development in our galaxy.”

“Where do you think they came from, Admiral?”

The Admiral knew this was the critical question and his life depended on if the Councilor accepted it. “The ships left on a track that would take them toward the middle of the cluster.”

The Councilor stared at the Admiral and said, “But…”

“I managed to get a ship to jump out behind it and followed the trail for six hundred light years before it faded. At that point the track veered toward Andromeda Galaxy. Andromeda is the closest galaxy to ours and is probably the most likely candidate.”

“Why not the others near the center of the cluster?”

“There are thousands of galaxies closer to any one located close to the center of the galactic cluster. A species located there would have to pass others to come here. I don’t think they would do that.”

“Carry on the investigation. I’ll contact you if I need anything else.” The Admiral bowed and the Councilor left. The Admiral sat down in his command chair and felt his body start to shake.

After fifteen minutes his quivers subsided and he heard, “That idiot is broadcasting on an open frequency what the two of you discussed.”

“So are you.”

“Yes, but if the aliens are listening they already know what we’re saying.”

“What do you think the Council will do?”

The Hub Computer paused and said, “What was the Councilor’s ranking?”

“He’s new. He was just appointed. Why do you ask?”

“The High Councilor hates new appointees. They always arrive with popularity among the citizens. He’ll take every available opportunity to remove this newcomer. I would wager that he’ll be sent to lead the search in that other galaxy and he’ll probably insist you go with him.”

“He would never agree to go.”

“You asked; I answered.”

The Admiral sat in his chair and started to shake.

• • •

The High Councilor looked at the Second and said, “Do you believe any of this mess?”

“It was bound to happen eventually.”

“How can you say that?”

“Have you run the possibilities through the main computer?”

“You know I hate machines that think they’re alive.”

The Second shook his head, “Well I have.”

“And?”

“The probability of our galaxy being visited by another galaxy is ninety nine percent.”

“What!”

“That’s looking at eternity as a time frame. However, the possibilities are still greater than fifty percent over the next millennia.”

“How is that possible?”

“If you factor in that the universe had a start point, it is aging at the same time for everything. You only need to look at where we are at this moment. We can jump to another galaxy with no difficulty. It would seem logical that if there are intelligent civilizations out there, they could do the same. Some of those galaxies are older than ours as well.”

The High Councilor thought for a few moments and said, “You’re the scientist here. I’m the political expert. What would you do?”

“Those ships destroyed ten times their number. We can’t just sit here and blindly ignore the threat they represent. I would suggest a trip to that galaxy and send enough ships to do a quick search of the core. The black hole in Andromeda is huge compared to the one here. If there’s a major civilization there, we should be able to find it, although it may take some time.”

“That would weaken our forces here.”

“Who’s here to threaten us? I believe the threat is out there.”

The Highest thought again and said, “We need to get that new Councilor to lead the search.”

“He’ll never agree to go.”

“Here’s how you do it. Who sponsored him?”

“The Eighth.”

“Pull the Tenth aside and have a conversation with him where the Eighth can hear. Tell him I’m looking for someone to promote to a higher ranking to support my power and that whoever leads the search will be considered for the increased ranking.”

The Second started smiling, “That’s bait they can’t refuse.”

“If the Eighth doesn’t get the newbie to go, my position will be strengthened. It’s a foregone conclusion that the Eighth won’t take the risk and the only one below him that supports him is the newcomer.”

“You need to call a gathering where I can have this conversation.”

“This issue is the perfect reason and I’ll delay long enough for you to set the trap. Just contact me when it’s done.”

The Second smiled and knew he would never desire to replace the Highest Councilor. He would be gone in no time. The Highest was the best at manipulating the others. They were a good team.

The Highest watched the Second leave and knew the Second was not an adversary. He had no ambition. They were a good team; he had enough for both of them.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Gary tried to open his eyes but the effort was too much. He tried to take a deep breath and stopped before he even started. The pain was too much to do it. He gathered his thoughts and forced his eyes to open. He immediately saw Abby sitting in a chair beside his bed with a worried expression. He tried to speak, but the pain took him again and all he could do was moan. Abby was out of the chair in an instant and had her hand rubbing his head, “You had me worried.” All Gary could do was stare at her and fight to keep his eyes open. “The doctors tell me you’re going to be fine. You’re going to be in pain for a couple of weeks but you should be able to fly in another four weeks.”

Abby saw the relief on Gary’s face. She leaned forward and whispered, “I’m so sorry. I knew you were hurt and didn’t think it through. If I lost you…” Abby took a deep breath and shook her head.

Gary looked at her and managed a small smile. He managed to whisper, “It’s ok.” Then he lost the fight and his eyes closed. Abby continued to rub his head and for the first time since she entered the hospital, she knew it was.

“I need you to come with me, Captain.” Abby turned and saw Cole. She leaned over and kissed Gary on the forehead and followed Cole out.

• • •

The next day Gary was awake in the morning and by the afternoon he was helped out of bed. He was unable to stand on his own and two orderlies lifted him to his feet and one said, “Take a step.”

Gary blew out a breath and said, “Which nonexistent leg should I use first?”

The orderly chuckled and said, “Surprise us.”

“I think I’m going to surprise myself as well.” Gary slid his right leg forward and the orderlies prevented him from falling. Gary looked at the one on his left and said, “Which one did I move?”

“The right one.”

“Oh; I thought it was the left.” Six hours later he found his legs and wished he hadn’t. He collapsed in bed and didn’t remember falling asleep.

The next two days were a nightmare of pain but Gary was determined to fly again and would not give in to the agony. He was able to walk alone with a walker the third day. On the fourth he was determined to do it alone. He made it out the door and to the end of the hall before the orderlies caught him. Abby arrived as he collapsed and Gary saw the pain in her expression. “You should have seen me yesterday. I only fell twice.”

The orderlies put him in a chair and rolled him back to his room. Abby followed them in and saw Gary wince from being laid in bed. He looked at Abby and said, “I’m not going to be able to fly.”

Abby pulled up a chair and took his hands in hers. “We’ve been delayed in our departure. You have another week to get your legs back under you.”

Gary shook his head, “I just don’t know if I can do it.”

Abby took his chin and turned his face to hers, “I’ve never met anyone with the strength of will you possess. You can do this and I won’t fly with anyone else.”

Abby saw his pain as he shook his head back and forth, “You deserve someone better.”

Abby shook her head, “That person doesn’t exist.” Gary turned his face back to her and saw something in her eyes. “I’ve learned something from this, Gary. I’ve learned that someone else can become more important than anything else in a person’s life. I will not fly with anyone else. I need you with me.” Gary stared at her and started moving. “What are you doing?”

“I’m getting up and walking down the hall. Will you help me?”

Abby saw his pain and suffered the entire time he struggled down the hall and back. He collapsed in the bed and Abby lifted his legs on the bed and rubbed his head. Gary saw her expression and said, “I couldn’t have done that without you.” He closed his eyes and sleep took him. Abby rubbed his head and looked at her watch. She leaned over, hesitated, and kissed him gently on the lips. She turned and left for the space port.

• • •

“What are they doing?”

Drey stared at his monitor and said, “It looks like they took the bait.”

Andi shook her head, “How many ships are they going to use?”

“Andromeda is larger than this galaxy and the core is four times larger. The Milky Way has more mass but the bulk of it is in dark matter. Andromeda is twice the width and has a trillion stars compared to the Milky Way’s four hundred billion. The search is not going to be easy.”

“How many of the new ships we scanned are going?”

“I only see one at the space facility. I would have thought they would send more.”

“If like that computer said that only the leaders have one of them, there may be a limited number.” Drey shrugged and watched the thousands of ships arriving every minute. Andi thought a moment and said, “What do you think they’d do if we took that ship out?”

Drey looked at her, “You’re starting to sound like Gary. First of all, we want those ships to leave. It reduces their strength here and slows any possible search for the Union.” Andi nodded. “Second, if we’re going to do that we would do it in the other galaxy to solidify their suspicions about it being the location of our ships. Third, I’m not at all sure we could take that ship out even if we wanted.”

Andi stared at the huge fleet for a few minutes and sighed, “I’d still like to give it a shot.” Drey shook his head and knew Andi was becoming more like him. He didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.

• • •

Abby sat in the command chair and heard, “Permission to come aboard.”

She turned and saw Gary standing at the door to the bridge. She smiled and said, “Permission granted.” She returned his salute as he said thank you, Sir.

Abby stood and watched Gary come to the chair. She looked at him and said, “Do you want to continue this charade?”

Gary looked at her and said, “I still feel I’m not good enough, Sir.”

“We’re all born with different talents, Lieutenant. If we gravitate toward those exactly like us, we miss out on a lot of what life has to offer.”

Gary stared at Abby and said, “I’ll never be as smart as you.”

“And I’ll never fly a ship like you do. You should be thankful.”

“Why!?”

“Being smart isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I’d gladly trade talents with you anytime. Besides, those of us that are smart need those that aren’t as smart to show us how to live.”

Gary stared at her and started slowly shaking his head. Suddenly, Abby was in his arms with her arms around his neck kissing him. The ever present pain disappeared and Gary held her tight. Abby broke the kiss and said, “Do we continue this charade?”

Gary smiled, “This time you rub my back and I do hope you stay.”

Abby smiled and kissed him again. Abby felt him in her heart and he said, “You are unbelievable.”

Abby smiled and said, “Wait until you see our new toys. Your chair has also been modified with its own gravity suppressor. The ship will no longer have to stay inside the limits of our bodies. The chairs will keep the gravity below two gravities.”

“That’s really good news.”

“We’ve also had a major revision of our weapons.”

Gary turned in the chair, “What have they done?”

“Cole has added an additional reactor. All the blasters except for one on each wing’s front edge and one on each wing tip have been removed.” Gary looked out at the wings and said, “There’s something still there.”

“Those are the new Higgs blasters.”

Gary shook his head, “They run out of power rather quickly. It’s not good tactics to have to keep going FTL to charge the accumulators.”

“Actually, each Higgs blaster has its own scoop on the wing. The Panel of Scientists determined that a dark matter field isn’t necessary to gather the particles. The reason the alien’s force field didn’t stop the particles was because no force field will stop them. Only a dark matter field will stop them but it will not stop a high intensity blast of them. The scoops will collect the Higgs Particles and keep the accumulators charged as long as the ship is moving whether it’s in normal space or FTL.”

Gary nodded, “That is an improvement.”

“And since the reactor no longer has to be used to charge the main blaster’s accumulators, it can have a direct feed to the four blasters remaining.”

“Can they handle that big a load?”

“They can and they’re stronger…much stronger.”

“Why did he bring in another reactor?”

“It will only power the force field. Cole has been experimenting with the FTL missiles and was determined to come up with a way to stop them. That fusion reactor can do it.”

Gary looked up, “G, are you ready to go back to work?”

“More than you know.”

Abby sat in the second chair and said, “Gary, the doctor has forbidden you to engage in combat for another ten days.”

Gary took a breath and said, “You don’t need to worry. I’ll be ready by then.”

Abby reached across and took his hand, “I’m glad you’re back. I’ve missed you.”

Gary smiled, “It’s good to be home.”

Abby smiled and released his hand and pressed a button, “Ian, we’re ready.”

“We’ll be lifting in ten minutes. The stores for an extended stay are currently being loaded and they’ll wrap up in five minutes.”

Gary said, “G, let me know when they leave.”

“Will do.”

Gary looked at Abby and said, “How do you think we should go in, Sir?”

Abby frowned and said, “I thought…”

Gary put a finger over her lips and said, “You were chosen for a reason. That reason was to make sure I don’t do anything stupid and reckless. You know I have that in me. I need you to do what you’re here to do.” He paused and said, “I love you, but I need you to help ground me.”

Abby smiled and said, “First we find Drey and avoid being seen. The order of the day is run.”

Gary smiled as G said, “They’re gone.”

“Lock it up, G. Take us out to the blast panel.”

The two giant ships lifted and started moving out of the hangar. Abby watched their progress and suddenly whipped around and looked at Gary. Gary smiled and said, “I wondered how long it was going to take for that to sink in.”

Abby jumped out of her chair and slowly sat in Gary’s lap. “I’ll move when we’re ready to lift off.”

Just before Gary kissed her he said, “We’ll leave second, G.”

“Second it is.”

• • •

Drey and Andi watched the thousands of ship jump away. Drey shook his head, “And this is probably only half their ships.”

“It’s going to take a long time to even come close to taking them on.”

Doc said, “E and G are back.”

Drey saw Ian and Gary appear on the display and said, “It’s really good to see you. I was afraid for both of you.”

E and Gary said at the same time, “Thanks, Drey.”

Ian said, “What’s going on here?”

Andi said, “They’re headed off to Andromeda to look for us.”

“That’s a giant fleet leaving.”

Drey said, “That’s only half of it. The other half has already left.”

Violet shook her head, “That’s unbelievable.”

Abby looked over and saw Gary frowning. “What’s bothering you?”

The other four looked and saw Gary’s expression. Drey said, “Yeah, what is bothering you?”

Gary leaned back, opened his mouth, closed it, and then said, “It’s probably nothing.”

Ian said, “Tell us. You’ve made me curious.”

Gary sighed and said, “I know I’m not at your mental level and can’t do the analysis of things as quickly but what if they do what we sent them to do?”

Ian leaned back and looked at Drey. He raised his eyebrows and shrugged. Abby said, “I’m not sure what you mean, Gary.”

“Well, I’m sure you looked at all the probabilities and I’m just being paranoid, but what if they go there looking for a big, mean, nasty, advanced civilization and find one. Will that civilization follow them back here?”

Gary saw the instant shock on everyone’s face. He looked at Abby and said, “You did look at the possibility?”

Abby looked at Andi and saw her working it out in her head. Andi started shaking her head and her eyes went wide, “Abby, you’re better at this. What do you see?”

“You’ve already seen it.”

“I get the worst possibility at forty percent.”

Abby shook her head, “Did you factor in that Andromeda is twice as large as the Milky Way and has four times as many stars?”

“That’s why you’re better. I didn’t want to consider it with those factors. It gets really scary.”

Abby sighed, “The probability of them finding an advanced civilization is greater than seventy percent. The probability of finding a really advanced civilization is fifty-fifty.”

Drey stared at Abby, “That’s not good.”

“No, it isn’t.”

Ian shook his head, “And we just sent an extremely aggressive civilization there. They’ll shoot first and that could cause the worse possible outcome.”

Drey said, “We’ve got to stop them!”

Ian shook his head, “It’s too late. Half of them are already there and attacking those still here won’t bring the others back. It will only convince them they’re on the right track.”

Gary said, “Like I said, I’m not the resident genius here but the tactics are clear.”

Ian sighed heavily, “We have to follow them and attempt to minimize any damage.”

“That’s how I see it.”

Ian looked at the others and said, “We’ll jump to Andromeda. Drey you need to take Doc and get the upgrades done.”

“No way! You can’t possibly cover what they’re doing with only two ships. I’ll take Doc after we check out what’s happening. Besides, we’re there to look, not fight. I caused this and I’m going.”

Ian looked at Gary, “I expect you to cover Doc if things turn bad.”

“I’ll cover him like fur on a cat.”

“I suspect Doc and I can take care of ourselves thank you very much.”

Ian said, “Even so. I want you in continuous contact with G. You got that, Doc?”

“I do, Mission Commander.”

Drey lowered his brows and Ian said, “We depend on you too much to lose you, Drey. I really wish you’d go back and get upgraded.”

Drey shook his head, “This is my doing. I have to be there to see what I’ve done.”

Ian stared at Drey and then said, “E, do you know where those ships are going?”

“They’re jumping to the edge of the galaxy and then jumping in toward the core.”

“Well we’re going to do it differently. We’re going to spread out at the edge and start jumping forward in thousand light year increments. We’ll stop and take a scan for electromagnetic frequencies. If we find some, we’ll notify each other and follow them back to the source. E, Doc, and G will monitor the alien’s communications in the event they find anything. Are there any questions?”

Drey said, “That sounds like a good plan.”

“E, give them the coordinates and stay out of normal space when you arrive.”

Gary saw the coordinates and jumped the ship to the edge of Andromeda. Abby said, “And you say you’re not smart. You saw what we missed entirely.”

Gary shrugged, “I should have said something when Drey mentioned the plan. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“Gary, you’re a High Genetic. There’s not much different in our minds and you’re better than you give yourself credit. The mental computations you do in combat are extraordinary. You shouldn’t hold back on anything.”

Gary looked at Abby and said, “I think you are a tiny bit prejudiced, but thank you for the compliment.”

“You big dummy, that’s not a compliment, it’s the truth.”

Gary quickly looked at Abby and saw her staring at her display. He chuckled and saw that at least her mind thought he was smart. He thought a moment and considered that he might just be smarter than he thought. Abby continued to stare at her display but the corner of her mouth away from Gary went up slightly.

• • •

A week later Abby started to get frustrated, ‘This is the third time we’ve found electronic emissions and had them suddenly die out. This doesn’t make sense.”

Gary looked at the stars ahead and said, “G, is there a G type star ahead of us on this route we’ve been following?”

“There’s one twenty thousand light years directly ahead of us.”

Abby looked at Gary, “What are you thinking?”

“All human life has developed on class G planetary systems. I’m taking an educated guess that if there is a type G one our line, the emissions have a higher probability of originating there.”

“But why have they stopped?”

Gary shrugged, “Something happened twenty thousand years ago.”

Abby stared at Gary, “I really hope it’s not what I’m thinking.”

Gary shook his head slightly, “Buckle in.”

“Hey, no combat.”

“I’m worried about having to run. Buckle in, Abby.” Gary began pushing switches and said, “G, go to full combat power on the blasters and force field. Jump us in to that class G star close to the inner planets. Stay below normal space and run a quick passive scan.”

“Jump in ten seconds. Missiles are activated as well.”

“That’s good, G.” The ship jumped and Gary saw the face of evil.

• • •

The planet had been bombarded from space and nothing on the surface survived. The planet was a huge dust bowl with small patches of green. “G, what can you determine about the civilization that was here.”

“They were primitive. They had discovered electricity and their vehicles ran on petroleum. They did not have flight beyond lighter than air balloons. There’s hundreds of them scattered around the planet.”

Abby stared at the planet and said, “Someone came here and killed everything.”

Gary said, “G, can you get a reading on the blaster burns on the ruins?”

“They were more powerful that the aliens we followed here.”

Gary looked at Abby, “And that was twenty thousand years ago. Imagine where they are now.”

Abby looked up, “They killed the other planets where the emissions suddenly stopped.”

Gary nodded, “The evidence would support that assumption. G, get this out to E and Doc.”

Abby felt immense sorrow at what the beings on the planet must have faced. There was no escape and no way to defend themselves against the horrible beams hitting them from above. She shook her head. G announced, “E is here and Doc will arrive momentarily.”

Ian and Violet appeared on the display and Abby saw Ian’s expression, “This is horrible. This planet couldn’t have done anything to have caused this.”

Gary said, “At least the aliens in our galaxy take prisoners. This one kills everything.”

Doc arrived and Drey said, “I’ve just looked at the data. It looks like our fears are real.”

Abby could only nod.

Gary said, “G, are you hearing anything on any frequency that is not coming from the aliens that came here from our galaxy.”

“Give me a moment and let me scan the entire spectrum.”

E said, “There’s a massive amount of communication taking place in a band that is above anything we’ve ever seen.”

“You’re right, I can hear it now.”

Ian said, “I want all three ships to start working on understanding what is being said. Combine you findings and try to reduce this learning curve. We need to learn what they’re saying.”

“Ian, this language is going to be difficult. There is a huge amount of information in very small bursts.”

“Do the best you can, E.”

Ian looked at Drey, “What do we do now?”

“Well, we know that this planet was attacked.”

Gary said, “There were four others on this path that also suddenly stopped communicating.”

Drey nodded, “That means that whoever did this is ahead of us. We should start jumping forward in fifteen thousand light year increments. I’ll start at five thousand, Ian, you start at ten, and Gary, you start at twenty. We should overlap our searches and continue all the way to the core of the galaxy. If you run in to anything, notify the others.”

Ian looked at the display and said, “Let’s go find the monster. We know it’s out there.” The three ships disappeared.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The Admiral sat on the High Councilor’s ship and listened to the reports coming in. That freaking computer had been right again. The last thing it told him was that the probability was high that he would encounter an advanced civilization and that keeping a good distance between it and himself was a very good idea. It took all the diplomacy he possessed to convince the gung ho Councilor to remain at the edge of the galaxy and wait for a discovery. The Councilor finally relented when the Admiral told him that they could arrive at any discovery faster if they jumped in from the edge.

He had started receiving reports that started him worrying. Planets were being found that had been blasted into rubble from space. The data suggested it had happened long ago and the blasters used to do it were more advanced than the ones used by his fleet. This was starting to look ominous. The blaster burns were actually more powerful that the three ships that had attacked his ships. But the Councilor was as happy as a bug in dung at the prospect for returning a hero to a promotion in rank. The computer was right; he was too dumb to realize the danger he was in.

The Admiral decided he was not going to be stupid. “Sire, I need to make a short trip to one of the planets that was destroyed.”

“We can just take my ship there.”

“I need a vessel that has the necessary technology to analyze the blast patterns. This ship is too big to land on the planet. And if we do land and discover the alien’s location, we’ll be delayed arriving. I’ll leave my second in command and it should only take a short time. I’m sure the council will have questions about the alien’s capabilities and I don’t want to be unable to have the answers.”

The Councilor smiled, “I guess you saw what happened to your predecessor.”

“I did and that is what motivates me to do this.”

“It’s not good to not have answers. How long will you be gone?”

“It shouldn’t take long. I’ll be right back.”

“Ok, let me know what you find.”

The Admiral left the bridge and had the Ship Destroyer dock with the giant ship. The Admiral boarded and looked at the Commander waiting on him, “Did you do it?”

“It’s in place, Sir.”

“Take us away from this ship and jump us ten light years away from the galaxy’s edge. Send me all the incoming communications.” The Commander nodded and left. The number of destroyed planets had been growing and the Admiral knew the cause of that destruction was not long from being found.

• • •

“Ian.”

“Yes, E.”

“The numbers of destroyed planets are increasing. The aliens are starting to find them on a wide pattern.”

“Where are they?”

“They’re moving around the core and are about to enter a massive globular cluster of stars.”

“Where is that giant ship?”

“It’s out at the edge of the galaxy. The leader is waiting to discover the locals before he jumps in.”

“E, assume the aliens they find are more advanced than we are. Could they be monitoring their communications and know the location of that ship?”

“I can tell from listening to their communications that their computers are advanced enough to do it.”

“I’m not going in to that area. Contact G and Doc and tell them to meet me at that giant ship. We’ll follow it wherever we need to go.”

Violet looked at Ian, “What has you worried?”

“Violet, if what I fear the most becomes a reality, we are going to have to destroy that ship.”

Violet was surprised, “Why?”

“We can’t allow it to escape and lead another alien species to our galaxy.”

Violet thought about it and nodded, “You’re right.”

“E, do you sense any kind of scan being done outside normal space?”

“It’s hard to recognize something when you don’t have any idea what it would look like, but the only thing I sense on every frequency I can scan is communications. I’ll let you know when our aliens run into the new ones.”

“How will you know?”

“Their communications will go off the scale. Right now there has been no change.”

“Are you able to understand them yet?”

“Only a few basic words but I’m getting closer.”

“I’m bothered by how long ago those planets were destroyed.”

“I understand why.”

“Do you?”

“You need look no further than how far we’ve come in just the time since we discovered that dead planet. It’s been less than a year and our advancements are huge. The civilization that killed those planets did it twenty thousand years ago.”

“Competition brings out the best in us. If they eliminated all their enemies back then, their military advancements might not have changed dramatically.”

E paused and said, “Ian, I’d find it hard to wager on that happening. However, it appears there is a gradual learning slope once the FTL and Jump drives are discovered. The next discoveries don’t come quite as fast.”

“What do you think the next discovery will be?”

“I suspect we’ll see as soon as that civilization is found.”

Ian shook his head, “You could have gone all day without saying that.”

“What would be the fun in that? By the way, Gary is here.”

“Why is Drey always late?”

“Doc hasn’t been upgraded.”

Ian shook his head, “That worries me.”

“Me, too.”

“He carries too much blame and I guess I would as well if I were in his shoes.”

“Andi balances him. They’re good together.”

“Keep me updated on the language.”

“I will.”

• • •

The Councilor listened and heard, “I’ve detected some anomalies inside the star cluster we’re approaching.”

“What are they?”

“I’m not sure, but they appear to be widespread throughout the cluster.” The Junior Admiral looked at the Councilor, “What do you want to do?”

“You’re in command here. Where is that Admiral?”

“I’m not sure, Sire.”

“What would you do?”

“I’d gather all our ships and enter the cluster in force.”

The ship at the cluster said, “I don’t know what’s causing it, but our jump drives take a few minutes to activate. The search here could take some time.”

The Councilor said, “Gather the fleets and have them jump in together.”

• • •

“Ian, something’s going on. The aliens are massing their ships to jump into a giant star cluster. Their jump drives are not operating at normal speed.”

“What could cause that?”

“I have no idea.”

“Alright, everyone; we’re going to jump outside that star cluster and try to see what happens.”

Abby looked at Gary, “I don’t like the delay on jump drive activation.”

“Don’t get close enough to be affected by it.”

Gary jumped in and read the anomaly and backed out until it disappeared. “Drey, you might want to move out half a light year.”

“I’m on it.”

E said, “They have found the aliens that destroyed those planets. Their communications just went off the scale and the new aliens know those ships are here.”

The aliens from the Milky Way began jumping into the star cluster in ripples that moved through their ranks. After a moment all of the ships had disappeared. That’s when the screaming started.

Ian looked at Violet and saw her shock and said, “E, what’s going on?”

They heard, “…that ship is coming at me. I can’t jump, I can’t jump!” followed by a scream.”

Doc said, “The number of ships that went into that cluster have been reduced by twenty thousand…make that fifty thousand…now there’s only a hundred left communicating.” There was a pause and Doc said, “There are no ships communicating on the frequency used by the aliens from our galaxy.”

E shouted, “Ian, they know about the giant ship out at the edge of the galaxy. They’re planning to follow it back from where it came.”

Drey stood and shouted, “We can’t allow that to happen. We’ve got to destroy it before it leads this species to our galaxy.”

Gary said, “He’s right, Ian.”

Ian said, “Jump back to the ship. Drey, you’ll standoff sixty miles and launch missiles while Gary and I go after it with blasters. Jump in five seconds.”

Gary shouted, “Drey, aim for the jump drive emitters.”

“I’m on it.”

The Councilor listened to the communications and listened as they became fewer and fewer until there were none. He looked at the junior Admiral and said, “What happened?”

The Admiral was shaking, “All of our ships have been destroyed.”

“That’s not possible. We had a hundred thousand ships.”

“They’re all dead, Sire. Something did it faster than we could track.”

The Councilor stared at the Admiral and was too stunned to speak. The Admiral said, “We need…” just as the giant ship was rocked by several explosions.

The Drive Commander said, “Our jump drive has just been disabled. Three ships are attacking us.”

Gary and Ian flew in toward the giant vessel firing Higgs blasters and then turned away as the giant ship’s blasters opened fire. G and E shrugged off the hits and continued firing. Drey watched the fight and felt frustrated. “Doc, can we withstand those blasters?”

“No, E and G’s fields are ten times stronger than mine.”

“Hit it with a full spread of missiles.” Doc launched the missiles and moved to fifty miles out from the burning ship.

• • •

Ian heard, “THEY’RE COMING TO STOP US!!!”

Gary heard the computer just as a black ship emerged into normal space that made the alien’s huge ship look small in comparison. It instantly fired three beams at the Union ships, hitting all three as the beams swept across them.

Ian and Gary felt their ships rock with the hits as Ian shouted, “Dive!” The two ships disappeared as two more beams swept toward them. G shouted, “Doc’s been hit.”

Ian looked at his display and saw Drey’s ship on fire and listing. All the exterior lights were out and the fire was moving up the left wing toward the bridge. There was a giant hole completely through the left wing. “Drey…answer me, Drey!”

Gary shook his head, “G, status?”

“We’re lucky that beam swept across us or we would be dead as well. My force field is going to take ten minutes to restore full power but even if it does, I can’t withstand a direct hit from that ship.”

“Ian, that ship is planning to scan the alien’s ship for star maps in its database. When it finishes with that ship, it’s planning to scan Drey’s ship.”

Gary looked at Ian on the display, “They’ll find the Union. We must stop them.”

Ian shook his head, “We couldn’t emerge fast enough to take a shot before that ship killed us.”

Suddenly Abby said, “Look!”

• • •

The huge blaster beam hit and Drey was slammed out of his chair and against the back wall. He was stunned and saw a white haze with black spots for a moment and then his vision started clearing. “Andi, Andi, where are you?” Drey pushed himself up and sat against the back wall of the bridge. He felt something warm on his face and he ignored it. He looked to his right and saw the wall crumpled. He looked left and saw Andi. He closed his eyes and cried. Her chair had been closer to the blast and it had been ripped out of the floor and slammed into the back wall with her in it. The impact killed her instantly. Drey crawled over and wrapped his arms around her and wept. After a minute he released her and struggled forward, toward the control boards. “Doc, Doc, are you there?” All he could hear was the flames burning outside the bridge. He pulled himself to the control board and looked up at the panels. He heard a beeping sound and pulled himself up and looked out the forward port and saw the giant black ship moving closer to the alien ship. He saw something out of the corner of his eye and he started pushing controls.

• • •

Ian saw Drey on his secondary display. The signal was grainy but he could see that Drey had a gash on his forehead and burns on his left ear. “Drey, we need to get you out of there!”

Drey stared at them and said, “Andi’s dead. I’m not leaving her.”

“Drey, we need you in this fight.”

Drey shook his head, “I should have gone back for the upgrade. Andi would still be alive.”

Abby saw Violet crying as she said, “Drey, she would want you to live.”

Drey shook his head, “You know what that ship is doing. Andi would want me to stop it.”

“You can’t. You’ve got to take the small ship and escape.”

“The landing bay is in flames. There is no small ship.” Drey took a deep breath and said, “Doc is off visual, but he tells me on the computer terminal that the only system that’s still working is the dark matter drive. I am going to activate it and use what power remains in the thrusters to hit that ship.”

Ian saw the agony Drey was feeling and he sighed. Drey looked at him and Ian nodded. Drey reached forward and paused, he looked at Ian and said, “This one is for Natalie.”

Abby watched him shaking her head and heard Gary say, “What’s going to happen if a ship Doc’s size traveling faster than light speed hits the black ship’s force field?”

Abby looked at Gary with a look of confusion, but then her eyes went wide. She punched the communicator and screamed, “GET OUT OF HERE. DO IT NOW!”

E jumped a thousand miles away and joined G. They watched their displays as Doc’s bow rose slightly and pointed toward the two ships fifty miles away. Suddenly, it was surrounded by a blue field and disappeared in a blue streak into the giant black alien ship.

Abby shouted, “Get into normal space and FTL away from here.”

The two white ships emerged and accelerated away from the bright light that had suddenly erupted.

• • •

Drey saw the field panel activate and he used the starboard thrusters to right the ship and then push the drive activate button. Dray watched the four second countdown start and he had just enough time to fall back and take Andi into his arms for the last time.

Doc flashed into the black ship’s force field, which stripped the blue field from around the injured white ship. Without the Skinner field to surround it, the three hundred ton ship traveling at twice the speed of light converted into energy just as it hit the black ship. The explosion rocked normal space and space outside it. The three ships disappeared as the blast released as much energy as a supernova in less than a millionth of second and the shockwave rolled out into the galaxy. There was no nearby intelligent life to witness it, but in two million years it would be seen in the Milky Way.

• • •

The two Union Ships had stopped and watched the giant blast start expanding. Ian shook his head and held Violet under his arm. E, said, “Ian, one of the alien ships from our galaxy survived.”

“How did it do that?”

“It jumped out of the galaxy before the attack. I’m hearing signals that those black ships know it’s there.”

“Can you contact it?”

“The frequency is open.”

• • •

The Admiral watched the destruction of the Councilor’s ship and knew his life was over. “Sir, what do you want to do?” The Admiral stood in shock and started to order the ship back to port.

“I hope you’re not planning to go back to your galaxy.”

The Admiral heard the voice and looked at the Communicator.

“I’m not able to track it.”

The Admiral said, “Why do you say that?”

“The black ships know you’re here and are planning to track your departure.”

The Admiral felt his fear threaten to take him. “What do you suggest I do?”

“Jump out toward the largest galaxy in this region of space and take some time to randomly jump around it before you go home.”

“Why that galaxy?”

“It’s large enough to keep them busy for centuries looking for you.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m headed that way as well. I’m going to have one of my ships act as a decoy to allow you to escape.”

“How do I know you won’t attack me?”

“You don’t. However, I think our real issue is to prevent those black ships from following either of us home.”

The Admiral looked at the Drive Commander, “Do it.” The Ship Destroyer shimmered and disappeared.

Ian said, “We need to do the same. We’ll use FTL most of the way?”

“Why?”

Abby looked at Gary, “We’ll leave a trail of missing particles behind us that will linger until they close in on each other. We need to lure them away from the Milky Way.”

Gary nodded, “G, follow E.”

The two ship’s blue fields covered them and they flashed away.

• • •

The black ship appeared a moment later and began scanning. It was oriented on the closer spiral galaxy, but after a long pause it turned and oriented on the tracks left by the three ships. It suddenly disappeared.

• • •

The black ship chased the three ships all the way to the giant ball galaxy and pursued one of them for two weeks before it lost it close to the galaxy’s black hole. It decided to return to Andromeda just as a green ship emerged next to it and blasted it into atoms. Gary and Abby watched the ship’s destruction and jumped out of M87.

Gary sighed and looked at Abby. “What?”

“Abby, all the piloting skills in the universe won’t save you from a more powerful ship that has the element of surprise.”

“Then that means that if you’re going to play chase, you better pick the playground carefully.”

Gary smiled and said, “I’m taking a roundabout way home. I want to make sure we’re not followed.”

Abby nodded and said, “I’ve been wanting some time alone with you when you weren’t in pain. How do you feel?”

Gary stared at her, lowered his head, moved his hands around his chest, and said, “I feel great.”

Abby said, “G, dance us around several other galaxies and let us know when we’re on the final leg home.”

“I’m on it.”

Neither Abby nor Gary heard him.

Epilogue

Cole blamed himself for Andi’s death. He was inconsolable until Violet made him see that Andi had lived and loved more in that short time than most people did in a life time. The Nebula built a monument to Drey that was extraordinarily beautiful. But the place everyone considered his burial site was the two stone markers placed next to Natalie’s grave. Even the Union recognized that it was appropriate for Andi’s marker to be there beside his.

• • •

Ian stared at the two markers and held Violet in his arms. Her tears fell and Ian pulled her close as he continued to stare at the two stones. “Ian, I was so wrong. We need him so much. Now we’ve been so weakened…” Violet started weeping. Ian held her and after a few moments heard her say, “There’s no one that can replace him.”

Ian stared at Drey’s marker and said, “There is one that can.”

Violet looked up at Ian and saw he meant it, “Who?”

Ian looked in her eyes, “He’s still here, my love. He’s not gone.”

“Ian, how can you say that?”

“Because he made sure we wouldn’t be without him.”

Violet looked at him shaking her head and he told her. Her shock was enormous but after a moment she said, “Do you think he’ll do it again?”

Ian took a deep breath, “I don’t know.”

The End

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

Star Chase

About Saxon Andrew

Saxon Andrew is the author of the number one bestselling Annihilation Series. All seven books of the series have been a number one bestseller on Amazon’s kindle Science Fiction Series. Ashes of the Realm is the second series created by him and continues the history of the Stars Realm after its destruction. A third series, The Lens of Time, will be published in early 2012.

His books are written so that anyone can enjoy them and not worry about their children picking them up. He lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife and looks forward to each day so he can write the stories that his fans enjoy.

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: January 2013